Friends of the ATT&NW News
- For this workday, the crew did several miscellaneous activities around the railroad. Friends present were Alex Beams, Jerry Fritschle, Alex and Jenny Vaughn.
First off, Alex assigned Jerry and "Scooter" (Little Alex) some switching chores in the yard. F7 #216 was used for this task, with Jerry running and Scooter acting as switchman. After a few hours of switching, much of the Bell Gardens rolling stock was re-arranged into two new train sets and put back in the car barn. After lunch, #17 and the work train were pulled out and run over to the grade crossing near the yard lead in front of the station where the grade crossing needed minor modification. That went smoothly, and after the work train was put away everyone went to work on track hardware supplies (joiner bars, joiner bar bolts, etc.) in the shop. Alex modified a number of joiner bars by welding extra pieces of bar stock onto them, while Jerry cut those pieces with the band saw and Scooter and Jenny worked on assembling special bolts for insulated joints. The weather turned out very nice and the crew had a fun and productive day, once again. Pictures of the day's activities are in the Progress Photos section - check them out, as well!
- The crew did some routine maintenance and replaced brake shoes on the Bell Gardens' Northwestern Pacific #52526 cordwood car. Friends attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Alex and Jenny Vaughn, and Jerry and Ellen Fritschle.
- The first task was disassembling the trucks, which had already been started by Alex B. Alex, Jerry, Little Alex and Jenny continued the disassembly while Steve machined one of the axles (which had been damaged by a malfunctioning bearing) and Ellen "documented" with Jenny's camera. Alex B. took care of replacing the brake lining on the shoes, and after Steve finished the axle he helped with putting the trucks back together. Everybody chipped in for a good lunch of chili and accompanying sides. By the end of the day both trucks were cleaned, checked and repaired where necessary, lubricated, re-assembled (with new brake shoes) and put back under the car.
- After not having a workday since October, it was great to be back at the railroad working on the trains with friends. Photos are in the Progress Photos section - make sure to check them out, also!
- Alex Beams started working on the last two Hillcrest gondolas that needed to be serviced and have truck modification done. Also George Cotner started working on rebuilding and restoring the old Railroad Express Wagon that was rotting away in the parking lot. Other winter projects will include servicing all the Bell Gardens cars and repainting the Bell Gardens caboose.
- Steve Hacck, Alex Beams, and Jerry Fritschle took part of the Woods for one last ride behind the 801 and a picnic lunch before everything was put away for winter. The weather that week was not too good but on Sunday the weather was beautiful.
- This was our annual friends' meet and it was a great weekend. Several friends of the railroad were in attendance from as far away as North Carolina, New York, Colorado and several other states in the Midwest. The guys from the American Heritage Museum in Greenville IL brought their G-15 with all new wheels matching most 15” gauge standards and got to stretch her legs out all weekend on the main line. Also Fred Eisner from New York brought his work in progress 15” 2-4-0 to show off. Not much went on Friday, few trains were running and most everyone showed up so time was spent on unloading and getting everything ready for the weekend. Friday night we had a nice cook out and everyone sat around telling old railroad stories. Saturday and Sunday were tons of fun with trains running all around and several people showed up for train rides. There was a nice pot luck dinner Saturday night. Afterwards we made several runs with the 801 which made for some awesome shots in the cold weather.
- On the 19th friends Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Jerry, Ellen Fritschle, Lee Tennant and Kristi Jenkins side dumped rock from River Road crossing all the way back up to the Wooden Crossing. This section of track was kind of tricky to side dump there’s not much of a bank to walk along while dumping and dressing the rock. A total of 7 car loads which is about 28 tons of rock.
- On the 12th friends Alex Beams, Zach Gillihan, Jerry, Ellen and Laura Fritschle worked on putting the inner loop back together. Last month Alex took several joins apart in the inner loop were the track was kinking in the curves, kicked the rail aside so the rail could expand as it heated up. We then bared the curves around and cut out the extra rail and bolted everything back together. Hopefully this will help keep the curves were they need to be.
