The Baggage Room Basement - We Head Into The Home Stretch

Last week saw us trucking in (or rather, bucketing in) a whole bunch of crushed stone to backfill the trenches that we had been digging over the previous number of weeks.  In digging the trenches, we were limited with our manpower so we piled the dirt in the centre of the bathroom basement for hauling out later.

"Later" arrived today, notwithstanding that we had several inches of snow that was still lingering.  It was a very fresh day - time to do some heavy lifting.  First, we shovelled off the boardwalk from the door into the operator's bay going downstairs so that we wouldn't slip as we lugged heavy pails of clay across the boardwalk to be dumped over the edge.  Then we got down to work. This is what the pile looked like before we dumped the first shovelful into the pail.  We had quite a task ahead of us, eh!?

At first we only had yours truly, Cliff, and Brad but we were soon joined by - surprise of surprises - George W.  Since George had torn his shoulder several weeks before, I put him on "light" duty.  As I filled each pail, George lifted the pails the short distance into the main waiting room basement.  We soon had all 15 pails moving which kept Brad and Cliff on their toes. After 45 minutes at this pace, I needed a break!

We no sooner got back at it when Bill S showed up.  However, George W had a business meeting so he had to leave us to get uptown.  Bill, Brad, Cliff, and I managed to keep up the pace with me filling up the pails, Bill lugging them across the main waiting room basement, Brad hauling them up the stairs, and Cliff taking the final stretch across the boardwalk, across the tracks and dumping the pails. That's Bill S sticking his head through the opening into the baggage room basement with Brad way off in the distance in the furnace room basement getting ready to haul two full pails up the stairs. 

For the last 20 minutes or so, Bill came into the baggage room basement to help me move the loaded pails, Brad carried them across the waiting room basement into the furnace room basement and up the stairs, while Cliff carried them the final distance over the boardwalk, across the tracks, and to the edge.  From time-to-time, the pails got backed up with the trip up the stairs and outside as they are quite a load when you try to take two pails up those steps.  So we periodically took a break to move the loaded pails outside.

Today was a short session as I had to bail out at 11 o'clock on personal business.  In those two hours, we managed to move about half of the pile outside.  We were all quite surprised at the progress we managed to make in that short period of time.  Compare the photo below to the one at the top of this post.  In that photo, the two concrete columns are completely buried. 

(Here's a side-by-side before-and-after photo.)

Next week, we're back at it again moving the rest of the dirt out of the baggage room basement.  Hopefully, we'll be able finish the job so that we can next start on the gift shop basement.

We could use a couple of extra hands.  So, if you're looking for something to do, why not join us?

The Baggage Room Basement - The Last Of The Crushed Stone!

IMHO, today was truly a momentous day in the life of the Swamp Chronicles.  We hauled in the last of the crushed stone into the baggage room basement.  Of course, it helps if one has a really good hard-working crew that can sling those buckets onto the lorry, with two heaves of the wagon have the loads hurtling down the tracks from the North End back down to the station, and then throw those buckets down the stairs without losing a single stone.  Okay, so I exaggerate a bit - but just a bit!

We really moved a lot of crushed stone into the baggage room basement - 6 loads of 12 buckets each weighing 50-60 lbs each.  I'll let you do the math.

At first there was only Brad, Cliff and I as Corey had done a number on his leg when he decided to run into a sidewalk on his bike the day before (Corey was on light duty today doing some clean-up in the basements).  It was a question, however, as to who was going to fill those buckets first - Cliff or Brad.  Then along came George M a bit later and finally Bill S for the last two loads.  All the help was gratefully appreciated as many willing hands make short work of the task at hand.

From the load on the platform that you see in the photo above, we moved the loaded buckets to the entrance to the basement.  I let Brad and Cliff haul those buckets down the stairs as they're full of more P&V than I am.  Or rather, at my stage in life, I'd be crazy to bring those loaded buckets down those stairs.  At 50-60 lbs each, they aren't exactly light.  

Once the buckets were on the landing, Cliff would bring the buckets halfway down the stairs and Brad would take them down the rest of the way, throwing them through the opening into the waiting room basement. (Cliff doesn't like to have his photo taken, even though we had to twist his arm.)

