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Deck Steps Landing Raised and Levelled!
We reported earlier that a solution to the derailment issue at the Deck Steps Switch had been discovered. What we didn't reveal was the exact cause of the problem. Seems the area near those steps borders on marshy. Between that and the considerable step up to clear the track as one either enters or exits the deck, the track section nearest the switch had developed a considerable list. The offending roadbed section was raised, restoring the track to level through the switch, but then the question arose as to how to prevent a recurrence.
The installation of this particular track had been seen as an issue for some time, and plans were already made for rebuilding the Steps Landing. This mostly amounted to removing all the pavers, throwing enough sand in the area to allow levelling of the base, and rebuilding the landing.
The tricky part was making sure that there was still room for the usual grade crossing material on the roadbed sections nearest to the landing. Once the grade crossing material was installed, the yard and landing sides were gravelled. Then, more sand was worked into the pavers and gravel. Finally, the excess gravel was vacuumed from the track, and the sand lightly washed into place. The photo at left shows the results after all work was completed.
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