Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Entries from May 2011

Sunday, May 29. 2011

Wood Shop Update - May 28, 2011 Posted by Robert Kutella in Wood Shop at 15:09

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Wood Shop Update - May 28, 2011

It always seems to generate a lot of interest when a project is active and you can see work being done. Case in point is the Cleveland PCC, CTS 4223, which has taken enormous steps forward with the painting of the exterior.

Interior Trim

The car is now back in Barn 4 and Eric Lorenz is fitting interior sheet metal moldings under each of the standee windows. Part of the plan is to soon start installing glass in the many openings in the car body.

Will it Fit

Here is the tie in to the wood shop. A plywood template was made and Eric checks each opening so we can assure that when new glass is cut, it will fit the openings.

Jack Block

Yes that is an odd caption. For Michigan Electric 28, Jeff Brady is repairing a large block of wood to be installed in the roof framing where a smoke jack will go through.

Brass

We continue to clean and polish brass window lifts for the Sand Springs 68 as a sort of fill in task. They sure do shine, but it takes a fair amount of time to get this far. Once clean they receive a coat of clear lacquer, and then we will start to install them.

More Brass

John Fenlaciki continues the seemingly endless task of restoring windows for CA&E 451. These are brass sash which must be cleaned and then clear coated, latches made to work, and new rubber weatherstripping installed at the bottom. In spite of doing all 'his' work he showed me some of his magic, by cleaning up the worst crud off of three of the SS 68 latches. Thank you, Jon.

Passenger Car

Shelly Van Der Schagen and Mike Baksic were in the wood shop, working on the latest seat frame for the Santa Fe heavyweight car.

Thursday, May 26. 2011

Wood Shop Update - May 25, 2011 Posted by Robert Kutella in Wood Shop at 10:10

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Wood Shop Update - May 25, 2011

For a change of pace I will shake up the order in which I usually report things this time.

Fast Work

Last Saturday I mentioned about an upcoming project to extend the north (west) end of our Electric Trolley Bus line. Less than a week later the grass and topsoil has been removed, and new crushed limestone sub grade spread and leveled. The Thomas Event entry area will certainly look different this year.

All about Wood

Rich Witt is constructing a new fixture to be used on the Glen Springs windows and behind him Victor Humphreys is sanding panels for the new station door. These are a bit tricky to be fit absolutely the best way we can.

Passenger Department

John Mc Kelvey has been doing a lot of work all related to his particular expertise in upholstering. This week he has repaired and reupholstered a chair back for the INGLEHOME. Seen here, he is cutting the new fabric.

Welding Mysteries

Gerry Dettloff is helping out on the Lake Shore Electric 810. Much of the structural woodwork has been repaired on the north side. Now he is pulling down the tie rods within the side framing, one at a time, and welding threaded extensions on them. The existing ends were so corroded and rust thinned as to be useless. Hmm, he seems skeptical of my new camera.

Sunday, May 22. 2011

2011 Mainline Tie Project Posted by Adam Robillard in Track Department at 18:41

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2011 Mainline Tie Project

Patrick Loading Tie Bundles onto the Flatcar. March 11

This year, like most years, the museum’s Track Department undertakes a large tie renewal job. This is a necessity to properly maintain our railroad and allow for a high quality ride all of our visitors and volunteers have come to expect. This year, it was decided to undertake one of the largest tie renewal projects to date, nearly 750. Typical years may see 500 ties replaced anywhere on the property where they’re most needed. This places a huge strain on us to complete the bulk of the work before operations ramp up in April and May. Whether it’s the Mainline, Carline or little used yard track the importance of maintaining our track for the safety of the public, our volunteers, and the fragile equipment we operate is always the top priority of the Track Department. Always…

So what does it take to get the job done? This process began last year with the purchase of the 750 brand new ties to be installed. All of which were delivered by truck and unloaded on the property.

Inspecting Track and Marking Bad Ties. March 11

During this year’s detailed track inspection beginning in the cool month of March we walked up and down the railroad not only inspecting the track, but also marked bad ties to be replaced. Once a majority of the ties were marked for replacement we had to figure out the best way to get the new ties on site. This year, because of the huge quantity of ties, we found it best to load all of them onto a flatcar and roll them out to the site. With our Burro crane we unloaded all of the bundles in the general locations that would be needed. This is not an easy process and most of this work happened during the last half of February and into March.