 George M and I (and later on Bill after he arrived) would truck them across the waiting room basement and throw them through the opening into the baggage room basement.  Once Brad and Cliff had all 12 buckets into the furnace room basement and through the opening into the waiting room basement, we'd all shift over one room so that George and I would be in the baggage room basement and Bill S, Brad, and Cliff would be carting buckets across the waiting room basement. 

 

(That is a full pail of crushed stone that George M is trucking across the waiting room basement!) (Okay, so we didn't exactly throw those loaded pails through the opening into the baggage room basement!)

From there, I'd dump the buckets into the trench and return the empty ones.

Once the 12 buckets were emptied, back down to the North End we'd go for another load.  Around about the last load, John W came by to inspect the work (after getting permission to enter the "job site" from the Job Superintendent!)  so we let him carry a couple of "symbolic" buckets for us.  We did this 6 times today.  My first estimate was that it would take 3 loads but it took 5.  And when I looked at the level of the crushed stone in the trenches, I decided that we needed another load to top up the stone and finish the job properly.  This is what it now looks like with the crushed stone in the trenches.

We started moving crushed stone at 09:15 and we had the last load in and everything put away by 11:45.  By this time it was time to go for lunch (Brad and Corey had to get to classes, Bill had an appointment in Ottawa and I had personal errands to do) so we all trekked on over to McDonald's for lunch and some good conversation.  But before we did, we had John W take the proverbial "group photo".  Here's today's crew who contributed to today's effort.  Thanks, gang, for a job well done!

Next week, we start to move that excess dirt out of the baggage room basement.  Now that's going to be a task-and-a-half!  But we'll get there, fer shur, fer shur.

See y'all same time, same place next week. 

PS - 6 loads x 12 bucket x 50-60 lbs equals 3,600-4,320 lbs or roughly 2 tons of crushed stone.  Now that's a lot of crushed stone, eh!?

The Baggage Room Basement & The Bucket Brigade - The Crushed Stone Guys

Last week I had some personal business to attend to so we didn't do any work on the swamp.  However, today was a different matter, even though we were down to four and then five of us old codgers - well, at least four of us were old codgers with one young buck, although one of those old codgers kept the young buck on his toes.  Anyhooo..............................

Today was the day of the bucket brigade - the crushed-stone-trucking-bucket-brigade - Cliff, Brad, Bill S, George M and me (I'll let you decide who the young buck and the old codgers were).  Load 12 plastic buckets onto the lorry (along with 3 shovels).  Push the lorry down to the north end.  Load each bucket to the top with crushed stone (1" clear septic-bed crushed stone that's been washed twice).  Cart each bucket over to the lorry.  Load the buckets onto the lorry - six buckets on each side.  Push the lorry back down the tracks to the station. 

Now comes the "grunt work".  Each loaded bucket weighs about 50-60 lbs.  Twelve buckets multiplied by 50-60 lbs equals 600 - 720 lbs per trip.  Unload the buckets onto the station platform.  Carry the buckets to the doorway going downstairs.  One bucket at a time down the stairs into the furnace room basement and across to the opening into the waiting room basement.  Shove it through the opening.  Carry the bucket across the waiting room basement.  Shove the bucket into the baggage room basement.  Carry the bucket to the end of the trench and dump the 50-60 lbs of crushed stone into the trench.  Truck the empty bucket back outside.  Repeat the process 12 times.  Down to the north end for another load of crushed stone.

We did that 6 times this morning - 600 - 720 lbs per trip times 6 trips equals 3,600 - 4320 lbs or 2 tons of crushed stone.  That's the amount of crushed stone we trucked down into the basement today - one bucket at a time.  We've got about two-thirds of the trenchwork filled with crushed stone.  Another 2-3 trips next week and we'll have the trenchwork in the baggage room basement done.  At last!

However, we've got a lot of clay to move out of the baggage room basement which we'll start on - hopefully next week.  We're making progress - slowly but surely. 

Oh yes.  Almost forgot.  Cliff and I managed to get the bits and pieces of the 45-gallon steel barrel into the gift shop basement and bolted together. 

PS - Left my camera at home today so I wasn't able to take any photos.  We'll add them next week to show you the progress we made today.