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May 26th, 97 To Whom It May Concern. While we as a group are not building a steam locomotive at this time we welcome any individual or group who either is building or has built a 1.5" gauge locomotive to join our group. While we are currently under construction of phase three of the railway it would be unfair to invite guests from far places to run on a railway that is still under construction without them knowing this. We have, however been operating since September of 1996 and have carried over 1000 passengers. During Christmas we operated when the temp was above -20 degrees C. Apart from some ice problems we did manage about eight trips a night. This summer we are holding five open houses. By structuring the events it allows us to concentrate on stage 3 of construction which has already commenced for the summer. A little bit of history. The dream to build a 1.5" railway went back almost 25 years but due to all sorts of reasons we never commenced construction until the summer of 1995. Prier to that we had collected wood for ties and cut up almost 3000 ties. We also secured our first 2000 feet of aluminum rail from Cannonball. During the summer of 1995 stage 1 started in earnest and we cleared the right-of-way on 1200 feet of main line. On this we installed a 3" bed of 3/4" clean crushed lime stone. We buried a 3/4" polly pipe in this to provide fire water stations about every 120 to 150 feet around the main line. By fall of 1995 we had laid 1000 feet of sub roadbed. In low sections we had added a second layer of rock. Snow brought construction to an end but during the winter we fabricated a Cannonball Hopper car for ballast service and built our first set of trucks. In February we placed a major contract with Cannonball to manufacture a fully finished GP9 locomotive along with four gondolas and a flat car. All equipment was painted and lettered for the A.V.R. and follows the C.N.R. green, black and gold colours of the late steam era. The rolling stock is box car red. We felt this colour scheme would blend with steam in the future better than something modern. We also felt as a group that building the railroad, would not allow us time to both build the trackage and build the locomotive. In passing I believe this to be a wise choice as every railroad needs a locomotive that can be used to build the line and does not need steaming time. Peter and I drove to Oklahoma in September of 96 to take delivery of #3001. Check out Cannonball’s December ad in Modeltec. Stage two of construction started as soon as it dried up in the spring. We laid our first rail on June 15th, 1996. The initial main line is 1800’ long traveling in a dog bone configuration. ruling minimum radius is 50’ with a 1.5 % grade at one end. The railroad is located in a heavily wooded 6 acre area and most of the trackage winds through the trees. Some trouble was taken, to avoid principal trees. The two legs of the dog bone are probably 200 feet apart so you can never see from one side to the other. We have marked the railroad up into 100’ sections and have installed "mile posts" at each 100’ to assist in identifying areas of track concern. We started laying rail at mile 4 where we branched off for a 93’ run to the parking area where we provided a ramp to get our loco off the van. By the end of the season we had laid a total of 890’ of track and built two switches. Constructed a 48’ long temporary dog house to house the train. We also had cleared and prepared the remaining main line and two spur lines. We placed all sub-roadbed material on all right-of-ways and put the water system into operation. We creasoted enough ties to lay 1000 feet of track and cut up another 1200 ties. We worked feverishly for our first open house held on October 20th. It snowed the following weekend thus bringing construction to a halt for 1996. We endeavored to run all winter long on specific occasions. To date we have hauled over 1000 passengers. Stage three is now underway. We have had to re-ballast 250 feet of track that floated free due to the flood of 97. I had thought a low section of track was high enough but during the spring thaw the water level climbed almost 18 inches in three days and came over the main line by 4 inches. Problem was the water in the bush came up so fast but the culvert in the road remained frozen. If we get that much snow in future years we must install a heat tape in the culvert to free it up before run off starts. We also ballasted an additional 250 feet of track that was not complete last summer. We have already installed 110 additional feet of tie panels and will shortly be spiking it down. 750 additional ties have been cut from scrounged lumber. Our goal is to connect the main lines by this fall so we can end our out and back operation. Last Sunday we used the hopper car to great advantage in spreading ballast. In the future we plan to build a station building of 12’ by 24’ to house a museum, washroom and meeting area. We also will be constructing a small 14’ x 10’ engine and work shop. The 48 foot dog house will be relocated to the end of the station for storage of equipment. Once we have completed the current plans we have already contemplated the addition of an additional 1800’ of main line plus other features. The three charter members have done most of the work to date but we have had an additional 6 people helping from time to time. This year we anticipate about 12 volunteers helping. Visitors are welcome and those who want to help are encouraged. At this point we have no formal membership rules except that to run the locomotive you need to help with the work. Visiting Locomotives are welcome but remember at this point our trackage is limited but growing. We have not yet formalized any steaming area but water and electricity is available. We have a ramp that can be set up for unloading equipment. We would be pleased if you listed us in your directory of clubs and use the above address and phone numbers. Our postal code is R3R 0B8. Yours sincerely Bill Taylor Fax 204-786-5082 work 204-786-4882 P.S. Peter mentioned that if you are interested we have a track plan and have several construction articles complete with lots of pictures of various stages of construction. AUG. 21ST, 97 To Whom It May Concern. Construction upgrade for the summer of 1997. At the end of summer 96 we had track running from mile post 1 to mile post 8 giving us a 700 ft main line. We also had about 190 feet in passing track, loading track and other service areas. This spring we started laying new track in May as soon as we dealt with the spring flooding and run off. As of August 20th, 97 the following work had been complete and we picked up an additional full member plus some additional helpers. We cut up and creasoted an additional 1500 ties. We lay track from mile post 8 to within 20 feet of mile post 14. We have made up an additional 300 feet of tie panels. (one rail with 29 ties ready for installation on the ground.) That is scheduled to be installed during the Labour Day weekend. We have ballasted trackage from mile post 6.3 to mile post 13 plus about 250 feet where