Back to lunch & meetings in the station
President Bob opened the meeting at 12:37 pm.
11 members present.
Treasurer’s report -- Kevin reports that we have a comfortable balance in the bank at this time of year, of which about $7,000 is committed for the final work on the expansion. Accounts Receivable are $3,450.00 (unpaid member dues), Accounts Payable is $194.84
Members 67
We are on schedule and on budget 2.5 years into the project and will finish in our scheduled 3 years (end of June 2023).
The maintenance budget for the year 2022 $3,500 is expended and up to date.
Project Status Reports
General grading and track laying: Kevin. No news (except Gritty Gravel Barn and Lakeside Siding) - see below.
Rabbit Flat sidings and round house. Kevin & Ed. This installation was started before the expansion project, but was put on hold so we could focus on the major effort needed for the expansion project. A preliminary sketch has been done. If you have any comments please forward to Ed and Kevin. We’ll get more active after June 2023. Bill noted that the turntable we have from F&PV RR will not be adequate for our needs so we will probably build a different one.
Little Building restoration: Ron. no news.
Gritty Gravel Barn and new Lakeside Siding.
Building Tom. Still involved in fabricating re-railers, etc. Not working on building (doors and windows) yet. No track in the building yet.
New bridge to the GG Barn itself Bill. is waiting for sun warmth for painting.
All the track panels Kevin are connected for the Lakeside Siding. We are regrading and ballasting. We need switch stands. It will take a couple of months to complete.
Feather River Bridge: Bill. Bill and Matt are working on the retaining wall and the first layer of RR ties is in. More ties are needed, and Santa Clara County fairgrounds still have some available. Need to arrange for transport to PV&ARR. Some of our existing ties are unusable and must be properly disposed of.
Redwood Canyon pedestrian bridge: Mike, Steve and Mike finished milling the last of the Redwood Logs; Kevin W and Mike dismantled and stored the mill and track and cleaned up the debris. Remaining log edges will be chipped in January. Milled redwood slabs are being air dried in building 4 for six months, after which we will build the pedestrian bridge.
New Engine refurbishment. Bruce is working on it during rainy days. No hurry until the Gritty Gravel storage area is accessible and finished.
Re-railers: Tom In process; there was a major redesign to improve functionality and make them more useful for all scales and safer.
Track bumpers. All parts are fabricated, need welding. No hurry. Possibility for practice by less experienced welders.
Ordering materials and tools.
Bill ordered 3 new drills for full size RR tie placement. They perform better when cleared during drilling and will be easily resharpened as well as being easy to use. They are used by professional RRs for just this purpose. Carl milled flats on the shank for the positive engagement in drill chucks.
Pedestrian Bridge. Only a small amount of bolts are needed if the pounded pipe foundations work. If we have to put in concrete piers, then about $100 worth of concrete will be needed.
Tractor repair. We need to tune it up this year, tires and clutch repairs will wait until 2023
Safety:
Steaming bay: Bill. Some stands have gaps that make them too far from the turntable. One needs attention sooner than others. Bill will lengthen the track on three of them soon.
Car Barn ramp is awkward and difficult to use. Bob will look at this and we will fix it in the spring
Bill noted that the berm on the section of track between the Alpine Canyon Bridge and the Lumber Camp bridge is quite narrow, and above a deep slope to the creek. We need to add railroad ties and make a safer level area as we did after the Silver Bridge leading to Rabbit Flat.
Operational Radios: Bob reminds all of us to take a radio every time we take out a train, even if you’re out there alone. We have 14 radios, so plenty for all trains, including guest trains. Kevin H. suggested we might have a stand outside so they would be easy to access.
Next meetings and notices.
Annual meeting and election will be held on Saturday, January 28th 2023, our run day. All existing officers have agreed to serve again and stand for election in January.
Ron Schmidt’s memorial, PV Town center, 2 PM on the 21st of January 2023 at 765 Portola Road.
December Run days are Dec 17 and 18.
Normal work days on 12-22 and 12-29
Next year run days:
Thanksgiving meet was good on the 25th, 26th of November. Do the same in 2023
Christmas. Some members like to bring their Christmas house guests to the RR so we’ll see if we can have Run Day close to the holiday, but will wait on scheduling that until we coordinate with the ranch.
Joint Meet with GG and SVLS try for 17th & 18th of June. No conflict with Train Mt (Matt will check with GG and SVLS to harmonize schedules)
We would like to have a night run again in October in 2023?
Meeting closed at 1:10
Mike Ward - Secretary
Matt Petach - Unofficial scribe