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Monday, June 8. 2020Diesel Shop update 6/7/2020Here are a few project updates now that the shop is open and work is starting up again. On Milwaukee Road 33C, we're almost caught up on priming and painting the loose parts, panels, screens, etc. The Metra 7658 bilevel coach is also in the shop. It is receiving some attention with the HVAC system and door control. Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 4506 was completed. Some of those inspection items included going through all the electric gear and rotating equipment. We also replaced some piping on the air system that was rusted through where it goes through the floor.
The highest priority project at the moment is still United States Army 8537, our museum's 45 ton switcher. Body prep has continued along with prep work on the trucks after some additional oil cleanup. Ground lights are being installed and we'll have to figure out the best option for permanently mounting the radio antenna before any priming can be started. While moving some parts and supplies into storage to continue our shop cleanup, we dug out the portable wheel lathe that was in storage. The Electric Car Department is planning to use it on some interurban wheels. Some followers were asking about the Armco B71 visibility cab locomotive that is in the shop. It is there for a cosmetic restoration, but is not a priority to work on. When there are extra personnel around, it will be used as a fill in project. If you would like to support any of these restoration projects, you can donate to the Diesel Department Equipment Restoration Fund and, if you would like, follow up with an email to support a specific piece of equipment. Thank you for your support! Thursday, April 2. 2020
Painting the Union Pacific Rotary ... Posted by James Kolanowski
in Steam Department at
11:30
Comments (2) Painting the Union Pacific Rotary SnowplowHere are some of the behind the scenes photos during the priming and painting of the UP rotary snowplow after it had been sand blasted. The main rotary unit was painted in barn 14 as it was the only building tall enough for it to fit in to. The tender was painted in the Diesel Shop as it would be winter by the time we were ready to start working on it. Quite some time ago I had bought a quart sample of the the PPG paint in the color that we thought was right. It wasn't until September 15th when we sprayed a cover to see how it would look. Everyone appeared pretty happy, so we bought the rest in bulk. On September 23rd, we started priming the rotary unit. It was done in 5 sections. We started with priming and painting the roof, then the sides one at a time, priming and painting the round rotary section minus the red, and lastly spraying the red. The roof was the most difficult section to paint. First, this thing is tall. There was only inches of clearance between the hatch and walk treads over the cab and the bottom of the trusses in the building. Then there was so much equipment on the roof... valves and vents and hatches and ladders and brackets, it never ended. It started with one coat of PPG Corrosion Resistant Epoxy primer and was best to be followed up within 24 hours with the first topcoat of PPG AUE-370 paint. The paint could have its second coat not more than 7 days later. The rood was finished on the 26th of September. The masking was done on October 3rd. Since barn 14 is a storage building, there is no equipment or source of compressed air. Two portable air compressors were just enough to keep up with the production HVLP spray gun I like to use. One of the compressors died, so I was quick to grab the nearest locomotive, which was 1605, so keep the project going. The larger sullair is far to wet on its air output. 1605 right off the main reservoir MU was perfect and very dry. The sides were started on October 8th and finished on the 9th. Some primer was done on the front section on the 9th, with the leftover mixed for the sides. The remainder was primed on October 18th and the outside that was aluminum color was painted the same evening. By this time the temperatures were getting a little cool, so all the steel was preheated with the propane heaters the steam guys dropped off. The minimum temp was 50 degrees to spray, we brought it up more than that so it was dry some before getting below 50. On October 27th, Buzz started applying the stencils for the lettering and numbers, and on the 28th, Gregg and Blake masked all the areas around the stencils. I sprayed a couple coats of black and we stuck around long enough to remove all the stencils while the paint was still a little tacky. The right side of the rotary still needs all the lettering applied. Buzz ran out of time applying them, and then ran out of weather. This will be completed later this spring when the weather is consistently warm again. The last step was to paint the blades and chute red. That was done the next night on October 29th. Everything was heated up again and two coats done that evening. It had to get done as the forecast was calling for cold temperature later in the week and this was going to be the last chance for any work like this. Aside from lettering on the