- This workday Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Alex and Jenny Vaughn, Lee Tennant and Kristi Jenkins line both main lines from Panhandle Junction to the Wooden Crossing. It was a lot of work but boy does the train ride good through there now.
- Rather than the usual practice of workdays being held on Saturdays this last workday was on a Thursday, as railroad superintendent Alex Beams had to be out of town that Saturday. The project for today was spreading ballast on several curves around the railroad. Friends attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Wilbur Ness, George Cotner, Alex and Jenny Vaughn, Jerry Fritschle, Lee Tennant, and Dave Neubauer.
- Pretty much first thing Alex Beams, George, Wilbur, Little Alex and Jenny, and Lee went to spreading ballast in Copper Canyon. (Davenport #27 and the side-dump hopper were used all day for this task.) Wilbur ran the engine while Alex B. directed him and helped the ballast out of the doors from the outside, while Alex V. stood on the walkways on the car and helped the ballast down to the doors from the inside. Lee and Jenny came along behind and straightened up the freshly dumped ballast with brooms and rakes, while George stayed up at the shop to run the front-end-loader-equipped tractor for loading of the ballast into the hopper. Shortly after work started, Dave Neubauer arrived and helped Alex V. with getting the rock down to the doors inside the hopper. Jerry Fritschle arrived several minutes later and began helping Lee and Jenny with cleanup. After spreading rock at Copper Canyon and Cedar Pond, everyone headed for lunch. After lunch, Dave Neubauer had to head back to St. Louis, but Steve Haack arrived and everyone went back down to Cedar Pond. After Cedar Pond, the crew did some spreading around Woods Valley Wye and finally a few places in the Miller Gate/Panhandle Ridge area.
- Once again, a productive and fun day was had by all. Good job, crew!
- The main assignment for the June workday was re-spiking a section of track in Aidan's Alley. Friends members present were superintendent Alex Beams, Alex and Jenny Vaughn, and first-time workday attendees Lee Tennant and his fiance' Kristi Jenkins.
After Lee and Kristi arrived, everyone took the work train down to Aidan's Alley and started in on the task at hand. Alex B., Alex V., and Lee began drilling new holes and hammering in new spikes, while Jenny and Kristi distributed spikes along the grade where they were needed. About noon everyone got back on the train and went for a run down to the Meramec loop and back to give Lee and Kristi a tour of the railroad, then all went to lunch. After lunch, work resumed and by quitting time approx. 90 feet of track had been re-spiked.
- Certainly a HOT and fun day was had by all. Make sure to stop by the photos section for photos.
- Assignments for this workday were various track maintenance jobs, and bonding some rail. Friend's members attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Zach Gillihan, Alex and Jenny Vaughn, Jerry, Ellen and Laura Fritschle, and Dave Neubauer.
- The first project for the day was replacing a few ties at Rock Cellar. That went well, and after lunch at Meramec Springs the crew worked on raising about 70 feet of track near where the ties were replaced. After raising, tamping, lining that section cleaning things up, everyone got on the work train and Jerry ran the SW1200 #17 and the work train back up to Woods Valley Wye/Aidan's Alley to finish bonding rail in Aidan's Alley. Work progressed quickly, and the rail was finished bonded all the way down to the switch at the wye in no time as par of the upper loop signal project.
- Once again, a productive and enjoyable day was had by all! Make sure to look at pictures in the progress photos section.
- During the winter of 2008 and into first part of 2009 a lot of time was spent doing brake and truck modification to several pieces of rolling stock. Two of which were repainted and re-lettered ATT&NW. General maintenance work was done to the steam engine 801 and to all the diesels. Work was also done on several other small projects in the shop.
- This spring, The Friends of the railroad have been out several time and helped with many projects. They bonded rail on the upper loop for the signal system, got the full size crossing gate at the shop working, and did some general maintenance around the railroad. Summer projects will involve track work (raising, lining, and ballasting), installing a full size crossing at Miller Gate down by the 800’ tunnel, and bonding more rail on the upper loop.
