# N,R,&W. MOW WORK CREW.



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

After a absence of about a year the MOW crew of THE NEW RIVER AND WESTERN have started working on the track.


They are closing a gap in the loop that was opened to build the cliff wall. 

Right now all they are interested in is making a complete loop to run trains.

After the gap is finished they will start on track inspection and ballasting. 

Then the installation of a car barn. 

JJ


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## Ron Senek (Jan 2, 2008)

John glad to see you're posting progress again. Still you need to finish that car barn before it rusts away. Ron


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Ron Senek on 10 Mar 2013 03:53 PM 
John glad to see you're posting progress again. Still you need to finish that car barn before it rusts away. Ron 


It's suppose to rust .......Makes it look ummmmm What is the word I am looking for.........On yea...........Rustic. HE HE HE HE HE H

JJ


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Thats Great JJ. get-her-runn'in... I am almost dieing to run my new auto cars..


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

When I was at the convention in Kansas City I bought a bundle of about 8 or 9 pieces of track that were less then a foot.

I cut those for small inserts rather than cut a 2 ft 3 ft section to make a small connection. 


JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

The mow crew was able to complete the connection of the double mail line that was removed to build the Cliff wall.


The N,R,&W is now a complete loop.

Tomorrow afternoon they will continue with the track inspection.

There are some bad tie sections that need attention 

So far % of grade has been maintained and side to side level is perfect just as it was over a year ago. 

This, of course, is due to concrete road bed. 

I have 6- 12 ton loads of dirt delivered.

That is for future expantion. 

The crew spent some time in the sun soaking up vitamin D which the Chief of Maintenance is drastically lacking according to his last blood test.

We will get the photo crew out tomorrow afternoon for some pictures I hop .


JJ


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ
Glad to hear of the progress.
And I just love your spelling, it always brings a smile to my face.







Of course sometimes it takes me a little to figure what your saying. Must be cuz I don't speak Arizonian.








Keep it up.

Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By tmejia on 12 Mar 2013 09:17 PM 
JJ
Glad to hear of the progress.
And I just love your spelling, it always brings a smile to my face.







Of course sometimes it takes me a little to figure what your saying. Must be cuz I don't speak Arizonian.








Keep it up.

Tommy








Rio Gracie





We don't grade on spelling but neatness counts and show all your work.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

But JJ, we can't believe without pictures.....


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Maintenance work halted.......Camera battery dead.......Camera put on charger......documentation of ballast condition important......JJ


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Swap meet at Adobe Mountain on Saturday, JJ... More stuff to buy...


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

OK everybody stop looking, I found them.....I found the parts bin with the joiners in it.....It was in a tunnel.... Evidently one of the crew put them there last summer sometime.....What I want to know is what brain dead, dumb, Jackass ever thought of making those teeny Tiny dam screws used on the joiners our of NON FAIRS metal. The bag rotted away and left them in the dirt......You can not pick them up with a magnet......If I had known that I would not have spent the time looking for a magnet......JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Here is some of the results from the MOW crew's work 


This bridge had been removed as a walk through 











A lot of debris had been removed from this picture of the Cliff wall 












The unfinished rock face the will form a portal for a tunnel 











Unfinished portal to tunnel in rock cliff This is also a place where a bridge will be built at a later date.....This is where I had to install the two temporary bridges in the gap. This is what prevented me from running trains 










Cross over and tunnel portal. 
These switches are a bargain I got at THE BIG TRAIN SHOW a few years agao 











Remember when I did that thread on ballasting......this is the section I did about a year later. It has been out in the weather all this time ....I think it looks good 











This is a area that was over grown by the bush you see next to the bridge. 

Ballast is still pretty much intact......










Local Gentry. If this was a video you would see him doing push ups.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Great photos and great work, JJ. 

Thanks, 
David Meashey


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Boy JJ, you really ROCK! 

Big Rocks too. 

Looking good.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

This may be interesting. This is what I started with 


These pictures are the same area with concrete road bed before I added the rocks and tunnels 

It was going to be a simple interchange.

Then I discovered rocks on my property.

All the rocks you see came from my 2.5 acres


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good JJ. Maybe we could call round for a running session next time we are in the area?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have been inspecting my track and I am about 1/4 of the way around the Layout. 


Found some joiners pulling apart.

I hate weeding.....Pulling those nasty little buggers out from between the tack.



JJ


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## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Now that looking great J.J. Proud of ya. Now got me thinking on mine now after seeing how your formed it.
















Are you going to spray paint the concrete to match the above photo? So far looking good tho..


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Not sure of what I am going to do to add color Noel Right now I want to be able to run trains. So I am doing a complete inspection of the layout 

JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have checked the track from the Cliff wall all the way up and through the tunnels...


Tomorrow I start on the 70 FT straight away and the jungle that has grown around it..

Also the section from the North east tunnel to the junction near the original cut. 


