New carburator, pulling couplers, and dressing track

Today I got to the railroad just as Grant was working on #2. I promised a photo in an earlier post, and here she is. She's got a gasoline engine, basically out of a car, which runs a hydraulic drive. She was running pretty rough on Friday when we were building up the work train, which is why we used #4 (a steam loco) on Saturday for the work day. #2 isn't particularly beautiful, but unlike a steam locomotive she doesn't require constant attention to keep steam up. You just flick a switch and she goes.

Grant and Ray had an idea that the carb needed a servicing to correct the rough running. I got there just as Grant was trying to get the last of the bolts tightened up. See the radiator in the photo? Just to the left is a belt pulley that drives, I think, the air compressor. The carb is right behind that, so the air compressor had to come out. It's a bit of a pain, but everything got put back together again, and #2 is running strongly again.

I helped Ellen sand down some pieces of wood that will be painted into new opening times signs for the front gate, and then Grant and I ran down in #2 to pick up one of the gondola cars (see photo at right) which needs coupler work. We got the car back up to the railbench where #2 is in the photo above, and jacked up each end before blocking it on ties. We wheeled away the trucks, and removed the several nuts and bolts that hold the couplers in place. The repair of the couplers themselves will wait for another day, and Grant and I headed down to dress some track.

This past weekend, we'd re-levelled a long section of track, which involves dumping down lots of new ballast. After the ballast is all packed into place around the ties, it needs cleaning up. That's what dressing track is. We worked along about a 50' section, doing another round of tamping, and then using shovels to scrape ballast down to the level of the ties, and then sweeping some of the dust off. It makes the track look nice and even, but it's also good to have the ballast moved away from the railhead. It's easier to walk on, too.

So I got both greasy and dusty yesterday. I attracted a few interesting looks in the supermarket on the way home...