Lake Shore Live Steamers.com

Located at

Penitentiary Glen
8668 Kirtland-Chardon Rd
Kirtland, Ohio 44094

Ted Nyland and Dennis Crislip finished the other switch for Dick Clark's bypass we are going to start building and set it outside. Dick Clark ran the work train with the switch over to Thorn where the switch will be installed..

We put the switch panel down on the existing track to judge the best location, taking consideration of rail joints. Wondering if the switch throw is too close to the tree.

View from other end of the switch, you can see it's not practical to move the switch throw on opposite side due to converging rails. Dick starts cutting the aluminum rail with the Dewalt battery powered saw.

The existing track was lifted out and the roadbed was cut down to below the ties on the new switch panel. The new switch is laid in place and everything is o.k. for the cuts Dick made to existing rail.

Dick and John Koontz fit up the rail joiners and put in the missing ties to fill in at the rail joints. While this was going on Ron Trenhaile and Dick Scott were bending rail for the curve between the two switches.

The switch panel is in and Bob Pakeltis surveys our handiwork. John and Bob are hauling buckets of ballast from the work train and dumping it on the switch panel.

Tom Pappas, Bob and Dick were sweeping the ballast and cleaning the ballast from around the switch throw. Dick trying to set the radius of the track at 35' as Tom holds the other end of the measuring tape over the new switch.

The crew driving stakes into the ground on either side of the existing track we will have to make a crossing for. Tom and Wayne Boron set stakes in the ground along the arc of the circle between switches.

You can see the arc that the stakes form as they extend away from the switch we put in today. The stakes they set in the weeds will give us a good indication of the radius that the rail needs to be bent to.

The capture post for the block ahead will have to be moved closer to where I am standing and Frank Foti said he would take care of it this week sometime. Lastly, the crew dumped ballast between the stakes to more readily show the curvature.