Lake Shore Live Steamers.com

Located at

Penitentiary Glen
8668 Kirtland-Chardon Rd
Kirtland, Ohio 44094

Don Speidel giving the ladies a ride with a special run before the work session. The mainline on the left at the West Yard entrance switch needs some TLC to level it and reballast it out.

After a little leveling and tamping of the track the crew moves on to the next task. The crew set a wye switch down on the existing track to find the right position for the crossover to the next yard track.

After removing the required sections of track and ballast for the switch to be placed this is what it looked like. Dick Clark cuts the rail while Rick Nagy holds it and Tom Reder and Frank Foti wait.

Dick and Rick fit the rails and prepare for drilling the rails for the joiners. George Davidson, Lew Fowler and George Metts carry the header beam which will support one end of the leanto rafters.

As the guys support the beam in position, George nails it into place. Lew finishing up with the hammering in of the remaining nails required in the support beam that had the metal clips for the rafters already installed.

Frank and Tom attaching the rail to the new ties with screws. George D. and George M. using a post hole digger for the new leanto poles that will be set into the ground at least 42 inches because of the frost line.

Metts found this old post hole digger in a secondhand shop which you turn and it really digs good. We opted for a break and at the steaming bays Don Speidel was checking over the riding car bearings and lubing the wear points.

Paul Emch was working with Don to accomplish the task at hand with the cars. Over at the Switch Shed, Jerry Bell and Ted Nyland were moving cars that were loaded with five gallon buckets of dirt to the transfer table via temporary track.

Edith Hacker, whom we affectionately call our digging machine, works at loading the five gallon pails with dirt. Marie Nyland who is replanting the area after the park put up the new fence, with Edith in the background.

Jerry aligning the transition piece as Ted oversees the effort. Jerry and Ted push the loaded car up on the transfer table rails then the car with be moved to the opposite end and connected to the train.

Edith clearing out the dirt in front of the newly planted area against the fence. The track crew finished up installing the switch and Lew, George and myself kept digging holes for the posts.

When we hit stone in the hole Lew manned a drill with an 3" dia. auger blade on a 3 foot rod to loosen it up for the post hole digger. Track crew finished the switch, we finished the holes and I found out I used some new muscle groups.

Roger Harnish and George set the first post in the hole. George and Roger setting the third post as Ron Trenhaile and Bob Beardslee watch.

We added brackets from the shed to the posts after leveling them to keep them aligned. Meanwhile the digging, planting and dirt removal continued on the other side of the Switch Shed.

All the posts are bracketed, sway bracing is added and a bucket is placed over the end of a brace for safety. Roger and Ken Brooks break open the bags of cement by cutting them in half to made it easier to lift them.

Roger and Ken pouring the dry cement into the holes. The concrete has been placed in the holes and ready for water to be added. In the foreground you can see the old post hole digger that you had to rotate to make it dig.