The historical configuration at Top of the Mountain (the current end of track) was a simple stub siding that paralleled the main for most of its length before curving sharply eastward into the embankment for about 2 car lengths at the end. This was at the summit of the WW&F's southbound ruling grade, and the siding was used for doubling the hill.
The new configuration recreates the historical plan (as near as can be determined) but with the addition of a temporary crossover with two stub switches just south of the sharp curve at the end of the siding. This will allow it to be used as a runaround for a few years until track can be extended farther north, and then returned to its historical configuration by just straight-railing the two stub switches and lifting the crossover.
Stewart Rhine and the WW&F Facebook team have posted some great pictures of Sunday's work on the WW&F Facebook page. The end of the siding was finished with a piece of original rail, fastened to the last tie with a pair of original WW&F spikes found on the ROW! The pictures also clearly show how steeply the main begins to drop down grade at this location, leaving the end of the siding (which is nearly level) perched up on the embankment.
WW&F Facebook Top of the Mountain siding photos
-Philip Marshall
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2015 06:31PM by philip.marshall.