- In April we had two big events. On the 18th the bluegrass band The Ozark Alliance had a CD release party for their new CD titled “Steam Powered Bluegrass” featuring the 801 on the cover. There were about 170 people at the event, plus the railroad crew from the Whiskey River Railroad in Wisconsin, and several other railroaders. The 801 was fired up, along with a couple of the diesels. Trains ran all afternoon ending with dinner, a concert, and a huge rainstorm (fortunately in that order). On the 25th a Boy Scout group from St. Louis came out and worked on getting their railroad merit badges. About 69 scouts and 35 adults camped out and spent some time tightening joiner bolts and driving in loose spikes.
- For the November workday, Friends worked on bonding rail and installing insulated joints for the yard crossing gates. Friends attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Zach Gillihan, Mitch Houk,and Alex & Jenny Vaughn. Also, Jerry Fritschle, from the WF&P R.R., came down with Steve Haack.
- After showing Jerry around the shop/roundhouse, the work train was pulled out of the shop and down to where the crew would be working. While little Alex got the needed supplies off the work train and started grinding spots for bonding rail, Alex B. and Steve began trying to figure out the previously installed sensors on the tracks that are in concrete, to see if they would be usable as part of the crossing circuit. When little Alex finished grinding, he, Mitch, and Jerry started taking track joints apart that needed to be insulated while Alex B. and Jenny bonded rail. Around 1:00PM everyone went inside for a while to have lunch, which was provided by Alex and Jenny V.
- After lunch, Steve and Jenny began checking and testing photo sensors and wiring in the shop yard while Alex B., Alex V., Mitch, and Jerry went to work on putting the rail joints back togetherwith the new insulated hardware.
Another good and productive day had by all!
- Thursday of the Run Days was largely spent doing various projects around the railroad in preparation for the weekend. That morning, Tennessee, Jenny Vaughn, Ed Taylor, and Mark Pfeifer went around the railroad oiling switches with #17 and the work train while Tony Cusick and Alex Vaughn polished some of #801's valve gear and Alex Beams, Steve Haack, George Cotner, and Wilber Ness worked on some odd ball projects. When everyone got back from lunch, they went over to the inner loop to work on aligning some track. After the problem spots were worked out there, Steve, Ed, John Woods, and Alex & Jenny Vaughn went back over to the shop and washed the trolley set, the work caboose, and SW1200 #17. Alex Beams changed the wheels on the trolley set's power car, with Steve helping him some later on.
- Friday morning Fred Vergenz, Tony, Mark, and Alex & Jenny set to cleaning and steaming up #801 over in the roundhouse. Tennessee, Alex B. and Art Jennrich, along with Michael and Linda Dunn, took the trolley down to the Ozark Mountain Tunnel to check the clearance between its roof and the tunnel's roof then came back up and went a few times around the inner loop. After the trolleys were parked, Tennessee directed Little Alex in pulling the F-units out of the roundhouse and coupling them together, after which they went over to the car barn to put a train together. When that was done, Davenport #27 was started up and used to pull 801's train out to the mainline in preparation for bringing 801 out. Everyone went over to the roundhouse just before 11:00 AM for a safety briefing before trains started running. Alex Beams briefed everyone on general safety/operating rules, special signal instructions, and other points of interest before everyone went their own way and trains started running. The first train out on the mainline, around 11:20, was F7's #325 and #216 with seven of the Bell Gardens cars. By the time that train arrived back at the station, #801 was out on the main and coupled to its train. Those two trains occupied the mainline most of the day, also Don Wirth took the GP9 #452 out for a few runs later in the afternoon and visitor Carey Williams taking his "handcar" of sorts around the main behind #801's train once.
