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Thursday, March 11. 2010Wood Shop Update - March 10, 2010 The DOOR Rich Witt and Victor Humphreys are assembling "THE DOOR" one more time as a dry fit, this time with the raised panels in place. A little tweaking followed and we should be ready for glue up in a few weeks and then move on to a similar door needed for the station building.  Turning We do not usually need much use of a lathe for turning parts, but here is Bill Leiter spinning out some knobs for the crew doing the work on CB&Q 993. He just returned from a trip to Florida and remarked that it was warmer up here! The way the snow was melting at 62 F we may be going directly from snow skiing on the campus to water skiing. Thursday, March 11. 2010CCW 300 Update - March10, 2010 HMMMM Work is resuming at a faster rate on the CCW 300 locomotive. Remember that most of the heart and soul of that crew essentially took a year off to repaint the TM 972. So, here is John Nelligan studying the electrical circuits diagram. There are a lot of loose cables on the engine, dismantled during early work years ago. If these were marked or tagged, such has largely disappeared, so we may need to call in Sherlock Holmes to unravel some of the mysteries. Monday, March 8. 2010Michigan Electric 28 Update - March 7, 2010 Fitting Work Yes appropriate as Jeff Brady is doing the final fitting of parts for the first new baggage door for the ME 28.  Assembly The glue has been applied to the joints and Bob Sundelin assists Jeff in getting all the parts together in one unit.  A Pressing Engagement The results speak for themselves with the assembled door securely held in the glue press, Jeff Brady breathing a sigh of relief as he inspects the finished product. Monday, March 8. 2010Wood Shop Update - March 7, 2010 Orange Paint Tim Peters was back form a weekend trip to St. Louis and was continuing repairs and restoration to the CRT 1268 wooden el car. Here he is applying the signature orange paint to a rebuilt end door. Monday, March 8. 2010Wood Shop Update (Added Material)- March 6, 2010Here is the Saturday report now, with a short Sunday report in the planning as a coming attraction.  Frames Buzz Morisette has all ten new caboose windows glued up. They look enough in this image like picture frames, so maybe we should start a small side business. We ran all ten through the Berlin sander for finish sanding, cut the stile extensions, and then Buzz was fussing with edge and details of the finished sash.  Infeed End To get the caboose windows to that stage, and the sash for the 409, here are four late arriving photos form Greg Cuevorst (thanks Greg). First, a shot of me feeding a sash into the Berlin sander.  Outfeed Victor Humphreys was the 'catcher' removing sanded frames from the discharge.  Inspector General Buzz M. inspected each frame after each pass and returned them to me as needed for another pass.  Framed Rich Witt has his completed CA&E 409 frame and was doing the touch up and final trimming. Earlier, we removed this from the glue press, finish sanded it through the Berlin sander, cut the stiles, rabbetted three sides, and added a 45 degree bevel - all to reproduce the original deteriorated sample.  Rare Shot A rare shot of Randy Hicks giving more CA&E 319 windows some tlc. Not rare that he is actually working, but he is usually the one behind the camera!  Tenon Trimming Victor Humphreys is trimming the tenons to fit on our very old Delta 14 inch bandsaw.  Near Days End Rich Witt puts some finishing touches on the new sash for the CA&E 409. Behind him you can spy out Victor Humphreys working on the first dry assembly of the door. Sunday, March 7. 2010Thursday, March 4. 2010Wood Shop Update - March 3, 2010This will be another 'one size fits all' blog entry covering many different projects.  The Crew Some of the crew pitching in today included John Nelligan, Randall Hicks, Victor Humphreys, Jack Beisterfield, and Pete Galayda. John and Pete did some work on the TM 972 to get ready for new upholstery, and then they both moved to work on the Charles City Western 300 trying to decipher some of the cabling and wiring. Randy and Pete were working on windows for the CA&E 319, while Jack was taking 'delivery' of five new windows, completed for the B&M 1094.  Never Ending Window Work Henry Vincent works on a new window frame for North Shore 757 while Rich Witt fusses with the fit for a new sash for CA&E 409.  The Door Victor Humphreys makes progress on the new door. Dave Diamond stopped in and we discussed making a new door for the depot, once the process is perfected and we gain some experience on this type project.  Stand Still Work is not at a standstill but Joe Luciani and Lee Regione wait for no man. That, or I could not hold the camera steady! Here, they stop by the wood shop to cut new floorboards for CB&Q 993.  Rich Witt Photo Rich Witt submitted this - as he said - a RARE image. In this case one with me in it! Bob Kutella, Victor Humphreys, and Pete Galayda discuss a porblem stripping the CA&E 319 windows. Tuesday, March 2. 2010Track Dept Weekend Report. Feb 27, 28
This weekend was all about track machines-
