Tom consults his drawing of a switch stand before working with Carl on a needed part
President Bob opened the February monthly meeting at : 12:37 pm.
13 members present. - Bob, Matt, Bill, Russ, Kevin H, Kevin W, Mike, Jerry, Dee, Ron, Tom, Carl and Randy
Treasurer’s report -- Kevin:
By memory Total $15,458.17 in the bank, with Accounts Receivable of $800, 9 members delinquent.
The board agreed to divide up the list and personally call them.
Bob: Peter Welch, Andy Berchelli, Bill Ulisite, John Dolph
Mike: Mike Lee, Rudi Hertz, Andy Cocc, Rich Bruner
Bill :Mitchel B.
Note, Dick Osgood did rejoin the RR and start coming back when his 66 Lincoln Continental project progresses enough.
Project Status Reports --
Caboose Circle:
Switch Stands in Caboose Loop – Tom: Fixing 2 with handles in wrong position, then will work on installing the new ones
New yards & siding – Kevin/Bill:
The Lumber Camp north spur is now completely graded. Alpine spur (riding arena in process, not full length yet.
Abutment for LC north spur is half completed. Bruce should finish next week.
Redwood tunnel yard, Caboose Loop yard and the footpath to the pedestrian bridge will wait for delivery of base rock.
Bob: We’ll delay the start on RF work for a while but, begin planning now.
Bill: We can use dirty ballast for the Alpine spur; not as good as base rock, but will suffice.
Little Buildings – Ron:
Finished reconstruction on the current building, a Big house. Will paint next week
Carl donated a doll house, smaller scale which we can put in the background somewhere that the perspective will work.
Nancy Lund (the Portola Valley historian) did get together with Nancy Welch (granddaughter of Governor Rolf, aka ‘Sunny Jim,’who once owned Pony Tracks Ranch). The photo album of old ranch photos will be put in the PV archives.
A while back, Nancy Lund made an interesting video of PT ranch history which is still being organized and not yet READY TO BE published .
Old High Bridge tie replacement – Jerry:
The track nearest the riding arena has all new plastic ties. Next will be the aluminum guard rail.
Tie production & Saw setup improvements – Mike/Russ:
First pallet of tie material has all been sawn to tie length. Many more to go, in stock, and Bill and Kevin noted that we will have to buy more than our first purchase again to complete the job.
Bruce purchased a Rigid miter saw to replace the radial arm saw which greatly increases operator safety and ease of use. New saw setup will require some more work on dust and chip collection, as the old rig was custom for the Radial Arm.
The twin router system is also being worked on to improve the cut quality. It turns out higher speed on the cutters pretty much eliminates the lifted edge, and modifying the cutter head configuration has eliminated the chip jams we were getting. Updating the vacuum system to reduce leaks is also contributing. We will also replace the current cyclone (chip separator) to ease material flow.
Russ noted that some of the sticks are bowed. Bill commented that we need to order them to be flat as two fast a molding cycle time can cause this. Bob will so inform Bill Dundas, our supplier about this for our next purchase.
Ballasting - Bob noted that we need to do a better job inspecting incoming materials; like ballast - So next order, we will do a source inspection.
Station Kitchen upgrade – Bruce, Mike, Randy and Russ:
The kitchen is virtually done; two doors got hung today and the microwave on top of the oven has been secured so it won’t move when the buttons are pushed. The remaining punch list is small – caulking, handles, wall painting, securing the oven to the cabinet and wall. But, it is ready for use! Bob and Dee will start attacking the station house to establish which supplies go where, what we don’t need, and labeling drawers and cupboards.
Please keep the counters clean; put recycling in the blue recycling can; trash in the gray can.
Gritty Gravel Building – Bruce Tom:
Tom and Bruce will get together to finalize the design and generate a list of materials next month. Tom is leaning towards a design like Engine house 1, Bob noted that we need to keep the costs down of things like Clerestory windows.
Brakes for club engine. Bill: no progress.
Speeder controller fix - Bob (for Bruce):
Parts are in; Bruce will work on it next week
Signage – Carl. Russ:
Tom and Carl have fabricated posts and metal backings. Put the signs on after hammering in the posts.
Map. Russ:
No report
Car Storage – Bob: No requests yet for additional storage.
Budgeting – The Operations counsel met this week to go over Kevin and Bobs spreadsheet for this year to complete purchase for track expansion materials and get materials for the follow on project - tie replacement. We will be trying to buy most materials by April to minimize inflation pressures and ensure supply. If members know of any needed 2022 expenditures, please let a board member know.
Next week, the Ops Council will meet to establish priorities of our projects to best use our resources.
June 2023 marks the finish of the expansion project; then on to tie replacement full time.
Safety and protocol –
Covid: Bill. - no changes in procedures.
Dee assembled two fIrst aid kits. One for the station house is near the windows (across from the sign in sheet), and one for building 4 which is on the fridge by the entrance door.
Miscellaneous –
Event planning:
February run weekend is the 26th and 27th. On Sunday, Paul Patterson will create a Right-of-way video. Quiet on the set!
April run weekend Kevin Welch has invited the Model A club again this year, who should bring 10 antique cars for us to enjoy while they enjoy the RR.
June, 16th Thursday, We will host some New Zealand guests on their way toTrain Mountain. It will be a great opportunity to meet them before joining the crowds at Train Mountain One of the NZ’ers owns a sister to Bill’s K-36, and he told BIll PV&A RR is his “second favorite RR!” If you’re going to Train Mountain, come on down and meet them in advance of Oregon.
August run weekend 27 and 28 is our joint meet with Golden Gate and Sacramento Live Steamers. We do have confirmation from both.
Bob closed the meeting at 1:15 pm.