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Monday, April 16. 2012Wood Shop Update - April 14, 2012I will continue on with this BLOG ENTRY under the Wood Shop banner, although, as in the past, there are many projects being worked on and you deserve to know about them.  Sign of Spring The old adage states that the sighting of the first robin is a sure sign of spring, here in the Midwest. At IRM it is the parade of electric cars visiting the pit area in Barn 4 for annual maintenance, lubrication, and inspections. Above we see CTA 4391 getting attention from Frank Sirinek and several others who helped in the tasks. This is a necessary but unsung ritual to maintain the cars and provide reliable transportation every year.  Get A Handle On it In previous posts you have seen a number of volunteers working to finish up surfaces and polish brass hardware for the Sand Springs 68. This marked the installation of the first seat handle, from an IRM pattern and rough foundry castings, and slowly finished over previous months. Victor Humphreys is snugging up the last screw.  The Line Up By the end of the day, Victor and I had installed half of them (nine) and here he is trying out one of them, on a stiff seat back.  Brown Paint Tim Peters applied the first coat of brown paint to Chicago Rapid Transit 1797 on Friday, and here has just finished sanding that down. The second coat went on after this photo.  Up for Grabs In the shop Tim has been preparing, cleaning, and painting the grab irons, soon to be installed by each side door.  Signage In keeping with the Rapid Transit string of photos, Bill Wulfert was working to restore a vintage UNION STATION sign rescued years ago from one of the L platforms.  Passenger Windows Victor Humphreys was removing old layers of paint and varnish from a Boston & Maine 1094 passenger car window. This and another one were in from the SPC department for repair and help as we were able.  At the Saw As fast as Victor handled paint removal, Buzz Morisette was making new wood parts for those items too far gone to salvage.  After Winter Our Great Northern 70104 hopper car rested outdoors over winter, and still looks good. We are working to complete all the lettering on this car.  Rear Bench Seat Lorne Tweed is working on our Cleveland Transit System 4223 PCC car. He has cleaned out the rear area of the interior and is prepping the sheet metal for paintwork, repairs as needed. Note the first interior trim panel installed to the left of the rear window.  Window Tracks Eric Lorenz is throwing the sparks as he fabricates a special drilling jig to be used for mounting the cleaned window track elements for CTS 4223.  A Side Job Joe Luciani and Jerry Saunders are working on restoration of our two NYCTA R-28 'redbird' cars. The sides do not look too bad, but many of the panels have a LOT of body filler and the car framing behind some of them is almost non-existent, having disappeared from rust and corrosion. Selected areas are being cut out, new steel ordered and on the way. Monday, April 16. 2012TMS Project Update - April 14, 2012This is an active and ongoing project with the goal of restoring two cars to operation - TM 972 and CNS&M 354.  Assembly Jeff Brady is assembling the many components of the truck. This is a complex and intricate process involving many pieces and requires a level of expertise I do not share. There are and have been many players in this project. The recent focus has been to rebuild this truck from the 972. As might be expected in a car which left service in 1958, and then may have been near the end of its useful life, we have uncovered many areas needing attention. These are never known for sure until the disassembly and inspection is well along the way. For example, the pedestal liners were missing in one case, or cracked and worn in bad repair. We managed to get new liners fabricated - cost $2000. Then we were on to the the pins and bushings used to connect the many moving parts in this truck, primarily but not exclusively associated with the braking system. I have reported extensively on that process and progress. Over one hundred specialty bushings were manufactured in our shop and heat treated. In the past we ordered these parts from outside vendors, but in today's world that would have been very costly to meet needed dimensions - none are 'standard' - and a delay of 3-4 months for delivery. By making them ourselves we were able to complete them in about nine weeks at a savings of several thousand dollars. Hardened pins are used in these bushings, and none of these were simple. All of those involved a lot of machining, heat treating, and were made in our shop. Again, savings in time and money. The bottom line is that over $8000 in unanticipated costs were added to make these upgrades and the rebuild. We will have a mechanically reliable and safe car to operate. So, we again thank you all for your support but must again ask for help to continue the work and move forward. The restricted fund is designated RTMS and donations can continue to be sent to Illinois Railway Museum Box 427 Union, IL 60180 We hope you can help on this and we all look forward to seeing this car roll down our line this year. Monday, April 16. 2012ATSF 1400 Wood Caboose - April 15, 2012Here is a short report from Buzz Morisette who has been steadily working on this car.  ATSF 1400 Our roster shows this wood caboose as being built by American Car and Foundry in 1923. It has several unique features and is well worth preservation. Note the rotating arm and signal disc which could be operated from the cupola.  New Flooring New flooring was being installed in the interior during summer 2011.  Old Windows The original or old windows are shown before removal in Spring 2012. I say original with lack of conviction since historical photographs show a different style and arrangement of the sash.  Mortise and Tenon Detail The new sash are constructed with exacting precision using traditional joinery featuring mortise and tenons.  New Windows Installed And the new windows are being installed now, Spring 2012. And the inevitable commercial message. A lot of this work, all of it really, is being funded by donations to the restricted fund for this car, R1400. And as a wood bodied car living outdoors, we greatly hope to raise funding to that same account which will allow us to subscribe to indoor storage space. Can you help?
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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!!!!!!!