Illinois Railway Museum Blog

There was good weather yesterday so much of the work outdoors resumed, on several fronts.

Just a Trace

John Faulhaber is tracing data for the GN hopper before we remove all evidence of the existing with sandblasting.  We are reviewing all data documented so far, and scouring through layers of existing paint and crud to reveal old paint and letterring.

Reporting Marks

The first solid evidence of the reporting marks and numbers are starting to show through.

Reporting Marks

Victor Humprheys and John Faulhaber stand proudly before the area defining GN and 70104.  There was no trace of this before their hard work and careful sanding.  You need to be part detective, part research specialist, and part archeologist to suceed here.

There were a lot of projects being worked on yesterday, I think I will just lump them here in a Wood Shop post.

Lamp Innards

The last ceiling lamp fixture for the Sand Springs 68 seemed to have some damage.  A little tricky to do, but we got it dis-assembled enough to make repairs.  The coiled wire in the image needs to be re-soldered to the outside of the copper lamp cup.  It did not happen yesterday since the correct tools were not available.

Bird Nests

George Clark is almost done stripping off the old siding from the Lake Shore Electric 810.  The nests behind this section seem to indicate there were some hitchikers along the way.

Depot Door

Thanks to Jeff Calendine from the steam shop, who stopped by the woodshop and volunteered to help mill slots in the new rails and stiles for the depot door project.

Two Divided by Three

What to do when you have two new doors to be worked on, and three volunteers?  For the ME 28, they all crowd in on one of them!  Left to right, Norm Krentel, Jeff Brady, and Dan Fenlaciki

451 Hardware

Jon Fenlaciki has almost singlehandedly taken on the task of cleaning and fixing all of the brass sashed windows for CA&E 451.  The heavy rains in the afternoon put a damper on that, so he switched to cleaning and remounting window hardware for the four new drop sash.  They are all brass covered with layers of paint and years of oxidation.  But Jon knows the secret ingredients to bring back the luster - Brasso and Elbow Grease!

We had to switch gears today, from the planned work, due to some pretty impressive morning thunderstorms.  So, inside to the shop!

Do You Do Windows

Thanks to Dick Lukin who came out to work in the shop today.  Here he is working on the sign box frame and several new window sash for CA&E cars 409 and 460.

Another Door

We also began cutting parts for a new depot door, mentioned in earlier Blog entries.  Victor Humphreys is gatthering the completed blanks for the rails and stiles.