Rail work ...

Since last Friday, crew members have worked every day to prepare the rail at the old Diamond Springs yard for removal. The El Dorado Western Railway will ultimately move the rail and its associated hardware to the town of El Dorado for the new El Dorado County Railroad Park. The rail and switches will be used at the railroad park for the sidings and third rail.

All track east of Missouri Flat Road in Placerville is being removed. Within a couple weeks, the contractor will grade the old right-of-way and built that section of the El Dorado Trail. The track west of Missouri Flat will remain in place.

Each day one or more teams of two to three volunteers have worked for three to four hours to remove the joiner bolts and spikes. Once that process has been completed, the crew will remove the joiner plates and turn the rail on its side. Then the tie plates can be picked up.

The following volunteers have helped with the project: Keith Berry, Steve Karoly, Bill Rodgers, Ed Cuhna, Eric Stohl, Mark Bruto and Jacob Karoly. Plus, we have a new father and son team that joined the effort last Friday.

Please don't look if you're a high school shop teacher! Bill uses an unconventional assortment of tools to hold the joiner bolt steady while Keith attempts to break it free.

Eric hold the bolt steady while Ed prepares to remove the nut. Friday and Saturday, the crew removed the joiner bolts on approximately 800 feet of the main line and 200 feet of one siding. On Sunday, the crew removed spikes from about 300 feet of track.