- Over on the inner loop, Art Jennrich, Ed Taylor, and other friends/visitors were running and Davenport #27. Many less experienced engineers got to drive, stopping along the line to pick up and drop off imaginary cars at various "customers" of the "Art's Inner Loop Transfer Service Railway" and practicing radio communications. Throughout the day different crews were switching in the yard, making up or re-configuring trains as needed. By 6:30 PM the trains had been put away for the evening, and everyone went over to "The Cabin" for supper. Judy Woods cooked a delicious meal, and after everyone had finished eating John Woods persuaded Michael Dunn and Alex & Jenny Vaughn to play a few songs - needless to say, most were train songs. Tennessee threw in some humor, also, to top off the entertainment.
- Saturday morning, the "steam team" (Fred Vergenz, Alex Beams, Josh Rawls, George Cotner, John Caples, Ed Taylor, Tony Cusick, Bill Rose, and others) fired up and polished #801 while Yardmaster Tennessee directed the making up of a Bell Gardens train with the F units. SW1200 #17 was used to cut the work caboose off the end of the work train, and those two pieces were parked beside the car barn for later use on the inner loop. The F units and train (7 cars) were up to the station by about 10:00 AM, and the first train out was pretty well loaded; but, with both units under full power on the way back up (Tennessee running lead unit #325, Alex V. running trailing unit #216) a reasonable speed was maintained. Around 10:40, #801 and its train were pulled up to the station.
- Trains on the mainline ran fairly regularly throughout the day, with many different volunteers/friends running different trains. On the inner loop, everyone who wished took turns running #17 and #27, practicing switching and radio communications between the two locomotives. Lunch, cooked by Steve Haack and George Cotner, was served in the Stout building in the early afternoon. Later in the afternoon the F7's were traded for GP9 #452 on the Bell Garden's train, and #17 was hooked up to the work train and run on the mainline some.
- For supper that evening, Mark and Cindy Beams deep-fried two turkeys and others brought side dishes to round out the meal. The Ozark Alliance (Alex & Jenny V. and parents) played a few songs while everyone ate, and after they finished the #801 was fired back up for the night runs. #801 departed first, with #452 following it a bit later; each train took two trips down to the Merrimac Loop. Everything was put away by about 10:30 PM, and a few people stuck around a talked well later than that.
- Sunday was very much like the rest of the weekend the 801, 452, and 17 ran around the mainline most of the day. While the 27 with Art as the instructor ran around the inner loop all day. Everything raped up around 5:00 and some of the train crew sat around the shop after everything was put away and told stories and relaxed. All and all it was a good, safe, and fun weekend you couldn't of asked for any better weather. Hopefully we will do something like this next fall.
- John Woods hosted the celebration of his 50th high school class reunion at the railroad on Sept. 27th. Approximately 45 guests attended. Friend's members present were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, and Alex & Jenny Vaughn.
First thing, before the guests arrived, all the "Friends" readied the #801 to be pulled out. Alex B. got there around 7:30 AM to start steaming up; Steve arrived around 8:30, and Alex & Jenny got there about 9:00. The #801 was pulled out of the roundhouse about 10:30, watered and fueled up, then run over to the car barn to pick up its train and pull up to the station. Before the guests arrived, all the Friends went for a test run since #801 hadn't been around the railroad since late June. The guests arrived around 11:30AM and after one run, the guests ate lunch (catered by Pearl and Cecil) while the crew went about putting a few more cars in the train. At first, the train didn't have enough passenger cars to seat all the people, so the Bell Gardens handicapped car was cut in to the middle of the original train and the two enclosed cabooses (#0306 and #9255) were swapped for the work caboose and the flat car w/straw bales.
After the train was hooked back up in its new configuration, the crew grabbed a quick lunch. Then everyone loaded up and went for another ride - this time, everyone that wished to go was able to fit on the train. When they got back, some of the guests took a tour of the roundhouse and shop before they left, around 3:00PM. After that, the crew took #801 for a few runs around the railroad, Steve Haack at the throttle for the first time, before the train was put away.
The guests applauded each time the train stopped for them to de-train, so I guess we did something right! Photos...
- The projects for the Sept. 20th workday were washing the passenger cars and working on insulated joints and hardware for the Upper Loop signaling system. Friend's members attending were Alex Beams, Josh Rawls and his girlfriend Jenni, Alex Vaughn and Jenny Vaughn.
