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Monday, November 28. 2011GN 70104 Update - November 25-27, 2011 THERN What is a THERN? Well, the last part of our beloved GREAT NORTHERN name, now painted on the left side of the car. Almost 60 F on Friday, and too good a day to sit watching TV when lettering can be applied.  Dimensional Data No dimensions in this group of lettering but commonly referred to as such.  Tack Boards Always more ways to superdetail a model car, even if it is 12 inch = 1 foot scale. Victor Humphreys made up two new tack boards and we installed them on the car.  Builders Logo The left side continued to see more lettering. So for this long holiday weekend a total of ten blocks of new lettering was added - TWO COATS of paint for each! Monday, November 28. 2011TMS Project - November 25-27, 2011Every day you may find something new has been done.  Truck In Kit Form Frank Sirinek continues painting the parts, and some of them are very LARGE parts, indeed. The sideframes are now finish painted and look very good.  Bolster Mike Stauber shows off the primed truck bolster. That and the main truck assembly are now moved into the shop addition, after being steam cleaned and needlechipped outdoors. Just in time, as it is really turning cold out there. Monday, November 28. 2011Wood Shop Update - November 25-27, 2011With the holiday the normal attendance pattern did not hold, and quite a few volunteers showed up on Friday. It developed into a good three day weekend.  Measuring It Up Buzz Morisette unloaded a lot of new lumber and began making several new windows for caboose ATSF 1400.  Let The Chips Fall Where They May Of course, surfacing that lumber to the correct thickness through our planer generated a lot of chips. Victor Humphreys and Buzz start lugging out a barrel of fun. Anyone out there need some MULCH?  Trimming Rails Rich Witt worked again on two new windows for the GLEN SPRINGS. He was assisted by Tim Peters, and even I looked over his shoulder a bit.  Next  Another One Speaking of Tim, four more new windows got assembled and glued, continued his effort to make 20 new windows in five calendar days. Monday, November 28. 2011CTA 2153-2145 Report - November 27, 2011We have a lot of work going on year around at IRM, certainly more than I can observe and report. This story is courtesy of Dave Fullarton - story and photos by Dave Fullarton - thanks, Dave. Generally the work on these cars has been fixing many years of "sit-itis," the problems that crop up after years of inactivity. The cars saw a period of activity and actually ran a few trips on our mainline in the 1990s, but have remained mostly idle until late this past summer. So far they've had some cleaning done, and the lighting restored.  Lit
Up The cars, with lights on, late on November 12th.
Given the small number of items on the property with flourescent
lighting, they are VERY easy to see at night, compared to most of our
other cars with incandescent lighting. The battery charging circuit has
also been restored, and the batteries themselves are strong. Currently
we are working on restoring the interior climate control and blowers.
Built in 1964, the 2000s are IRM's newest electric cars and their
electrical systems are very complex compared to most others in the
collection.  Ground Work Richard Schauer is
replacing a corroded electrical contactor beneath the train (this one
is important - for the 2154's brakes!) Of course, there are the "little
things" which are being fixed too, such as a motorman's cab window that
would not open. It is now freed up after Richard worked on it today. Aside from electrical systems in the cars themselves, we're also working
on rehabilitating two trolley bases/poles for use with these cars.
Monday, November 28. 2011Burlington Northern 9908 body work
On Sunday, November 20, we moved the BN 9908, an E9Am, deep into the shop to begin some steel work around the cab and continue interior prep, prime and paint of the floor. Jim West has spent the summer working on sealing up some of the water leaks around the carbody and engine room, and needle chipping, sanding and cleaning the engine room floors, under the cab, and in the nose. It is all primed and is about ready for paint, but needs the heated shop to complete it. E units are pretty close to F units in where they rust and rot around the nose and sides of the cab. Our plan is to spend one month doing as much steel work as we can before other projects will need the same space in the shop and 9908 will have to be moved out. Back in 2006 we were able to do all the same steel work on the CNW 411 in about five weeks. That story is available here in a photo album. After the work is done on the 9908, it will be painted back to its existing green and black scheme for the short term. Sometime in the future, it will be restored back to CB&Q 9976 with stainless steel side panels and will be used as backup power for the Nebraska Zephyr.
