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Tuesday, February 19. 2019Steam Department Mid-Winter Update
Steam Department Mid-Winter Update
Despite the Polar Vortex, work in the steam shop has continued unabated. Our shop crews have been hard at work on 1630’s annual inspection.  Conn testing telltale holes in the firebox.  Volunteers inspecting the valves on the cross-compound air compressor.  Phil inspecting and cleaning the sight-glass and water column passages.  Conn again, using an ultrasonic tester to chart the main reservoir’s thickness.  And Carina, painting it black again afterwards.  These volunteers worked their way down the frame of the locomotive, cleaning old grease off the rigging. Work on our auxiliary tender, which we are hoping to place in service this spring, has also continued.  Several patches on the front of the tender were laminating. Don cut out the bad metal and welded in new patches.  Holes were drilled to mount new steps.  And a new platform was installed to provide access to the brake wheel.  Don needle-scaled around the rivet heads.  While Carina and the Blakes gave the front of the tender a final round of sanding. Surface preparation on the tender is almost complete, and we are hoping to be able to begin painting in the coming weeks. Our machinists and welders, meanwhile, have stayed busy working on projects to support Union Pacific 428’s eventual return to steam.  I spent the last month machining new T-bolts for our wheel lathe on the 1940s vintage Boye and Emmes lathe.  While Ben has continued to bore holes in the brake rigging on the Kearney and Trecker milling machine.  Meanwhile, worn components were built up with weld so that they can be remachined. Although I do not have any pictures to prove it, work has also continued on the Shay. Following the successful steam test this fall, we are continuing to make minor improvements and we look forward to public operations this summer (dates will be announced on the IRM website once finalized). As a reminder, you can also follow the steam shop on facebook at facebook.com/irmsteam. Friday, February 8. 2019Winter update on the Mt Harvard 2018-2019Winter didn't start out too bad but the last four weeks sure has made up for the earlier malaise. In spite of the cold, snowy, icy, did I say cold, Sandi and I with help from Eddie and Bob are still on our restoration schedule. You must ask yourself how have we been working in barn 11 during this cold and miserable winter. We have five oil space heaters which keep the sleeper relatively warm at 50 degrees. Let me tell you that 50 degrees sure feels great when you come in from a 10 degree outside temperature. Here's our latest accomplishments!  Here Sandi is painting the wall trim next to the entrance door.  Another wall by the entrance door.  The entry door and walls now are all painted.  Bob has been working on the womens bathroom. He is removing all the old paint.  This shows the emergency tool box. The correct sledge hammer, saw, and pry bar, were found and added. They were not in the Mt. Harvard when I acquired it.  Here is a Before picture of the hallway. Below is the After photo. Quite a difference!  Again another picture of the hallway now showing the two side windows. The two windows shown here were removed in August prior to the start of the hallway project. The exterior and interior sides of each along with all four metal frames were cleaned, repainted and reinstalled. You must remember that we started this hallway project way back in October, 2018! It really didn't take us too long to complete this repaint.  Another picture of the entrance door leading to the newly painted hallway. Don't forget to stop by the Mt. Harvard when you next visit the museum. We are still hoping to have the sleeper in showcase weekend this coming year. That's our goal! And.... Donations to the Mt. Harvard project are greatly appreciated. Thanks Roger |
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Comments
Tue, 01-19-2021 20:11
Dear, IRM The N and W 611 is coming to the IRM 2021 NHS. OK IRM.
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:20
Hello Jason. Your comments are very much appreciated. Yes, there is much hard work that goes into all our restorations and maintenance here at the [...]
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:13
Hello Jack Yes, It will be one of our most impressive cars that we have at IRM when its completed. Thanks for the pat on the back! Roger.
Thu, 01-14-2021 21:05
Those cars look great so far guys! Man I wish I had the time to volunteer and become a member at IRM that looks like so much fun especially with how [...]
Tue, 01-12-2021 16:30
the pawnee is looking great a pat on the back to all involved
Wed, 01-06-2021 10:14
Good job on coach updates January 5, 2021. Sincerely, Ethan A.
Mon, 01-04-2021 12:31
Hello Jack Happy New Year from IRM. To my knowledge there was no damage from the minor ice storm that we had in late December, 2020. Some [...]
Sun, 01-03-2021 20:12
the museum area had lots of ice storms in area did the museum get a lot of damage
Thu, 12-24-2020 13:27
roger, Thank you to all of the Passenger car department volunteers. The #109 is going to be a great car when all done! Ted miles, [...]
Sun, 12-06-2020 08:46
Hello Ted We havenot finished lettering the 975 but we are well on the way. Look for a few blogs from me now that the wearther is colder and the [...]
Sat, 12-05-2020 18:36
i watched crew replace switch by diesel shop on dec 5. its good to see museum have equipment to do job and save money
Fri, 12-04-2020 14:56
It has been a long time with no news; have you finished lettering the Southern Pacific locomotive? Please post a picture. Ted Miles, IRM Member