Pretty much first off, Alex and Jenny V. set to work washing a string of the Bell Gardens cars and GP9 #452. After they were finished with those, the rest of the BG cars were brought over from the car barn and washed. Josh Rawls and Jenni were in the shop machining/assembling special bolts for the insulated joints. Alex B. did misc. things - worked on Davenport #27, insulated a joint outside Deer Ridge tunnel, and helped with washing cars. While the second string of BG cars was being washed, it started raining. After pulling the GP9 and cars in the shop and out of the rain, Alex and Jenny V. helped Josh and Jenni with the hardware for a while. When the rain let up, SW1200 #17 and the work train were pulled out, and the Friends - along with John Woods, his grandson Aidan, and a few friends - went for a train ride. (Josh and Jenni had to leave after the ride.) #27 was used to pull the big cars (the 5" scale equipment) over to the shop and Alex, John Woods, and Alex & Jenny V. washed and cleaned them all up.
Another fun (and comparatively clean) workday - good job, crew! Photos...
- Was spent bonding rail from the top of Deer Ridge tunnel through Copper Canyon and down to Aidan's Alley. Friend's members attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, and Alex and Jenny Vaughn.
Alex Beams, Steve, and Jenny were preparing molds and bonding rail while Little Alex went ahead of them with a grinder and ground a spot on each side of each joiner bars where the bond would be. Before lunch, the crew got the rail bonded through the tunnel and a little ways down Copper Canyon. After lunch, it went a fair bit faster and by the time the crew called it a day about 1000 ft. of rail had been bonded, which ran down to the signal at the upper end of Adain's Alley. After all the bonding equipment was packed up, Steve got his laptop out and everyone hopped on the work train for a ride down to the Ozark Mountain tunnel. After making a few system adjustments to the signals for the Ozark Mountain tunnel with the laptop, everybody enjoyed a ride to the loop and back to the shop. Another fun and productive workday!
- Was spent on the Entrance Gate Signal Light project. Friend's members attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Josh Rawls, Zach Gillihan, Mitch Houk, Chance Beams, Alex Vaughn and Jenny Vaughn. Weather was hot (with a little rain) but very good.
First on the agenda was to dig two holes, approx. 2 ft. wide, 2 ft. long, and 3 ft deep, near the entrance gate. (Concrete will be poured in these holes to mount the signal posts on.) Alex V. and Mitch Houk went to work on one hole, while Alex B., Josh Rawls, and Chance Beams started on the other one. Little Alex and Mitch finished first (less rock to dig through on their hole) and, after a rest, spelled the others working on the other hole. After both holes were dug, Alex B., Steve, Josh, Zach, and Chance started lining out conduit that would run to the holes while Mitch and Little Alex built two concrete forms. While some of the crew finished up the conduit work and wire pulling, the others took a rest, helping when needed. Jenny V. was "documenter" for the day, mainly taking pictures.
All in all, another productive and fun workday!
- Was mostly spent working on various projects around the railroad. Friends members attending were John Woods, Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Don "Tennessee" Angles, Zach Gillihan, and Alex and Jenny Vaughn.
- Alex Beams, Zach and Steve spent the majority of the day working on finishing one gate of the yard crossing gate project - wiring the cabinet, running wire and conduit, putting the gate together, etc. Tennessee, with the help of Little Alex and Jenny, finished installing a crossing signal on the track that crosses the road past the Stout Building. They also ran a few trains around the railroad, entertaining several guests that John had invited over to the railroad. Robin Vaughn made chili, which Jenny prepared and served. Zach brought a Gooey Butter Cake and several others contributed, also. Another productive and fun time was had by all!
- This Saturday's "activity" (it wasn't really an officially scheduled work day) was mostly spent repairing/cleaning signals to be installed in various places around the railroad. Friends members present were Alex Beams, Don "Tennessee" Angles, Zach Gillihan, Steve Haack, and Alex and Jenny Vaughn.
