Here’s a synopsis of what has been taking place in the Trolley Bus Department over the last several weeks. Yesterday Wally Unglaub spent the entire morning tearing apart groups, overhead special work, and other parts for easier storage (preparing for the arrival of the Edmonton coach). Bob Bourne came in from Iowa and operated Chicago Marmon 9553 in the afternoon with Wally riding in back for wye-ing. We are planning on running that coach again for Chicago Day in 2 weeks. While that was going on, we were visited by (Regular Member #1) Charlie King, which spurred Richard Schauer and Jerry Saunders to drill and mount brand new trolley boards on the CSL 84 and reconnected the trolley poles/bases. The newly refurbished air compressor came back to life and sounded great! We are working on getting some wheel studs to reattach the curbside rear wheels in order to get it rolling again.
In previous weeks, Richard Schauer and I have been going through our stored parts, looking for where we can consolidate and rearrange. We then bring them to Wally who (carefully) tears them apart, making them easier to store. Howard Geier spent Memorial Day weekend working on the Curbliner (Des Moines), most notably getting the temporary back doors ready for glass installation. We have also dedicated a couple weekends toward getting the New York subway cars closer than ever to being added to the operating fleet. Recent steps forward were attaching retrievers for both trolley poles, and doing a thorough and much needed cleaning of the interior. There is a little more cleaning left to do as well as a few more loose ends to tie up. Look for them in the Trolley Pageant next month and in service, dare I say, by the end of the season??? (Reminder: These cars are still carrying a debt. If you can, please consider a contribution to the "NY Subway Cars" fund. We would love to get them a decent coat of paint.)
Sorry I haven’t taken pictures for a while. I’ll try and get some for the next entry.
Comments
Mon, 06-17-2013 09:50
Wish I could be there to help.
Fri, 06-14-2013 16:50
Matthew, Any special event is the decision of the museum Board. My personal opinion is that it is likely that there would be a special event to [...]
Thu, 06-13-2013 18:33
Hi, I have a question, if or when she is restored and back up and running this or next year. Will their be a special event set up for the return of [...]
Tue, 06-11-2013 22:36
The whistle 1630 wore for a while that you're thinking of was a Frisco 6 chime donated by a former member of the steam shop. It was on it a few times [...]
Tue, 06-11-2013 18:03
You are talking here about something well before my time !. I have not seen her with anything other than the whistle she now carries. If she [...]
Mon, 06-10-2013 16:17
i'm curious here. Will 1630 ever wear the ATSF 6 chime she had on for a while? Better defines her, I love the deep whistle she has now but the higher [...]
Sat, 06-08-2013 15:15
Many many many many many thanks for getting the Spaulding webcam working!!!!!
Fri, 06-07-2013 16:55
The donation was to the museum as a whole. How it is used and whether any comes to steam department projects will be the decision of the museum [...]
Fri, 06-07-2013 16:53
Basically the plan is "ONLY" reassembly. As far as we know she is is reasonable mechanical shape. The big mechanical problem that stopped her (slack [...]
Fri, 06-07-2013 16:28
Nigel I read you guys got a one million dollar check donation!!! Will this be used to finish 1630 ,428, 5 and get started on the others next in line?
Fri, 06-07-2013 16:16
So does 1630 basically only need reassembly? With the boiler in particular. Does her tender or running gear need any work before she's ready for the [...]
Fri, 06-07-2013 12:00
Hello.. The voltage we are using and presumed the RR also used is 120 vac. The system is a little unique because the lite bulbs are each 60 volts. [...]