Another round of storm damage on the RRVT

[@johnlazar7582]

That's an amazing amount of work to keep your railroad running. You have to be a very special person to be able to do all this by yourself. I'm impressed!😊

[@CNW4145]

Thanks a lot, its fun work and being able to do a little bit of everything keeps it interesting. No job is ever the same!

[@davidmihevc3990]

Very impressed by your ingenuity to get things repaired by yourself. I wasn't aware that your motor could be controlled remotely, that's pretty cool. Good job, enjoyed watching you get everything put back up and running. Hopefully summer will be less prone to falling trees.

[@CNW4145]

Thank you very much!

[@artillerest43rdva7]

that was great! you have it down to a science to fix it back to operational! it is nice to be able to fix the damage from storms. you have to keep an eye out for dead ash trees, it is better to get them down before any damage happens! hope the storms settle down, and nothing happens for the rest of the year! good luck!

[@CNW4145]

All the ash trees are gone, those all died off some years ago from the emerald borers sadly. I can tell where they all were though because the morels pop up every spring where they once stood :)

[@mrowl-the-dsm1304]

Very good as always, I love this railway , very interesting

[@MJC19]

Reminds me of when we had a cold snap in Dallas and the overhead got so tight it broke and nearly caught a tree on fire, good to see great work being done

[@chicagolandrailroader]

The pole setting process is always interesting to watch. That electric auger is a great tool for your railroad!

[@CNW4145]

That auger has totally changed things, I used to dread digging those holes with a shovel and clam shell- the soil is very diverse out here. Some rocks, some silt, some sand, and a lot of clay, you never knew what you were going to find until you started digging. That auger does not care what it is, it just rips it right up :)

[@わたにゃんi8k]

Amazing right! You do a wide range of things from driving to equipment maintenance by yourself. A telephone pole fell in a storm, and I watched the video of restoring it with interest. We will support your future activities from Japan.

[@CNW4145]

Thanks a lot, greetings from the USA :)

[@marcsummerlott3965]

The remote control multiplies your efforts. So cool.

[@alcopower5710]

Sorry to hear about the storm damage but I suppose it comes with the territory. Love the remote.......so very useful.

[@38911bytefree]

One man crew !!!!. Nice ivd.

[@CNW4145]

Thanks 👍

[@petermagoun7457]

Very impressive repair techniques - glad you included all the detail work and showed the jigs used to reset all the components. You obviously must be very careful when working near the catenary. I believe you indicated that your operating voltage was 240 volts - not a high voltage, but still very lethal. Since you need it to reposition the locomotive and cars during repairs, you must be energizing/reenergizing it frequently. Do you have some special provisions to quickly sectionalize it? Excellent video, tnx.

[@CNW4145]

Being careful is the key, as long as nothing is grounded during the work it is not a problem to do energized.

[@petermagoun7457]

@@CNW4145 Agreed, but unless things are very dry and you work with one hand it feels like it would be very easy to accidentally establish a path to ground. You've been at it for quite while so you clearly are very careful. Or maybe you have an unusually high impedance.😀

[@justaseagull8406]

I enjoy your videos, how do you keep from getting zapped from touching the catenary wire?

[@CNW4145]

Since I am isolated from ground with rubber soled boots, I do not get zapped. If I was barefoot or the voltage was much higher then it would be a problem for sure!

[@rudolphguarnacci197]

Great job as always.

[@StanFerris]

Great work!

[@CNW4145]

Thanks!

[@leedee4968]

Fairly amazing 😮

[@retired0307]

You really must enjoy your train. I'm sure it helps maintain your sanity.

[@billlee5307]

Did you do all this work with catenary live? Your solutions to repair challenges are very interesting.

[@CNW4145]

As long as its not wet then yes most work is done live, unless its laying on the ground already then it is turned off for repairs.

[@Tuckaway]

I see you touching the overhead live supply quite often? Do you have to keep walking back to the supply feed isolator switch every time you want to move the car or have you got help?

[@CNW4145]

As long as you stay insulated from ground, like wear rubber boots, its not a problem to touch when live as the voltage is not so high

[@dennisosborn5589]

Cool Video! Hope you had a Good Labor Day!

[@d.l.harrington4080]

I didn't see and insulators between the cross arm and the catenary wire. Don't you need them or is that a low voltage system?

[@CNW4145]

The voltage is low enough that the wooden cross arm provides sufficient insulation.

[@d.l.harrington4080]

@@CNW4145 I wish I could be there with a voltmeter when they get wet. While rainwater is a low conductor of electricity, minerals in the wood could change that. If you're running under, let's say, 50 volts, you should be OK.

[@CNW4145]

I thought the same thing- so I inserted an ammeter between the supply and the line. Amazingly, there is almost no change in quiescent current from dry to wet. That really surprised me!

[@Squirel]

I think it was my fault - I mentioned fixing the last lot of storm damage in a recent video and probably jinxed it. Great repair job - take care.

[@CNW4145]

Hahaha someone is bringing the wrath this year, but honestly I cant complain too much as we have had much worse in some previous years. We had a flood too after this storm, which I will put a video up about soon. Just have to work around ol mother nature :)

[@thepaintjobber]

Addressing the rotted poles that broke, perhaps you could use tar-soaked poles instead? If that is an option, of course. They used to make those for phone lines to increase their longevity and prevent rotting, maybe you can get new ones or perhaps even used ones somewhere. Another thing you could do, before setting the peoples in the ground, widen the hole with a shovel and pour in some concrete after setting the poles, that oughta give them more stability. Though I guess you would need to build a cement mixer car, or use a flatbed you have available, since getting a mixer + cement bags, gravel and a big supply of water ain't gonna be easy by yourself, that's for sure EDIT: Apparently the stuff they soak telephone poles with is not tar but creosote

[@CNW4145]

I do soak new lumber in roofing tar, which seems to be working quite well on top of the treatment from the factory. These older poles do have some creosote still in them, those poles that were removed in the video have been in the ground at least 30 years so I'd say they did ok!

[@АлексейЖуравлев-ю5ш]

Очень интересно! Быстрый ремонт!!!

[@paulcarrington6590]

do you turn off the power to the over head wires when you are working or do you sometimes get a shock

[@CNW4145]

Its rare to get a shock, the key is to not touch anything that is grounded and then all is well :)

[@OskarEhmsen]

Can we have a video of the curved side car? Does it run?

[@CNW4145]

The curved side car needs a lot of work. I does run, but most of the paint has fallen off and the trucks are in tough shape. Someday it will run again, but I need to finish fixing up the boxmotor first.

[@CarsonNolt-wq7sx]

Where is this rrtv located?

[@CNW4145]

In Illinois

[@Brickticks]

You wouldn’t have all these issues if you would just use steam locomotives. … Or diesels, but preferably steam.

[@CNW4145]

Would be fun but sadly the curves are too sharp. Besides, this is a traction operation. There are many steam lines already.

[@Brickticks]

@@CNW4145 Fair point. Enjoy your railroad then!