October 3Malcolm Laughlin has completed the installation of the plywood for the East end of Berkmannville; John Purbrick and Bill cut out the piece last Saturday, put it in place, and even marked tentative track. This connects the recently completed trackwork with a section that was built out-of-place back in Building 20. Andy Miller worked on an alley in Guifford City. John McNamara painted the oil tank behind the roundhouse. In doing so, he was “supervised” by Ed Drozd, who also worked on some center-beam flat cars. John Shriver re-installed the metal uprights inside the trolley car barn. These will provide electrical continuity to the overhead wiring that will be added later. He also began paving the interior of the carbarn using joint compound. October 10Andy Miller paved the alley next to “Walker’s Fine Dining” in downtown Gifford City. Mal Laughlin completed the calibrated roll-ability tester. Cars equipped with new trucks rolled on an 0.6 to 0.7% grade, while some cars with old trucks required a 1.7% grade. Ed Drozd, John McNamara, and John Purbrick entertained some visitors. Ken Terrell did some painting under the “supervision” of Claude Brown. October 14 [[pictures]](/old/progress/reports/2001/10/../../../images5173.tcl?year=2001&month=10&day=14)Not a full report, but many pictures of the day for today! Plus, the first day that we connected an assembled System3 Block Card! There’s plenty of work to do with System3, but its definetely a good milestone! October 17Ed Drozd and Andy Miller took a trip to Star Market and replenished the soft drink supply. With the assistance of Alex Vandiver and John McNamara, they filled the machine, which had “run dry”. Alex and John also worked on scenery around the roundhouse. Tom O’Reilly and John Purbrick substantially extended the tracks in Berkmannville. Malcolm Loughlin studied some maps in preparation for an upcoming industrial research trip that he and Bill Onorato are planning. He also “supervised” Tom and John’s track-laying efforts. Ken Terrell visited and exercised the System with a freight train. October 24John Purbrick and Tom O’Reilly continued the process of laying ties, staining ties, ballasting, and installing rail in the Berkmannville and “East Berkmannville” areas. John says he is anxious to get more track down so that they can work on the fun part - four new switches. Andy Miller entended the high stone wall that is along the side of the passenger yard. This allows space for the paving behind Walker’s Fine Dining and the installation of a concrete capstone on the retaining wall. John McNamara cleaned the roof of the roundhouse and installed a lead weight and a stiffener under a roof section that bends upward slightly. Malcolm Laughlin worked on a model of a tank car he and Bill Onorato saw recently in Lawrence. Malcolm sys he longs for the good old days of models that were made of prototype materials - wood and metal. October 27Today’s activities began at 10 with a tour of the MBTA subway dispatching facility. It had the rare distinction of causing a moment of stunned silence when the TMRCies first entered the visitor gallery above the control room. A large semi-circular wall contained large rear-projection displays of all the subway routes, with indication of trains in progress. The whole thing was very impressive. Saturday afternoon featured a tour of the Riverside carbarn and servicing facility. Between the two tours, most of the group rode the Red Line to Mattapan and visited the Mattapan High Speed Trolley, populated with nicely restored PCC cars. In the evening, Tom O’Reilly, Alex Vandiver, and John Purbrick layed track in Berkmannville. Genya Zaytman and Ed Drozd began interior work on Ed’s “Art Deco” building and constructed a covered hopper. Jeff Birkner worked on a Signals and Power project, while Bill Onorato added roof molding to the vegetable oil factory. Andy Miller did additional work on the retaining wall between the main street of Gifford City and the passenger platforms, while John McNamara began work on a front wall for the newspaper building. Ken Terrell did some painting.