Wood Shop

With 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.

To all our faithful readers, members, and friends

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Rails

Despite the nearby Holiday on the calendar, there were some diehards working in the shop.  Tim Peters is a virtual wood working shop all by himself.  I bet this week, the new windows seeing work approach twenty.  Here he fitting a rail for assembly into another new window for CRT 1797

The Stack

From the other side of the table you can see the ever growing stack of dry fit frames, and sharp eyed viewers will see two larger two lite frames behind him.  Yes, Tim still needs to use a crutch.

Morning Work

First thing in the morning, Tim glued two more large sash.  Roger Kramer is in the background working on passenger car windows.

CCW 300

Pete Galayda is acting like a paint chemist as he prepares to paint more parts for the Charles City Western 300 locomotive.

Mortising

Tim Peters has suffered another bicycle accident, yet he was in the shop on crutches, here balanced before our mortising machine as he works on another 'production' run of many more new windows for the CRT 1797.

Painting

This is the only image I managed for the CTS 4223 project, so I will not post a separate entry for just this.  Several folks worked lustily this weekend and the result is this collection of many loose parts.  These are to be primed and painted off site, many cans of paint and primer set out.  Most of these have been dry fitted to the carbody, and once painted, will allow us to mount them to the carbody, making a big impact in the visual 'completeness' of the car.

Yes More Windows

Roger Kramer made another of his regular appearances, working in the woodshop.  This time continuing to make little pieces of mahogany from big pieces, new windows for the IC heavyweight.

Here are some quick images of work in the wood shop yesterday.  There was a lot more work going on on other projects, but little opportunity for me to record them.  The theme topic for today - WINDOWS!

New Wood

Roger Kramer worked all day in the wood shop, and brought some nice mahogany to the party.  He hopes to get many new windows fabricated in the shop this winter.

Parts

Roger processed those large slabs of wood into many smaller parts, destined to become rails and stiles for passenger car windows in IC 3996.  There are examples of three very different windows on the bench here.  Can you guess where these are from?  Regular readers here should have no trouble with this pop quiz.

Windows

Simon Harrison works to clean and refurbish aluminum framed windows for CTS 4223.  He and Lorne Tweed were kept busy all day on this and several other aspects of this ongoing project.

More Windows

Rich Witt began finish painting of several new windows that the shop made for Norfolk and Western 2050.  Yes, we work on Steam Projects also.

Window Templates

Victor Humphreys is working on cardboard templates for new cab windows for the N&W 2050.  John Faulhaber helped and I made a few trips to the locomotive also.  These are the rather odd shaped hinged windows facing forward from the engineer's and fireman's sides of the cab.  This is going to be TRICKY!

Polishing

Randy Hicks, famous for his own IRM news website, was caught at the wire wheel cleaning up a hanger form CA&E 319

Trolley Base

Well, you cannot see it in this image but Dave Fullarton is working to bring some trolley bases back to life.  The eventual use is to see them mounted on the roof of our CTA 2000 series rapid transit cars.

Re Paint

Last year this car, CRT 1268, was debuting its new restoration.  Already, Tim Peters cannot leave it alone.  Here he is repainting or touching up the inevitable scuffs and bruises.

Roof Work

It was uncharacteristically warm yesterday and windy!!  But in the shelter of Barn 4 Tim Peters was again working to complete the roof of CRT 1797.  Two grab irons have been mounted and here, a copper flashing rain gutter is being added.

New Siding

George Clark has been painting new siding for LSE 810 as described in earlier BLOG posts.  Here we see the first coat of orange.

New Feeder

Despite high winds and overcast skies, Max Tyms was up in the air on the line truck.  He installed about 400-500 feet of heavy new feeder eastward from the end of Barn 4.

Get a Jump on Spring

Every spring we experience a rush and crush to inspect and maintain our electric cars.  It was pretty smart of Joel Ahrendt to begin work now on Illinois Terminal 415.

New Rope

Joel, Dan Fenlaciki, and Greg Kepka are installing a new rope on the west end of IT 415.

More Roof Work

Jeff Brady is up on the scaffold doing some very complicated woodwork on the Michigan Electric 28.  Tricky business to be sure, made more so as the new slats come down the side of the end roof.

Going Going Gone

Buzz Morisette sent this recent photo of our wood sided gondola, C&WI 1185.  Several years ago I presented a motion to de-accession this car as it was clearly beyond our resources to save.  This was resoundingly rejected by the membership saying this was too valuable a piece of history.  Apparently not too valuable, since not a single dollar of support came in the form of new donations.

Well, it appears mother nature has resolved the issue.  The car is in such poor condition I do not think any significant piece is intact enough to use as a pattern, assuming someone has the time and money to build a replica.  I say replica, since no one can argue that it can be restored.

If we were smart, we should write it off as a lost cause, a case of benign neglect, before someone gets hurt.  I think that it will be necessary to dismantle what is left where it sits, doubting that it can be coupled to a locomotive and moved without collapsing.

But maybe something good can come of this.  FIRST, there remain other wood bodied cars outdoors, rotting away, and needing donations to place them in the next Barn.  And SECOND, can we make a case that since this car has paid TRACK SPACE, can we transfer that paid up account to one of our newer acquisitions, like our MILW covered hopper, or six dome tank car?

Windows

I bet you are getting tired of seeing this caption over and over again.  But here, Tim Peters has a whole stack of windows being worked on, and which will see installation in CRT 1797.  Behind him is a new 'invention' that will allow Tim to basically paint both sides of a single sash at the same sitting.  It is amazing how productive the volunteers are, and how they squeeze every cent of value from every dollar spent.

Signs of the Times

Not of this time exactly but of new signs being painted for the Passenger Car Department, to be used in our Rock Island coaches.  John Faulhaber is doing one, and I am doing the other.  See me?  Right behind the camera?

Here are a few items I have been holding a few days.  I just seem to be elsewhere when a lot of the action takes place.  The work IS going on.

Measuring

George Clark has been able to resume work on Lake Shore Electric 810.  Here he is preparing new siding for the north side of the car.

Time for Paint

And here, it has been primed and no doubt will be finish painted and on the car soon.

More Painting

Roger Kramer has joined others working in our shops, as colder weather chases many of us indoors.  This a passenger gate for the John Mc Loughlin, cleaned and primed, finish paint being applied.

Making Sawdust

Tim Peters is preparing a wood corner block for the Michigan Electric 28.  It is almost more of a 'sculpture' rather than a straightforward woodworking task.