With an above freezing sunny day, it was nice to be able to see the ground again as all of the snow has gone.

The stone base for the next phase of the Empire State Express cars’ siding west of the LA&L sees the light finally with the snow all gone.   Pretty soon we will be able to get back to extending the siding.

It was also nice to throw the doors open on the shop and get to work readying equipment for the spring.   The R&GVRRM owns three ex-US Military Chevy trucks (two pickups and one ambulance).   Earlier in the winter, we replaced the starter flywheel on truck #3 and put it back into service.  Next up was truck #1 that needed a broken starter bolt removed and the starter installed.   Here the truck sits after successful surgery and is again on the operational board.

 
Also in the shop, our Bobcat 610 skid steer has received a new rear rim to replace the original rim whose mounting holes had become egg-shaped from use.    We are still looking for a smaller bucket for this unit since the bucket it has is just too big for stone work.    Please let us know if you might have something.   

With truck #1 out of the shop, our Trojan loader was the next piece to come in to receive work in the form of new brakes all around and some cosmetic improvements.

With it sitting on the concrete portion of the shop floor, it was quick to jack it up, remove the rear wheels, and start the process of disassembling the hubs to see what we are up against.

 
Meanwhile in another portion of the shop, our new to us Schramm compressors were getting prepped to have a new valve installed.   The goal is to make one usable compressor out of the two, and hopefully we will see completion soon; giving us another good size portable compressor for track work and more.   To augment the Schramm, the R&GVRRM could still use a good towable jackhammer compressor.   Any leads, please contact us.
All in all, a very good day!   We are looking forward to even more progress as the weather continues to improve.   Please stop out soon to see what we are up to.