flood waters caused problems. As well as all this industry we hosted three open houses for the public and did preparation work for these. Three new switches were built and are ready for installation between mile 0 and mile 1. One level crossing was constructed and electrical service line was run between mile post 8 and 11. It is anticipated that by September 1st we will have only 170 feet of track to be laid before the "Golden Screw Ceremony" will occur and the main line will be complete thus bringing a welcome end to backing trains with up to 14 people on board back to the station. We still have almost two months of construction time remaining but lots of work left including the cutting and creasoting of the remaining ties. Wishful thinking by the active members is that we can close the gape before our next open house on September 14th however that would mean using wet ties. We have preferred in the past to let ties dry or cure for at least two weeks before using. We are also planning to at least lay the concrete foundation for the station and car storage building before winter. An ambitious goal would be to have the storage building built before winter so our temporary 48 ft long "dog house" can be removed from the passing track in front of the future station. If construction does not occur than the temporary dog house will see another winter of service. We will supply an update when the snow flies and if you wish a pictorial building report over the winter. We would be pleased if you listed us in your directory of clubs and use the above address and phone numbers. Our postal code is R3R 0B8. Yours sincerely Bill Taylor Fax 204-786-5082 Work 204-786-4882 Sept. 16th, 97 To Whom It May Concern. You will be pleased to know that the 1800 foot main line has now been complete. Over the past three weeks all members of the club have worked extremely hard and we arranged for the "Golden Screw" ceremony to take place on September 13th, 1997 at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. We invited the Lieutenant Governor for the province of Manitoba. (The Queen’s representative and head of state for the province.) to do the honours and he accepted. The weather was sunny and warm. We had a small gathering of 42 people who consisted of people who had worked on or for the A.V.R. in some capacity plus their immediate families. By all accounts the ceremony was most meaningful and appropriate to the occasion. The ceremony was followed by a first run by. The afternoon finished with rides for the official party and all quests and a lunch. Thanks to the generosity of a Winnipeg company the last six screws were real gold. It was the culmination of a 25 year dream and all members were extremely satisfied. Sunday marked our first open house on the completed track. Thanks to some free publicity by one local weekly news paper and a radio station interview we were swamped with people. Between the hours of 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. we made 37 round trips and carried 550 passengers. Our largest single train load was 21 passengers and one engineer. Most people were content with one ride because of the constant 50 or so people waiting to have rides at all times. An additional train would have been a real asset at this time. In reflecting on the day we felt very satisfied as we paid 60% of our liability insurance for the year in one days donations and we had no problems. Not even a wheel off the track. The locomotive performed well on our 1.5% grade. Next time we will run it in reverse and take the slow way up the hill as it is only 1.25% and takes it in three steps. The 1.5% is steady but with a full train load of adults only required one extra notch on the throttle. Our next open house is on October 12th, 1997 from 1:00 to 5:00. Leading up to this event many members felt that we all might slack off due to the extra time spent on the big push to completion but already some members are considering the next two switches that need building to complete our "Y" and yard trackage. We are all hoping that we will get another 150 feet of track in before snow. A crew is preparing to close in the 14’ x 10’ engine house and work shop before snow so we will have a place to do maintenance on our locomotive if it needs it. As you can see the A.V.R. is coming of age. On Sunday we talked with a gentleman who has started building a replica of C.P.R. #22 or Winnipeg Hydro #3, (The locomotive that powers the Prairie Dog Central here in Winnipeg.) Fortunately he is building in 1.5" so we have invited him to run on our line. Several weeks ago four of our members had the pleasure to visit the Red River Live Steamers property on Inkster. It was obvious they had run on the previous day but the information given to us was misleading in that they did not run on the Sunday when we arrived. We noted the progress that they had made on their duel gauge track they are mounting on the ground. They are not using rail and 3 ties to the foot as we are using, nor are they using spiral easements into their curves and tangents. They have installed two sections of track on a limestone base using steel bar or strap welded to a support every six inches. This in turn is screwed to a wood tie. The joints are not staggered and as I indicated earlier they go directly from straight to curved track. We are not sure how this will affect coupler alignment. Their curves appear to be gentle enough that this might not be a problem. It would appear that track laying has stopped due to the necessity to build two large bridges to get across the creek crossing the property. They also appear to have a gap where their road enters the property. They may be reluctant to build a level crossing until the balance is complete or their new insurance like ours may not allow a road to cross an active track? One member suggested to me that they may close off the road. I also noted that no facilities appear to be available for the new track. Due to the handling problems with 1.5" a car shed and engine house would be helpful. My understanding is that at the current time they do not have anyone with a 1.5" locomotive so currently they are only using the 1" section of the new track. The 4 3/4" does show signs of having had equipment on it. We have been pleased that at our last four open houses several members of the R.R.L.S. have come out to ride our train. It would appear that they are very interested in our progress. We wish them luck with the ongoing completion of their new line. It is nice to have options and also the more interest created in railroading in the area the more potential for new equipment being built. We are currently drawing up our Christmas Light train schedule. We will send it along to you at a later time. We welcome any visitors who may wish to run. Yours sincerely Bill Taylor Fax 204-786-5082 Work 204-786-4882 RULES OF THE A.V.R.
DUE TO INSURANCE REGULATIONS ALL MINORS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A RESPONSIBLE ADULT. THERE IS NO COST TO RIDE THE TRAIN BUT AS THE A.V.R. IS A NON PROFIT CLUB A SMALL DONATION TO OFFSET THE COST OF INSURANCE IS ALWAYS WELCOME. COME AND RIDE THE TRAIN |