It was 85 degrees here in New River today 

JJ


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By John J on 19 Mar 2013 06:09 PM 
I have checked the track from the Cliff wall all the way up and through the tunnels...


Tomorrow I start on the 70 FT straight away and the jungle that has grown around it..

Also the section from the North east tunnel to the junction near the original cut. 


It was 85 degrees here in New River today 

JJ
70ft?? do you have exspantion joints in that?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By NTCGRR on 19 Mar 2013 06:21 PM 
Posted By John J on 19 Mar 2013 06:09 PM 
I have checked the track from the Cliff wall all the way up and through the tunnels...


Tomorrow I start on the 70 FT straight away and the jungle that has grown around it..

Also the section from the North east tunnel to the junction near the original cut. 


It was 85 degrees here in New River today 

JJ
70ft?? do you have exspantion joints in that?


Might me closer to 65 and No I do not have expansion Joints in it. I bought some years ago and never put them in. I have all the screws out of the bottom and the way I anchor the track it doesn't seem to be that much of a problem.


This is a picture of when I was building it......The section that is out was going to be a switch to go under the back porch for storage which didn't work out. 














JJ


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey john did you get the pictures i sent you.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

JJ, What's with the 'horns' on the corner table? Got your own Nathan's? 

I thought that spur was for cold beverage service. 

John


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ, glad to see you out and about again. Soak up that Vitamin D and play trains!


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Hey John, looks awesome. It's great seeing all that 'crete roadbed, makes me feel like I made the right decision! 
This will be my track-laying year, so I appreciate all your pics and comments. 
===>Cliff


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 20 Mar 2013 11:24 AM 
JJ, What's with the 'horns' on the corner table? Got your own Nathan's? 

I thought that spur was for cold beverage service. 

John 
My Nephew got those horns for me.......They are so loud you can't be near them when they are blowing......They hurt. 


I got a Bell off of a U boat from Donnie in Omaha when I was at Marty's years ago.

That bell is one of my prize Possessions.

JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

You can feel the vibrations from those horns on your body when You are standing near 

JJ


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

So ,,this fall will you be having an open house?? Or next spring?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By NTCGRR on 20 Mar 2013 04:53 PM 
So ,,this fall will you be having an open house?? Or next sprin





I am not sure. 


Would anybody come?

Something to think about 


JJ


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

John did you get the pictures that i sent you?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By pete on 20 Mar 2013 07:14 PM 
John did you get the pictures that i sent you? 
One set so far.


JJ


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

The pictures will give you a idea of how the acid works on the cement. They make different acids for different colors. Well we are off to york when i see stan i will say hi from you.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Looks great, John!
Great to see all that good-looking 'crete roadbed... seeing as how I'm using a similar approach...
I'll be laying track myself this season, woo hoo!
===>Cliff


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By CliffyJ on 21 Mar 2013 05:27 PM 
Looks great, John!
Great to see all that good-looking 'crete roadbed... seeing as how I'm using a similar approach...
I'll be laying track myself this season, woo hoo!
===>Cliff

GO Cliffy.

All I am doing is inspecting the joins and the integrity if the ties. Everything else is as I left it. 

JJ


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

John, are the horns hooked to the phone? You could hear the phone ring for sure! 
Ron


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Open house at JJ's ???? Marty you devil. JJ, what is the closest motel? Does it have running water or at least indoor plumbing? Mary won't come if it doesn't.


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

JJ thingy sounds good, how many days till JJ's thingy??







Count me in, JJ I will give a lesson on texturing cement.Dennis


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Posted By NTCGRR on 20 Mar 2013 04:53 PM 
So ,,this fall will you be having an open house?? Or next spring? 

I hear late July, just before the Monsoons is the best time in The Valley of the Singed!!!







Followed with a fine Haboob...


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Here are some more progress pictures.

Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming seeing all the work that I have left to do.

Road bed and ties seem to be intact. 

It is mostly clearing the over growth.


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## Henson (Jan 2, 2008)

Didn't know you also had weeds to pull in AZ.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

I bet Marty snuck those weeds into JJs truck.


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## Henson (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By rlvette on 23 Mar 2013 03:38 PM 
I bet Marty snuck those weeds into JJs truck. 
Thats great Randy hadn't thought of that.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I don't have very much more to clean out and I will be ready to test the track with engines and cars. I might be ready to do that tomorrow afternoon. 

I have 8 Air Wire Decoders and I want to test my New T 5000 controller.

I bought it at Marty's last Sept and have not used it yet 

I know Paul Birch sure likes his Air Wire system. 

JJ


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

JJ make yourself aquainted with Round up , looking good and glad to see you back in the saddle again. 
Dennis


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By denray on 23 Mar 2013 07:02 PM 
JJ make yourself aquainted with Round up , looking good and glad to see you back in the saddle again. 
Dennis 
All the time I was doing this weeding work I was thinking of add on TV about the guy who sprayed the weeds in the cracks of his front walk.

