Wood Shop

We seem to be falling into a winter work pattern, with Saturday by far the busiest day in the shop areas inside Barn 4, then Wednesday, and Sunday holding onto third place.  So take note that there is more space and less competition for machine time and bench space on the latter two days, if you want to work on your favorite project, or to just show up to watch and help the others.

Jeff Brady is working to glaze the top three openings on a new baggage door for Michigan Electric 28.  This is a good cold weather project, when the barn space is really too cold to accomplish a lot.  Ray Schmid is in the background painting the retainer beading for the glass.

Bill Moran was on hand and we decided to start the process of planing stock for a new roof on the Los Angeles coach using the planer to reduce the thickness of the new lumber (sawn on Saturday), to the planned 7/16".  Here he is removing one of those 16 foot long strips from the outfeed end of the planer.

        HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

There was only a skeleton crew on hand yesterday but still the work gets done.

Pete Galayda and John Faulhaber are planing new timber for the decking to be installed on the west end of Charles City Western 300, our McGuire Cummings steeple cab locomotive.

Meanwhile, John Nelligan was in the 'laboratory' cleaning and restoring a very sinister looking double pole double throw knife switch from the same locomotive.

Henry Vincent was installing a new woodworkers vise on one of our benches.  Ask him about it - nothing is ever simple as it might look!

John Faulhaber has a handful of molding we made for glass retainers on the new windows we are making for B&M 1094.  This was another tricky project - to make assymetrical 1/4 by 5/16 quarter round.

Randall Hicks was making continued progress on his work on CA&E 319, and I managed to make a few more new roof saddles for CA&E 451.

Feast or famine - lots of pics yesterday, not so much today.

Jim Windmeier was out again, this time touching up the green paint on the boxes, and seen here painting the feet black.  He also cut the needed rubber pads for them, and the anti slip strips for the top steps.

There was a full crew of four working on the Michigan Electric 28 including Terry Borden from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Warren Neuhauser has been leading the work on our MILW X-5000 dynamometer car, and he brought his team members over to the wood shop for a meeting.  We discussed producing some needed woodwork for the ceiling in the car.

Dan Fenlaciki worked on installing four new drop sash for CA&E 451 while his father, Jon, continued restoring the brass framed side windows for the car.  It was reported that the first red paint was applied to one end of this car.

On the same project we continued with a bit of work to produce 26 new wood roof saddles made from white oak.

I managed a little more wiring work on Sand Springs 68, and we saw brush holders being repaired, and rebuilt trolley retrievers getting new paint in the electric car shop, while George Clark continued making wood parts for Lake Shore Electric 810 in the wood shop.

This was more like the last winter with several folks working on many projects in the wood shop.  Perhaps a sure sign cold weather is here.

You have seen the amazing work done by Buildings and Grounds (led by Dave Diamond) in relocating and siting the Schroeder Store.  Looking ahead, perhaps the next structure to be placed in its Main Street location might be our 1920's vintage Sunoco Filling Station, relocated to IRM from Covington, Kentucky.  You may help bring this about with donations to the Buildings and Grounds Department.

Victor Humphreys was doing some seat work connected with the reupholstery on our TM 972.

Much of the body work and painting on our MILW 01984 rib sided caboose is done, and the car moved back into Barn 11.  Buzz Morisette was mounting lifts and window hardware, so the sash could be replaced into the car.

Mike Stauber and Frank Sirinek set up some horses in the shop and were sanding old finish off of the next seat to be restored for the open car, Vera Cruz 19.

Tim Peters was on the job working on restoration of 'his' next wood el car restoration, CRT 1797.  Here he is repairing the four sliding side/end doors for the car.  Two of the large doors are done enough to start receiving new paint and primer, in the background behind Tim.  Too bad you all cannot help on this, but wait.  You can help with donations to the project.  This is a LOT of work and necessary supplies, wood, paint, and other materials must be purchased with cash.

Bill Moran and Rich Witt were milling stock to produce new window beading for the next two project windows being made for B&M 1094.

Dick Lukin was out to volunteer some time, and he loves to work on almost any Electric Car Project.  So here he is measuring up some white oak billets, that have been drying for 8 months or so.  Destination CA&E 451.

The wood stock was planed, marked, measured and bandsawed to the rough profile for new roof saddles.  Dick has a careful eye and is doing a good job, sanding one to finished shape to conform to the roof of the car.

I managed to take a few blanks through our large Wright band saw.

And Bill Moran took a turn at the saw, continuing to turn out more roughsawn blanks.  I think the goal is to produce about 26 of these saddles, a lot of handwork involved.

No, this is not the new paint scheme for CTS 4223 which has occupied this spot in Barn 4 for many years.  The Cleveland car has moved to Barn 2 for more paint work, and in its place sits Shaker Heights 63, which has already seen some restoration work in progress.

George Clark is repairing posts and framing to allow the new wood side sill to be installed on Lake Shore Electric 810.

This is a Crouse Hinds headlight housing which saw applications on many transit vehicles.  We have searched in vain for many years for replacement and repair parts.  Frank Sirinek is the contact for this project.  But we have a lead on a replacement clear diffuser ring which goes into the housing, so were taking measurements and making a drawing.

Work moves into a higher gear on two new windows for B&M 1094 with the arrival in the shop of new stock.  Rich Witt works on a cutting plan to yield the maximum parts.

Not a stale sobriquet, but John Faulhaber and Rich Witt double check sizes and settings before ripping parts from a piece of mahogany.

Ted Anderson is funding and directing the work on the new windows, and he stopped in to examine and approve the work in progress

The title of this entry and comments are somewhat misleading this time.  It seemed there was not a large turnout of volunteers today, but I am sure they were merely scattered around our large site involved in other projects.  At least they were not where I was when I had the camera in my pocket.

But I did get to see Frank Hicks cleaning the old paint off one of the controller covers for CA&E 319.  Loud work but the needlechipper greatly speeds up the process.

Bob Sundelin and I continued to work inside the Sand Springs 68, on the passenger signal system.  By end of day all the connections had been made and taped, and all the trim and car parts reassembled.  (We had to take a lot of stuff apart to access and repair, test the system.)  Several members dropped in during the day and all seemed delighted to press the buttons and hear the buzzers.  This was getting pretty chilly to work out in the car, and is a good stopping point for the winter recess in unheated space.

Andrew Sunderland was out working on a Westinghouse D 3 series compressor.  Heads off, lots of cleaning, etc.  I think this is an exact duplicate of one on the South Shore 1100, but is a 600 volt variety which will improve the operation any of that car's air systems on our 600 volt supply.

Tim Peters has several of the large doors removed from CRT 1797 and is engaged in patching woodwork, filling, sanding (LOTS of sanding), and restoring them to be replaced in the carbody.

Bill Moran is looking over the plans and sample original window from B&M 1094.  He and Rich Witt did a lot of detective work to make more measurements and resolve discrepancies in the carbody openings.  We started cutting the rough stock for a new one today but were not able to get all the pieces from the wood furnished to us by the project team.

Eric Lorenz was back on the job fitting more rubber nosing strips for CTS 4223.  Earlier entries here showed the nosing and their installation on the four rear door leafs for this car.  These are for the front door leafs.

Meanwhile Ed Waytula was working on the front door leafs inside the car.  Tough to get an image here, but you get the idea.

And here is rare shot of me inside Sand Springs 68.  Bill Moran also helped a bit with this project today.  Here there was a lot of tracing of circuits and wiring to complete the hookup of all twenty passenger signal buttons.  It should have been easier, but here I am inside one of the end seat boxes making the last three connections.  They all worked!!