- Don Angles, Zach Gillihan, and Alex Vaughn cleaned and repaired the grade crossing signal, and also installed it on its stand near the entrance to the yard. Alex Beams also worked on several different pieces of signal equipment - welding, heating, repairing seized bolts, etc. Jenny Vaughn helped out in general, along with keeping Alex Beams' dog, Rebel, company while the guys worked. Jenny also prepared the meal (beef stew) brought by Robin Vaughn. Some pictures are posted in the photos section - be sure to check them out!
- Most of the day Saturday was spent running trains. Friends members attending were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Josh Rawls, John and Judy Woods, Don "Tennessee" Angles, Fred Vergenz, Art Jennrich, Alex and Jenny Vaughn and Mitch Houk. Also present part of the day were Kathy Vergenz, Carolyn Jennrich, and Dennis, Robin, and Allison Vaughn.
- Through the morning the 801 only made one run before it was forced inside by rain. After everyone got back from lunch, Tennessee took #17 (with the work train in tow) around the railroad several times while 801 was being steamed up. Once 801 was ready to roll, everyone except Steve, Josh, and Little Alex took a ride behind 801. Steve, Josh, and Alex went ahead in Steve's truck to scout out good places from which to video 801, and also paced it above the Ozark Mountain Tunnel on its way back up. Pretty much the rest of the day was spent running 801 and #17. (Note: this weekend was the first time 801 had been steamed up in 2008.)
- After the trains were put away, Judy and John set about grilling hot dogs and hamburgers while Fred, Art, and Alex Beams put the 801 away for the night. Kathy and Carolyn had prepared baked beans and other goodies, and Judy had brought some other trimmings to round out the meal. The food was delicious, and The Ozark Alliance (Alex and Jenny Vaughn and family) provided some bluegrass music at the request of the birthday boys, Tennessee and Art. Altogether, another great day had by all!
- This Saturday Josh Rawls, and Alex Beams bonded the rail and installed insulated joints for Tower Ten crossing. The new Wig Wag signal that was purchased from Roll Models during the convention was installed earlier in the week by Alex and Wilber Ness. We finished connecting everything and wrapped up that project. Steve Haack finished up all the loose ends and debugged the Ozark Mountain Tunnel display model that he built for to demonstrate how the signal system works. There are a few new photos and a new video showing the work done at Tower Ten crossing.
- This work day was spent on the Car Barn signal project, installing wire and occupancy sensors for the searchlight signals in the back of the Car Barn. ATT&NW Friends members present were Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Josh Rawls, John Caples, Zach Gillihan, Alex Vaughn and Jenny Vaughn. Also attending were Kristi Caples and Nick Gillihan.
Josh Rawls, John Caples and Alex Vaughn did most of the wire stringing, while Alex Beams and Steve Haack worked on making mounting brackets and mounting the sensors. Jenny and Kristi helped out, distributing zip ties and cleaning up. Jenny brought chili, Alex and Steve cooked hamburgers, and Zach and John brought soda and chips for lunch. Jenny was assisted by Kristi in preparing and serving lunch.
After a little tweaking, all the signals worked well! Another productive day and a good time was had by everyone. Be sure to check out the new pictures on the progress photo page of this project and a few others.
 This workday was mostly spent working on the side-dump hopper project. "Friends" members present were Alex Beams, Don (Tennessee) Angles, Alex Vaughn, and Jenny Vaughn. Additional helpers/observers were Robin and Allison Vaughn.
- Alex Beams spent most of the day working on the truck bolsters, fabricating shims, etc. Tennessee and Alex Vaughn worked on finishing up the trucks, which involved cleaning; wire-brushing, re-assembling and painting almost all truck components. Jenny Vaughn watched the guys and helped with greasing one of the trucks after re-assembly. She also helped little Allison Vaughn clean up the mess that had been made from the day's activities. Robin Vaughn brought soup and sandwiches for lunch. The main accomplishment of the day was getting both trucks for the hopper finished and on the rails. Well done, crew!
