Posting on X before the meeting starts?
Chairman Bob opened the meeting at 12:35 pm.
We had 14 members at the RR today, and one member candidate, Sam Worde. Mike introduced Sam.
Treasurer’s report - Kevin
The bank account is healthy, with $0 accounts receivable, and $819.26 accounts payable - outstanding checks. We still do not have a bill for the two new club riding cars from RMI.
We have 68 members now, all are current with their dues.
June Tri-Meet planning - Mike
Mike led a discussion of volunteer staffing and lunch plans. See June 2024 Run Weekend for a report and pictures of this successful and fun event on a warm day.
Project Status Reports
New switches - Kevin
Bruno is finished with his switch, so 5 of 6 switches are complete for Rabbit Flat. They still need the kick switches installed. BIll has ordered pieces and made more hand built stuff needed for the kick switch assemblies.
Turntable - Bill
Soliciting comments for cosmetics for the turntable. Ed proposed that it be modeled after the Gunnison Colorado D&RG turntable; so we scaled that down, mocked it up earlier today. We're used to a turntable being only as wide as the track gauge, but it's usually five times that so there is space for engineer and fireman to get down and walk alongside; so we mocked up a 40" bed for the table which will have wood planking. Railings are not yet decided.
Rabbit Flat grading - Bruce
I’m obtaining more ballast for us; Kevin is consuming it pretty quickly. A question was asked: Do we know how much longer will Stevens Creek Quarry be open? Answer, unknown, they are definitely scheduled for shut down. Ballast there is much cheaper than from other vendors along the bay, so we will use them as long as possible.
Tie Retrofit - Bob
We did a successful retrofit project in May, now that Kevin is almost done with ballasting it. FYI, if you ballast track before leveling it, you can dump inside ties after hopper delivers it; but to level it, he has to be able to see the ties and rails; so after filling openings, make sure Kevin can see where the track is in the mirror.Scrape it down after dumping so ties and rails are visible. It hasn't been tamped yet; Kevin did some tamping as he went; Bruce and Kevin decided the amount of work involved wasn't worth tamping it versus just running some trains over it for a while and then re-leveling it.
It would be nice if we can ballast on the same day we do the track upgrade work next time.
Our next retrofit project is tentatively set for September. We haven't picked the section yet - it might be less ambitious than the first stretch, but it will have switches requiring tie conversion.
We need to be wrapped up at the end of September since the October night run will be coming up.
Kick Switches - Bill
Bill purchased some missing parts parts. Bill built a big bunch of parts. Enough for 31 kick switches. “A life time supply”
Red engine - Bruce
The consist is usable as is. No more than two passenger cars may be used until air brakes are installed.
Full sized railroad ties - Matt
Waiting for Doug Lo to return from holiday to bring ties over
Switch numbering.- Bob
John and Leo will get back on this task in July
RR signage - Bob
I need to discuss with Bill
Dump Truck acquisition - Bill
We are getting a dump truck donated to the railroad; it won’t be registered for street use, so it can't go off the property, but it can be used to deliver materials around the railroad.
Run days, news and safety
June
Bob We may have issues if people are burning solid fuels, depending on whether or not San Mateo county declares a no-burn day. Make sure the water timer is on, hoses are out, and fire equipment is laid out along the tracks. For all steamers, we do require spark arrestors and current boiler certificates.
At the end of the day, take a final run around the ROW with a speeder to check the area.
October night run
For October run, Mike talked to theJalisco taco truck folks about coming up again this October and enjoying tacos and burritos like last time on a prepaid basis. Last year the price was $15; but, prices have risen since then, so it will undoubtedly go up a bit.
Training -
New Member Training - Bob.
We've been fortunate to get some new members; yet don't have a good system to get them trained. Every person who sponsors new members needs to be involved in the training. Bob doesn't have time to do it all, Mike will help in development and delivery of training. New members cannot take any equipment out, until they've been signed off.
Questions
Train Storage
We are pretty well maxed out at this point, so please don't bring more trains without checking with someone on the Operations Council first.
Dee asks if people who don't run their trains sitting in storage are being chased down as well for removal or usage. Bob said we have done that more than once, it is a big effort and may be redone in the future. He noted that we don’t know who all is storing what. Dee asked if we could do a computerized inventory with RFID tags on equipment or blue tape labels. Should we put a limit on how many locomotives and cars people can store here? For now, just talk to the board, and let them deal with the issue on a case by case basis.
Station deck
Tom asked if we are going to build the deck outside the train station on the East side. The current answer is no.
Bruce did talk about a deck behind the steaming bays, but there has been no action on that either.
Building paint
Dee noted paint failing on buildings; Bruce said that has been noted and is scheduled for repair.
Bob closed the meeting at 1:11 PM
Mike Ward
PV&ARR
Secretary
(and thanks to Matt Petach for complete notes!)