Saturday I was out along with Frank DeVries and our plan was to get our heavily used machines serviced and ready to go.  EJE 529 with Franks markers When we got back we started by replacing the four large high pressure hydraulic oil filters on the 6000 tamper. It was a messy job and my legs and arms were soaked with hydraulic oil by the time we finished but got the job done. These don't have to be replaced very often but we've never replaced them since owning the tamper; they were certainly due for replacement.  Adam changing high pressure filters on the 6000 tamper. FRANK D PHOTO  Source of leaking transmission on the Burro Crane. FRANK D PHOTO ------------------ Sunday the gang was myself, Frank DeVries and Tom Hunter. We began on the pit by refilling the transmission oil in the Model 50 Burro to find that the new seal appears to be working without leaking. We attempted to start the crane without any luck. After a few attempts we put the battery charger on it and headed to Tk24. The big project for the day was to pull ALL of our machines from Tk24 to switch the heated portion of the diesel shop. We started by getting the 6000 tamper, the ballast regulator and the EJ&E 585 motorcar all fired up. Without diving into the details of the switch list, we were able to pull everything out of the barn and onto the Carline without much difficulty. In a rare move, the old SOO line brush cutter that was in the heated portion of Barn 2 was also pulled out for the first time in years.  6000 Tamper on the Pit. FRANK D PHOTO Franks photos from the weekend are on his Member's Pages here: http://www.irm.org/gallery/album238 http://www.irm.org/gallery/album239 Thanks, Adam Robillard IRM Track Dept. Monday, March 1. 2010Wood Shop Update - February 27,28 2010It was a very busy weekend on many fronts at IRM so I will combine these few pics in a report covering both days. Sunday we changed direction and my shop time was cut short as we operated the Sand Springs 68 in a rare winter move going 'wrong way' around the car line to get to Barn 8.  Electric Park Here is a Gwyn Stupar photo of the car waiting at Electric Park. The motors on the 68 were dragging through the deep drifts despite following the NS 749 which led the way to break the heavy snow banks and push them aside.  Smooth Warren Lloyd and Victor Humphreys are finish sanding five windows for B&M 1094. This marked our first use of the Berlin sander since some much needed maintenance a few weeks ago. No problems noted, and by day's end all work in the shop was completed on these five windows.  A Close Fit Buzz Morisette was fitting yet more parts for windows for the MILW 01984 caboose. At the end of the day four more sash were fitted, glued , and in the press. That makes all ten new windows ready for finish work.  Where the Elite Meet There is always time to discuss plans for the day. Shown are (l to r) Dave Fullerton, Stan Wdowikowski, Greg, Dick Lukin, and Warren Lloyd.  A Dry Fit Jeff Brady is 'dry fitting' all the parts for one of the new baggage doors on the ME 28. It won't be long now before the glue is mixed and then on to the second door. Thursday, February 25. 2010Tuesday, February 23. 2010GE Quality Builds Jobs, Burlington Northern 5383 5383 electrical cabinet "GE Quality Builds Jobs" is what was printed on a placard right above the work area on Burlington Northern 5383 this past Sunday, as the reverser was removed to be repaired. Early last year, the reverser failed during a load box test that we normally do after the locomotives inspection. The steel of the top rear of the electrical cabinet had deteriorated, with a change in rpm during the load box test, the intermittent vibration throughout the locomotive caused a large enough piece of rust to drop from the top of the cabinet into the reverser while it was under load.  5383 reverser The loco was making about 1,800HP at the time based on the calculation done from the meter plugged into the multiplier card. The rust just happened to fall into the reverser on the center two lugs which are the main positive and negative feeds from the diode banks of the alternator. All the diodes were tested and all are in good shape. The damage was on the back side of the reverser as it was mounted and it was quickly determined that a repair wasn't going to be easy and not going to be done in place.  Tagged and disconnected cables and bus bars On the 15th, Dan C came out to tag and label all of the cables and start unbolting all the connections and bus bars. On the 21st, Wes L and Jim W removed it from the 5383 and placed it on a bench in the shop. Some pictures have been uploaded to a photo gallery. The next steps are to start hunting down parts to replace the burned up insulators in the reverser. At the same time we'll need to take the torch to the fresh paint and start replacing the supports and top of the back half of the electrical cabinet. The estimated cost of the repairs at this point is about $1,500.Monday, February 22. 2010Wood Shop Update - February 21, 2010 Sitting Down Wayne Baksic is working to resize a bench seat cushion for the CNW 7700 passenger car. Shelly V (not pictured) also worked on this. Wayne is a jack of all trades and earlier he helped finish up the new dust pickup and grounding for the Delta HD shaper.  The Plane Truth The Michigan Electric 28 crew was hard at work. Norm Krentel is behind the ductwork 'catching' stock as it is discharged from the planer. Jeff Brady moves to grab another panel to feed in, while Wayne Baksic looks on. There was some additional shop work, fitting was completed for window number five, now ready to be glued and destined for our B&M 1094 passenger car, and some measurement and layout work on a new door. Sunday, February 21. 2010Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 update Roof Prep and Repairs  Chipping the last side Almost all of the sides and ends have been needle chipped, including window posts, and the letter boards. One side has been DA sanded after the needle chipping. Prep work continues on the window frames and jambs. Some steel work will be started soon on the end doors near the floor along with some small areas above the anticlimbers. Some mechanical work has been started as well, the bad order air compressor has been removed for some work. The batteries have been services and charged. Traction motor leads have been reconnected. Additional work will continue as time and space permits between all the body prep work. Additional photos have been added to the CA&E 451 Restoration Gallery. To continue this aggressive restoration project into the Priming and Painting stage, additional monies and donations are still needed. To help with this project, please consider a donation to the Electric Car Department Car Painting Fund, your support will be appreciated.