Some of the typical places of rust and rot are around the lower base of the nose steel against the anti-climber, and where the sheets were welded together along the beams of the cab side, and all around the nose door. Also around the sand fillers and step wells on both sides. We are starting around the anti-climber and nose door and will work our way backwards as these areas are completed. There are many more photos available than are shown in this blog, and are shown here with the most recent being shown first. This photo album will more than likely be updated more often than the blog, but we'll do our best to keep both up to date. Sunday, November 27. 2011Fuel filter housing installed in GBW 2407
On the evening of November 18th, Jeron G, Riley L and myself installed a used primary fuel filter housing in GB&W 2407. We decided to standardize on a common element on several locomotives to reduce costs for stocking several styles of fuel filter elements and eliminating the really expensive ones. We removed the two housings and the fuel lines going to them, cut and welded some brackets to hold the new housing in a good angle to be able to change elements without hitting other parts in the engine room. All that remains is replacing the fuel lines to the filter housing. Afterwards, Jeron and Riley moved on to an oil leak on the oil strainer housing, making and replacing a couple of gaskets. Be sure to visit this album for photos of other recent shop work. Also, donations to the RSD15 are still needed to replace cab glass and repair the turbocharger. Saturday, November 26. 2011Steam Department Update 11-26-2011This Saturday we had a surprisingly good turnout. Steam Department volunteers must have felt the need to work off the turkey. On 1630 work continued steadily. Collin and Phil worked on the firebox end tube plugs. Another 40 are out. The technique is now well developed but there is a limit to how long you can you can work at this. Since you have first to gas cut the tube end to a suitable length for removal the atmosphere in the confined space of the boiler when you use an acetylene cutting torch does become "a little warm". Still, the fireman's side is now largely clear. Mike and Bob removed the stays from the firebox corner. All the rivets and stays are now out so they are now working on cutting out the damaged corner plate. Not simple as the replacement tube sheet fitted in the 1930's was welded into place. A great deal of reorganization of the shop was achieved that will provide Dennis with a better area for welding, under lifting gear that can move and position heavy parts, as well as free the space in which we can both swage the fire tubes for 1630 and set up the rig to pressure test the super heater elements.
The new fork lift enabled us to move the large timbers being seasoned for the Shay up onto racking so freeing a lot of floor space.  Timber for the Shay The Shay saw considerable progress. A "A" frame outside the shop was broken down and reassembled over the truck - one of those jobs that sounds easy until you are trying to align bolt holes in the legs and beam, both of which are heavy enough to need 2 people to move!!.  Preparing to lift Anyway, we achieved it and then it was possible to lift the bolster off the truck.
So now the springs that are to be replaced are free and clear.
Small snag - the truck must also be examined for damage or cracks which means removing 50 years of hardened grease and muck.
Meanwhile Rick was completing the cover over the vertical lathe to protect this during the winter.  Protection for the lathe We were also able to progress a number of machining tasks. Thanks everyone for a very productive day's work Nigel |
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Comments
Sun, 07-27-2014 23:15
In looking at the general exterior condition of the Dynamometer Car you would think that it was a total wreck. It is wonderful that it is operational [...]
Fri, 07-25-2014 20:14
I had a blast riding in X-5000 on Sunday during Diesel Days. Brian was great to talk to. It was cool seeing the comntrol board work. I can't wait for [...]
Fri, 07-25-2014 16:47
Shane, Clean rain water is certainly possible. The snag is that you would need a BIG collection and storage system. We are using around 8000 [...]
Fri, 07-25-2014 16:42
John, Yes. Sadly the tender is in poor shape. She should go under cover as part of the new barn project. There will be much discussion around [...]
Thu, 07-24-2014 21:38
Hello Richard In reply to your question concerning RI 2702. The museum is studying the acquisition but no decision has been yet made.
Thu, 07-24-2014 21:29
Hello Chris The 2702 is under study by those interested at Irm. Unfortunately, the possible acquisition boils down to $. First ,who will support [...]
Thu, 07-24-2014 13:01
Hello, is there anyone that I can contact in the Diesel Department about volunteering? I am studying mechanical engineering and I would love to get [...]
Thu, 07-24-2014 00:01
I will commit something to 2702 if I see a specific fund for it. Supposedly the owners made an effort to keep it original, other than removing seats. [...]
Wed, 07-23-2014 19:54
Hi Nigel, I have some suggestions to enhance the experience of steam railroading for museum visitors: 1) In September 2002, I visited on the [...]
Wed, 07-23-2014 00:17
while watching the Diesel Days parade, i noticed a detail on UP 1848 that stood out to me. it was its cab number, i could tell it had a previous [...]
Mon, 07-21-2014 17:48
The hydraulic drawbar on X-5000 works. Its operation was determined Saturday evening and successfully used all day Sunday. The car measured up to a [...]
Sun, 07-20-2014 13:56
2702 would definitely be a project of a massive effort. It has some sort of giant roadside casino sign installed on it. The interior is completely [...]