Baltimore & Ohio 374065 Wagon Top Boxcar

SEE THE MAGIC HAPPEN!!

After a summer of brutally hot weather the temperatures seem to have become more moderate.  The past few months the car work has continued although the order of certain tasks had to change to protect the health of the volunteers.  Body repairs continued in the form of removing rust, cleaning old paint, repairing dents and dings, repairing the interior car floor, emptying the car of much stored equipment, cutting away rust outs, fabricating new steel panel plugs, welding them in, grinding, installing new rivets, and prime painting.

If you were to walk by the car, much of this progress might not be noticed except by a very detailed look by a trained observer.

The Magic

But the day dawned clear and Victor Humphreys was on hand early in the day, cleaned and wiped down sides, and in short order the first finish paint was being applied to the south side of the car.  It was an almost instant transformation from an ugly duckling to a swan of princely stature.

Third Panel

Three of the panels on that side were painted with the correct finished color and the effect is spectacular, and gratifying to see the work.  Thank you Victor for being the champion on this project and doing much of the work yourself.

Progress continues with the pleasant weather, although heavy ground fog early today made one question how it could turn out so nice.

Sanding

The first two panels are finally ready for finish paint.  The welding, rivets and priming are done, and Victor Humphreys is sanding and touching up the primer.

Fourth Patch

This is the last patch to be done along this half side of the car.  One more day of work and priming, and then it is off to the races with more paint.  The car is looking really nice with the rust outs gone and sides smooth and intact, bulges gone.  The large area of filler to the right and above the new steel is an area that had severe pitting in the original steel side, some sort of badge or board having resided there at some date in the car's past.

Work on this restoration project has continued all summer, with rusted out areas of the car sides cut out and removed.  New metal was cut and fit into place waiting for welding.

Welding

All the pieces fell into place, as it were, and the boxcar was moved inside Barn 4.  A welder systematically wrestled with the new steel and matched it up very well, to the existing sides.  This was necessary since the steel sides, and patches for that matter, are somewhat flexible.

New Steel in Place

By the end of the day four areas had new steel welded in and all the sections were bolted in place.  These bolts are to hold everything tight and are removed, one at a time, to place the new rivets.  Of course there will be a few hours of work with the grinder to smooth the welds out and make them 'disappear'.