Up one level Neidrauer Adventures Photo Album and Blog » The St. Louis Live Steamers » 2008 Activities » Heartbreak. Devastation.
Heartbreak. Devastation.
The remnants of Hurricane Ike moved through St. Louis dumping 5.5" of rain and leaving the SLLS track in shambles.

In 12 hours with 5.5 inches of rain, the remnants of Hurricane Ike and Flat Creek devastate the SLLS track. Apparently the wind was strong enough to push the transfer table to the other end of the track. Real glad the steel end stops were there to stop it, even if it did de-rail it. All the drains under the passenger loading station were draining. Undeniable proof that Track pins work. The south lawnmower crossing is again up against the trees. More proof of the power of the track pins. And to some of the track damage. This picnic table at the south end didn't get far. The debris on the top is telling of the water depth. The south curve has a new curve. Looking northeast. Lonely track pins. Looking north from the blue pipes. Little else but the culverts remain. Mixed in this debris pile is our track. Northeast track section. Notice the way the long grass is bent over, towards the creek. At the south end, the grass was bent Away from the creek. Bent rail joiners hold the track together. Debris in the culverts. North mainline curve partly buried in washed out rock. Even the 'rock spur' was washed out. The rock spur. Stray new track, a switch and 6x6 lumber on the other side of the bridge. The track after the turntable was completely wiped out. Track in the trees...track leering at the creek. Endpiece of track on other side of creek. When I retrieved it I discovered this was from the 'shoofly' section of track waaaay across from the southwest portion of the track on the other side. Looking at the track from across the creek. the container door was closed when I got there, I opened it to get the wheelbarrow out to retrieve things. I think this black garbage barrel is a gonner. This used to be by our turntable. Soda can perched on railing. It wasn't there the day before. Interesting. The rock on top of the landscaping fabric did not move, but the whole fabric did. Damaged switch wrapped around a tree. Those rail joiners are tough. Better they bend than the rail which is harder to replace. Looking at the southbound mainline and south curve in the distance. You can also see how the grass is bent, indicating water flow. One small washout on the wye. This unfinished section of track has held up well this summer. Debris under the south curve. The 'shoofly' track bent under itself. Fortunately the Shoofly was made from old track sections. Serious track damage to the passenger track lead-in. Again, proof that the track pins (on left) work. Even putting concrete blocks on the track are ineffective. It looks like someone neatly set them aside. I think his name is Ike. Damage at the mainline/reversing track switch. Minor washout under a trackpin. Guess where the track pins end? On both the service curve and north mainline curve, the track is intact where the pins are. Probably high-water mark on the side of the switch bench, about there the grommet is the bungee is connect to.

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