Signs of Fr. Ed’s work at Caboose Falls goes beyond three massive cabooses on a hillside. His beautiful yellow daffodils were everywhere we looked.
518 De-leafing
We spent most of the day, more than we planned, removing the accumulated leaves from behind P&LE 518. The previous week’s rain saturated the area making the material difficult to rake. The work was necessary to prevent moisture retention that would, over time, damage the railroad ties. It was satisfying to see how quickly the area dried out once the leaves were gone.
17 Window Washing
Work in 17 wasn’t glamorous or particularly exciting. We washed the interior window panes and properly aligned the window locks. Cleaning the outside of the windows will come soon, but we’ll need to bring in a pressure washer.
We also carefully removed all the railroad posters and thumb tacks from 17’s walls. It won’t be long now before we can start work on wall repairs and painting.
Driveway
Things are improving! Our driveway is still steep, very steep, but the slipping and sliding issue we were having with our van has ended. It looks as though our problems were caused by all the leaf raking we’ve been doing. By raking away the leaves, we loosened a lot of the drive’s surface rocks, which made it difficult for the van to grip. That loosened material has since settled, and the van can now handle the grade.
Exploring Caboose Falls and More
It wasn’t all work at Caboose Falls, there was also time to explore. We hiked down to the stream and up the northwest side of the ravine. It’s a steep climb, but the views were worth the effort. The terrain on that side of the property is much more level than we expected. There are lots of large rocks and fallen trees to explore. This was our first time on the northwestern side of the property so it was particularly thrilling to see the cabooses from the new perspective.
Our first attempt at Caboose Falls gardening is a success. Not long ago, we planting kale seeds in the Atrium and this week we had microgreens – enough to add to our lunch.
Railfanning
Not a great day for train watching. One CSX mix freight passed on our side of the river and one NS freight could be heard on the other.