Track Construction
The following photos and videos were taken during construction of the
Peterborough, NH - Monadnock Valley Railroad
Details of material required are shown at the bottom of this page.
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2x4's for crossties delivered from Belletetes
| 2x4's ready to be cut into 13-1/2" crossties; rail from Railroad Supply Corporation
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Straight track jig ready for crossties and rail
| Crossties and rail set on the track jig
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Laying out a 25' radius curve on the base of the curved track jig
| Curved track jig and completed track sections
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In August 2018 we began site work for the railroad. The first order of business was to clear a row of tall pine trees where a retaining wall for the railroad's south loop would be built. Click on the video below to see Wilcox Tree Service's tree clearing activities.
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Kevin clearing the right-of-way
| Checking the grade with a laser-level
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The excellent site work for the railroad was done by Kevin Sweeney. Click on the video below to see the site work in preparation for the railroad's south loop.
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Kevin tamping the south loop roadbed
| Switch panels laid out on the roadbed
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North loop track panels in place
| Main switch panels and north loop panels in place
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Tucker says: "I better see if they're doing it right"
| "It passes the 'sniff test'"
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Completed south loop track and retaining wall
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Testing the motorized ground-throw switch stand with a 12 volt gear-motor
| The two motorized switches with covers removed
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Motorized switch with temporary protective cover over the 12 volt gear-motor
| One of the remote control panels for changing the alignment of the two motorized switches
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Click on the photo below to see a video of the north-main and south-main switches being remotely controlled from one of the railroad's switch control posts.
In the video, the engineer approaches the switch control post at the south end of the trestle. The false undulating appearance of the cross ties at the near end of the trestle is due to a camera-strobe effect. The control post houses two sets of push buttons to control the north-main and south-main switch positions. The green buttons set the switch to straight and the red buttons set the switch to diverging. The engineer will press two of the push buttons to set the south-main switch to straight and the north-main switch to diverging. The close-up at the end of the video shows the two ground-throw switch mechanisms connected to 12 volt DC gear motors moving the switch points of their respective switches. The LED’s in protective bell jars indicate to the engineer that the switch throw arm is moving. We plan to install low-profile signals at each switch to indicate the actual switch position.
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North loop grade crossing
| Grade crossings are primarily used by powered lawn maintenance equipment
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Dolly temporarily connected to the access track
| Dolly used to move the train from temporary storage in the sunroom prior to construction the enginehouse
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Materials Required to Construct the Peterborough, NH - MVRR
- Rail:
- 1,200' of rail - 60 ten-foot sections of track x 2 rails per track section.
- 23 each ten foot straight track sections for the main line, passing track, enginehouse, yard lead tracks and equivalent sections for switches.
- 37 each ten foot curved track sections (25’ radius) for the main line, passing track, yard lead tracks and equivalent sections for switches.
- Rail Joiners
- 240 rail joiners - 4 for each of the 60 sections of track.
- Switches:
- 7 frogs - one #6 frog for each of the 6 spring switches plus 1 for the stub switch.
- 6 pairs of switch points - one for each of the 6 spring switches.
- 2 harp switch stands - one for each of two switches.
- 2 manually operated ground throw switch mechanisms - one for each of two switches.
- 2 remote controlled ground throw switch mechanisms - one for each of two switches. A video demonstrating the remote control switch operation is located near the bottom of this page.
800 each 8’ pressure-treated 2x4’s were used in the construction of the railroad including lumber for cross ties, switches, the trestle and the enginehouse.
Note: Cross ties on ground-level track are approximately 13-1/2” long and the spacing we used was approximately 35 cross ties per 10’ section of track. Cross ties on switches vary from 13-1/2” to 29” and cross ties on the trestle are 36” long. All cross ties were cut from pressure-treated 2x4’s.
- 460’ ground level main line track, requiring approximately 1,600 each 13-1/2” cross ties.
- 50‘ of yard track leading to the enginehouse, requiring approximately 175 each 13-1/2” cross ties.
- 40’ trestle, requiring approximately 140 each 36” cross ties.
- 6 spring switches, requiring approximately 30 cross ties averaging approximately 22” each plus 4 each 34” cross ties for the switch throw mechanisms.
- 1 each 3-track, 104” long stub switch; 32 each cross ties varying from 18” to 40” plus 4 each 34” cross ties for the switch throw mechanisms.
- #10 hex-washer-head, stainless steel screws:
Approximately 8000 #10 1” long hex washer-head, stainless steel screws were used. 4 screws were used to fasten each of the 2 rails to the cross ties.
Fill: 11 cu yds.
Ballast: 15 cu yds. of ¾” crushed stone
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