One step closer......

A favorite song of mine from the Doobie Brothers and also, a truth from our volunteers.
Another great large group descended on Oyster Bay yesterday.
Unfortunately Photobucket is not uploading the correct size photos onto this blog so.........
NO PHOTOS unless you go to photobucket.
See  my albums at thewineguy35.

Rich Brody, Doug Kasner, Steve Torborg, Wayne Beers, Mike Efthymiou, Leon Daitz, Ronnie Schnepf, Evan Schnepf, George Mutari, Gerard Jewel, Gary Farkash and our intern from Barry Technical School-James, kicked ass!
While James was busy welding in the patches he created for the corner of the Ping Pong coach,
The rest of us busied ourselves with  the final fitting of the turntables elecrical collector onto the arch assembly. We also wired it up and re-attach the outriggers on the straight side using new hardware.

The final J-bolts were being installed to hold the turntable deck onto the bridge girders.
Since these bolts are still being made we discussed buying a dozen more to make sure that EVERY 15 foot bridge tie was securely fastened to the deck. We will place these during future wrok sessions.
The last handrail assembly was disassembled and a straight line was set on the top of the deck.
The bottom handrail stantion bases were laid out and the holes drilled for the lag bolts to hold them in place.
After bolting them all in, we added the lower rail, vertical risers and finally the top rail.
When the bolts were all snugged up, we were finished with the handrails-As promised last week.

After lunch, we decided to move ahead with the placing of the two ties on the turntables pit wall.
The east side of the concrete wall had, in the past, a wooden timber wedged into place as a sort of bumping block, 180 degrees from the lead track onto the table. We ordered 2 9 foot ties and cut them to fit tightly in place and when completed, it look real good. So good in fact, that we decided to remove the timber on the lead onto the bridge (180 degrees across from the east side bumping block).
Things got real ugly, real fast as we first had to cut off 4 very, very long cross bolts that were drilled horizontally throught the timber which held it to a previously attached rail tie. This tie was rotted so badly that it was sawdust. We used the "hot wrench" (torch) to cut the bolts, then used  a large hammer to knock them through the timber and finally pulled all 4 free of the timber.

This timber must have been there at least 50+ years, maybe even since the pitwall was rebuilt in 1904 , and was in crappy condition.
It fought us tooth and nail, but of course we prevailed in removing it, although we had to call out the big guns and break out the chainsaw. You could still smell fresh creosote as we cut through it.
When the day was done, it was gone.
Not to be outdone, we also began moving all of the used ties that we had piled on the west side of the pit. Unfortunately, our trusty forklift sputtered to a dead stop and we could not get it started. SO, I hiked down to order ignition parts from our local outo parts gurus at OBAR auto parts. The gas feed was fine but we had not spark.
They had a couple of parts in stock but had to order a condesor for under the cap. Oh well, maybe it will start next week!

To condense our days accomplishments:
2nd handrail bolted in place.
deck bolted down to bridge
turntable arch  re-assembled, wired and ready to be installed next weekend
Ping Pongs 1st rotted corner almost completely replaced
Pit wall bumping block installed
lead track timber removed
old tie movement begun

We plan on putting our old ties up for sale on Craigslist. First come first served!
Sorry about the photos, but take a look at them online, you won't be disappointed.
Gary

Will it go round in circles?

Maybe not today, but...............

I did my best to post my blog yesterday while everything was still fresh in my mind, but for some unexplained reason, during a short break so I could eat something, Blogger kicked me off, never to let me post again last night!!!!
So here it is a day late but still damned interesting-

With another great crew on hand, we managed to finish the installation of the turntable tie strapping. The ties  were drilled out for lag bolts then the bolts were driven home by a gas powered socket wrench. While this was being completed, the guys began the drilling to install the "j-clamps". These clamps tie the large 15 foot timbers to the bridge girders, effectively making the deck and the bridge 1 complete unit.
We had 20 to install and I believe that we got 18 of them installed yesterday. If we can have dry weather all week, we should be able to install the last 2 next Saturday as there was a pool of water on the west side of the pit that kept us away.
When the straps were installed, we moved onto the handrail installation. Last week we loosened all of the set screws on the vertical stantions in order to move them around to match the new tie spacing. The crew ran a string line to keep the bases perfectly aligned then drilled out the 4 mounting holes per base and installed them using galvanized lag bolts. The stantions installed, we turned our attention to the lower rail and installed the 3 pieces. Since the rail broke apart at the couplings, we decided to cut the threaded couplings off and order new screw down couplings for installation next week. After the lower rail went in using parts from the 2nd railing for temporary positioning, we added the vertical piping and finally, the upper railing.

