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Monday, October 31. 2011CTS 4223 Update - October 26-30, 2011 Front End Lorne Tweed continued working on the interior of the front end so that all work in this area is ready for the new windows. Metal repairs, priming and painting are done now.  Rear Clamshell Alex Randow was too quick for my camera as he completed removing all old paint, sanding metal surfaces smooth, and priming of this large piece.  Window Post Caps Ed Grzesik and Rod Turner are working on the window post caps, parts that need to be repaired to complete side window installation. Here is one that has had new metal welded in place after removing rusted out sections.  More Windows Nancy Ring has taken on the challenge of cleaning up old corrosion on the side window sash. So far, there has not proven to be an easy way of doing this. Instead, a lot of painstaking hand work is required. Monday, October 24. 2011CTS 4223 Update - October 22, 2011 Paint Removal Alex Randow continued removing paint from the rear ceiling liner, now down from the ceiling and leaning inside the car. Sort of dusty in there, or a soft mood shot by my camera.  Post Caps Part of the process to install the side windows is the needed window post cap in the interior. There are many of the originals that have been saved, but among them all, we only found one in decent shape. Various degrees of rust out and corrosion made most of the rest good candidates for repair or replacement. Ed Grzesik is eyeballing one.  Need A Plan Eric Lorenz was able to produce many fabrication and detail drawings for these very pieces. Frank Sirinek, Ed, Eric Lorenz, and Lorne Tweed are checking them out.  A Fixture The decision was made to try to repair them, fitting and welding in new metal where needed. But they are not exactly one straight piece. There is a bend of a few degrees near the bottom, reflecting the shape of the car side and framing. Lorne and Ed are discussing ways to create a fixture to hold the alignment while welding is done.  Making Sawdust Ed is a great practitioner of the dark art of metal fabricating, but clearly seems at a loss while Lorne makes sawdust, cutting some parts for the above fixture.  To Work Ed has the fixture standing up at a welding bench near the east doors of Barn 4, marking and planning the first cuts. Next, he begins surgery to remove the bad areas on one of the post caps. Monday, October 24. 2011TMS Project - October 23, 2011 Wheelsets With the wheelsets out of one truck, the bearing surfaces were being cleaned up and wrapped to protect them during the next steps at the machine shop. Then it was time for a SWITCH MOVE!! This can either inspire terror in the hearts of the crew assigned to do this, or awe and lots of pics snapped by the bystanders. We needed TM 972 back in Barn 4, behind three cars at the west end of Track 41. And it started the day four cars deep on Track 83.  TM 972 About 4 PM here it came, heading east into Barn 4. I cannot remember the last time this car may have been on this track; and it was moved here to pull the remaining original truck from beneath the car, then to remove the wheelsets on that.  Sand Springs 68 One of the byproducts of any such planned string of moves is the appearance outdoors of cars that seldom see daylight. Here, SS 68 rests on track 43 to the west of Barn 4. Later it motored under its own power to a new spot inside Barn 8 for the coming winter months. Thursday, October 20. 2011TMS Project - October 19, 2011It has been some time since we posted an entry on this project. But there is a lot of news!! The new tires were ordered some months ago and the promised delivery date is fast approaching.  The Truck One of the trucks from TM 972 has been on Track 42 at the east end of Barn 4. John Faulhaber and Gerry Dettloff attacked it with the idea of dismantling the assembly to get the wheelsets out. In this pic the traction motor is out, and the main truck bolster has been chained and is being lifted free.  Naked Truck With the bolster assembly removed and set aside, we can see what the 'next layer' looks like.  Sideframes The final step was to remove the lower sideframe castings, journal bearings, and journal boxes. At days end the two wheelsets were out, marked, and ready to ship. It is not too late for you all to help on this project. A substantial amount of match money has been pledged to the project, and some of it still remains. So every dollar you generously contribute to fund R TMS will become TWO DOLLARS!! Please consider a year end donation to this project. Thursday, October 20. 2011CTS 4223 Update - October 19, 2011 Paint B Gone Simon Harrison took over where Alex Randow left off last Saturday, and managed to make a lot of headway cleaning up the rear ceiling panel.  