 We tried to have a work day, but due to inclement weather most everyone opted to stay home, not a bad idea. However Steve Haack decided to brave the weather and come out. So Alex Beams and Steve started working on putting together two full size three like vertical signals which will be installed at the entrance gate, to indicate when the electric gate is in operation. They also discussed next year's upcoming projects. This includes finishing the entrance gate, finishing the track indication in the car barn, and getting all the main line crossings signaled, along with other small projects that might come up.
- Alex Beams and Zack Gillihan made a run to the Canadian National rail yard in Pontiac Michigan. We left Wednesday night around 7:00pm arrived up there at 6:30am. Got a few hours of sleep, loaded up, and started headed back at 5:30pm. Got back home around 5:30 Friday morning, long trip but everything went good. Except the snow showers we encountered along the lake we didn't care for that too much. Zack had work out a deal with someone at the Canadian National Signal department up there to get a pair of crossing motors, gates, lights, relays, and miscellaneous other thing. The gates are to be installed up by the main crossing at the station.
- This was to be a work day but nothing was done railroad related. Due to all the work George and Wilber did on the railroad this year. Alex Beams and Steve Haack help…… them out getting ready for Deer season fixing tree stands and clearing roads.
- Some of the up coming projects for the friends. The rail from Miller Crossing to Pan Handle Junction needs to be finished bonded and crossing gates installed as Miller Crossing. There is a crossing gate to be installed at Tower Ten Crossing, which includes bonding rail and putting the circuit together. Signals to be put together and installed at the electric entrance gate, and continue on with the signals around the railroad as everything permits. There is always rock to be put down and track work once the weather is good.
- We had the honor of having Tracks Ahead from the PBS station in Milwaukee come down and do a documentary on the railroad. Should air sometime next year they were not sure on the time. We had the honor of Darrell and Don "Tennessee" from the Whiskey River Railroad come down and run some trains. Tennessee did an excellent job of making trains up for the day. Darrell and Alex made some "very impressive" run bys with the 801. Steve Haack and Chris Brophy from the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad were here to help make sure everything went well.
- Smith Barney had their company party at Woodsvalley Farm. We only had about 100 people…… nothing compared to the convention. Alex Beams and Steve Haack ran the 801 all day. Everything went great, beautiful weather and all. Thanks to Alex and Jenny Vaughn for helping get the train ready for the day.
- There were many people that helped out the week of the convention helping get all the last minute projects finished. One of the main tasks was completing the elevated tracks in the round house. The aligning and welding was done by George Cotner, Alex Beams, Darrell Klompmaker, and John Caples. Josh Rawls, Ed Taylor, Dan Crean got the tracks all cleaned up and painted just in time to put an engine on them one day before the convention. Darrell Klompmaker, Fred and Kathy Vergenz, Art Jennrich, Don "Tennessee" Angles, Steve Haack, Josh Rawls, Zack Gillihan, Alex Vaughn, Jenny Vaughn, John Caples, Mark, Cindy, and Chance Beams, Mitch Houk, Dave Kessinger and anyone else I might have forgotten to mention by name. They all worked many hours running, cleaning, loading, switching, fixing, firing, and having fun. Tennessee did a great job on making trains up so things ran smoothly. There was a small crew put together consisting of Darrell, Fred, Josh, Tennessee, and Ron Parrish to straighten out a few minor things with the track. Ron Parrish "Darrell nearly tried to work me to death doing track work before the convention." I'm sure he enjoyed it. This was full time railroading from the old days before they had work hour restrictions! Best of all was we ran safe with no injuries and no major problems!
Thanks to all the hard work and long days Alex Beams and Steve Haack put in getting the tunnel signals system working and Darrell Klompmaker who brought the signal heads down the week of the convention. They look great. The whole system performed very well, with no worries about having a "head on" in the tunnel. Ron Moreland and his crew did a great job on finishing the walls and ceiling up in the round house. Robert Klein and Robert Grady must have done a great job at parking everyone. As we didn't hear of any cars getting smashed up. A lot of thanks has to go to George Cotner "farm manager" and Wilber Ness "his assistant" they worked there tails off all year long and at the convention.
