Winter Projects: Cascade Peak & Buena Vista Railway

Even with our moderate central California coastal climate, the winter season seems to be that time of year when garden railroads are scheduled for routine maintenance, or major renovations. Let’s see what is happening on the Cascade Peak & Buena Vista Railway in Santa Margarita.

Following a successful day of operations during the CCCGRS Seasonal Celebration at the Cascade Peak & Buena Vista Railway, the DSP&PRR No. 71 derailed inside tunnel No. 1 on her approach to the train shed storage yard. Of course, whenever we have a derailment, you immediately enter into problem solving mode.

  • “Was the locomotive damaged?” Yes.
  • “Where did the derailment exactly occur” Inside the tunnel, of course.
  • “What was the cause and how can it be resolved?” Keep reading…

The accident occurred at dusk, so lighting in the tunnel was not optimal; however, it became apparent that the track was raised 2-3 centimeters off the tunnel floor. Upon further inspection, it was clear that the concrete paver that formed the floor below the track was raised on one end reducing the clearance between the rails and the tunnel supports that line the entire structure. The locomotive actually struck the tunnel supports above, not something on the track itself. This is the oldest section of track on the layout, having been in place for more than 8 years. It is also the only route of access to the train storage yard for the entire layout.

A root from an adjacent grey pine growing under the tunnel floor raised the floor and track (yellow circle) just enough to derail passing rolling stock (Mark Edwards, image).

When the opportunity finally presented itself to work on this “project”, the trackwork was removed from the tunnel and adjacent valley. The misaligned concrete paver was removed exposing a large tree root which was lifting the center and left tunnel floor. Narrow clearances within the tunnel complicated extraction of the foreign object.

The hillside on the far side of the tunnel (left) was removed to expose and remove the terminal end of the root (Mark Edwards, image).

Rocks and earth were removed from the east hillside adjacent to concrete rockwork to expose the root tips growth furthest away from the tree. The root was cut in the center of the tunnel and pulled out through the open hillside. The left tunnel floor was releveled. Half way there!

Tunnel during layout construction eight years prior to the derailment described here (Mark Edwards, image).
Excavation of the area between the tunnel and tree exposed two significant roots passing under multiple sections of trackwork (Mark Edwards, image).

The area between the tunnel and the tree contained several more obstacles around which to negotiate. Following the trajectory of the root in the tunnel toward the offending tree, another hole was created exposing not one, but two significantly sized roots. Both were severed as close to the tree as possible; however, neither have been removed at this time, as they have grown around track supports and rockwork infrastructure preventing their simple extraction. It is hoped the plant tissue will contract, as it dries, making it easy to remove. More to come!

CCCGRS members are encouraged to send updates regarding your projects to email: contact@cccgrs.org.