Bruce tests the Redwood trestle
President Bob opened the meeting at 12:36 pm.
12 members present: Bob, Bill, Bruce, Russ, Lance, Kevin H., Dee, Carl, Tom, Gil, Mike, Matt
Treasurer’s report -- Kevin H
Total bank account has $11,032.60 with no Accounts Receivable or Payable.
Maintenance expenses YTD are $2,447.36.
We have 72 members, all of whom are current with their dues.
Project Status Reports --
Switch stands. Tom: Installation is on hold until the ballast cars are restored. When done, the next installation will be for the loop around the caboose or back through the tunnel switch.
Ballast car refurbishment Tom: a number of improvements have been made, which we will test out before starting on the second car. We need two for the long haul run from the ballast bin. The second ballast car refurb will wait until long distance ballasting is done, i,e. Several weeks. Carl said the first car will be ready for work on Saturday the 25th.
Ballasting and Track leveling Bruce: We’ve finished spreading the last batch along the twin track route. Tamping will get close to done today, maybe one more week. We can run smaller engines on it Saturday and Sunday. Will get track behind the office done today; can run this weekend. Ballast stored in the loop will be almost all used up so ok to finish the track. Future ballast supply will be hauled up from the hopper.
Caboose Loop proper. Kevin: Loop is all laid out, has all the pieces except the cross over and one isolator and will connect all after lunch on Thursday. No new track panels are needed. When connected; Bruce will disconnect the temporary track.
Jerry is finishing up the guard rails on the end of the trestle proper.
Bob; We need a punch list of minor stuff to finish.
Little Buildings
We are on hold on little buildings for a while.
Dick & Randy finished Smokey the Bear fire stand and delivered it to the RR.
Track identification.
Russ needs input on what signs are needed to mark routes, switches and sidings. He will then lay them out and present to members for approval.
Bob: ‘You are here’ indications on a map would be nice.
Carl: Let’s put a date on bridges for when built.
Bill will collect that info and get to Russ.
Tunnel deserves a plaque too.
Trestle maintenance Russ: All bolts have been inspected.
Budgeting Bruce:
We probably have enough ballast for this year.
Event planning
September meet.
Saturday; Bruce will run water starting at 7 am. Bruce will blow Thursday or Friday. We should have a good turnout. You can go over the trestle with certified personnel. Make it a slow day, as the track is new, and derails may occur.
Sunday; Bill and Mike will come to host family members, late morning, all are welcome.
Closing down; Make sure locks are locked, lights are out, gates are on the trestle. Call Bill or Bruce to have them close the main gate if not present
Oct meet.
GGLS will have several members coming with engines. SVLS has shown interest as well but have meet prior week.
It will be our Nite run (in addition to daytime operations)- no camping. Sunset 6:21 The main gate will close at 6 pm, but is automatic on the way out. Operations will start closing at 9 pm, all out by 10 pm.
Gold spike ceremony (we have the spike). We will invite the family; (Denise is in town) and place the gold spike next to the trestle or on it. Two steam engines, head to head. Shay and K-36. October meet. Two PM. K-36 and Shay (Bill and Brandon)
Bill and Bruce will be on standby for most of the day for guests who need high level help. We will steam up the K-36 for the gold spike ceremony at noon or 1 pm. Brandon can pilot either that or the Shay
Bob would like to have access to Ranch on Friday to deliver food - BIll: this should be fine with one weeks notice to Stacey.
There will be designated parking areas for cars and a separate one for trailers. We will have signs and guidance for guests on Saturday. We cannot support overnight camping at this time.
Steaming bay slots will be first come, first serve, with priority to our guests.
Dinner will be pre-prepared, Costco cooked stuff; not BBQ. Cost is about $12 per person. We will ask all to pay ahead of time. By PayPal, or exact change. Limited onsite sale. Pre-payers will be served first.
Get your invitee list and pre-payment to Bob
Tom & Carl will do sign ins
Safety, operations + Odds and ends
Covid rules - same, spacing , common courtesy.
Please put the safety gates on the trestle at the end of the day.
All Tools should be turned off, lights off, 3 phase tools unplugged at the end of every day to protect the inverters. Carl suggests that we should add a red light on top of the three wheel bandsaw. We may add signs, or a timer; but these too can fail.
Rules of the road at PV&A RR. Bill
A Golden gate member wrote to Mike and asked for a steaming bay; and what the operating procedures are for running at PVA RR. Bill and Bob agreed to have a one page handout ready for when our guests arrive in October.
Bill took the floor to lead a discussion of safety along the new Caboose Route and our Redwood Trestle.
The tunnel, trestle, bridge and blind curves at the Caboose in the new extension warrant some additional attention to train operating safety. Also, some people may be uneasy on the trestle, so we would like to allow them the opportunity to get off prior to the train proceeding. We do not want to require a flagman to have to go to the back end of a stopping train in this area, especially when the train is on the trestle.
To address these concerns we desire 1) slower speeds, 2) assurance that any train will stop in ½ the engineer’s sight distance to any obstruction, and 3) holding the engineer on the approaching train accountable to prevent any incidents.
These requirements are included in standard Yard Limit railroad rules, which apply to mainline ROW wherever they are posted. Yard Limit rules give ROW authority to the leading train wherever they are posted and limit maximum speed to 4 mph (a fast walk). All people operating or conducting while running at PV & A need to understand and abide by Yard Limit rules.
You may review Yard safety rules in detail through a simple web search and we may also provide written material on yard limits as we develop our formal safety program, previously discussed. Dee provided the following link as a starting point.
In addition to observing the yard limit rules, Lance has added signal lights inside the Redwood Tunnel to indicate a train being on the upcoming bridge. Yellow means proceed with caution and be prepared to stop. Green means proceed.
Bob closed the meeting at 1:53
Mike Ward
Secretary