Rounding out the primary construction tasks for the mountain
grade, I spent a week building the operator platform alongside Wicopee and
Cruzatte. This platform is set at
18 inches above the main floor.
With the climbing railroad and two levels of track, the platform height
is a compromise. The best platform
to track heights occur around Wicopee siding and the RR-East end of
Cruzatte. The RR-West end of
Cruzatte is high above the platform, such that even I (standing at 6 ft 4 in)
resort to stools. The grade
climbing up from McCredie Springs in this same area is about belt height. Compromises.
I used the same design and construction that I used for the
Cascade Summit platform. A series
of low bents were built using 2x4s and plywood sheathing. Joists were made from 2x4, with three
used for the three feet width of the platform. Diagonal braces keep everything solid, avoiding the
Sacramento Northern Arcade trestle collapse. Floor underlayment ¾ inch plywood caps the 2x4 joists. Finally, the top of the platform was
sheathed with 1/8 inch tempered hardboard. 2x4 handrail posts support handrails formed from an L-girder
made with a 1x2 capped by a 1x3.
All of this makes for a very solid platform and handrail system.
Operator platform for the
mountain grade under construction.
Operator platform sheathed with
plywood at the Wicopee end.
Completed operator platform for the mountain grade seen from
the RR-West end of Cruzatte. The
two-step stool will be handy for viewing (or working on) the west switch of
Cruzatte.
RR-East end of Wicopee on the
lower level.
RR-West end of Wicopee with the
Salt Creek Trestle span in the distance.
I am rapidly closing in on the last of the major “sawdust
projects” before the NMRA National Convention. More importantly, my operating crew now has proper access to
the mountain grade.
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