What a year!.
Another Saturday somewhat disrupted by the Winter weather. There was a reasonable turn out at the shop
but a lot of people left at lunchtime as the rate of snowfall increased. For those of us that stuck it out, the snow
did cease by evening and the slither down US20 to the expressway was what we
are becoming used to.
It was definitely a day for work
inside the shop and the absence of some key people and parts meant that testing
of the paint sprayer could not proceed.
However work progressed in a number of other areas.
On 1630:
Brian
did a great job in cleaning out the rust scale from the tender tank. The treatment applied a few years ago has not
proved successful and a layer of rusty metal has largely scaled off the bottom
of the tank. During the test steaming we
had some issues with blockage of the water flow to the injectors. From Brian’s handiwork it is clear why this
happened. As the rust and muck lifts it
tends to be drawn forward to gather in the area from which the water is being drawn
by the injectors. After several hours of
work in the tank he had extracted a couple of gallons of rusty debris. This was a foul job. We can use the ducted fan to circulate air
but you still have to work in clouds of rusty dust;
The
reverser reservoir is now back in place so that the valves can be moved using
air pressure;
Jim
continued the job of masking the lettering and this is now largely complete. After all this effort we are wondering if we
should stay with blue lettering !;
Matt
primed the area of the engineer’s side walkway that was cleaned off last week;
On the Shay:
Phil
is progressing well with the bolster for the truck. With the lugs for the springs now completed,
it has been primed and now painted on one side at least. Now we just have to turn it over and do the
other side, once it is dry.
We
made good progress on the bolts that fit thru the frame and truck pivot
casting. We had been working on the misapprehension
that these simply secured the pivot into the frame. Jeff reminded us that some of them also
secure the large fabricated draw bar that runs down to the wooden front beam
and on which the coupler is mounted.
Having made that connection, we found that new bolts were acquired a few
years back and stored with the drawbar.
Each hole needs to be cleaned and reamed slightly to allow the bolts to
be fitted. However, with the parts in
hand I was able to fit the first of them by end of day. Looking at the front of the frame member, the
bolts in the 4 outer holes secure the drawbar while the 2 in the middle (which
are currently occupied by locating pegs) only secure the pivot casting to the
beam. The drawbar fabrication has a
recess that fits around the nuts of the two center bolts. The first of the new bolts is in place in the
lower left hole and the holes for the remaining five can now be reamed to allow
the bolts to be fitted.
In the shop in general, some
significant reorganization was achieved:
With
the swager gone, we were able to relocate the air pump for #428 so that it can
now be worked on while allowing free access thru the door. (It does not look like free access in the picture
but the forklift is actually standing in the exit with a pallet of parts ready
to drive out to the boxcar ……. Once there is not 6 inches of snow and ice in the
way !!);
Phil
did a great job sorting and cleaning the steel stock storage area.
So overall a successful day despite the weather.
Nigel
Comments
Wed, 03-04-2015 08:42
If I recall correctly, that shelter was built last year by a TV production company for filming of the pilot episode of "Scandal", and was removed [...]
Mon, 03-02-2015 08:40
Thanks Jeron for the info. Roger
Sun, 03-01-2015 16:46
That was sprayed on the cab while at East Troy. The locomotive is TE-1. It was built for Toledo Edison, and worked there its entire life until [...]
Sun, 03-01-2015 07:14
Thanks Roger... It seemed too good to be true. Bill McCoy Strasburg, PA
Sat, 02-28-2015 22:35
The motor in question is former Toledo Edison #1.
Sat, 02-28-2015 21:33
Hello Raphael That is an idea but you would be wasting valuable labor and $ applying paint and decals. Why not do it once and do it the right way?! [...]
Sat, 02-28-2015 21:28
Hello Bill I hope someone from the Electric Car dept will respond to your question. I believe one of the members wrote that on the engine. It [...]
Sat, 02-28-2015 21:24
Hello Mr. Fan. I was wondering if you ever had conveyed your interest to the team restoring the plow? Not being involved but knowing the members [...]
Sat, 02-28-2015 21:13
Hello Dave That was a shelter built exclusively for a movie set that was shot at the museum. Per the contract it was removed after the "shoot". [...]
Sat, 02-28-2015 18:16
while 428's cab is still on the ground, there could be some premature painting and decals that could go on the outside of the cab
Sat, 02-28-2015 15:50
The last picture in the woodsshop report shows the Electroliner and a yellow steeple cab with a CNS&M monogram and spray painted number 454. Could [...]
Fri, 02-27-2015 16:26
Thank you Nigel! We look forward to seeing 1630 in operation this season. Good luck with the repairs!