Many many thanks to all that were involved before and during the convention we couldn't have pulled it off with out every ones help.
- The heat came in two forms, first was the 100 degree heat that Alex Beams, Steve Haack, Zack Gillihan, and Josh Rawls endured on three workdays to finish the bonding. Steve and Alex will try to remember not to trench conduit in when it's 104 degrees in the shade. The other was the deadline to get the tunnel signal system working for the Convention. This resulted in a few extra days for Steve and Alex wiring control panels and building switch motors. Thank goodness we could run down to Woods Landing on the river and jump in to cool off at the end of the day! In the final days leading up to the convention, Josh made a last ditch effort to get the car barn signals working but ran into an engineering problem that couldn't get solved in time.
- John Bishop has returned to California and Alex Beams has taken over most of his on-site responsibilities. A couple of workdays were held with Alex, Josh Rawls, Steve Haack, and Zack Gillihan starting to bond the rail sections for the tunnel project. Thanks to Fred Vergenz and Art Jennrich from the Whiskey River Railroad in Wisconsin for help bonding rail one weekend in June. We had most of the uphill double-track rail bonded before the heat hit!
- Steve Haack built a demonstrator of the custom controls to show John Woods, John Bishop, Alex Beams, and Zack Gillihan how the system would work. The latter group had just come back from a trip into Illinois to gather control boxes and signal controls and had filled two pickup trucks and a trailer full. A final decision was made to proceed with the new hybrid system we were designing.
- John Bishop has announced he will be returning to California and Alex Beams had joined the staff in January. In order to resolve issues raised in the past two months regarding how to wire signals systems, a weekend meeting was held at the railroad. Darrell Klompmaker, Fred Vergenz, & Dave Schleicher from the Whiskey River RR in Wisconsin, joined John Woods, John Bishop, Alex Beams, Steve Haack, & Zack Gillihan.
Our focus had shifted from the car barn to concerns about signaling on the main line. The ATT&NW has some critical areas where the risk to a 20,000# steam locomotive is just too great to take chances with. Fortunately, Darrell and Dave had developed a system based on standard gauge track sensing practice (i.e.: bonded rail) that they were willing to share.
The highest priority was quickly defined as the double track switching through the single track Ozark Mountain Tunnel. It came out that John Woods and John Bishop wanted automatic switching as well as signals. In other words, a true ABS (Automatic Block Signaling) system. The final decision was to use Darrell's and Dave's system as the backbone, but incorporate our own custom controls to perform non-critical functions. Since they are not available in our scale, we will have to build our own switch motors. This project will serve as a test bed for future installations.
- Work day was spent installing mounting posts for the track occupancy lights in the carbarn. This involved cutting four 3-inch steel posts and welding a mounting plate on top. We then installed the electrical conduit for the lights and poured concrete mounting bases for the posts, which will also serve as end-of-track bumpers. It took a little longer than expected but we were happy with what we accomplished. Workers for the day were John Bishop, Steve Haack, Josh Rawls and John Woods.
- Our second work weekend was actually the first where we got something done. The weekend started with Josh Rawls welding mounting stands for the searchlights with the help of John Woods. These lights will be used to signal track status and car position in the car barn. Meanwhile, Zack Gillihan, Steve Haack, & John Bishop started digging holes to set the mounting posts. After a run to Lowes for electric conduit, we ended the day with all posts welded, most of the conduit in the ground, and the cement setting up. This workday occurred during deer season so we also got to see the buck Judy Woods shot!
- The first official meeting of the Friends of the ATT&NW occurred when Zack Gilliam, Josh Rawls, and Steve Haack came down one weekend in October and met with John Woods and John Bishop to go over some potential projects. We discussed and made some preliminary plans for the entrance gate signal system and signals in the car barn. It was also decided that a Yahoo group would be set up for announcements and general communications regarding The Friend's activities.
- The Arborway T.T and Northwestern Railroad Web site launched October 22, 2006
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ATT&NW Friends 
