JT&S "Ridgway"
Engine Facility
HERE IS A LINK THE TO THE UPDATED RIDGEWAY ENGINE FACILITY FOR THE 15"
https://plus.google.com/photos/101052416727142315430/albums/5984156036001941777?authkey=CJ6BjMm6wpjyRQ
Prototype inspiration.
Congratulations Blockheads! The
Buy-A-Block fundraiser is successful!
Click here for info on how you can contribute to Phase 2.
March 4th, 2007 - Roundhouse Build Report
I would like to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude and admiration for our star JT Members; Bill and his amazing wife Mary Shepherd. For Bill and Mary (always at his side) have given our museum a gift of unparalleled magnitude.
To the amazing credit of both Bill and Mary, Phase One of the 15" Gauge Roundhouse is complete as of 1:00 pm, March 3rd, 2007. And let me emphasize the scope of what "Phase One" entailed. Yes it is two very simple words, but with those two simple words goes hundreds of back-breaking hours of lifting and accurately placing very heavy concrete block, mixing mortar by hand using a shovel, hoe and trowel, laying string lines and shooting elevations to keep the structure as accurate as possible with each and every row of block set upon the concrete footing and finally mixing large batches of mortar with Brendon Hilton's mixer to fill the block cells to the top on our 1600 Square Foot Roundhouse structure.
We were generally able to keep Bill supplied with warm bodies to support his tremendous efforts, but that was not always the case. And when he was up on the site alone, he kept the process ever moving forward with a marvelous determination to see it done. It wouldn't be right to not mention others who assisted him: Tom Arnold put in a lot of time with Bill. Kevin Kane helped fill the final cells on March 3rd. Eric Bauer relocated several stacks of blocks around the job site. Ole Olson contributed valuable tractor service. And I had the pleasure of getting in Bill's way many times with the mixing and hauling too.
The exceptional level of quality of the block work that Bill achieved is an absolute delight to admire. And he met and overcame some unusual construction challenges with a great methodical approach. For those not familiar with Bill and Mary Shepherd; They hail from Fort Bragg, Ca. Both are retired and work harder than any working couple that I personally know. They are such a cute couple, they remind me of two newlyweds. This last month that they were on the property, Mary was able to read through four complete books. And when Bill would finish up at 3:00 pm on the Roundhouse construction every day, he would help Tom Arnold re-plumb the Pullman Car, or fixed errant water leaks in the campground after the big freeze that had busted some pipes, or bring water, power and air to the roundhouse, or fix some electrical problems, or clear out dead brush, or shift gears and lay block over on the 7-1/2" engine barn as well.
He simply never stopped. On this date, my wife Judy and I went out to JT to say goodbye and thank both of them for all that they had done for us and there was Bill holding a piece of PVC pipe in his hand getting ready to cement it in place in another area of the campground. They were to pack up and leave the next day, and he was still at it!
I encourage everyone, in every way possible, to send some sort of thanks to this amazing couple. The 15" gauge roundhouse will be a great Icon for our Museum when completed. It will become the signature icon for the Museum and will be recognized as such throughout the world of miniature railroading. And due to the the great efforts of Bill and Mary Shepherd, we have a finely engineered base with which to now build upon!
Phase Two of the Roundhouse began exactly at 1:01 pm March 3rd, 2007.
Thank you, Bill and Mary Shepherd.
- Ken Eells
Anahiem, California
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Roundhouse
Build Project Annual Report 2006
For those of you not familiar with what is happening on the 15"
gauge Roundhouse, here are some statistics that will probably "WOW"
you as to the huge scope of this project:
The perimeter around the building is 171 feet.
From rear corner across to rear corner is 68 feet.
From front corner across to front corner is 38 feet.
The building is 32 feet deep.
The square footage is 1650.
There are a total of seven stalls fed from the 20'-10" long turntable
(50' in 5" scale).
The first two stalls referred to as "Galloping Goose" Stalls
#Goose 1 & #Goose 2 will be built with the floor at rail height. The
main stalls, referred to as Stalls 1-2-3-4-5 will be built with the floor
two feet below the top of rail. This way equipment owners can access their
locomotives easily from all sides, including underneath for maintenance.
The Galloping Goose Stalls will have a ceiling height of approximately
8 feet while the main sunken stalls will have a ceiling height of approximately
10'.
Progress to date has the footing laid out, dug, formed and poured with
concrete containing the requisite amount of rebar all accomplished under
the skillful hand by Bill Shepard and his determined staff. Bill was able
to lay block on over 90% of the footing over the course of five months
on his several 1000 mile roundtrip drives from Northern California.
This project is 100% funded from generous donors who have bought into
our exciting vision and bright future that the 15" gauge Grand Scale
railroad is poised to become. And it is poised to become a true railroading
icon the likes many will have never seen let alone even dreamed possible.
Although work pretty much comes to a halt during the Summer months, we
will still be actively working on other aspects of the roundhouse. We
will be fabricating doors, ordering windows and finalizing certain design
details. We will return in September to get things moving again.
If anyone would like to contact me regarding the roundhouse construction,
please don't hesitate to get a hold of me through my email at - kbeells@hotmail.com
Thanks and be sure to stop by in the Fall,
-Ken Eells
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Final Plan of the Engine Facility Track Layout by Ken Eells. |
Article
on the first gas station in Ridgway, Goose Gas.
from May 2006...
A
lonely Ken Eells filling up walls with concrete under his new shade structure.
5-13-06
Roundhouse progress
photos from March 2006...
The
"Goose" stalls starting to get filled in and almost ready for track.
3-25-06
Bill
Shepherd spent another week helping us out in March. Thanks Bill! Ole has begun
filling in front to bring the base up to grade for the garden tracks. 3-25-06
Roundhouse progress
photos from November 2005...
Forms
ready for concrete as the first truck arrives. 11-15-05
Bill
Shepherd pumps the mud.
Photo by Ken Eells.
Roundhouse
foundation forms filled with concrete 11-15-05.
Roundhouse
foundation hand-dug by Bill Shepherd, Tom Arnold, and Ken Eells.
A
tireless Bill Shepherd digging out for the form work..
Click here for a slideshow of constuction pics.
Check back soon...
Updated
3/7/07
