"Big Dig" continues at R&GVRRM

Heading Out - One of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum's Army 5-ton dump trucks heads out of the Big Dig excavation site to dump a full load of dirt south of the restoration building.

Backing Up - With so many machines working, it is critical to have people on the ground guiding the equipment to the right spots. Spotter Dale Hartnett helps guide one of the museum's Army dump trucks into position to dump its load of dirt.

Finally in the Dirt - After having its tracks and exhaust system repaired, the museum's Bucyrus-Erie 20-H hydraulic excavator finally gets to dig some dirt and load some trucks.

A Blade Full - The museum's 1968 Cat D7E bulldozer has a full blade of dirt as it works to prepare the site for the next pass of the museum's Cat tractor pan.

A Close Eye - Master mechanic Art Mummery keeps a watchful eye as the museum's Cat D7E passes to insure everything is running as it should.

Loaded Up - The Cat tractor pan with the Cat D8 tractor in the lead has a full load of dirt and is ready to head to dump its load.

Moving Out - The Cat tractor pan heads outs with a full load of dirt with the north end of the restoration building in view.

Kicking Up Dust - Returning, that Cat tractor pan really kicks up the dust as it heads for its next load.

Up They Go - The museum's White dump truck lifts it dump body in the air to drop its load on the fill area.

Scenes from Diesel Days 2005

PC 18526 and R&GV 1654 Arrive at the Transfer Point - Diesel Days visitors arrive at the transfer point after a ride to Industry Depot. Fairmont track cars will take them the rest of the way to the New York Museum of Transportation.

LV 211 to Industry - Lehigh Valley 211 makes a run southbound past Reid's Crossing during our annual Diesel Days event.

Visitors at the Transfer Point - Visitors make their way towards the trains on Diesel Days, our most popular annual event. Visitors can enjoy supervised rides on board our locomotives, or in the cabooses.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road - The museum recently acquired a vinyl lettering machine that allows us to make beautiful signage like this.

8/20/05 - TC1 Arrives at the Transfer Point
Visitors enjoy a ride on the track cars as they arrive at the transfer point.

The RITMRC Crew - Volunteers from the RIT Model Railroad Club pose on NKP 79 with John Redden. Our members come from all walks of life and perform a variety of tasks at the museum.

Ready and Waiting - Museum volunteer and student Brakeman Otto Vondrak poses with R&GV 1654 at the Transfer Point at the start of our Diesel Days event.

Track Inspection - Volunteers Randy Bogucki and Ryan Kane walk the main with the rolling track gauge near the Transfer Point. Randy was looking for any signs of excessive wear. Thanks to the excellent work by his Track Department, he found none.

LV 211 Heads North - After sitting on the sidelines last year, LV 211 heads north to participate in Diesel Days. This unique Alco locomotive was rebuilt by Conrail in 1979 with a salvaged EMD prime mover.

August Rochester Chapter Meeting

Getting Ready for Diesel Days - The trains that will be running for Diesel Days were staged for some "Test Runs" during the Rochester Chapter NRHS meeting in Industry Yard. During the warm summer months, the Chapter holds its monthly membership meetings at the museum.

Fueling 1843 - John Redden and Norm Shaddick fuel up the 1843 in preparation for our annual Diesel Days event. This is the only operating Fairbanks-Morse locomotive in the state.

Preparing for Diesel Days

New Batteries for 1654 - John Redden and Jim Johnson install brand new batteries in R&GV #1654.

Working on the Old Batteries in 211 - Museum volunteer Jessy Stallone updates battery records after performing routine maintenance on LV #211's batteries with Mike Dow.

Tamping the Hill Block - Volunteer John Redden uses the Jackson tamper to tamp the new tie installations in the Hill block.

Night Track Work - Track crews continue to perform maintenance on Switch 4 in Industry Yard as the sun goes down. Our dedicated volunteers make sure our railroad remains in top operating condition, and ready for our visitors to enjoy.

Moving cranes and locomotives

Excavator Crossing - To get positioned on top of the area to excavate, the 20-H starts its climb up the ramp to the digging site at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum's Restoration Building.

Excavator Crossing - The 20-H excavator passes by the north end of the restoration building.

Big Dig Update - A panoramic view looking north from the restoration building. With one or two more solid days of digging to pull the bank on the right back further, the major excavation necessary to start laying the restoration building's access tracks should be complete. Prior to the tracks going down, the entire area will be graded and all necessary drainage addressed.

Down the Hill - Lehigh Valley Railroad #211 descends the hill into Industry yard after a run up the line.

LV 211 Stretches Its Legs - Members look on as the train crew prepares to head up the line with Lehigh Valley 211 and Nickel Plate 79.

Workin' on Engines

Mike Dow cleans under the cab of LV 211 while John Redden inspects NKP 79 in preparation for a run up the museum's demonstration railroad.

Loco start-up and Big Dig update

Starting NKP 79 - John Redden works under the hood to prepare for startup at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum.

Starting NKP 79 - John Redden cleans out the traction motors.

Starting NKP 79 - John Redden and Ron Amberger add oil to the pump to pre-lube the engine.

Starting NKP 79 - Jim Johnson inspects the generator and other electrical gear.

The Big Dig Continues - The museum's Cat D7 bulldozer stands at the ready as construction forces prepare to excavate more dirt from the hill near the restoration building.

The Big Dig Continues - The museum's mighty scraper harvests huge chunks of dirt at a time. Joe Scanlon pushes from behind to help the scraper take a bite.

The Big Dig Continues - After the scraper departs for the south end of the restoration building, Joe Scanlon moves some dirt into the hole to provide a good plane for the scraper's next run.

The Big Dig Continues - Here's the scraping operation from the opposite angle.

The Big Dig Continues - Here, you can see how much dirt the scraper actually picks up each time.

Handrail Stanchion Repair - Mike Dow repairs a damaged handrail stanchion bolt on LV 211.

Grading the Road

Joe Scanlon grades the Restoration Building access road at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. The museum has a variety of heavy construction equipment that is used for various projects around our property each season.