Sandy Ridge & Clear Lake Railway
Equipment: The engines and cars on the SR&CL are built to 3 3/4" scale and patterned after the Maine Two Foot railroads, making them about 1/3 the size of the prototype. The locomotives, cabooses and coach are scale plus some height added, to allow real scale people to be able to ride inside. The steam engines are all coal fired. All rolling stock has working hand brakes and these are used (needed) for various places we setout cars, due to grades.
Engine 7 - This engine was built by our good friend Jim Small of Brampton Ont. Jim built it from plans in Live Steam Magazine by Don Young. He has done a great job building it, however we have found that sometimes model plans don't always make for a good working locomotive. We have been changing things over the last few years to make it operate better. Jim has even let us build a new cab that is a foot higher than scale but allows us to sit under the cab roof. He wasn't to sure when we told him about our plans for the cab, but after sitting under the roof, now says it's great. Most of the other things have been of a more minor nature to make the engine run better.
Note: one of the future additions to this page, will be a photo collection for each piece of equipment. Check back for updates as these are setup.
Engine 10 – This engine is from Ridge Locomotive Works of Freeland, Mi. It arrived in 2005 to undergo tests and improvements by Marty Knox. He has made a lot of changes to suite Jack. It has working air brakes and sanders. It was going to be an oil burner, but along the way, it was decided that coal would be better. Once accepted by Jack, Mel took it under his wing and made a new cab and bunker to make a more scale image.
Engine 25 - This is our first locomotive. It was built by Mel and was the start of the railroad. It is built to be used as the workhorse for building and operating of the railroad and it has been doing a good job. It is powered by a 18 hp twin cylinder gas engine and has a hydro static transmission. The loco has evolved into a fairly complete locomotive with a cab that most people can fit inside with working lights, a bell, a horn and sanders for better traction. The cab has a removable sliding door that can be closed up to keep out the weather or taken off in the summer to keep the engineer cool.
Engine 4 - This is a Shay type locomotive and is on loan to us from Mike Allen of Ann Arbor, Mi. It is a 3 cylinder, 4 inch scale, 12 inch gauge engine built by his late father. We made new trucks for it and made improvements to it. See the picture sections for some of the things we did. Jack lettered it for the Clear Lake Logging Co. [CLL]. It is the main engine for the two branch lines when we can run steam on them and does a good job of pushing the snow plow when needed.
Bus 3 - Mel built this for Bruce Phillips so he can do track inspections and help with line maintenance. It fills in on the passenger train schedule when we need a quick engine to meet the schedule.
Engine 24 - Being built by Jim Small for Tom Casper and is progressing nicely in Brampton. The boiler was completed in 2006 by Ridge Locomotive Works and Jim is working on integrating it to the frame. The tender is together and stored at Phelps.
559 - The new addition at the end of 2011 (originally planned at 554). This is a full length caboose based on the Sandy River prototypes. It features a large side door on each side to allow Crew to crawl in to ride inside. It has a steel frame with a wood skin.
560 - This is our first caboose (renumbered from C-1). It is a four wheeler with working brakes for controlling trains on our grades. This car is tall enough to ride inside and has a door on one side. It has a steel frame with a wood skin and a heavy steel plate floor. It is heavy so a person can ride on the foot boards and not derail it, most of the time.
Coach Ailina – Our first passenger car, finished in 2002, was named for JNO’s mother. Along with service in passenger trains, it also doubles as a second caboose as well. It seats 2 adults and 1 child, the 4th seat area has a desk for the Conductor to work at (he has to keep his delay report up to date as he goes). The roof tilts up for easy access for adults who can’t bend down. It uses air pressure struts to counter balance the roof weight. It also has a hand brake for the conductor to hold the car during switching or stop it, if cut off on the fly. She is a real beauty! Mel really outdid himself on this one.
We have Five flat cars at present (437, 438, 439, 440, CB&E # 12), two gondolas (501, 521) and one box car (158). These cars are scale models of Maine Two Footers. Their frames are Womanized pine in most cases. We craft our own steel parts but have relied on others for the aluminum up until now. Mel has produced detailed plans for them so that other members of our group can build them at home. Four of the cars have been done this way (440, 501, 521, CB&E #12) and have turned out good or great. One of the gons doubles as our snow plow frame (501) and carries the big blade in the winter time. Both of the gons have removable sides to facilitate emptying the cars and using them as bulkhead flats.
