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Thursday, September 23. 2010Wood Shop and other Views - September 22, 2010 A Clean Shop John Faulhaber is one of several folks who have worked in the past few weeks to help REALLY clean the wood shop area. As a reminder, the wood shop is closed to restoration work this coming weekend as we are hosting an annual event for us - this time about 100 folks from coast to coast all interested in old woodworking machines. And we have them!  Patching Steel Gerry Dettloff is working to piece in new steel and weld it all up on CRT 1797, the next wood L car restoration being done by Tim Peters. That end plate was pretty much like a lace doily - I suppose you can expect that on a car over a century old!  Another Silver Car Many of you have read of the exploits of our Wednesday Warriors, a group of fellows who volunteer on Special Projects. They are largely invisible since they do not attend IRM on weekends, but their work is certainly NOT invisible. This season they have been laboring on a lightweight smoothside baggage car from the CB&Q. I think I will go with 983 although there has been some confusion with the number 963. In this Photo, Paul Gasiorowski has been applying new silver to the north side of the car. This is a rare photo with the other cars stored in yard five out for last week's showcase operations, leaving us an empty track.  More Paint Wayne Bates is working on one of the sliding doors as Paul continues east with the paint roller.  Corner Repairs Meanwhile, Neal Schwingbeck is welding in new steel to repair some wrinkles sustained to the corner. If any of you saw this car a scant six months ago you would not believe it to be the same piece of equipment now! Monday, September 20. 2010Trolley Bus Dept. Members Day Update
Richard Schauer provided service throughout the day Saturday, bringing out several coaches. We started the day with the Edmonton 181, followed by Chicago Marmon 9553, then Seattle MAN 4020. Once Charlie King arrived, they pulled “his baby”, the CSL 84, out of the garage. They parked it at Central and Depot where it immediately drew a crowd. For about an hour, Charlie greeted the steady stream of visitors and treated them to tours of the coach and stories about the coach in service and ongoing restoration. I spent the day working the Cash & Cary Chicago Sign table to raise money for the restoration of the many signs around the property. It was our best day ever! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and made a purchase/donation. Many of the signs already restored (North Shore, South Shore, CA&E, IC…) were lit up all day and looked fantastic. You can help by visiting the “Signs For Sale” button on the home page and purchasing your very own piece of Chicago history. Overall it was a great day. Kudos to the volunteers in all the departments who made this year’s event a success.
Monday, September 20. 2010Car Work - September 19, 2010I usually post more about work in the wood shop and freight car department, where I work, and to be sure, this weekend saw us in the shop. In this case, many folks participated in our annual spring cleanup. Well, no, I guess spring is past, but next weekend the shop will be closed to Museum work, as we host over 100 woodworkers from around the country in a four day event. So, when I had enough cleaning under my belt, I walked around the barn and caught a few pics, to share here.  Panel Prep Ed Waytula is working on a new panel for the Cleveland PCC 4223. You will have noticed that the car is now in primer, getting ready for finish colors.  Latch Eric Lorenz was installing a lot of odds and ends that should be mounted on the car before the final coats are sprayed on. This is a latch and pocket to hold the off side battery door in the raised position.  Doors In the last few weeks the rush has been on to add all the above mentioned parts and trim. Here, Eric has completed installing and priming the set of new front doors, post trim and gutter. Those and the mid car exit doors were also primed to be ready for color. I hate to look in my crystal ball and jinx the project by making a prediction, but it is looking like the roof and upper body are may see color SOON!  Roof Panels For you guys and gals out there wondering about the Michigan Electric 28, here is the progress on the roof. The guys were on break so I snuck up on the scaffold to give you an idea of the progress. The roof is perhaps over 50% covered with the new custom bent panels, and it makes a big difference in appearance covering up the skeleton of the roof framing. Sunday, September 19. 2010Showcase Weekend - September 18, 2010The weather forecast was bleak. By 9:30 AM it was heavy rain, with water pouring off the building roofs. Thankfully, the rain stopped, although we did not see the sun the rest of the day. The Freight Department held a brief Dedication Event for the UP 3786 caboose. Restoration is complete and the car is released for regular service in operations.  The Team The restoration team was represented by Project Manager Joe Luciani and crew member Lee Regione. There were a few remarks, then the public was invited for a walk-through of the restored interior, prior to the three car train departing for a full mainline trip. Every seat was filled in all three cars, and some potential riders had to be turned away to await the next trip.  The Train Here is the train on Station Track One between trips. It looked good and there was a lot of interest from visitors and members alike. The train was pulled by electric locomotive L4 from the TMER&L, crewed by Ray Weart.  At Wheaton I could not resist adding another shot for all you trolley fans out there. Julie Johnson is in the cab, getting ready to operate a three car steel CA&E train. These cars were looking better than they probably did departing Wheaton for the Loop over a half century ago. In order, cars 409, 431, and 460. WOW! Friday, September 17. 2010 |
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Comments
Thu, 01-21-2021 19:44
Hello Jack Yes, the buffers have been installed but the canvas curtains cost about about 1500 each to purchase. Thanks Roger
Wed, 01-20-2021 07:46
is there a eason a lot of passenger cars have no diaphrams on them? i see several have the buffers installed
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:20
Hello Jason. Your comments are very much appreciated. Yes, there is much hard work that goes into all our restorations and maintenance here at the [...]
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:13
Hello Jack Yes, It will be one of our most impressive cars that we have at IRM when its completed. Thanks for the pat on the back! Roger.
Thu, 01-14-2021 21:05
Those cars look great so far guys! Man I wish I had the time to volunteer and become a member at IRM that looks like so much fun especially with how [...]
Tue, 01-12-2021 16:30
the pawnee is looking great a pat on the back to all involved
Mon, 01-04-2021 12:31
Hello Jack Happy New Year from IRM. To my knowledge there was no damage from the minor ice storm that we had in late December, 2020. Some [...]
Sun, 01-03-2021 20:12
the museum area had lots of ice storms in area did the museum get a lot of damage
Thu, 12-24-2020 13:27
roger, Thank you to all of the Passenger car department volunteers. The #109 is going to be a great car when all done! Ted miles, [...]
Sun, 12-06-2020 08:46
Hello Ted We havenot finished lettering the 975 but we are well on the way. Look for a few blogs from me now that the wearther is colder and the [...]
Sat, 12-05-2020 18:36
i watched crew replace switch by diesel shop on dec 5. its good to see museum have equipment to do job and save money
Fri, 12-04-2020 14:56
It has been a long time with no news; have you finished lettering the Southern Pacific locomotive? Please post a picture. Ted Miles, IRM Member