While this was being wrapped up, a few of us began the installation of the split ring electrical box on top of the turntables overhead arch assembly.
First on was a simple plate that we temporarily attached with 4 bolts. We will need to replace all temporary bolts with galvanized parts to withstand the weather. Then the electrical conduit was attached with 2 bolts as we will need to ream out a couple of drilled holes. we then studied the actual electrical collector which sits atop the entire unit.
At the bottom there is a 2 inch threaded nipple which sits inside the previously installed electrical conduit and is set in place with set screws so it cannot move.this nipple is threaded through a flat steel plate which is where all of the internal parts are bolted to so it can turn freely inside. then inside this box is a 4 piece rotor assembly that sends the electric to the control stand ON the turnmtable.
The rotor has a set of contacts that rub against the ring. These contacts are where the electric supply from LIPA attaches with bolts. From 2 color photos ( Bill Rugen photgrapher) which were given to me by our friend Art Huneke, we can clearly see that the actual box and plate do not move as the plate is attached by clamps to 2 guide wires which are strung from the 2 light poles on opposite sides of the turntable. The pole on the East side is the one in the photos, however, the pole on the West side is not positioned properly as the original one must have been removed when the turntable was taken out of service.
We will need to have a pole installed which is EXACTLY 180 degress to the original pole so we can re- attach the 2 guide wires and have the 115volt feeds (and ground) brought back to the turntable collector box. These wires all show very clearly in the photos.
Thanks to Doug Kasner for figuring out the internal wiring of the box!!!!

As if this were not enough, our 2 interns from Barry Technical schools welding department,  James & Joseph, busied themselves with the replacement of the Ping Pongs roof sheet patches. The first of the 4 corners will be completed next week and they will begin the second corner then.

All in all, a GREAT day weather, people and work wise!
Sometimes I fail to mention everyone who has been instrumental on these projects, so here goes-
Me, Mike Efthymiou, Steven Torborg, Wayne Beers (who does a phenominal job of welding), Doug Kasner, Leon Daitz, Rich Brody, George Mutari George Ferraro, Steve Rothaug, Alan Biershank, Mark Godoy, John Specce, Elliot Courtney, John Grocki, Gerard Jewels, Mark Licari (all from the LIST chapter NRHS), Evan & Ronnie Schnepf, Rick Imperato, Michael Okunowitch, Bill Krushinski Harvey Sadowsky, Paul Floroff and many others who my mind is just forgettig. Please do not be pissed off at me, my brain farts are getting closer and closer these days.
Here are some shots from the session. I hope you enjoy them




Gary

And the turntable goes round and round......

Another great work day in Oyster Bay.
Another great turnout of volunteers and even a member from the mid-west.
George F. stopped by during his stay in NY and lent a hand to the turntable work.
Even after overcoming an insurmountable amount of issues (problems) with equipment & tools, we were able to get one half of the bridge ties strapped together.
We fully intend to get the other half strapped together and get the tie clamps installed on the bridge as well.
We also (hope) intend to get both handrails and the walkway grates in place as well. This will be easier since the grates have been properly placed and the area on the ends of the ties which is where the handrail flange plates will be bolted are all ready to accept the plates.
A very good work day and James from Barry Technical was working away on the Ping Pong coach.
Seems like he will need 2 sessions to ge the old rotted metal off and fabricate the patches in school during the week in order to install the patches the following Saturday.
Here are some photos
Mike and the crew aligning the ties
Doug, Rich & Geirge F. Measuring the outriggers on the electrical arch legs
Evan setting the lag bolts for installation
George F removing a broken leg flange from the arch assembly
Mike setting lags with a gas powered socket wrench-cool tool!
The Boys at work today.

Gary

Happy days are here again!!

And the skies above were clear-for a change!
No wind, No rain, no winter storms could stop us baby, to paraphrase an old r& b tune.
Huge turnout today for our first work session of the year 2011.
We had 2 new interns from Barry Technical school, James & Joseph who come to us through a great program at BOCES. After a brief tour of our facilities and a discussion of the project, We set to work devising a plan to repair the Ping Pong coach. They began the restoration by cutting out the corners of the coach where the roof sheet meets the side walls. This is where most of the rot has set in over the years and the insulation between the sheets has absorbed a ton of water! they opened up all 4 corners and peeled back some of the inner sheets in 3 of them to allow some air flow and left the fourth corner wide open on my request.
With a nice donation from the LI Sunrise Trail Chapter NRHS, we will be able to replace quite a bit of rotted metal on the car and remove some previous patches that were haphazardly applied and replace them with the proper patches. Next weeks session will button up the open end and begin the other corners.
As for the rest of us:
We formulated a different plan of attack to replace the turntable ties with brand new-YES you heard it here first. BRAND SPANKING NEW TIES for the turntable.
The original plan was to layout the new bridge top on the ground, bolt everything together and have one of our neighbors with a long reach excavcator to pick up the new bridge in 2 sections and place them on the bridge.
Well, thats a moot point now.
With  12 volunteers on hand, we wound up using the ties as a pad to drive the forklift over. We made a ramp on the edge of the concrete wall and laid the 1st of almost 100 ties, then the 2nd, 3rd and so on until we had enough laid out to put the turntables walkway grating on top.
We then drove the forklift forward over the grating until we ran out of grating, laying out the ties as we went along until we could place the second set of grates.  We continued all day until we placed the last 15 foot tie.
This was a monumental task but with many hands was more than manageable.

