Metal fabricator Harold bends a 5/8-inch steel rod to form eye bolts for safety chains. The end of each red-hot rod securely rests in the homemade jig as Harold pulls to form a perfectly round eye bolt.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Closing the eye
Harold closes the eye bold on the work bench in the engine house to the El Dorado Western Railway. He is forming four pairs of safety chains. Each nine-link chain has an eye bold formed around the end links.
The next step is to weld the bolt closed -- to keep it from flexing open during operation of the Diamond and Cador No. 4 Shay locomotive. After the last heat operation is applied to the bold, Harold will thread the long end of the rod. In time, the safety chain will secure the large brake beams to to locomotive's frame.
The next step is to weld the bolt closed -- to keep it from flexing open during operation of the Diamond and Cador No. 4 Shay locomotive. After the last heat operation is applied to the bold, Harold will thread the long end of the rod. In time, the safety chain will secure the large brake beams to to locomotive's frame.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Wigwag donation
Keith Berry, left, accepts the donation of a one-of-a-kind railroad crossing wigwag to the El Dorado County Historic Museum by Frank Morse. A self-described "ferroequinologist," Morse purchased the signal at the Diamond Springs flee market in 2006.
The signal was probably built in the shops of the Diamond and Caldor Railway in the early 1920s, according to Morse. It warned motorists of approaching logging trains at the Grizzly Flat Road grade crossing near Coles Station.
Berry represented the museum as a commissioner of the museum's five-member advisory commission. He also serves as vice-president of the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation.
The signal was probably built in the shops of the Diamond and Caldor Railway in the early 1920s, according to Morse. It warned motorists of approaching logging trains at the Grizzly Flat Road grade crossing near Coles Station.
Berry represented the museum as a commissioner of the museum's five-member advisory commission. He also serves as vice-president of the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Horizontal boring machine controls
The controls to the El Dorado Western Railway's horizontal boring machine.
Cleaning up after the storm
Sam Thompson, the lead machinist for the El Dorado Western Railway, guides a crumpled paper towel through the T-slots of the horizontal boring machine table. Rust was Sam's immediate concern after yesterday’s storms in Northern California.
El Dorado Western machine shop
"While El Dorado County residents wait to see if the anticipation from area storms is as big as their bite, among the most serious of hazards has been fallen trees," said the online version of the Mountain Democrat
The machine shop of the El Dorado Western Railway was struck by the same "40-plus mph winds" that toppled a dozen trees into county roads yesterday. The winds tore a piece of rusted corrugated roofing off the shop and dampened one of the milling machines.
The picture is a rare view of the shop from the hole in the roof. The horizontal boring machine is located in the bottom half of the picture.
The machine shop of the El Dorado Western Railway was struck by the same "40-plus mph winds" that toppled a dozen trees into county roads yesterday. The winds tore a piece of rusted corrugated roofing off the shop and dampened one of the milling machines.
The picture is a rare view of the shop from the hole in the roof. The horizontal boring machine is located in the bottom half of the picture.
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