Illinois Railway Museum Blog

general info for the month, as we begin the winter portion of the season.

GENERAL DEPARTMENT PROGRESS

Most of October was spent supporting the Terror event.

Other winter plans include:

Completion of the DLW 556 coach, including a thorough cleaning and repainting of interior ceiling. Also, work continues on the platform of the car.

Repairs to DLW coach brakes that malfunctioned after Thomas, awaiting parts fabrication.

Working on the ATSF 2544 combine restoration, we hope to have the seat frames finished this winter, and finish installation of seats.

Car corner repairs to the vestibule of CRIP 2571 coach.

Improvements and repairs to the second Exhibit car in preparation for additional exhibits in 2011.

EQUIPMENT REPORTS

Inbound Acquisitions

Incoming acquisitions are making progress, but each has become complicated by factors.

The CBQ 1309 baggage car in Denver had some administrative problems but all seem to have been resolved thanks to the efforts of the Executive Director.

Dome car plans have been made in Arizona, with the cooperation of the donating agency.

Trucks have been identified and pulled out for the pending arrival of the dome car.

The trucks on hand have some significant issues that will require work before they can be installed on any car, but they have finally been located behind Barn 3 where work can be performed.

Mikes inspection of Olympus reveals a truck issue, no pedestal liners on the cars trucks, and the car will be transported via flat car as well. The cost of the move is being determined by the Executive Director.

The upside is that there of course will be no repair charges to make the car roadworthy as it is not travelling, and it should arrive without shipping damage.

Because Silver Pony has its skirts, the shop trucks we have will not fit, so the plan is to swap Olympus trucks to the dome, and place the shop trucks under the Olympus.

Hopefully, we will only need to use one day of crane work to do all the re-assembly work on the cars when they get here. That would be to set them all off of their flatcars and back on trucks. 

Based on current information, we feel all inbound costs for all three cars should be able to be funded with money already on hand.

Many thanks to the donors over the past season, and continuing now, who have supported our efforts to acquire these cars with financial responsibility. While the task is not yet complete, and there of course will be costs to get all of these cars "up and running", we are off to a great start. 

The Olympus AND the CBQ 1309 donation sites now exist on the IRM store, but the Silver Pony site is not yet on the page.

We hope to resolve this issue soon, as it obviously makes it much easier for donors

DLW coaches (3)

 One car, 567, is in service

The restoration of the DLW 556 coach is back on track following Thomas. The floor has been repaired and hardware has been reinstalled. As noted elsewhere, interior restoration is planned for this winter, to hopefully complete the car for 2011 use.        

           561 suffered a brake malfunction during revenue service, and it appears to be an accumulation of wear and component failures that finally caused the brakes of one axle to lock on.  Wood frame parts have been fabricated, and we are waiting for outside manufacture of steel parts.

Rock Island Coaches (4)

As noted earlier, four revenue Rock Island coaches are now in service. The fifth remains awaiting restoration

One car will require a window to be re-glazed following the Terror event, but should not delay use of the car next season.

CBQ RPO 1923

The open display and exhibit of the Railway Postal clerks both in the car itself and within the Exhibit cars seems to have been a successful presentation.

Brake system malfunction is once again noted during late season inspections, as the brakes were hanging up on the last day of Members Weekend. Small leaks were noted by the brake cylinder in the piping, and the brake valve appears to stick on and not release, and so a significant repair of the system is in process.

It appears that this car, as the DLW coach as well, is suffering from "old age" deterioration, and will receive significant repairs to provide a long term solution.

ATSF 2544

This car has also been converted to 110vac lighting. The conversion has removed another 5 amps of power consumption from Barn 3 and will also reduce the cost of lamp replacement.

The prep work for the second side of seats has continued, but has stalled a bit as other projects have made demands on the time of the department. While there has been no significant progress recently, it remains a goal for the off season.

Dover Strait

The interior of the car is approaching completion.

Exterior undercarriage cosmetics were performed over a 2-3 week period, and much of the interior "finishing" is expected over winter.

Interior displays and exhibits continue to be plan for the 2011 season. The next major project is to carpet the interior.

A longer range plan is to inspect the cars brakes for possible revenue service in the future.

GN John McGloughlin

While restoration on this car is not overtly visible, it does continue. Paint repair to exterior surfaces, and repair/restoration of bathrooms continues.

 B&M 3288/1094

The restoration continues,

The dining area and coach areas are approaching completion, and Jack has begun the backdating of the kitchen area.

We also hope to inspect the electrical system of the car soon, with the plan to energize the light fixtures.

Long range plans to arrange movement to a new location within the display remain on hold until the completion of the two commuter cars under repair. 

NP 230 Baggage

The Wednesday special Projects group has begun cosmetic restoration of this car to original NP Loewy Green design.

This is keeping with the intent to make Yard 5 a display area, with effort to present equipment in a positive light.

YARD 5 DISPLAYS

The streamliner sleeper set will once again be decorated for the holidays.

The special exhibit cars will have the electrical service improved. Most of the needed items for new service have arrived.

Max has ordered parts and has assured us the car will be wired for winter, which will allow display work to progress for next year. Due to his current employment out of town, his schedule is a bit irregular, but we hope to make the car functional for winter preparations to be carried out.

The cars will require some exterior work for longer term performance, as there is significant rust one the lower wall of the heavyweight car. We would like to install a security camera system for the interior to protect our increased quantity of exhibits. Both costs have been presented as part of the dept budget for 2011.

Restoration work on the streamliner set includes repairs as well as planned work on some of the cars.

A review of the Yard 5 space is also being discussed to account for the (soon) future placement of the CBQ Havelock baggage car, as well as the potential display changes prompted by the incoming passenger dept acquisitions.

Our concern with planning for the entire yard includes a recognition that the Planning Committee made recommendation to utilize the space within the paved area as display, while providing space on the east end of the yard area for diesel storage.

While the plan presented will require a switching between the 52 and 53 tracks, and will also require modification to the electrical service feed in the service aisle,  it will provide a long term stable display area, which can be "prepped" for our guests.