Current Events on the Northview & Frisco Railroad

February 7, 2010 - More snow, ice, rain and bad weather.  Except for a few nice days in January, the weather has been very uncooperative.  More snow is forecast for tonight, but the last snow hasn't melted off yet.  I have done a little boiler work, but mainly have been trying to get beadboard installed in the interior of the depot.  Now that the beadboard is finished, the next step will be to decide on a ceiling and get it installed.  There are some other changes in the works, I'll post more news as it happens.

January 19, 2010 - The snow is finally gone and it feels like spring today.  Last week sub zero temps and snow, but today it is over 60 degrees.  Anyway, I've just been working on the new Ottaway boiler as I've had time in this nice weather.  Yesterday I did some more grinding to prep the joints for welding, today I drilled holes in the crownsheet for the staybolts.  There is still a long way to go on it, but I'll finish it eventually.  In other news, the newest motive power for the N&F has arrived, but it rides on rubber tires instead of steel wheels.  Since we live out in the sticks and it is hard to get to work in inclement weather, we finally decided to get a 4 wheel drive.  Actually, I've had it for a month now, just didn't have time to get a good picture.  Below is a picture of the new Silverado 1500 in all of its V8, 4 wheel drive, locking differential glory.  I have installed a receiver hitch and trailer wiring so I can haul trains & material on the trailer.  Towing capacity is much more than the old S-10, so I may have to rebuild my trailer this summer to take advantage of it.  I've got it past the break-in period, so it's ready to go to work for the railroad!

January 9, 2010 - Yet more snow pictures!  It flurried and drifted all day Friday in addition to the extra snow before that.  This was the deepest plowing yet.  So, enjoy 2 more snow pictures, this time in black and white for the old-timey effect...

The plow train at Redbud water tank.

A short train at the Northview Section Gang Shed.  You can get an idea of the depth of the snow from the pile on top of the outhouse.  Very little drifting at this location in the cedar trees.

January 5, 2010 - More Wnow Pictures!  18 degree weather, captions below the photos:

 Locomotive #86 warms up for snowplowing duty.  The side door on the locomotive was open to start the engine and for access to the choke after it warmed up.  The plow train consisted of MoW #3 with the snowplow, locomotive #86 and riding car #5174.   There wasn't much additional snowfall since Sunday, but there was some minor drifting to be cleared.

 Plowing the snow on the Lead Mine Siding.  You can see that the snow here isn't very deep, just minor drifting on the North rail that needed to be cleared.  The plow has a flanger to help remove all snow from the railhead for good traction.  Even so, sand is still needed every so often.

Clearing the track at the Stansbury Lead Mine.  As you can see, the snow was a little deeper here!

 Clear Track Ahead!  This is the view from the riding car as the snowplow train returns to Northview.  This picture was taken at the Tombstone Switchback.  The train is on the mainline, the switchback is the track just to the right and the Lead Mine Siding is out of sight to the far right.  If you look closely, you can see the Stansbury Lead Mine in the distance through the trees.

January 3, 2010 - Well the New Year is here!  2010 has arrived with cold temperatures and snow.  Regardless of the weather, the trains must run.  I spent the afternoon plowing snow on the N&F RR as you can see in the following picture.  The plow was attached to MoW #3, weighted with an anvil and pushed over the railroad by Boxcab #2008.  For snowplowing duties, I only pulled one riding car with the engine and plow.  The picture below shows the complete train I ran after the plowing was done.  Fun, but cold!

Snowplow mounted on gravel car MoW #3, pushed by Boxcab Diesel #2008 and train.

December 27, 2009 - I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!  This December has stayed true to form, meaning that progress on the railroad has been non-existant due to weather, work and seasonal activities.  However, I still braved the elements long enough to take a train ride now and then.  Below are some pictures I took yesterday, the day after Christmas.  My digital camera died, so I got out the trusty 35mm SLR and exposed film instead of pixels.

I hope you enjoy these pictures of a white Christmas, Northview & Frisco style...

Boxcab #2008 on Bridge #2 with a short train.  This is the bridge that was rebuilt in the fall.  The Frisco Valley Carbarn is located out of sight to the left of the picture.  You can make out the abandoned right-of-way of the gravel spur to the right of the diesel.  The spur went from the turntable and climbed a steep 6% grade to the driveway.  The bottom of the grade is visible just above the railhead in front of the locomotive, the top of the grade is about even with the headlight.  Frisco Valley is a lot simpler nowdays!

The boxcab with the same train at a grade crossing between Tombstone and Cedar Flats.  The upper tracks of the switchback are visible at the left of the photo just behind the caboose.

Diesel #86 warming up on the Transfer Table in front of the Frisco Valley Carbarn.  Note the plume of condensation wafting up from the exhaust stack... mid 20 degree weather at its best!

