Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Five Days in May.  How would like us to set you up for a VOLUNTEER VACATION at IRM?  Longtime member Kirk Warner now lives in Florida but visited here recently and brought along five good days of weather without rain.  Of course good weather is a subjective term, 98 F on Sunday, 95 F on Monday.  But he chose to help on our new snowplow, and a very large list of our other volunteers joined in the fray.

Wire Brushing

We previously posted a pic of Kirk acting as the pilot on one of the nedlechipper guns.  The next step in the process is to use a wire wheel to remove the last of the old paint to bare metal.

First Paint

Here Kirk is applying primer to some of the cleaned areas.  A great MILESTONE for the first new paint to be applied here in the restoration process.

Good Crew

John Faulhaber, Jim Leonard, Dick Cubbage, and Dave Rogan are all over the plow.  More needlechipping, wire brushing, and clean up and taking measurement on the interior of the box.

Rolling Mill

John uncovered marks for the JONES & LAUGHLIN rolling mill who produced some of the structural shapes back in 1936.  I guess this was pretty good steel.  At first glance the plow as we got it looks pretty scabby.  But that steel comes back smooth as when new - almost.  We have worked with much poorer prospects on some of our other restorations.

True Colors

True Colors

These two images are of areas that have been hidden for decades, possibly since the plow was built.  Clean shiny paint!!  To our collective eye it is a very close match to the CGW hallmark maroon used on many of their diesels, freight cars, and cabooses.

Last of the Cleanup

At the end of the day Jim Leonard is completing the last of the wire brushing on a large side panel.  Victor Humphreys was following closely with the new primer.

Up in the Air

Rich Witt tested his new knee replacement by climbing into the plow and up into the cab area.  He is taking measurements and preparing drawings for replacement sash.  The short term goal is to board up openings and make it more weatherproof.  With funding and donor support, eleven new windows and two new doors will be fabricated in our woodshop.

Rear of Cupola

It was a learning experience, the type of detective work and learning that can be so satisfying in restoration work.  The two windows facing the rear of the cupola are hinged and swing out sideways.  The two front windows are fixed in position.  On the sides of the cupola, the front window is a slider and can be opened, the rear of those two windows is fixed in place.  And of course all are slightly different in size or details to add spice to the project.

Moving Up in the World

Before you could say Jack Robinson we saw three of our intrepid crew working to ask more questions and get more answers.  Victor and Jim climbed to the top of the roof, and Rich continues inside the cab with the archeology.

So, in five short consecutive days, you can see a remarkable transformation.  Let's keep up the momentum - you can all come out and pitch in on dry days, or you can do this long distance by sending a donation to FUND  R X 38.  We originally set the fund to be designated R4051 but are now convinced of the ancestry and the designation is being changed to X 38, the number it bore serving on the Chicago Great Western for four decades.  Do not fret, any donation labeled for either will safely find its way to the proper account.  Needed - paint, primer, tools, wood, and a lot of elbow grease!