Next week we will be adjusting the ties and bolting them together using the steel straps which were used on the old deck to hold all of the ties together.
We will be utilizing 2 gas powered drills: 1 to drill the holes to set the bolts through the straps and the 2nd to actually drive the bolts into place.
Our intrepid mechanical wizard Mike Efthymiou will be getting us the drills and the bolts, so as the holes are drilled, the bolts can be snugged down right behind in an assembly line pattern. Hopefully we'll have enough hands on deck next Saturday to get this job done (as many of our volunteers are also volunteer firemen and that is their St. Patricks parade day) and maybe we can even bolt the deck down to the bridge using specialzed cast j-bolts as the clamping mechanism.
We also will be installing new curved timbers on the edges of the turntable deck and also new treated timbers on the concrete ring wall which were removed many years ago by the LIRR.
Once this task is accomplished wew will re-install the split ring collector to the arch assembly and raise that onto the deck and get it bolted down, then, when we get the control stand back from the rebuilder this spring we will be able to anchor it to the bridge deck and begin the wiring of the entire unit.
Until then, enjoy the photos.
We will open the yard on the first Saturday of April for visitors.
Gary

We'll be back in a couple of weeks- I promise!

Unless we have a major snow or rain storm this next week, I will be sending out an email regarding work sessions.
On Wed 3/9/11, we will be taking possession of our new rr ties for the turntable bridge.
Stella Jones Corp will be delivering them sometime early that morning, so I will need to be on site to direct the unloading and (more than likely) unload them myself with our forklift.
I will be calling a work session on Saturday March 12th at 8am to begin the layout of the ties and handrails so we can put the assembly together correctly the first time!

Gary

Yep ,We are still here!

Just because we can't work out in the cold & snow doesn't mean that things are not getting done.
Every day members of the Board of directors are working diligently to run the museum.
Our focuses are on educational commitments that we need to keep in order to have a museum charter.
We also work on the money aspect. Can't run a museum with out money! Getting #35 in running order, working with the town of Oyster Bay on the station restoration and getting our site plan developed takes many man hours. Not to mention that we are working on getting long term contracts in place with the town AND the LIRR for the display yard property.

Here are two items that we as volunteers will take to heart:
1-One of our long itme Volunteers Mike E., was able to procure many parts for the restoration of the 2 "dinkies", the General Electric 25 ton switch engines that the LIRR turned over to the OBRM last year.
These were mainly diesel engine parts but they should be enough to get one of the engines running.

2-I received the call I had been waiting for. Our Turntable Bridge Ties have been manufactured and will be delivered to our site in Oyster Bay. We have  a tentative delivery date of 3/2/11, so keep your fingers crossed that the ground is hard and there will not be any snow in the forecast.
I will call  a series of work sessions to lay out the ties and get them put together for installation.
Damn I hate the cold, but hey!, at least its better than rain!!
Gary

coming in out of the cold

Sounds like a cold war spy thriller, but, nah!
Today 12/4/10 went down as our last volunteer work session of the 2010 season.
I showed up at 8am as usual and wound up having to fix the engineers window in the Worlds Fair cab. Somehow the window got blown out and cracked.
Then I had to put up the safety fence between the Ping pong coach and the Crossing shanty. THEN, I had to locate and re-apply the tarps to the tender trucks. I do not know who put them on last week, but the wind blew them off and down the yard.
By 9:30 I was still alone and ready to leave when John G showed up, so I decided to work with him to find the missing grease cellar parts for the #6 drive wheel bearing box assembly. Gerard J showed with his dad Jerry just as I was starting up the forklift so I put them on the job of doing some grinding on the inner bearing box tabs so it would fit into the outer box.
Ricky & Ronnie showed up a while later and after moving the 6 (heavy) brake shoe beams, we removed the empty pallet and began the search. After about 15 minutes, we found the parts underneath other parts inside of a milk crate. I knew they were there, just not where they were.
We fitted the 3 parts into the final inner box and tried to fit the inner to the outer box, but, it fought us tooth and nail.
Because of the weather (did I tell you all how cold it was?) I finally threw in the towel and declared this job finished, but not completed. It can wait until another time.

Next Saturday & Sunday are our annual  Holiday Express at OBRM and this year we will be featuring a book signing by Heather Worthington. She is the author of "Miles of Smiles-the story of ROXEY the LIRR dog" and will be at OBRM on Saturday 12/11/10 from 12-4pm signing copies of her book.
On hand will be a real live ROXEY for the kids.
She is a Boxer and belongs to me and yes, Roxey is her real name.
On Sunday we will be visited by Santa himself, so come on down for the fun, hot cider and cookies and a carriage ride through town.

On the board for the winter months will be sporadic special work session when needed.
We will need to lay out and attach the ties for the turntables decking when they arrive sometime in January/February.

Ta ta for now!
GARY