The new OnTrak newsletter is out now, just click on the link on the side panel.
The Photo gallery has been updated quite a bit lately. There are over 150 photos there now. The most recent additions are to the 547 album (mostly of recent workdays) and the 361 album (some old images including its first workday). Click on the link on the left top to access the gallery. It will keep growing as I have time to add more images.
Some time ago we were extending our track and needed to drill out some sleepers. It was a difficult job, fortunately Kevin had a heavy duty drill. This would have been ideal.
The Photo Gallery has been updated with many new (actually old) photographs added. There are photos going back to 2002 now. Nearly one hundred images and still growing. I will add more as time allows.
Many of the photos were taken by me but some were taken by other members. If you have photos taken at the site of work on our carriages and other activities there please send me a copy so I can share them with everyone.
We finally got to mow the grass around the carriages yesterday. Although it was only thin, spindly growth it was getting long so it was mowed down. Kevin and Alan got there early and got stuck in. When Paul and Jim arrived they gave a hand with the mowing and moved some fallen branches. It was all done in time for morning tea.
Kevin refilled the water tank too. So now there is water for the basin again. This was put to good use when we started cleaning the Heritage items. Most things were dusted or brushed. Paul started washing down the signs and got most done.
The stretchers were taken out in the sun and brushed to remove the worst of the dust. A couple of them felt a little damp after the wet week we have been fortunate to have so it was decided to move them to the van. They were all examined and it was realised one was different from the others. It is believed it is the most original having Tarpaulin Factory stamps and red handles. The others have green handles and on a couple it is apparent they were originally red. One is in poor condition with the canvas torn and paint peeling. We may restore that one to new condition. The others are in good to excellent condition and we will try and maintain them as they are.
Alan treated the metal on the side of 547 with Fish Oil. Some shows some corrosion but Kevin feels none is bad enough to be concerned about. It was decided to treated it and then spray it with rust resistant paint before replacing the sides.
Paul had won a meat tray at the club the previous evening and decided to share it with the rest of the team. So the BBQ was moved away from the carriage and lit up. Kevin had repaired the tray that hold the volcanic rocks so this was the first use in TRAK hands. We dined on steak, pork and lamb chops with onions and fresh bread rolls. Mario and Nora joined us for the meal and all enjoyed it. Certainly a big improvement of takeaway. We hope to make this a regular feature of future workdays.
Kevin had repaired the handbrake assembly of 683 and it was moved into the car for storage until it is replaced on the rear platform. Kevin has been gradually working through the metal parts of this carriage, repairing and repainting as needed. We hope to replace the headstock very soon.
Paul got back to cleaning signs until a call from our treasurer looking for end of month paperwork meant a couple of us needed to scurry home to get it ready.
The photo gallery has been updated, some new albums were created with photos from yesterday, there is a general one as well as one for 683. The Heritage items has been updated with several new photos and one or two were added to the 547 album. Click on the new link on the top left to access the gallery.
Some photos of the heritage items have been added to the album I started with the last post. These are still in their as received condition. We intend to give them a thorough inspection and clean up over the next few workdays. See the photos here.
Hopefully there will be a workday this weekend. the forecast is hopeful, Sunday will be the first fine day for a week if the BOM is right.
Well the workday went ahead today. With the early showers and overnight rain I doubted any mowing would happen and I was right. The grass is just that fine spindly stuff and hasn't grown and as it was wet we didn't mow.
We did however find plenty to keep us busy for the morning. A couple of ropes on the tarps had snapped and we fixed one and had to replace another one. We need some more rope as we have used up all we had on site.
After the rope tying we started discussing the Hobby Show. The site plan is being prepared and as we have had a good response from exhibitors the hall is filling up. There are a couple of stands we still need. Some rides would be nice too.
After all this we called it a day at noon as a couple of us had other places to be.
We are planning a special day next Sunday so stay tuned for details when we have it worked out.
An Australian Blogging site has set up a page that allows you to use Google Search and support some worthwhile charities at the same time. It still works the same as using Google.com but provides much needed funds for worthwhile causes. See the Blognow Site for more details.
This inititive is worthy of your support so give it a go.
The Carriage page has been updated again. Some history details have been added for each car. Click on the link on the left to view the page.
There is no facility on that page to leave comments. however if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions please leave them here. Any ideas to improve this site or the carriage page would be appreciated.
Another change to this site is the addition of a "Meet Our Carriages" page. Click on the link under About us to view details and photos on all of our cars.
Here is any interesting site that details how some rail equipment works. It is US based but some of the technology was used in Australia. In NSW for example we used the belt driven electrical power and steam heating. Our cars have the belt drive system. It was called the Stones system as that is the manufacturer of much of the gear.
It is based on the drawings of a retired New Haven employee who spent his career working on rolling stock. He is recording what he remembers so it won't be lost.
At the last meeting we played a tape of the Glenreagh Mountain Railway. I have just found this blog of a filmmaker who has made a documentary on the volunteers there.
You may have noticed that a couple of icons have been added to the site recently. The wheelbarrow is from AustralianBlogs which as the name suggests is a site that links to Australian Blogs. It has keyword search capabilities and is worth checking out. New sites are added each day. I choose the wheelbarrow icon from all those availalbe as it looks like something that would be at home on our restoration site. It is a little old battered but still pretty useful, much like most of us! Our carriage Site will be added there after it has been announced to the membership in the June OnTrak.
The other link is to FireFox the best browser no matter what operating system you use. Nothing to do with carriages but important when you are checking on the site. Not only is Firefox safer but also more useful, check out the extensions available.
The TRAK site has had some changes too so follow the link to it. There are some updated links on the links page and an exhibition page has been added with a list of exhibitors which will be updated regularly.