November 24, 2009 - Frisco Valley is now cleaned up!  All of the extra material, including everthing salvaged from the Bridge #2 rebuild project, has been moved from the site.  This took a few days, but the area around the old carbarn is now free of clutter.  I also rearranged everything in the old carbarn so I could gain track space for cars.  This involved evicting a possum that had taken up residence in the carbarn.  Since the Frisco Valley project is done, I have started working on the Ottaway boiler.  All of the flat parts are cut out and are being prepped for welding.  I suspect that this project will take a while, but that's ok - boiler construction shouldn't be rushed.  Weather has been a factor, we have had some very nice days but also a lot of rainy days.  I'll post more news as there is progress.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

October 29, 2009 - Since the last update, the rebuild of Bridge #2 is complete, with the remaining bracing and the gaurd rail on the sharp curve installed.  The old Frisco Valley Enginehouse is now set and leveled in its new place just west of the shop.  The doors have been rebuilt so they are mouseproof and items are being stored in it.  Also, I finally built a simple cart for my oxyacetelyne torch so I can transport it around the railroad as needed - it should fit on a flatcar, although I haven't had a chance to try it yet.  I also replaced a portion of one of the rails on the outside of the curve on the west leg of the Northview Wye.  Thisleg is the sharpest curve on the wye, and the original rail tended to kink at the joints.  I replaced it with rail salvaged from the old Frisco Valley Turntable ring rail, which is the same basic size but is a different pattern with stronger extruded joiners so it doesn't kink at the joints.  Hopefully that track will stay properly aligned now!  Yesterday, I managed to blow the leaves off the track.  They were so thick that I couldn't even see the top of the rails in some places.  When the leaves get wet and run over by the train, the residue left over is literally as slick as ice.  To get trains moving normally again, the leaves have to be removed and the rails sanded.  Due to my work schedule and rain, rain, rain, that's all I have got done for now.  More projects are coming!

October 12, 2009 - Saturday I ran #103 for the last time this year and winterized it.  My enginehouse isn't heated, so everything has to be drained, lines blown out, pressure gauge and injector removed, etc.  I was able to get the old Frisco Valley Enginehouse moved out of the way Sunday afternoon.  Pictures below show Frisco Valley without the enginehouse and the building on my trailer.  The enginehouse had to be winched across the old turntable site, over the creek, up through some close quarters between some trees and a fence (the scrape on the side is from the fence), then turned 90 degrees and winched up on the trailer.  This was done the old fashioned way, with some straps and log chain, a manual hoist and plenty of sweat on my part.  When the weather dries up, the building will be set in its new home by the shop, where it will undergo some maintenance and be used for storage.  I hope to finish up the Bridge #2 rebuild and clean up the junk this week, maybe I can start working on the Ottaway again soon!

Frisco Valley without an Enginehouse.

The old Enginehouse on the trailer.

October 8, 2009 - I now have rail down on the rebuilt portion of Bridge #2, so the Frisco Valley Carbarn is once again connected to the railroad.  Although there is still more work to do before the bridge is 100% finished, at least I have access to the carbarn again.  I have also started the relocation of the old Frisco Valley Enginehouse.  The picture below shows a lot if you know where to look!  Starting from the left side of the picture, the graveled spot is where the Enginehouse used to be located.  The Enginehouse itself has been moved over the former turntable site and across to the southside of the creek.  Just to the right of the enginehouse you can see the new curved portion of Bridge #2 with rails on it.  It now leads up to the transfer table in front of the Carbarn, lined up with the middle track.  Right now we have a lot of rain, the creek is up although not flooding (yet).  More rain is forecast for tomorrow, but if I can get some dry days next week I'll try to finish moving out the Enginehouse, cleaning up the junk and finishing the rebuild of Bridge #2.

Rail on Bridge #2, enginehouse is on the move.

Just for reference, here is a picture of Frisco Valley in 2007, following the rebuild for Phase III:

Frisco Valley has been through a lot of changes since construction on the N&F started in '03!

October 3, 2009 - Visited the Fall Meet for the Ozarks Live Steamers today, nice weather, lots of trains!  It is a 7.5" gauge track, so I didn't take anything to run, just went to look around.  On the home front, I have been working on the rebuild of Bridge #2.  This is located at Frisco Valley, the original terminal of the railroad.  The plan is to remove the turntable and enginehouse at Frisco Valley, rebuilding Bridge #2 so that it will go directly to the transfer table at the Carbarn.  At this point, the turntable has been disassembled, the enginehouse is ready to move and the bridge is ready for rail.  I hope to get the track finished this week so I can access the carbarn again.  Hopefully, I will get the enginehouse moved soon and the mess from the construction cleaned up.  I am also working on gathering parts for the Ottaway's boiler.  The firebox steel came in this week, staybolt material is on order, a supplier for the boiler tubes located and some needed tools are also on the way.  I am going to take advantage of the fall weather to get the Frisco Valley construction finished before I start to tackle the boiler, but maybe I will start on it soon.

Bridge #2 ready for rails.