Last week while on vacation in Bellingham, WA I stopped by Lake Whatcom Railway. They are located in Wickersham, WA, on the eastern end of Lake Whatcom. No trains running that day but Frank and Peter gave me a great tour. After seeing their Alco S1 I have a new appreciation for my n scale Alco S2. Next time I am out that way I plan to volunteer for a work day. There's always plenty of work to be done and this looks like a good place to learn old school tie replacement. They have a website and facebook page: http://www.lakewhatcomrailway.com/ https://www.facebook.com/LakeWhatcomRailway?fref=ts
Frank told me it runs and is in good shape. He does not run it much anymore due to regulation issues.
This past Saturday I volunteered for the day at Lake Whatcom Railway. This is the first time I have ever worked on a 1:1 railroad. What an incredible experience. I rode to the worksite on a speeder, my very first time in one. I also threw my first switch lining the speeder from the yard track to the main. Up the line to the work site where they were raising the track and adding ballast. I learned how to use a track jack safely and how to tamp ballast by hand.
Totally a great experience. I look forward to volunteering again in the PNW May weather. I have some video I would like to post but this ageing baby-boomer has never done that before. Be that as it may. Here we go dumping ballast. I became intimately familiar with the metal bar in the foreground jacking track and hand tamping ballast. After working in May PNW weather, going back to the yard to get Alco S1 #30 to bring up another load of ballast.
Looks like a fun time. I vaguely remember riding it is a kid behind the 1070. I plan on taking my Faimily there this summer.
I successfully uploaded one of the videos. Here is my first ride in a speeder and my first time over the line. I was totally wow'd by the experience. What a cool way to go to work.
Track doesn't seem too bad. You weren't getting beaten to death by every joint you crossed. Looks like there could be a bit of brush cutting done.
They've done a decent job of leveling. I got a small taste of the work and would jump at the chance to do it again. I was hanging off the track jack trying to get that last click indicating that the jack had advanced a step. The speeder made it over the siding after they cut the brush back. The south switch is spiked so they had to lift the cart over it. They were doing an inspection over the whole line.
Wish I could still do that stuff. Have experience. I like track work more than most other tasks. Expert with a machete, brush axe and chain saw. *Sigh* My body is too busted up these days.
I asked and the speed was about 17 mph, which is moving along just fine. I thought the track was pretty smooth. I plan to make myself available to help next time I am out that way. I really appreciated their focus on safety and taking the time to ensure I understood how to safely use tools such as the track jacks.
