There is an adoption fee of $15 to ensure you are serious about having a duck (and to cover past groceries!). Contact us if you live nearby and are interested in opening your home/pond/yard/wadding pool to Puddles.

Puddles aka “Puddle Buddy” a drake less than a year old up for adoption.

I was able to get back to work on my broken backhoe yesterday, and removed the hydraulic cylinders, disconnected hydraulic hoses, and several small parts in the way of making the repairs. I still have to remove the main pivot bracket (the part that had cracked and was ripped apart) in order to repair it properly, but it is now easier to access it after having removed several other components in the way. Of course, cutting firewood for our outdoor wood boiler is a constant chore that takes time from every day, along with the usual chores taking care of our critters and other farm work.

As the weather warms up, ground work will resume along the timber/logging spur and siding for the Downeast Thunder Railroad. More gravel will be brought in to build up the ROW rail bed. There is a good chance we’ll have some rail installed this summer for a good part of the timber/logging spur if it isn’t completed entirely.

The sky is bright and sunny this morning, but clouds are moving in. We are expecting between 2″ to 4″ of snow this afternoon (on April 12th!) so I have to hustle and get as much work done outside as I can before the snow begins to fly.

I’ve been working on my turntable plans and came up with a fairly good design to meet the needs of DTRR and have been working on the drawings package, but that project has been shelved temporarily while trying to get all of our farm work done. I’ll try to get back to the turntable drawings as soon as I can so I can post the plans package as a free pdf download here on this site.

As always, your thoughts, comments, and suggestions are always welcomed. Thanks for reading.

Paul B. – Downeast Thunder Farm & Railroad

I was digging out tree stumps in a right-of-way I cleared yesterday. All of a sudden I felt and heard a couple of loud snaps. The boom for the backhoe collapsed on the ground and my controls were useless.

I shut off the tractor and investigated, only to find the base unit that holds and pivots the boom had snapped, and an end of one of the hydraulic cylinders also snapped clean off. It took me the remainder of the day to get the tractor out of the area I was digging, dragging the backhoe along the ground, getting it up to the shop, and removing the backhoe from the tractor.

Now I have to disassemble the backhoe so I can begin repair work on the broken components. This will set me back for awhile in building and prepping the rail bed, and I hate losing  the next few days because the weather promises to be clear and mild.

Oh well…..

Snapped backhoe support and pivot assembly.

Broken Backhoe

We can’t make any large expenditures on railroad supplies or equipment right now. In order to maintain farm operations (our main source of income), we have to allocate funds for livestock & seed purchases, plus other farm supplies required to allow us a productive season when the warm weather finally arrives. We already have our fencing and shelter materials for the new hog pen. We’re just waiting for the ground to thaw so we can set fence posts. In the meantime, we are negotiating with local pig farmers for some feeder piglets.

Today’s job involves cleaning all of our maple sap collecting equipment. We’ll then be out in the woods tapping maple trees to begin our sap collecting later this afternoon. In about three weeks, we’ll take all of the maple sap we’ve collected and boil it down to fresh Maine maple syrup. We use Silver Maples, so it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

By the end of “sugarin’ season,” we’ll be getting our brooders all cleaned out and set up with heat lamps and fresh bedding, making way for our first batch of freshly hatched meat chicks (about 50 at a time). Some time in April, we’ll take delivery of 2 day old meat chicks at the post office (ordered from a large, commercial hatchery), and get them situated in the brooder.  They’ll live in the brooder under a heat lamp for the first 4 weeks before moving outside to the meat bird coop & run. When the chickens are 8 weeks old, they will be processed right here on the farm. They will average around 6 pounds each (dressed) after processing. If you are local, you’ll want to get your order in now because they go fast (as do the turkeys).

The yearly cycle will continue with other batches of meat turkeys and more meat chickens. There will be more egg laying chickens and ducks to add to existing flocks, and of course there will be lots of work prepping our green house, starting plants from seed, getting outside fields and raised beds prepped with rich compost and getting plants in the ground. Deer fencing will be erected everywhere to protect crops, and a new crop irrigation system is being installed this year. there is no shortage of work.