Equipment: The engines and cars on the SR&CL are built to 3 3/4" scale and patterned after the Maine Two Foot railroads, making them about 1/3 the size of the prototype. The locomotives, cabooses and coach are scale plus some height added, to allow real scale people to be able to ride inside. The steam engines are all coal fired. All rolling stock has working hand brakes and these are used (needed) for various places we setout cars, due to grades.
Engine 7 - This engine was built by our good friend Jim Small of Brampton Ont. Jim built it from plans in Live Steam Magazine by Don Young. He has done a great job building it, however we have found that sometimes model plans don't always make for a good working locomotive. We have been changing things over the last few years to make it operate better. Jim has even let us build a new cab that is a foot higher than scale but allows us to sit under the cab roof. He wasn't to sure when we told him about our plans for the cab, but after sitting under the roof, now says it's great. Most of the other things have been of a more minor nature to make the engine run better.
Note: one of the future additions to this page, will be a photo collection for each piece of equipment. Check back for updates as these are setup.
Sandy Ridge & Clear Lake Railway
Engine 10 – This engine is from Ridge Locomotive Works of Freeland, Mi. It arrived in 2005 to undergo tests and improvements by Marty Knox. He has made a lot of changes to suite Jack. It has working air brakes and sanders. It was going to be an oil burner, but along the way, it was decided that coal would be better. Once accepted by Jack, Mel took it under his wing and made a new cab and bunker to make a more scale image.
Engine 25 - This is our first locomotive. It was built by Mel and was the start of the railroad. It is built to be used as the workhorse for building and operating of the railroad and it has been doing a good job. It is powered by a 18 hp twin cylinder gas engine and has a hydro static transmission. The loco has evolved into a fairly complete locomotive with a cab that most people can fit inside with working lights, a bell, a horn and sanders for better traction. The cab has a removable sliding door that can be closed up to keep out the weather or taken off in the summer to keep the engineer cool.
Engine 4 - This is a Shay type locomotive and is on loan to us from Mike Allen of Ann Arbor, Mi. It is a 3 cylinder, 4 inch scale, 12 inch gauge engine built by his late father. We made new trucks for it and made improvements to it. See the picture sections for some of the things we did. Jack lettered it for the Clear Lake Logging Co. [CLL]. It is the main engine for the two branch lines when we can run steam on them and does a good job of pushing the snow plow when needed.
Bus 3 - Mel built this for Bruce Phillips so he can do track inspections and help with line maintenance. It fills in on the passenger train schedule when we need a quick engine to meet the schedule.
Engine 24 - Being built by Jim Small for Tom Casper and is progressing nicely in Brampton. The boiler was completed in 2006 by Ridge Locomotive Works and Jim is working on integrating it to the frame. The tender is together and stored at Phelps.
559 - The new addition at the end of 2011 (originally planned at 554). This is a full length caboose based on the Sandy River prototypes. It features a large side door on each side to allow Crew to crawl in to ride inside. It has a steel frame with a wood skin.
560 - This is our first caboose (renumbered from C-1). It is a four wheeler with working brakes for controlling trains on our grades. This car is tall enough to ride inside and has a door on one side. It has a steel frame with a wood skin and a heavy steel plate floor. It is heavy so a person can ride on the foot boards and not derail it, most of the time.
Coach Ailina – Our first passenger car, finished in 2002, was named for JNO’s mother. Along with service in passenger trains, it also doubles as a second caboose as well. It seats 2 adults and 1 child, the 4th seat area has a desk for the Conductor to work at (he has to keep his delay report up to date as he goes). The roof tilts up for easy access for adults who can’t bend down. It uses air pressure struts to counter balance the roof weight. It also has a hand brake for the conductor to hold the car during switching or stop it, if cut off on the fly. She is a real beauty! Mel really outdid himself on this one.
We have Five flat cars at present (437, 438, 439, 440, CB&E # 12), two gondolas (501, 521) and one box car (158). These cars are scale models of Maine Two Footers. Their frames are Womanized pine in most cases. We craft our own steel parts but have relied on others for the aluminum up until now. Mel has produced detailed plans for them so that other members of our group can build them at home. Four of the cars have been done this way (440, 501, 521, CB&E #12) and have turned out good or great. One of the gons doubles as our snow plow frame (501) and carries the big blade in the winter time. Both of the gons have removable sides to facilitate emptying the cars and using them as bulkhead flats.