Does that stuff only work on Sidewalk cracks or can I use it on my roadbed where the weeds are growing in the ballast and next to the track.









I need to visit HD.....

Wed is Payday....

JJ


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ, go buy a jug of "Ground Clear" and use your garden sprayer. Mix it twice as strong as the directions and the weeds will be running back to Marty's.


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

woow JJ, I did not know things grew so much down there. I need to stop my complaining. 
This afternoon I was out being a hosler getting my engine lash ups figured out, working and which ones have onboard and which don't.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By rlvette on 24 Mar 2013 03:48 PM 
JJ, go buy a jug of "Ground Clear" and use your garden sprayer. Mix it twice as strong as the directions and the weeds will be running back to Marty's. 
I don't have a garden sprayer










Does that make me a bad person









The green jungle you see across the tracks ( Pics 2 & 3 ) grew since Feb 1st. or there about. 

Once it starts to rain in the desert things grow like they are on steroids.

The Kewl thing is we get this blanket of tinny Tiny Purple flowers across the desert floor. 


JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Attempted to run my NW-2 and three cars.....It was a Disaster. Need to send the crew out and do another cleaning of the track. Too much debris on the track. Mostly it's the stuff Marty complains about..... Dead twigs from Palo Verdi Trees and other desert plants and neighborhood crap.


We have been having desert winds lately. 

JJ


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## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Like Marty, Guess we don't need to complain about our tracks too. Didn't know the Desert grew like that. Must be just an on going thing, no mater where you live with tracks on the ground with nature.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have spent the last couple of days working and Building throw for my switches out if cheap dead bolts. I some spools of Piano wire to make springs. I need to make 4 to make the main line complete. The switches that are one there have no switch motor and are free floating.....Not good at all .. 

Just a little update 

JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

When I was in Kansas City for the convention I bought a pack of smal/ short pieces of track. Some were Power Points at one time on someone's RR 
I thought they would come in handy when I needed to cut a short piece to join tracks.

Well Today I had to use a couple. I had to cut out small pieces of track because some monstrosity with four legs and horns had stepped on the track and trashed it.

I thought they had closed Open Range out here but I guess not. I am beginning to take sides with the Irish rancher in OPEN RANGE. 

If my freezer was a little bigger and I had a Chainsaw That behemoth would be stiffing up in my freezer and we would have Free Burgers at Marty's 

I bought, a while back some grain hopper cars from Marty. I am converting them to Kadee Couplers 830s. I am doing body mount.

I am also checking the gauge of my wheels on all of my rolling stock.

My latest Update.

JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I did some Patch ballasting a long while back.

I have some local Gentry that look like chipmunks but have a different name. 

They like to burro into the ground between the rocks. They also like to dig out my ballast. 

I have strip a 15 FT section of track,. which includes a switch, back down to the bear concrete.

The Patching of the ballast has caused some problems. 

Later tonight when it is a little cooler I will re lay the track 

JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

To day is a cloud covered day. I do not like gray days like this. It gets worse if there are multiple gray days in a row....I get cranky... 


Anyway the local gentry has been digging in my ballast. I did some patching and it looked like Maure.

So I took the track up and got out the shop vac and picked up all the ballast for about 30 feet.

I am re laying track and fixing some rotted ties.....I got to remember to spray with Armor All 

While I am doing this picking up ballast . cleaning the concrete road bed and re laying track I think about all the guys I met when I was in the Air Force. 

I think of all the guys from the different branches of service that I met along the way on my Journey here. 

I do this especially today....More than any other time 

JJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Well we got a bunch of stuff done and re worked some damaged track.


The the sun burned off the cloud cover.

The maintenance crew started to moan and groan about working in the sun with out the Shade Machine.

I said for once they are earning their paycheck.

The made obscene gestures and mumbled unkind things about my parental origin.


So I declared a work stoppage and they said they would come back out after supper.

I agreed 

JJ


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ ,sounds like your "getter-her-done" . Good job bud.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Well I got a smoking deal on some track a long time ago. I used a bunch of it.. Today I spent taking up track and putting new ties on it. I was having trouble with engines dropping between the rails as the rails split. AKA spread apart. 


Long Long time ago, about the same time I bought the track I ought a huge box of flex ties.....The online shop I got them from is gone now.









So I am now replacing ties and re laying track.

Well It is something to do. Better than the crap they have on TV......Most if it is INFOMERCIALS. 

I had a few rough spots where one pour ended and the next one started.....I smoothed over the joints with concrete patch.. 

There was one low spot were someone let the outrigger for the back hoe down on the road bed







.....I had filled that in with ballast now I took out all the ballast and filled in with Concrete patch







.

All I can say is My Rail Road gives me something to do. Something that is fun and challenging. 

Pictures to come 

JJ


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

JJ,if it's Aristo track, you can get free tie strips to replace them. 

Greg


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