Somewhere in between all these activities, we’ll be working on our railroad as well. Good thing the days are now getting longer. Even so, there never seems to be enough hours in a day around the farm.

I have just completed a plans package for a tractor loader bucket, clamp-on brush tine attachment. The package is 11 pages, 9 of which are drawings, all in pdf format. These plans are available free from this web site. Just hover your cursor over the “about” button and scroll down the drop-down menu. Then click on “Farm Project Plans & Drawings.” Then select and click on the Brush Tine Attachment plans hyperlink – that will begin the pdf download, and as always – it’s FREE.

I put these plans under the farm heading because that’s where this attachment will see the most use over the years, but it’s a very handy attachment to have when clearing land for a new right-of-way. After dropping trees and cutting off limbs, there is (almost always) a huge pile of brush to contend with. This attachment will save hours of backbreaking physical labor.

You might have to alter some of the dimensions to fit the loader bucket of your tractor, but it’s a simple attachment and this can be easily accomplished by most folks capable of steel fabrication work.

I designed this attachment based upon my tractors loader bucket dimensions and the steel scraps & pieces I found laying around my shop. When finished, I’ll have less than $50.00 invested, yet similar attachments bought at retail go for between $1000.00 and $1500.00

Here are the plans (free). Go make some arcs and sparks!

Paul B.
Milbridge, Maine

______________

A little while back, I posed a dozen questions entitled: “Questions To The Yahoo 18″ Gauge Forum.” I also posed the same questions to certain individuals with 18″ gauge railroads overseas (not already part of the forum). I only received a small percentage of responses from the 18″ gauge forum with respect to the total membership.

I’ve decided enough time has gone by and I haven’t received anymore feedback in the last few days, so I’ve decided to tally the results and share them with all of you. Please bear in mind this was not a scientific survey, and there were no weighted questions. I was simply
curious about what others in the 18″ gauge forum are doing with their railways. You may find the results interesting as well.

I owe many thanks to all who participated and shared information about their respective railroads. I very much appreciate the time and effort they took to respond.

You will see the same questions that were originally posed to the group below, with each question followed individually with my summation of the results from responses received:

(1) What is the most common diameter wheel you use for locomotive drivers?

*Several respondents omitted answering this question. Of answers received, the most common diameters for driver wheels of steam locomotives ranged from 20″ to 22″ and the most common diameters used for non-steam locomotive driver wheels ranged 12″ to 16″ (with most at or close to 16″).

*(2) What is the most common diameter wheel you use for your rolling stock?

*This question was also omitted by most respondents. Of answers received, the most common diameter wheels used for rolling stock are in the range of 9″ to 12″ with only a few being a bit smaller or larger outside that range.

* (3) What size rail do you use for most of your railway (i.e. – 12#,
16″ etc.)?

*It seems that 12#, 16#, and 20# rail is the most commonly in use, however 12# rail is overwhelmingly the most popular rail in use for mainlines.

* (4) What size in cross section and length are the ties that you use?

*4″ x 4″ ties are the most common in the results received, and the most common length is a toss-up between 32″ and 36″.

* (5) How far apart do you space the ties on your railway?

*Some respondents reported their tie spacing at 12″ O.C. and others reported tie spacing much wider at up to 24″ O.C., but the most common tie spacing is a toss up at 16″ O.C. and 18″ O.C.

* (6) What type of couplers do you use?

*There were a few reporting the use of knuckle type couplers, and European style chain & tension w/buffer type couplers, but the overwhelming majority uses link & pin, draw bars, or a combination of the two.

* (7) Do you use air brakes & if so, what type?

*There were almost no air brake systems in use. Many in fact have no brake systems at all. Some reported hand brakes, and that’s about it.

* (8) Do you have both steam & diesel locomotives or just one or the other, and if so – which type?

