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Monday, August 31. 2009Wood Shop Update August 30, 2009 Paper Pulley Yes, this is a paper pulley, a technology which was once common, say 80 years ago or so. This one is brand new from the one remaining company that makes these. It was later mounted to the motor for our restoration of an American Wood Working Company tilt top table saw.  Tenoner Drive Belts Earlier this week I mentioned that our restoration of an H B Smith tenoner has moved to the stage where we can run it a bit. This is the end where all the drive belts reside. Note that we have 'derailed' the belts for the cope head and cut off saw, so the tests can focus on the other shafting and operations.  Outfeed End At the outfeed end, you can see the cutoff saw, and sharp eyed viewers will spot the lower cope head.  Infeed End At the infeed end are the cutters for the tenons themselves and scoring blades for the cheek cuts. Monday, August 31. 2009STEAM'S UPMany of you have heard or looked at the myriad of photos already posted on the web, but for those of you who have not heard, the UP 428 2-8-0 was test fired on August 29, 2009. This is the first time it has had a fire in its belly in 51 years and represents a MAJOR milestone in the restoration program  Front End Jason Maxwell stands in front of the engine, trying to grab a lunch break as there is SMOKE OVER THE PRAIRIE. I actually parked my car downwind and basked in and breathed the wonderful coal smoke.  Backhead The crew fills the deck plate between engine and tender. You will note no cab or lagging, this was intentional at this test firing to allow for close inspection and access. Monday, August 31. 2009URTX 26640 Update August 30, 2009Lettering work continued on the door, which must have been a new development for railroads. They covered it with instructions.  The First Two Groups These are the first two door groups applied earlier this week.  And Next Another stencil is measured and placed for painting.  With the Result And paint applied. Amazing how a few details like this bring the car to life, in this case what was a bland and plain plug door.  B End John Baletto has contributed a lot of work on this restoration project and this weekend he returned to work the needle chipper on the B end. Thanks John! The paint chips are fairly flying off!  Left Side Kirk Warner toiled all day, installing the last two long siding boards and most of the short stubby ones below the door opening. When all the siding has been placed in position, a line will be stretched and all the tails cut off in a straight line. Monday, August 31. 2009ATSF 1400 Update August 29, 2009Buzz Morisette continues to work on this wood caboose, and has supplied several images and the 'back story' for recent work.  Roof Leak  Rotten Floorboards Removed  Repairs to Beams  New Subfloor From Buzz: Late last fall I completed repairs and a fresh coat of paint to the East door and windows. The trim was replaced and the door lock, weather strip, screen, sill, etc. was also fixed up. The sides have also been caulked and painted but will eventually need to be replaced. The big job this summer is to fix the floor. A one-inch bolthole for the roofwalk must have leaked for years. The finish floor had a two-foot hole but the sub floor was rotted out in a four-foot radius. The 6 x 12 southern pine floor beams were mostly OK but the tops lost an inch here and there. Photos show repairs to the sub floor that included shims and appliqués to the floor beams. I should have the finish floor back in soon. However, another foot or so of bad sub floor is under the stove. I’ll fix the hole and aisle before I move on to that.  End Repairs Not ignoring the exterior, Buzz rebuilt the end door and cleaned and repainted the end.  North Side And the north side has been caulked, primed, and re-painted. This will buy us time and looks really good. But it is a wood car 'living' outdoors. We are lucky to have a skilled volunteer giving his time and effort so generously. Can we respond and donate funds to the R1400 fund to help get this indoors? Please help. Thursday, August 27. 2009URTX 26640 Update August 26, 2009 Cleaning the B end Needlechipping is proceeding on the B end. Not devasting hard labor but the noise and vibration get to you. And many coats of paint or cement on these ends make for slow work  1/3 done Despite intermittent showers, about 1/3 of the end is clean and primed. Ladder work next.  Upper Door Track The upper door track on the right side has been re-installed. Later in the day milling and checking of the remaining wood siding continued, pieces fit and primed. Thursday, August 27. 2009Wood Shop Update August 26, 2009 Tenoner Here is a pic from Kirk Warner of me in the cage and Jim Griffith working on the HB Smith tenoner we obtained last fall. Trolley fans will remember this in use at the Illinois Terminal main shops at Decatur about 1910. A lot of work in the meantime, and late yesterday we were able to run the motor and machine for very short periods, proceeding to fine tune or fix each problem as they were discovered. Thursday, August 27. 2009Chicago Surface Lines 3142 Progress August 26, 2009 Shrink Wrapped? No, not a prime rib from the meat department, although a bit more expensive. Recall the news that a motor failed on our workhorse 3142 in mid summer. The offending motor has been to the motor shop and repaired/rebuilt and was delivered yesterday. Just pulling a motor from a car without the use of an overhead crane shows how resourceful our volunteers are. Now to reverse the process and test it out. Yes, donations are needed. |
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Comments
Mon, 03-10-2014 08:43
Hello Josh. The building of both Barns will take much prep work but can be accomplished. Thank you for your interest in the Sil Pony. [...]
Mon, 03-10-2014 00:13
Roger, I saw on the Yahoo IRMList that indeed, both barns 13 & 14 will be started this year. This is great news! I'm interested in working on the [...]
Sun, 03-09-2014 23:02
Hello I have been interested in volunteering for quite some time. If you could email me with some information that would be greatly appreciated.
Sun, 03-02-2014 14:36
Thanks for your kind comments, Kirk! Yes, it's my hope that we can spray and hand brush, were possible, the interior when completed. Gary and I [...]
Sun, 03-02-2014 10:03
Thanks. Appreciate the effort. greg
Sun, 03-02-2014 08:37
Greg, I talked to Tom Schneider, the curator of the Steam Department yesterday. Rather as I suspected, he does have a good deal of information [...]
Sat, 03-01-2014 10:33
Congratulations on your great progress. Is your intent to spray the interior after repairs and priming are completed and the weather warms up? What [...]
Thu, 02-27-2014 13:59
Hello, I was wondering if you had a history of the Louisiana and Arkansas #99 from the time it was the LR&NCo until it was acquired by the [...]
Tue, 02-25-2014 09:05
Jamie can you give me any information on Milwaulkee Road 33C as i havent seen any information on it in a couple of years.
Mon, 02-24-2014 16:38
Yes, as Mark mentioned it made it into Barn 11 last year to dry out some after finally being unloaded from the flat car.
Mon, 02-24-2014 08:16
That car has been moved inside to keep the weather out as windows are repaired. I think it's in a barn that's not open to the public.
Sun, 02-23-2014 21:25
Is there any information regarding the status of the ex California Zephyr dome coach. When I was at the museum late last summer I did not see it.