Tracy and Ray were able to locate the long-lost pipe from the water tank on Friday. It required Tracy, Dave, and Ray to carry it up the embankment and out of the woods. They laid it on the ROW and on Saturday morning Chuck and I took RG1 and a trailer out to recover it.

The pipe has been loaded onto the trailer for the trip back to the engine house

After moving the pipe to the Museum/Commissary building,

 it was thoroughly cleaned by Chuck

Despite being lost in the woods for 60 years there is surprisingly little rust and corrosion of the metal

Tracy with the cleaned pipe

Chuck securing the pipe to the wall in the Museum

The finished product.

Ray heading north from

the engine house

The remains of the sand house along the ROW near where the water pipe was discovered by Ray and Tracy

This is a smoke stack from one of several scrapped Clyde Skidders

Tracy and Ray set it upright, probably for the first time in a half a century

Looking East along a spur to the MoPac Interchange Yard

Looking West along a spur to the MoPac Interchange Yard

Further along the spur towards the long-gone MoPac yard we found this spectacular washout

I've seen this type of damage in pictures, never in person

Between the washed-out spur and

the mainline we found two tank cars

Another shot of the tank cars

Along the Mainline are 6 pairs of trucks, mostly on the rails

This wheel was cast in Marshall, TX

A winch from a McGiffert Log Loader

Looking west from the location of the McGiffert Winch

Looking east from the location of the McGiffert Winch

Truck and piston assembly for the McGiffert. Near the winch

Another winch with

cable still attached

Ray is only about 20 feet

from me here and as you can see the forest is firmly reclaiming the area

Wheel sets sitting on the west leg of the long abandoned wye north of the engine house yard

Ray taking measurements from a McGiffert boom

Ray taking measurements

from a McGiffert boom

Truck and frame from

34' MKT boxcar

Measuring the truss rod

Wheel cast in HOUSTON

in 1920!

The MKT boxcar frame

Journal box turned planter

L&N Wheel

Wheel cast in St Louis

Another picture of the MKT trucks and frame

The 2 halves are about 10 yards apart

"MK&T"

Tracy was kind enough to highlight the letters with chalk

Planner Mill

Engine House and

Machine Shop

"Motel 2 & a Half" being built in one of the warehouses. Eventually volunteers will be able to eat and sleep here for free, greatly reducing our costs

Engine House and Yard

Engine House, Machine Shop, and Car Knockers Shed as

seen from the Saw Filers floor of the mill. The line at the lower right was once the

Main to Meridian, LA

Pile of 39' rail near the Motor Car Shed on the Meridian Line

And, here's the Motor Car Shed that we hiked out to see Sunday morning. Chuck and Ray measured it before it collapses and is lost for good.

Tracy recorded the measurements. Although it's hard to tell, he's standing in the middle of the gauge on the ROW (running from left to right towards Meridian, LA).

The hike from Hwy 497 to the Motor Car Shed was about a quarter of a mile and the forest is VERY dense here. Amazingly there are still rails and ties in place, although it's impossible to see them unless you're standing on top of them.

Interior of the Motor Car Shed

Note that there are

still rails in place!

Exterior Shot

Tracy and one of several piles of ties where they were left when the Meridian line was dismantled in the 1950's

Fly Wheel and other debris

The intrepid crew heads back to the truck;

another mission completed!