Sunday, February 21. 2010North Shore Line 749 Progress
While it has been a few months since the last update for the 749, most of the exterior restoration work has been completed for a few weeks. The final coats of paint have been applied, along with the majority of the detail work, all the doors, and much more. The heralds were applied by Buzz on Saturday the 20th. The numbers still need to be completed and applied. 749's inspections have been started as well. Over the next week or two, the 749 should be removed from the Diesel/Paint shop to make room for another CA&E car. Additional photos are available in the 749's restoration gallery.
Sunday, February 21. 2010Wood Shop Update - February 20, 2010 The Rout to Success Victor Humprheys is setting up the router as we get a little creative in using this tool for an unusual task.  Good Supervision is Important Randy Hicks considers the job Greg Ceurvorst is doing to sand more windows for CA&E 319.  Prime Paint Tim Peters has made up a wheelbarrow load of new trim pieces for the new clerestory windows (now installed) on CRT 1268. And of course they all need painting to be ready to install as time goes by.  Dust Pickup Another of our largely invisible ongoing work tasks is maintaining the shop and tooling. Jerry Lynn trims and fits a new custom made dust pickup hood for our Delta HD shaper. Earlier, he installed a new duct and drop for this machine. THANK YOU, Jerry! And a lot of other work was noted in the shop area, in spite of me not taking time out to snap pics. Three additional new window sash were glued by Buzz M and Victor H for the MILW 01984 caboose. More work on a new door by Bob K and Victor H.; the new CNS&M herald applied in Barn 2 to the NS 749; work continuing on the Cleveland PCC project; retriever/catcher cleaning and rebuilding by the trolley coach department; more condiut and wiring for the new shop space addition on Barn 4; and I am sure a bunch of work I did not mention or note here. STEAM FANS - welding of the new tube sheet patch on the front end of the Shay was being done!!! |
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Comments
Mon, 03-08-2010 09:08
HEY GUYS!! WATCH IT!!!! I don't want to be the next victim. I don't want this to be a two down and two to go. Maybe Richard and jerry should [...]
Sun, 03-07-2010 04:09
A number of comments have formed a thread without directly being related to a topic, here. The work in the several IRM shop areas always needs [...]
Sat, 03-06-2010 18:25
Will try to get up there in May. Was shop supervisor on the old KJRY. Is Greg Wolfersheim still around? He and I worked on the Alco's together.
Fri, 03-05-2010 20:00
I used to be locomotive supervisor on the old KJRY, the damage is all too familiar, but mine was caused by a crewman loosing his balance on Hamilton [...]
Sat, 02-27-2010 04:43
A few practical considerations prevent making effective use of your idea. We would LIKE all our restored equipment to be housed in an (unheated) barn [...]
Thu, 02-25-2010 22:15
Where does one get North Shore herald decals? Is it possible to reproduce them, or is there a closely guarded stash of them left over from Harrison [...]
Wed, 02-24-2010 21:18
Dan is checking with Logan Corp, but they are typically on the pricey side, if the parts are even available. He has found a mostly complete, but used [...]
Wed, 02-24-2010 16:40
Are parts for the reverser available or can the existing part have to be rebuilt?
Tue, 02-23-2010 20:37
at this rate, 749 will be running with 714 by this spring. and speaking of north shore cars, how is 757 in its priority?
Thu, 02-18-2010 12:47
Two brief words..."Welcome Aboard"