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Monday, September 29. 2008Monday, September 29. 2008Woodworking Machines Road Trip
On September 27, 2008 we made the long planned road trip to Decatur, IL to load and acquire new woodworking machines for our carshop. These machines were owned by the Illinois Traction System (Illinois Terminal) dating from about 1900. One of the machines is much older from about 1875, so must have been acquired used by the IT.
When the Decatur Car Shops stopped that work in the mid 1950's a woodworker and fan bought most of them and opened his own business in Decatur. Now heading for retirement, he offered these three to us and is working on selling the remaining stuff. A very difficult decision for him, and for us as we could have likely gotten more, but space and money intervene. It is a shame in a way that this "IT Collection" needed to be split and broken apart after surviving another 50 years relatively intact.  Illinois Traction System Decatur Shops Here is a rare photo of the Decatur car shops about 1910. Our planer is on the right behind the table saw. Our tenoner is on the left side along the wall, behind the shaper!! All machines were line shaft driven at this time. Anyone find it odd that an electric railway had no machines in their shop driven by electric motors? Although it does appear there was a LARGE electric motor driving the line shaft on the left side. Such was technology in 1910. The crew going down there consisted of Richard Schauer, Tim Peters, Barb Lanphier and myself. A VERY long day but the loading went ok and the truck made it back to Union without incident.Following are some of the images from that day.  Sash Sticker This is the oldest machine and serves a multi function purpose with two tables for doing different operations. A FAY sash sticker circa 1875.  Tenoner Here we have an H B Smith tenoner already partly disassembled for loading but still inside the shop, with motor and drive slid into place to provide a record of the setup.  Planer The big American No. 4 1/2 planer is on the museum truck and the tenoner is being set into place for the trip.  Loading The sash sticker is on the hoist out in the street moving toward our truck. For a small side street there was a lot of traffic that day!  Loading  Beverly Hillbillys?? The final two pics are the loaded truck parked in a lot by the local hash house. Loose pieces are being stowed for travel, and chains and binders added to prevent things from shifting. Estimated weight - 12,000 lbs. Sunday, September 28. 2008Construction continues with truss installation September 27, 2008 First Trusses And by Friday afternoon the first six roof trusses were up. This really shows the shape and form of the new barn. Thursday, September 25. 2008Construction Continues September 24, 2008 Side Framing By Wednesday this week the purlins and girts (side framing) were going in place. Thursday, September 25. 2008NYC Dover Strait Update September 24, 2008 Vestibule End The car has been wyed (turned) again, and Bob Hunter has added the end grills to the flat panels of the vestibule. Here he is touching up the paint on the fasteners. Thursday, September 25. 2008UP 25086 Update September 24, 2008This has not been a forgotten project. Throughout the summer, the fellows have been trying to ready the car for SANDBLASTING!  Sandblasting And on Wednesday, 9/24, the contractor was out doing the deed.  Cleanup Two days later the car had been blasted, and a crew of Joe Luciani, Bill Leider, and Bob Payne were working to clean up the car to get it painted, hopefully early next week! Thursday, September 25. 2008North Shore 757 Update September 24, 2008 Window Hardware Henry Vincent is cleaning and prepping the window retainer plates for North Shore 757. We are planning on making new replacement sash for the badly deteriorated end windows on this car. |
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Comments
Fri, 02-27-2015 12:17
The UP sticker could be for a truck trailer. The headlight is neat. However for the accuracy nut, the plow originally had a style of Pyle [...]
Fri, 02-27-2015 11:44
Mike, Yep. We always like to think she may have been operated by Casey ...... but we will never be sure. Nigel
Fri, 02-27-2015 11:42
Zach, At this time we will not be offering "Take the Throttle" on 1630 this year. The issue is that, after not running for a number of years, we [...]
Fri, 02-27-2015 09:34
I am curious as to whether or not you will be offering cab rides on 1630 this coming season. I understand you did not offer any last year, as it was [...]
Wed, 02-25-2015 22:04
Hey I saw on the home page on the scroll ad for mother's day,is that shelter in the picture new? It looks as if it is right across the mainline by the [...]
Sun, 02-22-2015 11:15
IC201 was featured on the IRM calendar 6 or 7 years ago, and at that time I, too, searched for it on the equipment roster. It has an interesting [...]
Sat, 02-21-2015 02:55
in my opinion, i think the steam roster, wait... no, whole roster page needs to be updated.
Thu, 02-19-2015 11:16
Sam, Ooops!. Now that is something I had not noticed before. For sure we have IC201. I walked past her just yesterday in barn #9. I had not [...]
Wed, 02-18-2015 18:48
Hello Philip Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, the 1630 will again be running in 2015 baring any unforeseen problems. The continuing projects [...]
Wed, 02-18-2015 13:59
I really love seeing the 1630 returning to its former glory. I first got to ride on it more than 25 years ago and it left a great impression on me. [...]
Wed, 02-18-2015 03:31
speaking of electric cars, i haven't heard any updates about Michigan Electric 28. what has been done since its last blog post?
Mon, 02-16-2015 23:26
The tag shows the date of the last seat reupholstering. Chris & Dan Buck have assisted with the 3rd rail beam project for 1797. In Chicago, it's [...]