![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-0-1676864449.jpg)
The Story
Twenty years have passed since I started volunteering at Doe River Gorge Ministries' railroad. (About 10 years since I was there last - but I'll be back.) Steam locomotive fireman (one less-than-stellar day), conductor, brakeman, tie carrier, loco cleaner and polisher, scenic sights announcer - those were jobs I performed. Then in autumn 2013 the leaves and silt of the years were clogging drainage along a section of Doe River Gorge's track. A few of us headed out on a soggy morning to lay a new culvert.
This feature is not so much a how-to of track gang work but a visual of colors of track and roadbed.
We're off
![We're off](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-2-1676864449.jpg)
![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-3-1676864449.jpg)
![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-4-1676864449.jpg)
![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-5-1676864449.jpg)
![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-6-1676864449.jpg)
![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-7-1676864449.jpg)
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Toward Pardee point
![Toward Pardee point](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-10-1676864450.jpg)
Down grade
![Down grade](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-11-1676864450.jpg)
Tools of the trade
![Tools of the trade](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-12-1676864450.jpg)
![](/upload/media/entries/2023-02/20/338-entry-13-1676864450.jpg)
That's all
Honestly, most of the work was completed the day before. I spent a few hours trying to help - enough to require three cycles through the washing machine to clean my clothes, and many sore muscles for a week. It was well worth the time and effort and a wonderful experience.
For those of you who have five minutes of nothing better to do, below is my video of a speeder run to the site. Enjoy.