The Rubber & Rawhide Railroad

Progress Report for 2nd October 2008

House Perimeter Route Complete!

Phase II alongside Deck

The track laying continued alongside the East side of the deck,as shown in the photo at right.

Phase II Magic Portal to Porch rails.

The Phase II trackage continued up through the Magic Portal and onto the front porch, as shown in the photo at left. "And then, we rested."

Porch Division Rebuild.

As can be seen in the photo at right, this oldest division of the Rubber and Rawhide has been suffering from some not too benign neglect. Its most notable residents have watched in dismay as their home has become little more than a staging area for trains to anywhere else. Of course, Atlas does have the only subway service on the line, but he insists that's not the same as through line connections! The track laying crew has promised that before another day is out, there will be rail service available not only from Atlas Tower, but Julio will also have his own Station Stop! The cedar log grandstand has been relocated with massive effort, and what was the third siding will be extended to rejoin the House Perimeter mainline just East of Track Number Two.

Preliminary work was begun on the Julio Track (Number Three) this evening. We hope to be able to run a test train by early tomorrow afternoon. Operations is really pushing for an Friday evening passenger train to explore both the newly opened areas and the existing Phase One trackage!

Phase III Preparations.

One area that has been some cause for concern as planning continues on Phase III trackage is the need for the R&R to get grade crossing permissions from the Leather Oaks Driveway and Sidewalk Commission. The prototype of a suggested solution was completed earlier this week, and has just been approved. The photo at left shows how two modified sections of the composite roadbed provide this protection. A similar approach will be employed to provide protection to passenger areas on the Porch Division.