Wisconsin Northern Railroad
On Tuesday, five covered hoppers went on the ground in Barron. Two empty plastics cars were back on the track with little effort, but the three loaded with turkey food presented a larger challenge.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - Barron, Wisconsin Day Two
	You know you are in Barron, the Turkey City, when . . . d14.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/3ewu2v That "Tom" escaped from the turkey plant in the morning and wandered around the tracks. He's probably on some local's dinner plate tonight.
	The Jennie-O Corporate Web Site Click on the picture, or Here to view it.
	Jennie-O Oven-ready turkeys... Click on the picture, or Here to view it. Be sure to check out the videos!
	Cooking Instructions: A novel method... (for guys -- more fun) Conventional... (for wives -- more sane)
Meanwhile, back at the Railroad...
	To rerail the other 3 cars, first the area is protected. d15.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/48moxm
	It's a beautiful day in northern Wisconsin with temperatures getting up into the 70s. The old rail and ties must be replaced up to the first car. d16.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/45ca7a
	As this was going on, the Jenny O-Turkey Store was making a key addition. They are adding on a second receiving line, to "compete with the ethanol industry," as an employee told me. Presently, they can only take in one product at a time which causes quite a backup. d17.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4cs62s
	There will be an "elevator?" going from the top of the mill down to the big corn bin. It was supposed to have been installed today, but must not have because of windy conditions. d18.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/53kbfq
Another employee told me that formerly, many products were brought in by rail to use in turkey food, depending upon price and availability. These include flax, flour, dog food, baker's meal, distillers, bone meal, fish meal, and wheat. Right now only soy meal is brought in, from Mankato. This summer, fat will probably be brought in by tank cars again. Barron's facility processes about 23,000 turkeys a day while all of the Jenny O-Turkey Store plants process about 150,000 birds a day.
	Back to the rail project, new ties are laid in place. d19.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/5xr8cs
	Rail is brought in. d20.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4xx67v
	The rail must be cut to line up existing holes for the rail bars. d21.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4nedz8
	And new holes must be drilled. d22.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/3oyp2p
	New gauge bars are installed to keep the track in gauge. d24.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/3u662y
	John Henrys here. New spikes are driven with alternate swings. d25.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/3k9ort
	Making tracks!!!! d26.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4fab35
	I had to leave for another commitment. When I returned, the track had been built and 1501 was using two hopper cars to hook onto the first derailed car for pulling it back onto rail. The two hopper cars are lighter than the engine on the new track which of course is not ballasted. d27.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4xgjsd
	The easternmost car had already been pulled back onto rail by #34. This car gave a lot of trouble yesterday but with proper blocking and new rerail frogs today, it was pulled back on. d28.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4848ny
	This shows the new section next to the old. A section of rail will serve to rerail the car (hopefully). The wheels and rail have been greased liberally to reduce friction. Still, it was a hard pull with the wheels mired into the dirt. d29.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4b8ou3
	The first truck walked right on. d30.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4u92r8
	But the second truck was a real problem, mostly because a joint had come apart and the truck sideframe dragged the rail with it. d31.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/43wy53
	Gradually, with wedges help, the wheel rises up on the makeshift rerailer. d32.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4bqwng d33.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/495f2d
	d33.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/495f2d
	Yea!!!! It's back on rail!!!! d34.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/4m6rz3
One more car to go, but it's almost dark. Unfortunately, rain and cool temperatures are predicted for tomorrow (Thursday). And, I have a commitment out-of-town, so I don't know how many pictures I will be able to get.              (Click here)
Click here for Maintenance on a Wisconsin Northern Geep Click here for April Derailment Clean-up Part 1 Click here for April Derailment Clean-up Part 2 Click here for April Derailment Clean-up Part 3 Click here for July Track Maintenance Click here for August Cab Ride Click here for September Cab Ride Click here for "South of Norma" Click here for a Wisconsin Northern Locomotive Roster Click here for Maps of the Wisconsin Northern Railway Click here to return to Picture Links page Click here to return to Ron's Rec Room