Bundle of timbers yet to be notched. The notching, or dapping as it is called, is to allow the timber to rest over the sides of the girders so that the timbers cannot slide sideways on a bridge. Also the dapping allows the installers to adjust the height of the rail over the bridge or compensate for additional layers of steel as you get to the center of the bridge. Usually when a bridge timber is dapped they only remove the material directly over the girder, but because of all of the cross members in our turntable bridge we are removing the central 5'-8" to the dapping depth.

In the background you can see our other active restoration project, CV caboose 4052. The steel (iron?) sill and some of the lower steel framework of the walls need to be replaced, along with sections of the floor and most of the exterior siding.

Thanks to grants form Amherst Railway Society over the last few years we have the money for both of these projects. After the turntable is finished the 4052 will be moved into Stall 1 (left most door in the next photo). Hopefully most of the welding will be done by then, otherwise, for safety she will be pulled out of the stall when the crew is welding.

Progress is continuing at the Ct Eastern RR Museum, for finishing of the Turntable. The table is receiving a final gloss black paint inside and out by our volunteers, the timbers are being notched, and final preparations are being made to mount the ring rail.

Since this bridge is not original to the site, it was originally installed in Dudley MA on the B&A, the bridge had to be modified slightly due to it being longer then the pit was wide and the ring rail will be mounted on leveling compound instead of ties. Luckily for the museum the bridge had 4 inch long extensions at the end of the bridge, when these were removed and capped off the bridge fit the pit. Unfortunately the ends of the bridge are deeper then the original bridge so we are unable to use wood ties under the ring rail, so we will be bolting it directly the brownstone and Leveling Epoxy will be used to support the ring rail.

Photographed by Rich Cizik, September 9, 2007.
Added to the photo archive by Rich Cizik, September 10, 2007.
Railroad: Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum.

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