Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Work continues on this exciting project, with the hope of having TM 972 back on its trucks and operating at IRM this season.

Truck Work

Norm Krentel and Jeff Brady are working on one of the trucks from beneath this car while the wheel and axle sets are out at a shop.  This is a golden opportunity to do what amounts to a substantial rebuild of the truck, while the wheels and motors are out for work.  The frame is inside our shop, so winter weather is not an issue.

Unlike a model railroad truck consisting of three molded pieces, there are literally over one hundred parts and pieces.  Over time, some of those become worn.  They may still work for a while yet, but the clock is ticking with every additional service mile logged.  So the prudent decision is to the repair or replacement of items showing substantial wear and which are badly out of spec.

Current efforts involve still more dismantling of the many pieces, but right now we are focusing on "pins and bushings".  The brake rigging in particular involves several levers, rods, and assemblies which must pivot and move when the brakes are applied.  Each of those joints usually is held together by a hardened steel pin which rides inside a hardened steel bushing.  The bushing is a press fit into the respective casting it resides in.

All of that work is well along the way.  Remember this an active project, and as with any project, unforeseen work may become apparent along the way.  In this case we have made the decision to replace many of the pins and bushings, assuring decades of relatively trouble free operation.  But that also means purchasing many of those parts, those we do not have as spares in inventory.  And this is the first truck, the other awaits the same treatment.  So we are not at the final cost and donations are still appreciated.  The restricted fund is  RTMS  and your generous donation and support guarantees you are PARTICIPATING in this progress.

Mortises

Simon Harrison has moved into the big time now, doing WOOD WORK in the WOOD SHOP.  Just kidding, many different projects are done in all the shop spaces.  Here, he was cleaning out 36 mortises for the Illinois Central 3996 windows.

New Wood

Buzz Morisette arrived in the shop carrying an armload of new hardwood.  He immediately set to work measuring and laying out the cuts for the work to be done.

Quarter Round

Before long the sounds of machines operating filled the air and Buzz was making quarter round for the new ATSF 1400 windows.  I should note that special moldings like these, even 'common quarter round' in hardwood, are not to be found for sale.  So, with a table mounted router and correct profile bit, teamed up with the table saw, Buzz shuttled back and forth between them and produced an armload of the needed pieces.

Machine Work

We really are lucky to have such a well equipped wood working shop and it has made possible work like never before in IRM history.  But realize that the machines cannot do everything.  Victor Humphreys hand sands a profile to remove small defects, allowing us to use the router to plow out unneeded wood accurately

A Chiseler

Another example of hand tool skills is the use of a SHARP chisel.  First you have to sharpen and hone the chisel, then it becomes much easier to pare small shavings in tight corners.  The PHANTOM managed to catch me in action, a rare event.

As seems to be the pattern right now, Saturday seems to be the busiest day in the Barn 4 Shops and there was a lot of activity on many projects.

Prototype

In the previous post we mentioned that a prototype brake shoe had been made using 3D printing, but had no opportunity to get a picture.  Lorne Tweed and Alex Randow are examining it closely at the start of the day.

Windows

What would one of these entries be without WINDOW work?  Alex Randow and new volunteer Keith Letsche were hard at work on the aluminum framed sash for Cleveland Transit System 4223.  Keith was masking frames as soon as they were cleaned and ready, and Alex applied clear protective finish.

Many Windows

As each frame was coated with the clear finish, Alex placed it in this drying rack.  I think the count was sixteen at the time I snapped this picture, but the day's work was not done yet.

Strategy

John Faulhaber and Henry Vincent were caught in a strategy meeting, discussing plans for a potential new building on Main Street.

VIP Visitors

We were delighted to welcome Andrea and Ted Anderson (of Pullman Library fame) to our informal lunch table.  It is always a treat to hear the stories from two such charming people.

Trolley Base

Richard Schauer and a few others have been working to restore trolley bases for eventual installation on the CTA 2000 series rapid transit cars.  These parts are quite heavy, but Richard paused long enough to let me snap a quick picture.

There was work on a number of other projects.  Some of the wood work included John Faulhaber, Victor Humphreys, and I completing 36 mortises for a set of new windows we are making, these destined for Illinois Central 3996.  And of course the indefatigable Tim Peters continuing on restoration of several doors for the Chicago Rapid Transit 1797.