During my day off this week, work continued steadily on the new covered bridge approach. I managed to get the forms in place for the bridge’s new abutments. The first one went slowly as I worked out the best method, but once I developed a system, the second came together much more quickly. At this point, all that remains is installing the rebar before the concrete can be poured.

After the rebar is in place, I’ll begin setting the form for the station slab so everything will be ready for the concrete pour at the same time. Once the concrete has cured, I’ll build up the outside of both abutments by about 14 inches to help protect the wood structure from direct contact with the surrounding dirt and moisture.

This time, I’ve decided not to mix the concrete myself. When I built the abutments for the new trestle, each one required forty-two bags of concrete, and that was enough to convince me to take a break from hand-mixing on a project of this size. Having the concrete delivered should make the process go much more smoothly and allow several parts of the project to move ahead together.

In addition to the bridge work, I now have the lumber needed to widen the top of Genaro Trestle for double-track operation. I also received another shipment of rail and joiners from Accu-Tie. The new rail will allow me to continue laying track from the Mountain Division, past the new station area, through the covered bridge, and all the way to Genaro Trestle. There is also enough material to complete the second track across the widened trestle.

Check out a few pictures below showing the latest progress on the project.

Forms for the abutments ready to pour