*When I posed this question, I should have been more specific. Rather than specifying “diesel,” I should have said “non-steam, motor driven” such to include gas, electric, air, and so forth. For the results I received I’ll just refer to non-steam as “motor.” There were only a couple of steam locomotives reported. The majority of respondents use motor driven locomotives of various types. The steam locomotive respondents also had motor driven locomotives.

*(9) Does your railway employ trestles, Warren truss, or other types of bridges & which one(s)?

*There not many trestles or bridges reported. Most were simple beam spans, but there were a couple of short trestles and a simple truss reported in use.

* (10) Is your railway based on industrial, park train, grand scale, or other “rules of thumb” and which one(s) (if a combination)?

*Not surprisingly, it seems that several railroads are based on park train systems, and an equal number based on mining/industrial specifications, with a few being a combination of park train and mining/industrial. One reported “totally freelance.”

*(11) How long in actual feet (not scale feet) is your railway at present?

*The average railway length reported by respondents is about 1000 feet, give or take.

* (12) Do you plan to expand your railway anytime in the near future?

*Less than half of the respondents plan to expand their railway and of those reporting the length of the planned expansion, about 2000 feet is average.

There you have it folks. The results are in no way intended to be regarded as a set of standards. It’s just a “window” to the 18″ gauge forum group, peeking in on what the “other guy” is doing or planning. It satisfies my curiosity, which is of course my original intention. I hope you will all find this as interesting as I did. Once again, I just wish to express my thanks and gratitude to all of the participants. I hope you’ll all continue to share information about your railroads. I find this sort of information exchange motivating in many ways.

Paul Bennett,

Downeast Thunder Railroad, Milbridge, Maine

We are “D0-It-Yourselfers.” We may not always use optimum methods or procedures, or have the best equipment or tools for getting a job done, but we always figure out how to do it in spite of any shortcomings. We then share that information with others through text documentation and pictures; sometimes videos.

You will find quite a bit of information on this site, including plans/drawings, photos, and instructions available for FREE download in pdf format. For recipes or arts & crafts, check out Susan’s blog site: http://www.downeastthunderfarm.com and you will also find many photos from around the region in which we live.

We’re thinking about running a couple of classes this coming summer about how to raise and process meat chickens. These will be hands-on classes where you will get to process your own roaster/broiler chicken and take it home with you, so there will be a nominal fee to cover our costs. We haven’t posted any dates for this yet as we are still shopping for commercial liability farm insurance.

In the meantime, check back to this site and my wife’s farm blog often because we are always uploading new plans and drawings, photos, and information to our sites. It’s always free – never a charge or fee. We feel that sharing our knowledge and experiences with you helps to promote better relations and understanding between people of many nations in the world (in our very small way) and make the world a slightly better place to coexist.

We have fun doing this and we are always open to idea exchanges with others. We’d love to hear from you, your thoughts, ideas, and perhaps you might be willing to teach us a few things that we can pass on to others.

Thanks for reading.

Paul J. Bennett
(Official “Doer” of many things here at Downeast Thunder in Maine, USA)

Start out by downloading the FREE Downeast Thunder Farm Chicken Coop Plans Package from the Farm Plans page, and then view the step-by-step construction photos of the coop on the Farm Project Photos page.

You will find more plans for projects and more photos as time allows so check back every now and then.

The chicken coop to be posted first is small and designed for up to a dozen hens and a rooster. It’s quite rugged (over-engineered and built), and will stand up to years of use. Once I have the new pages added and populated on this site, I’ll post more information and photos about this coop in addition to the plans. We’ve been using this particular coop for a couple of years now with excellent results. We added an underground water supply line out to the coop from the house, and added electrical service. Having electricity is quite handy so we can plug in a home-built water heater during the winter so drinking water won’t freeze up, and chickens have a constant source of fresh water.

Stay tuned as more changes and additions to the site take place. As always, all plans are available for free download. All we ask in return is that you send a picture or two of what you have created from our plans (even if you changed the dimensions or modified the design). We like to keep them in a scrapbook.