Unloading Tie Bundles on the Mainline with the Burro. March 11

Needless to say there was plenty of ice and snow on the ground to make the job difficult.

With the ties all on the ground, the lengthy process of placing each tie in the exact location where it was to be installed began. Mostly, this involved the tie crane and an operator working eight or nine hour days over the weekends.

New Tie Bundles Set Along the Mainline. March 11

This step took many weekends throughout March and April to complete. While that was happening, we also moved new spikes in locations they could be accessed and continually worked on machine maintenance. Things break, machines wear out, and we spend a lot of time and elbow grease keeping the machines in running condition.

With only our small core group of volunteers, and without the necessary equipment to do the actual replacement ourselves, we hired a railroad contractor to truck in their own equipment and swap the bad ties for the new ones. This took a solid week for the contractor to finish the job and then the cleanup of all the material was left to us.

Tom setting out new ties at Johnson Siding. April 11

As with most tie projects, the work typically disturbs the track severe enough to require a slow order. The problem of support under the ties becomes an issue without being properly tamped. Until that happens, the ties may not have enough ballast underneath which could create an unsafe condition.

At this point the race was on to clean up the railroad before the operating season gets into full swing. During this time all of the old ties were collected with the tie crane and placed in one large pile near Johnson Siding where they will eventually be picked up taken away by another railroad contractor.

Old Tie Pile at Johnson Siding. May 11

Just like when they were all set out, the job meant the tie crane and operator must spend long days peddling ties back and forth. This year it took us five or six full working days and detailed cleanup still isn’t finished. In addition to all of the ties, other material had to be picked up, such as old line poles and tree limbs. This adds considerable time and energy but needs to be done.

With the wood picked up we focused on gathering all of the steel scrap which took the form of 2,800 spikes from the tie job, hundreds of old tie plates and other track material left on the line from years past. This could only have been done quickly and efficiently with our Burro crane and its electromagnet.

Picking up Scrap with the Burro Crane. May 11

We took one of our flatcars and ran up and down the line until the flatcar was full of steel and brought it back to the property to be sorted.

That brings us to today. The next steps will be to get rid of our huge tie pile at Johnson Siding, and surface the railroad. Surfacing the railroad will be done in house using our ex Amtrak production tamper purchased a few years ago. Contracting an operation such as this would cost the museum another $40,000 and that does not include regulating the railroad afterward to finish the project! All of the work done in house by the Track Dept. easily cuts the total cost of the project in half and in this season alone has already saved the museum roughly $50,000. The alternative to any of what we do in house involves renting and trucking in equivalent machinery and paying contract wages. Work will continue throughout the season to tamp and dress the line working between operations and special events. Follow up maintenance on all of our machines and sorting materials from the line will take many more weekends of work.

Tom H. working on the Burro Crane in January 10

Without the equipment we have, most of this wouldn’t have been possible. While most of this work goes unseen to a majority of our volunteers and visitors, it is this work that is required for our museum to function as a world class operation.

None of this could be done without the dedication of our Track Department working odd hours in all sorts of conditions. Thanks to all who have helped on this project including Frank DeVries, Tom Hunter, Bill Lygiros, Patrick Shea, Jeron Glander, Mitch O'Brien, Bob Olson and Adam Robillard. Also we must thank everyone who supported the work including, but not limited to, the Operating Department granting us track time, Dave Diamond in the Buildings & Grounds Department, and anyone I may have missed.

Mainline at Night 08

…and that’s what it takes to get the job done

More Track Dept. photos from Frank Devries and Adam Robillard can be found in the Member's Photo Site here- http://www.irm.org/gallery/Members-Photos

Sunday, May 22. 2011

Wood Shop Update - May 21, 2011 Posted by Robert Kutella in Wood Shop at 11:51

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Wood Shop Update - May 21, 2011

This entry will be short since almost three hours of the day were spent with members of the OWWM group. That is short for Old Wood Working Machines. We are again hosting their annual meet - for the seventh consecutive year! We had few members of the planning committee on hand - from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois and time was spent surveying the improvements and changes at IRM and planning some of the activities to be held in September.

This is a loose knit informal organization, with website, that has visited us often, conducting clinics, demos, and any manner of other activities for 2.5 days each year. They have been very generous in helping to support our wood shop. If any of you guys are really interested in old such machinery, contact me for more information; but beware, any machine made after 1970 is considered TOO NEW!