right side, and painting the trucks black, the main rotary unit is done. The tender was sand blasted and then moved into the heated Diesel Shop on November 5th. It wouldn't be worked on until January 2020 as we were all focused on getting the train ready for the Happy Holiday Railway Christmas event. The roof of the tender was primed and painted January 4th and 5th. Then the painter went on vacation for three weeks. On January 31st, the right side was primed and painted over the next two days. The left side, front and rear were primed and painted starting on February 8th and were completed on 9th. The week after, Kym, Gregg, and a number of others wire wheeled the trucks and completed all the prep on those so they could be primed and painted. On the 15th, Roger and I applied all the stencils for the lettering and we all masked off all the areas around so the black could be sprayed over the lettering. This was completed on the 16th and 17th, with all the masking being removed the same day. The tender was moved out of the Diesel Shop on the 22nd and moved back to barn 14 with the main rotary unit. All that remains is the roof walk platforms, a bunch of things that connect the tender to the main unit, safety chains and such. All of which will be done as time permits through the remainder of the winter and spring. There are many more photos during the painting process. You are welcome to view a slideshow of them all by following this link in our photo gallery. The slide show will advance automatically at 3 seconds per photo and you can change some of the available options. Enjoy! Wednesday, April 1. 2020
United States Army 8537 update 4/1/2020 Posted by James Kolanowski
in Diesel Department at
11:42
Comments (2) United States Army 8537 update 4/1/2020Here is the latest update on USA 8537 as we begin the body prep work required now that the grease and oil cleanup has been completed. We will be making some improvements to the locomotive as well. It is the most used switcher and never had ground lights, so we'll be adding that, along with step well lighting to make the unit safer to use at night. The number 2 engine will get an upgrade by removing the tiny auxiliary generator and adding an alternator. The radio antenna will be replaced with a permanent skate instead of the temporary mag mount that it has now. Once the museum opens again, we will continue on the body work and the other improvements. Sunday, March 29. 2020
Louisville and Nashville 314 Alco ... Posted by James Kolanowski
in Diesel Department at
11:30
Comments (5) Louisville and Nashville 314 Alco FA2 update 3/29/2020It has been quite a while since we have posted an update about our Alco FA2, L&N 314. The electrical cabinet has been pretty well filled up and the majority of the wiring has been completed. A significant amount of high voltage traction motor cabling remains to be reinstalled. The wiring in the control stand is nearly complete as well, just some sanding and alarm/indicator circuits remain. Control air has been applied and transition/field shunting circuits and all other relays sequenced good. Control transformer tested ok and revealed a few problems in the Static control panels that were fixed. Please help keep the work progressing by donating to the L&N 314 restoration Thank you for your support!
Friday, March 27. 2020
United States Army 8537 update 3/27/2020 Posted by James Kolanowski
in Diesel Department at
10:00
Comments (0) United States Army 8537 update 3/27/2020In this update, we'll show some photos of the cleanup that was needed on USA 8537 prior to getting started on the body preparation. GE 45 tonners have a single traction motor on each truck coupled to one of the axles through an oil filled reduction gear box. The second axle is coupled via a chain drive or side rods similar to a steam locomotive. 8537 uses side rods. One of the items on the daily inspection during operation is greasing the rods. During operation, that grease tends to fly and smear everywhere. Many hours were spent by Bob A, Jim P, Sean M, Dave V, and Linda E removing that grease and cleaning the rods, counterweights, and sides of the truck frames. The engines themselves, along with the floors of the engine compartments, received some attention as well. These engines are Cummins HBI inline 6 cylinder normally aspirated diesels rated at 150 horsepower each. This engine design is over 90 years old. We have five of them at the museum, two on the 8537, and three that run the power car in the Nebraska Zephyr. The #1 on the 8537 has the newer style PT fuel pump. The #2 engine still runs the original single disc fuel pump. It was interesting trying to get the mechanical throttle linkage adjusted to make the engines power curve synchronization be fairly close throughout the throttle range with those two very different pumps. Stay tuned for the next update where we begin working on the body preparation. |
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Comments
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
Thu, 08-27-2020 09:53
I worked seasonally on the Cadillac & Lake City while the B-71 was in Lake City, MI, beginning in 1970. My primary job was steward/waiter/car cleaner [...]