Front End Lorne Tweed has masked off a lot of the interior front end and dashboard areas. He is about to paint cleaned and 'paint ready' areas underneath the dashboard. I stopped by to take a quick picture and spent 10 minutes reading an interesting story in the newspaper he used.  Windows Frank Sirinek stopped his canvasing duties long enough to hold an impromptu 'class' in restoring window sash for the 4223. John McKelvey, Lorne Tweed, Frank Sirinek, Simon Harrison, and Pete Galayda are at the lecture hall, all the students are 'soaking up' Frank's knowledge and experiences.  Windows While Frank demonstrated a lot of 'dos and don'ts', it appears there is no magic bullet for these aluminum framed sash, so some time will be spent before being ready to finally install in the car. Tuesday, October 18. 2011CTS 4223 Update - October 15, 2011Following the recent pattern, there were several volunteers pitching in on the Cleveland PCC  Sandblasting Alex Randow began the day by sandblasting over 100 fasteners to be ready for priming and painting.  Removal Inside the PCC car are two large ceiling panels that some have referred to as 'clamshells'. When the body dismantling was done years ago to make steel repairs, these remained inside the car. Now we are faced with removing old paint and refinishing them INSIDE THE CAR! That is both good news and bad news. Right now they are too large to remove through the door openings, and if they had been removed earlier, they would be too large to get back in. Here, Lorne Tweed is removing old light fixtures and other hardware on the one that goes in the rear of the car ceiling.  Goodbye Paint Alex Randow 'volunteered' to start the old paint removal. Actually he was quite cheerful about it, not needing serious arm twisting. He is doing a fine job as you can see on the upper portion of this panel.  Welding Ed Grzesik returned to continue welding repairs on the front dashboard area. Of course any volunteer usually earns a nickname. In Ed's case his fine work resulted in fellow workers referring to him as "THE WELDER" in a reverent tone.  Side Windows Eric Lorenz has been kept very busy sorting out the next steps and keeping the new volunteers busy. But he managed to start work on the first of the side windows. Here he is installing two of the old extruded aluminum window tracks.  First One Here is the first side window installed as sort of a test to determine fit and any repairs needed to install those many old parts in the car openings. This will be a long process with many parts needing to be cleaned and repaired, holes to be drilled and tapped. But here is a hint of what each window will look like as they are in place. Monday, October 17. 2011ME 28 Update - October 16, 2011 End Roof We are often asked how a curved roof is constructed on the interurban cars. Here, Jeff Brady continues to show us, one thin strip of wood at a time.  Windows It must seem like half of the posts here are about windows. That may be true, but so do windows consume a lot of volunteer hours. Norm Krentel peeks out behind Ray Schmid as they are removing windows from the south side of the car, prepping to have them restored. |
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Comments
Sun, 05-19-2013 22:13
Hello again. I had an idea that was (somewhat rudely, mid-sentence) dismissed in talking to a museum volunteer a few years back, but here it goes [...]
Thu, 05-16-2013 21:52
Looking good Bob! I hope to come out soon once I'm done with school.
Wed, 05-15-2013 21:28
I was not around at the time. General discussion suggests that it was "pretty marginal" in a number of areas. Nigel
Mon, 05-13-2013 11:08
"THUMBS UP!"
Fri, 05-10-2013 02:15
No, it will not be necessary to hold any of the work waiting for the plow to be turned, end for end. Weather will be the major factor, but there will [...]
Thu, 05-09-2013 19:54
The CGW X-38 plow is really coming to life. Bob Kutella and Vic and crew need to be very proud of your collective efforts. I am very appreciative of [...]
Thu, 05-09-2013 15:20
The snowplow looks great! Are you going to apply the door and upper windows befor it is turned to continue work?
Thu, 05-09-2013 09:09
Max, Is there any progress to report yet, in regards to the installation of the poles and overhead wires? Have a good day, sir.
Wed, 05-08-2013 18:40
Thanks for the update! I still don't understand why Commonwealth #5 was removed from service. Do you know why?
Tue, 05-07-2013 09:28
Mr. Kolanowski.....I was just wondering if the Spaulding webcam will be up and running soon for us stay-at-homes. Thanks!2FP
Mon, 05-06-2013 23:04
Max, Has work begun yet on the construction phase of erecting the poles and putting up the wire? Wish I could be there to watch it happen.
Mon, 05-06-2013 23:02
Keep up the good work, Bob. Wish I could be there to help!!!!!!!