While we were walking around, we noticed some white lines painted on the grass near the Thomas Event entrance gate. This is the proposed new paving and construction for the west end Electric Trolley Bus loop. It will be exciting to see that take shape. But back to the Wood Shop - - -

Raising a Panel

Victor Humphreys is shown "raising a panel" for the new station door. That is where the inserted panel in the door openings have a raised center field. The operation is called "raising the panel" although in practice it is the surrounding areas that are lowered. John Faulhaber and Victor worked on those tasks in the morning.

Panels in Place

Victor is checking the fit for two of the panels in the new door frame. These must be made to float or fit somewhat loosely in their grooves to account for seasonal expansion of the wood. We saw them for a fairly snug fit and then hand sand to fine tune for each opening. When all are in place, they will be inserted as the frame is glued and assembled.

Friday, May 20. 2011

CCW 300 Update - May 18, 2011 Posted by Robert Kutella in Charles City Western 300 at 05:38

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CCW 300 Update - May 18, 2011

Project Manger Pete Galayda supplied some nice pics of recent work on this steeple cab locomotive.

Arc Lights

The locomotive uses arc headlights which John Nelligan has adopted as a project. Here are the original jacks and a restored set.

Welding

Gerry Dettloff pitches in on a LOT of projects where his special skills are needed. Here he is welding a repair on the pilot of the CCW 300.

Paintwork

The welding is complete and the parts cleaned up. Pete Galayda is applying primer to the raw metal. It will not be long before shiny black enamel is applied to finish this area.

Friday, May 20. 2011

D 13 Update - May 18, 2011 Posted by Robert Kutella in Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company at 05:29

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D 13 Update - May 18, 2011

From Pete Galayda, here is an image of recent work.

Letterboard

The D 13 is a TM dump motor that Gerry Dettloff and John Faulhaber have been working on for some years. Amazing - it runs and appears most years in our July 4th Trolley Pageant. They have been doing a lot of work on one of the cabs, and this happens mostly in the summer season when weather allows. Here, John is up on the ladder fitting a new piece of letterboard, while Gerry helps from below.

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Ethan Armitage about Mt Harvard Lounge and Mens Bathroom
Sat, 03-23-2019 16:23
Good Job on the MT-Harvard Coach update March 2019.

Ethan Armitage about Welding on Rock Island 2524
Mon, 03-18-2019 16:33
Good Job on the 2019 Coach update.

Roger Kramer about New Acquisation: What is CN 15444?
Sun, 03-17-2019 16:42
Hello John There is not much news about the 15444. Nobody really wants to travel down to Georgia and ready the car for transport. That's [...]

John Carpenter about New Acquisation: What is CN 15444?
Sat, 03-16-2019 17:29
CAN you tell me of cn 15444 steam car at muesum. Tank you looking forward to coming out this year

Ethan Armitage about Santa Fe 92, The History and The Plan
Thu, 03-14-2019 19:30
Good Job on the Santa Fe 92.

Ethan Armitage about Mid-winter update (Part II)
Wed, 03-13-2019 17:17
Good Job on the 2019 Part 2 steam update.

roger kramer about Milw Road Dynometer X5000
Tue, 03-12-2019 20:18
Hi That is an older stove that was with the X5000 Its fuel is propane Chili was good but the interior was Really cold

Raphael Chapman about Milw Road Dynometer X5000
Mon, 03-11-2019 21:06
Wait... what kind of stove is that on the Dynamometer car? and it's functional?

Ethan Armitage about Milw Road Dynometer X5000
Mon, 03-11-2019 19:18
Good Job on the March 2019 Coach Update.

Raphael about Steam Department Mid-Winter Update
Tue, 02-19-2019 14:02
If I remember correctly, the tender that’s being worked on was off a Steam Pile Driver?

Matt Maloy about General Upgrade of Barn 3
Wed, 01-30-2019 12:42
I see M&E 18 finally made it home! Congratulations to you guys in the diesel department, and to the museum in general. If I'm able to, I'll try to [...]

Ted about General Upgrade of Barn 3
Fri, 01-18-2019 17:04
Car Barns are the best means of Long Term preservation of rail cars. I just got my new membership card for 2019. Have you sent in your contribution [...]