Chicago Great Western X 38 Russell Snow Plow

Jim Leonard and Dave Rogan worked at making up all the remaining replacement hoses for the wings on the plow, with help from Rod Turner.  The heat wave continues and we better get used to it - forecast between 92 F and 97 F the next seven days.  Anyone want to go up on the steel roof and start needle chipping?

NORBITT is marked on the porcelain base of the ceiling fixtures inside the plow and we need one more.  Also on this is lettering showing it to be a product of Crouse Hinds.  Can anyone help here?

The existing dual headlight is fairly modern for this plow, but the plan is to use it as a stand in until the possibility of acquiring a Pyle National headlight materializes (with appropriate funding).  As can be seen, several parts are missing or damaged, although we do have the two special sealed beam lamps. 

This is nameplate badge for the headlight and amazingly, TRANS-LITE is still in business and may be able to furnish the needed parts!  But of course the price could run toward $300.  Anybody know of any such parts for sale or trade from another museum or even salvaged from a junkyard or railroad?

This does not exactly fit the title here, but just to fool you, and to avoid a new post with only one pic, Victor Humphreys completed  the first coat of finish paint on the north door of the B&O wagon top boxcar.

Every report needs to talk about WINDOWS.  Buzz Morisette is painting new sash for the AT&SF 1400 caboose.  Yes folks, he made all those in the wood shop.  And earlier in the day, completed installing the last three temporary plywood window blanks for the X 38.

We had a plan to try to avert punishment in the predicted mid nineties heat (I think it made it to 95 or 96).  Start early with the painting and assemble the crew to work through it efficiently and quickly.  The volunteers responded!  Dave Rogan, Jim Leonard, and Victor Humphreys are about an hour into the process and well along.

Dave and Jim are on the ground doing the brush work while Victor is on the scaffold doing the larger flat areas.

It was all elbows when Dick Cubbage joined us and he quickly set up to do more wire brushing on the side, to get more ready for primer, to get more ready for PAINT.

It was REALLY HOT but Jim Leonard continued on the project, here installing a new 250 psi rated air hose.  There are eight such flexible air connections to the cylinders which move the plow wings in and out.  They are all very old and hardened, and one had already cracked and broken.  As the wing is extended or retracted the entire actuating piston rotates slightly so the flex hose is an absolute need.  First one is done!

Buzz Morisette has been working to close up the cupola.  He has now completed that task using some of the original sash and some plywood boarding up.  This is somewhat of a necessary but temporary measure.  With some funding, the plan is to use the coming winter months (sounds funny saying that now) to purchase hardwood and fabricate eleven new windows and two new doors.

Jim Leonard had picked up his pipe wrenches and was heading home.  Good that the cupola is relatively more weatherproof but it did not make it any cooler working inside the plow body.

As mentioned in the steam report, we had a squall line with heavy rain coming through in late morning, and that changed our plans somewhat.

This shows the difference between a true PHOTOGRAPHER, someone who knows what they are doing - and a point and click hack like me.  This is not a view that most snowplows have had recorded.  But if you are ever standing in front of one, it resembles or reminds you of nothing else than a giant set of jaws ready to gobble you up.  Stand aside.

We are very fortunate to have new member/volunteer Don Burkett to share his work at IRM with us.  Look for more of it in the future.  I could see the potential DRAMA in a head on shot as I was standing there, but could not capture it with the camera.

This sure does not look like a window.  But Buzz Morisette continues to work on closing up openings in the X 38.  Dodging the weather, he moved into the shop to cut up some plywood blanks for the openings.  Other openings have some parts of the old frames existent and he is re-glueing and patching them together.  Not strictly a finished restoration but it will safeguard the equipment and buy us some time to make new ones over the coming winter.

New volunteer Tom Bernacki is finishing up the last small area to be ready for painting.  Tom is a careful and energetic worker, and flexible enough to dart into the shop when the rain began; he helped make sawdust from some new timber.  Thank you Tom, it was a pleasure.  And yes, Victor Humphreys got all that primed before leaving for the day.  In my case the higher you remove yourself form terra firma, the somewhat slower the work goes.

THE RUSSELL SISTERS

We have here three really outstanding black and white photos taken by Rex Beach and shared with us by Joe Pierson.  Thanks, Joe!!!

The Chicago Great Western rostered three nearly identical Russell Snowplows, ours has a builders date of August, 1936.  In the 1960's all shared an orange livery with black lettering.  Let's take a look at them, in numerical order.

This shot was taken in Oelwein, Iowa, on May 5, 1965.  Oelwein was the site of the main shops for CGW and their operating hub.

Here we are in Randolph, Minnesota on March 20, 1965.  Apparently the plow was put to the test, despite the first day of spring being the very next day!

And of course, our very own X 38, here pictured in Oelwein, Iowa in 1962.  Quite a family resemblance, do you think they could be SISTERS?

Another good day on the X 38.  Working on a snow plow in the heat of summer, somehow it just seems cooler.

Buzz Morisette is making repairs to many of the existing window frames for the plow.  These are not permanent restorations but will fill the openings and hopefully keep weather and birds out.  These two from the cupola are being re-glued.

I just did not seem to have the camera around at the right time and place.  There were many volunteers stopping by to join in the fun for an hour or for all day.  Jim Leonard and Dave Rogan are taking a shift cleaning the old paint from the wing.  That is certainly a LARGE wing area, and is deceiving in a way.  But here, all the old layers of paint have been chipped off.

  Well, not exactly.  Jim Leonard is on the ladder and Fred Ash is attacking some of the lower side area.  There was a lot done to clean out the interior, most of the air piping has been found, identified and located, grinding and welding on the rear wall, just a whole lot of work.  By end of the day, Victor Humphreys stopped by and painted most of the remaining area on the top of this wing panel.  Still a little bit left to clean up.

We had another remarkable clear day to work outside on the snow plow.  Maybe - the plow work and good turnout was because of the good weather - or the good weather was BECAUSE we were working on the plow.  Either way we will take it!  I counted ten volunteers contributing to this one project at one time or another throughout the day.  Here are some images of SOME of the work.

Last Saturday Victor Humphreys fitted the missing wall panel in the back of the plow 'box'.  Here he is pushing and bracing it to hold it still and in position for welding.

With the steel plate in place, Mike Alterio welded in some clips and did some other set up work.  He then proceeded to stitch together the entire seam.

The panel is completely welded back in its position.  Next - grind down the weld beads and do the cosmetic work.

Throughout the day volunteers rotated jobs cleaning the old paint and crud from the walls and left wing.  Jim Leonard, Fred Ash, and John Faulhaber are on the morning shift.

By the end of the day you can see a lot of area cleaned and ready for primer.  Dave Rogan, Jim Leonard, and Fred Ash should be pleased.  Sharp eyed viewers will notice a large are on the side of the 'box' has also been cleaned up.

 

Simon Harrison and Dick Cubbage seem to be having entirely too much fun up in the control cab.  They were working on windows.  Took some out for measurements for replacement sash, did some detective work on some of the loose pieces inside.

Sash that have been salvaged and removed are being measured and drawings made by our Engineering Department in the person of Rich Witt.  We are also cutting plywood blanks to close up any of the openings without sash or glazing.

There was also a lot of detective work, primarily on the mechanical and air systems.  We are preparing a pneumatic schematic and have gotten through many of the primary systems including air brakes, and the six cylinders to open or retract the two wings and the flanger blades.