Cinder Sniffers, Inc.

Happenings Around the Track

aka The Silt Ring

New Year’s Day 2018

2025 PICTURES

4/30/25

Wednesday

EH and DL install newtotheclub gutter guards.

RH (no relation) mowed.

4/26/25

Work day

and Member meeting minutes

Four Guys Finish Off Four Joints!

(Meeting “minutes”) by Denis Larrick

Though the tunnel was not as smoky inside as one might expect, in one day we went from having three sections joined together to seven. There is light at the end of the tunnel, even if you can’t see all the way through anymore. We weren’t limited to four people – that was just the capacity that could be in the work area at one time. Chuck B, Steve C, Brodie C, Ed H, Denis L, and Dave S all rotated through the crew, while Roger H, Jim K, and Bill M were involved in other things about the property. Jon P was elected an ex-officio member of the crew for coming to the track before the previous run to fill the fire extinguishers.

The business meeting started with a motion to adjourn, but the motion was quickly withdrawn when it was realized that we didn’t have a quorum to have a meeting.

It was a productive day (including Blimpie’s lunch on the house), and the next session will see the final length of the tunnel realized. Then it will take another session to level and plumb the sections and center them on the track in final location. After that, perhaps Denis’ truck can be divested of a load of construction foam in building the “stone” portal, Halloween prop style.

Many thanks to all who voted with voices and wallets to make this project possible. Eets geeeting verrrrrrry daaaark een theeere! Don’t forget your headlights and freds.

DL leads the charge with one of the sections.

BC, SC and DL prepare another section.

Also, an unnamed project was completed by SC,CB, BC . You will have to ask someone who was at the work day for details.

Denis Larrick’s

4/25/25 (approx)

VALVE SETTING DAY

It is VALVE SETTING DAY! The mogul chassis is back together, the drivers are blocked up off the rails, and it is ready for valve setting and then test running on air next week. I made new linkage so the cylinder cocks are now working right and added a guard to keep the oily water off the rails. For the first time, the rods and crossheads have been commercially nickel plated, and the tires painted appliance epoxy white (which will stay that way for the first ten minutes of the first run). I am converting the eccentrics from oil to grease to keep dirt out that may have contributed to locking them up and throwing the valves out of time. I will also hook up the mechanical lubricator that I bought years ago so I no longer have to hand oil the cylinders every couple of laps. I have designed a modified blast nozzle with a barker in the smokebox so it can talk a bit more. The headlight casting that Chuck Balmer graciously made for me will finally get used, and the tender will have a brand-new commercial hand pump (the old one is now on the Chloe). I have made a tubular chime that will be mounted under the running board so I can ring a not-too-obnoxious bell while running through the station and yard. I found a spray paint that is close to historic Baldwin Green which will be on the tender, domes, and cowcatcher. Red wheels were special order in the 1880s, but the narrow gauge that ran from Newtown (where I live) to New Richmond (where I used to live) had an engine painted that way, so I am justified! It will be a rolling Christmas tree. Now all I have to do is get it running by the Thanksgiving so it can be my Christmas present from me to me. Keep your fingers crossed that life doesn't get in the way.

4/12/25

OPENING DAY

The track opened a month

early this year to a great attendance.

The weather man cooperated too.

JA brought his new hand powered

speeder. (Don’t look too closely, there

is an electric motor under the seat.!)

RL brought his newly completed climax.

It is beautiful and we look forward to a return visit.

SB and daughter and grandson.

Rumor has it we have the

2075 Cinder Sniffers President

in the engineer’s seat.

Vintage member and boiler inspector SC fires

up the locomotive on this beautiful day.

3/22/25

Work Day

The day began with a tree down since Wednesday! Notice the tunnel section in the background. It was blown over along with the tree.

The burn pile was lit.

JB saws the tree sans Sams chaps.

HW and grandson A stack wood.

Not pictured DS EH JB and CB!

That’s All Folks!

3/19/25

TRAGIC BREAKING NEWS

Wednesday Chainsaw Gang drops tree on Mc Allister Station with SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE but multiple attempts to destroy the fence were foiled.

Tunnel Daylighting Project Continues and in Sports:Ed Habel wins the hammer toss"Chaps" Sams wins tree balancing demonstration

A dead tree was felled today by Chaps, Ed, and Denis, with Roger smartly and safely seated sixty feet away. Many attempts by the big three to toss a rope, with hammer attached, over the crotch of the tree did not succeed, but the rope was tied to the tree, and with aid of the new battery powered toy that Chaps brought, the tree did come down. The planned northward felling of the forty footer took a bad turn when the tree went south, smack onto McAllister station, resulting in significant damage to the historical structure. Some say the mis direction was due to lack of pulling by Ed and Denis and NOT by the saw work of Chaps. Note how the moss on the roof was disrupted. The tree balanced smartly on the roof and was easily rolled off onto the ground where it was quickly dispatched. In other news, the winds of the past week tried to daylight the new tunnel. There was apparently a reason that prototype railroads put dirt on top of their tunnels.