Two Milwaukee Streetcars

Every 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.

I happened to stop by our site in Union and found a lot of activity.  As mentioned previously, every day brings changes and progress on this project.  Mike Stauber was out early and began doing more cleanup and needlechipping on the disassembled number two truck, and was helped by Frank Sirinek.  (It was windy but certainly above normal temps for late November)

Moving Day

The sideframes for this truck are in the shop area and previously primed.  Here, Mike and Frank are moving them to a different area on the floor.

Like New

In short order, Mike and Frank had some finish paint on them, and they looked like new.  You might see the new steam cleaner sitting behind then in the shop, brand new, and kept out of the weather.

Spring Forward

As usual, Henry Vincent seems to be the 'go to guy' whenever any job or project needs some help.  Here Henry and Frank Sirinek are sitting down on the job, as they apply the first finish paint to the springs and other parts dismantled and cleaned up, then primed, for the second motor truck of 972.  You will note it is reddish brown which has been determined the appropriate color for the era of this restoration.  Long time visitors to IRM may remember seeing the trucks under the car a dark green, not so this time around. 

It is really an amazing amount of work going on for this project, almost every day in the shop you see activity and progress.  Also yesterday, the new steam cleaner was in action, after the bolsters and other truck parts had been disassembled.  And we can confirm that the new tires and old wheelsets all arrived safely at the machine shop.  Stay Tuned!!!

They are on their way!

Steam Cleaning

All of the wheelsets had been removed from the trucks as previously reported.  Sunday, a new high pressure steam cleaner was christened to remove layers of oil and grease from the wheelsets, and also from the second truck frame, seen to the left.

In They Go

Greg Kepka and Dan Fenlaciki roll in the second wheelset, a rental truck for this purpose.

Number Three

The big forklift does the heavy lifting, while Greg and Dan walk alongside to make sure it stays put.  By the end of the afternoon, all were loaded and secured, the truck rear door buttoned up, ready to drive off today.  By now, as I type, they should be at the wheel shop.

Of course we still could use some money for this current and active project.  There are still some pledged matching funds available, so every dollar you send in to FUND RTMS, will make Santa very happy - each dollar becomes two.

A Dirty Job

Work continues and good progress is being made on this project.  Mike Stauber drew the short straw and was cleaning the last set of wheels that are now ready to go to the wheel shop.  Frank Sirinek was also involved in this job, but was not recorded in this image.

Shipping

In order to ship the wheels, we have decided to rent a truck and do the transportation ourselves.  Several of the regular denizens of the wood shop manhandled some 12 foot timbers through our saw, to cut dados allowing the wheel flanges to be set and not shift during the journey.  Lorne Tweed is checking the results

Moving On

With the wheelsets cleaned up, Frank and Mike quickly moved on to the cleaning and priming, painting of the truck parts, now disassembled, from the second truck.

As reported earlier, the second motor truck was removed from the car last Sunday.  But the Electric Car Department does not rest on their laurels.  A crew was set up to completely disassemble the truck to get the wheelsets out on Tuesday!

Wheelsets

Yes, this is the second set removed, ready to be shipped to the wheel shop!

Motors

Here are the two traction motors removed from truck number two.  It has probably been over a half century since this truck was out from under the car floor, when it was still in Milwaukee.  And it looks it!  Lots of grime, crud, and dirt in evidence.  Frank Sirinek has already begun the task of cleaning one piece at a time and he was helped by Victor Humphreys, readying them to be primed and painted.

BLOG readers should be sure to follow comments on these pages.  Especially noteworthy is one from Tom Sharratt who is very active in this work, and he notes MATCH MONEY is still available to turn your donations from one dollar to two, for every contribution sent.

We have had to wait about 16 weeks for the new tires to be manufactured for this project.  The waiting is over!  They are done, have been shipped, and are probably on the road north to Illinois as I type.

Coming Out Party

Not exactly a party but a cause to rejoice nevertheless.  The 972 came out of Barn 4 to the east for moving into position for the next stage.  If you think it looks odd, that is due to the right hand end being up in the air on a shop truck.

Set Aside

Then into the pocket on track 40, to allow for the next move in this chess game.  It was a bit tricky getting it to negotiate the diverging side of this track switch, but accomplished without incident.

Going Up

The car is inched east for secure footing on the concrete apron of Track 41. Joel Ahrendt is placing heavy car stands for use after the car is in the air.  I was not able to stay to witness the fact, but it is confirmed that the second original truck is out from under the car and ready to be disassembled.

We are very close to reaching the fundraising goal set at the beginning of this project earlier this year.  Yes, THIS YEAR!  That is really fast progress judged by any preservation or restoration project.  Please help out on this, large or small donation to help us reach the goal, and maybe to provide a little extra, as any unforeseen repairs crop up along the way.  It is not too late to send your help to restricted fund RTMS.