No more Wind Storms!!

The June 10 wind storm that passed through southern Marshall County wrecked havoc with the trees along the Central Branch Railroad.  Last month Gene Harding and Dave Crawford cleared 26 trees east of the Vista RD crossing.  Gene and his wife Sandy cleared a bunch of trees west of Waterville and had to quit when the found one across the Coon Creek Bridge.

Some of the mess Gene and Sandy cleared.

 More of Gene and Sandy's work.

Tree down across Coon Creek.

On Tuesday, September 10, Larry Moon, George Lookhart, Kenny Winkenwader and Dave Crawford went out to the Coon Creek bridge to clear the tree off of the tracks.

After cutting three more trees they encountered a mess they were too exhausted to begin to tackle.

Fortunately, Ann Walter recruited some help to go back out on Thursday morning to clear the above mess.  Not knowing what they were up against, Lyle Walters, Dennis White and Pierce Holliman volunteered to go out and help.  Upon arrival on "the scene" one of the comments was "Where's the dozer?"

Oh, and did we mention there is more?

After two and a half hours of work we finally had the rails cleared from Waterville west to "Somewhere".  For those that are not familiar with "Somewhere", it is a little open area with a shelter donated by the Waterville Lions Club.  Groups can take a ride from Waterville out to "Somewhere" for a picnic, birthday party or no special reason.

And then it was time for lunch at the historic Weaver Hotel in Waterville, KS.  Todays specials were a hamburger casserole with salad and a dinner roll or a Chicken sandwich with a salad and chips.  Dessert was either Coconut Cream pie or Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream pie.

A big thank you to our helpers Dennis, Pierce, and Lyle!  As Ann would say "All Aboard!"

Our normal operating season is April 1 thru October 31.  To schedule a ride call Ann at either 785-363-2342 (Home) or 785-799-4294 (Cell)

For more details about our rides visit our website at centralbranchrailroad.com