Return to Main Page.

To build a railroad, you have to start somewhere and after mulling over possibilities for months, I decided to start with bridge #1, the first creek crossing. The following is a basic pictorial record of some of the construction on the Meadows and Lake Kathleen railroad beginning in June of 1996.

We use 12 pound rail (12 lbs to the yard), our spikes are 3 by 3/8 inches, ties are PT 4 by 4's 31 7/8 inches long and installed on 14 inch centers (except trestles and bridges where they are 7 inches OC).

June 1996....I built and placed the first bridge forms dug to bedrock. Russ Smith delivered and helped Kathy and I pour 10 yards of concrete.The 4 yards of concrete used on the other side had to be hauled over an old log bridge in the bucket of the Kubota.

July 4th, 1996.....Kathy helps me lay ties and rail on Bridge #1 and get ready to build trestle #1. It took a lot of years to finally find a home for the railroad dream and we now have 12 feet of main line track laid!

Mid July 1996....It's 104 degrees three days in a row when we build trestle #1 and place the rail.

Kathy and I have finished trestle #1 and we now have 60 feet of main line!

Mid October 1996..... After draining an existing small pond and letting it dry out all summer, I brought in a D7 cat and enlarged the area which will become "Lake Kathleen". Here,I have begun construction of trestle #4 across the future lake bed.

I poured large footings well into virgin soil and then used stacked block for the basic trestle columns and abutments. All the block are filled with rebar and poured solid with concrete.

Late October 1996, I covered the block with a mortar layer and completed trestle #4 at Lake Kathleen just as the winter rains started. The lake filled to overflow in 5 days. Hundreds of plants and 75 waterlillies were added in the following couple months.

This pictures taken in December of 1996 gives you a nice view of Lake Kathleen and the trestle...at upper middle.

Winter of 1998....Kathy and I install the first switch that I have ever constructed and we now have more than a "main line". This is first crossing of Meadows Creek.

June 1998....The work train has it's engine under cover.

Dan Webb (on right) and I drive 3" spikes into the 4 by 4 PT ties in January 1997. It was so swampy in the section just ahead of us that I had to put 14 yards of gravel in a 30 foot section just to stabilize the roadbed so I could place two culverts.

August 1997....We have crossed Beaver Flat and now have 1008 feet of main line railroad. I'm ballasting track in preparation of starting construction on trestle #2.

That's me deck screwing the 4 by 6 beams together for trestle #2. Our 5,000 watt generator furnished power when electric tools were needed.

Using the Kubota in the spring of 1998, I'm excavating a 134 foot long section of soil and placing it to the side in preparation of building the tunnel.

Work train with rail heading towards the cut which will later be tunnel #1 (fall 1998)

March 1999...A few days into construction of tunnel #1.

I used over 750 block for the tunnel sides. Rebar was placed in every hole and using a generator, an electric cement mixer and a pump in the creek for water, I mixed the concrete, climbed a ladder and filled every cavity solid.

The north end of tunnel one is designed to look like the tunnels on the old SP branch line between Ashland Oregon and Weed California.

Rebar is placed 8 inches by 12 inches on center and expanded metal lath is put in place to contain concrete. Concrete was poured 4 inches thick, then a second course of rebar was placed 2 foot by 2 foot OC and concrete poured another 3 inches thick.....almost all mixed on site and poured by hand.

The "Rock" surrounding Sam is concrete. One day I will finish the tunnel portal by making it look like stacked block from the 1880's complete with a center keystone.

NOTE:

September 2001....Five of us cut down and remove 9 Alders in preparation of building threstle #3. As partial reparation, Kathy and I have planted over 550 trees here since 1995.

Labor Day Weekend of 2002. Six of us dig and lay pier base (4 foot by 8 foot by 2 foot thick)

Two friends hand-mix concrete for major bridge Pier (2 generators and 3 water pumps not shown)

Begining the pour on the major creek footing which will weigh over 14,000 pounds when finished.

Filling the second of three 26 inch lifts on the footing for major bridge pier. Six of us completed the base and pier in three days.

October 5th, 2002....Phil, Laurel and I are about to mix and fill the east pier of bridge. All footing, including the bridge piers, that were subject to high water were poured solid to bedrock.

Unloading the 500 plus pound steel bents that Tim and Vern built for me in Tim's shop.

Tim Smith uses his boom truck to help me set two 2520 pound beams on bridge #3 steel bents.

It took me three days to cut the bracing and then weld the beams together.

The two "I" beams spanning 36 feet were placed first then both ends of trestle #3 were built to it.

Now that the bridge is built, I begin building to the elevation of what is to be the 378 foot trestle #3.

June 03...Building large bents in place on a 50 foot radius curve leading to bridge #3. Outer rail will be three quarters of an inch higher than the inner rail resulting in a banked corner.

Placing forms for concrete footings for west extention of trestle #3.

September 03...This picture shows the construction in progress. Steel plates are shot nailed into the concrete.

Kathy checks out the trestle in her JD Gator. The ties are pre drilled for spikes and are now ready for rail.

May of '04......We start to lay track over the Lake Kathleen trestle that was constructed in 1996. It took 8 years to reach the lake by rail.

Neighbor Ellis W. let me use his small Cat to make this 250 foot long, eight foot deep cut in the summer of 2004. The dirt was pushed south to make Blackberry Hill, at 1 1/2 %, the steepest grade on the railroad.

Peter, Ilene, Brook, Michael, Ian, Marge, Tim, Bert and Kathy playing with steel.

Blackberry Hill has 2 inches of ballast down, ties cut, drilled and put out, has rail on site and is now ready for a work party.

Peter, Brook, Ilene, Tim and Kathy spend a rainy Sunday afternoon laying rail while I take photos.

Building the fill for Blackberry Hill.

I hauled many, many truckloads of dirt from the new Frog Pond to build up the road base before ballast could be added.

Fall of 2006....We can see the house from the railhead!

Switch #3 is installed and were getting ready to lay steamer track, main line and depot track in summer of 2005.

Tim, Izzy, Kathy, Gib, Peter, Greg, Sean, Margie & Michael and Phil and Laurel working on steamer spur and main line.

Fall of 2006, George, Ron and I have removed old ties and are replacing them with switch ties for future balloon track.

Installing the balloon curve with the weekend help of Tim and Peter Boshart, Margie, Michael and Ian Wilhelm, Jerry Berg and of course Kathy.

Our new 24 volt, 3 HP electric streetcar about to go over the new balloon spring switch I finished for the balloon track on April 28th, 2007.