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Sunday, June 29. 2014June 16, 17,18,19,, and 21 report
This last week we were again out working on the 2612, but this time the weather was so beautiful Gary and Austin and I decided to work for five days.  6-17 I masked off this area and was ready for painting  Job done  All painted from a different angle  What a beautiful addition, John. Thanks  Eric Lorenz and son volunteered for a day on Wed and sanded the eastern door bulkhead above the door so that I could prime it the next day.  This is Austin hard at work starting to chip  Austin is our ACE "  This is one of the young ladies of the crew, Jane.  This is morning of the 21th. Now compare this picture w/ the next.  The two chippers were hard at work. Tuesday, June 24. 20142612, the second week of June.Work is progressing so fast that I will now post the pictures with a caption only. Not much of an explanation is needed because much of the work we are accomplishing is repetitive.  6-11:Ray Erickson sanding part of the area Austin chipped  I am sanding area to be painted  You can see more painted areas than primed ones.  Another area primed and masked ready for paint.  Area above the windows freshly painted  Next week I will paint this primed area.  Gary now is installing one of the newly painted seat frames.  What a picture! The backside of the crew on June 13th Gary, Austin, and myself. Tuesday, June 24. 2014Late May, 2014 and early June
 Off the bar goes into the wild blue yonder  Gary is moving the bar into the field for future destruction.  Here is Gary sweeping the area where the bar once was located.  Looking towards the eastern end of the coach  Austin starts to chip away at the old paint
 The last panel being installed
 Looking east after the last panel has been installed. Monday, June 23. 20142612, The last week of May, 2014.
Gary and I increased our volunteer hours to five days a week and it sure shows by our progress.  Howard is working at the exterior while Gary is dismantling a seat frame for parts  Part of the exterior is primed  Gary is reassembling a newly painted seat frame A little vasoline helps with the installation  I just finished painting the western door  Gary and I now are installing one of the last three panels to be replaced  I am drilling a new hole for each 1/4-20 screw. Gary follows up by tapping each hole then applying the round head slotted screw into the hole . It takes awhile but the results are worth the effort. 35 screws drill and taped per panel.  Here I am applying more masking tape for yet another painting Sunday is June 1st, 2014, and the start of more painting and seat assembly. School is out soon so we hope to have a few young volunteers to assist us. The next blog will show even more results and its metamorphosis into a Rock Island coach. Thanks Roger
Monday, June 16. 2014RI 2612 exterior restorationA couple of friends from the L&N diner era dropped by the Friday, May 23rd, the Memorial day weekend, and started needle chipping the south side of the coach. Howard and Mary Geier took up the" chippers" and really "went to town" knocking off the old paint. Paint chips were flying all over the place!  Mary has never used a needle chipper  She told me she enjoyed chipping  At the end of the day the husband and wife team almost got it all chipped  Mary workin away on Saturday. Now, she is concentrating on the belt rail  Clean as a whistle  Howard is applying a coat of primer Its half primed. Howard in the back ground and thats Gary in the foreground At the end of the day. I would like you to meet another new young member to the restoration team. This is Austin Harvey, a new graduate from the Crystal Lake High School system. Welcome to the team, Austin! As you will see in upcoming blogs, Austin really likes volunteering at Irm. Since Memorial Day Austin has been working with us on an average of three or four times a week. I appreciate his loyalty as well as his work ethic. Thank you very much, Austin. Your volunteering has made a big different in our progress!  Austin, his first day photo  Austin chippin away and Dave sanding inside  Tuesday, May 27, Austin came back and started chipping above the windows Please stop by and visit with us. We would sure like to show you the latest coach progress! Thanks..... Roger Wednesday, June 11. 2014New diesel arrives..... CNW 1689 RSD 5On the interchange today arrived not Two diesels but Three. Yes, three. CNW 411 CB&Q 9911 and.....the newest addition, an Alco RSD-5, CNW 1689. WOW!! What a great looking Alco. Its a three axle truck Alco used in communter service years ago on the CNW. Nice looking engine!  Does it operate  Maybe  Come out for Diesel Daze Maybe it will operate with a few more Alcos  The Lineup facing West. As I mention, the 1689 might operate for diesel daze. Come out and check it out! Donations [$] needed for your favorite Alco and Baldwin diesel. Thanks Roger Monday, June 9. 2014Progress catch-up on 2612The days are steaming by fast and the interior progress on 2612 is beginning to really show our work. Gary and I have been spending about 3-6 days a week concentrating on the interior. That's one reason why I haven't posted for a while. The Western door and frame just painted With the help of a few new volunteers as well as the old regulars the planning and hard work continues. We should be done with the interior around the 15th of July. That's what I aiming for!! Here's a recap of the week before Memorial Day Weekend.  The southern wall already for paint  All painted and masking paper just removed  Another angle of the freshly painted wall We have been sandblasting seat parts but found that the time it takes the volunteers to blast one complete seat frame could take weeks. I decided to take the frames apart and have a company professionally strip them down to bare metal. We will prime and paint them in house. It obviously costs money but it gets the job done much faster. I have also decided to have professionally polished the brass interior door handles and the walkover seat handles. Both well worth the price. The interior will really be "dressed up" once the door handles and walk over seat handles are installed. It's well worth the money and will certainly makes a better impression for the customer. The difference is eye-popping.  Seat frame parts just delivered from Reddi Strip. I picked them up. Notice how clean the parts are.  Door and seat handles before being professionally buffed and polished  Stunning results of the contractors work. Nice and shinny.  Three new nickel seat frames manufactured by R and B Metal |
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Comments
Sun, 07-27-2014 23:15
In looking at the general exterior condition of the Dynamometer Car you would think that it was a total wreck. It is wonderful that it is operational [...]
Fri, 07-25-2014 20:14
I had a blast riding in X-5000 on Sunday during Diesel Days. Brian was great to talk to. It was cool seeing the comntrol board work. I can't wait for [...]
Fri, 07-25-2014 16:47
Shane, Clean rain water is certainly possible. The snag is that you would need a BIG collection and storage system. We are using around 8000 [...]
Fri, 07-25-2014 16:42
John, Yes. Sadly the tender is in poor shape. She should go under cover as part of the new barn project. There will be much discussion around [...]
Thu, 07-24-2014 21:38
Hello Richard In reply to your question concerning RI 2702. The museum is studying the acquisition but no decision has been yet made.
Thu, 07-24-2014 21:29
Hello Chris The 2702 is under study by those interested at Irm. Unfortunately, the possible acquisition boils down to $. First ,who will support [...]
Thu, 07-24-2014 13:01
Hello, is there anyone that I can contact in the Diesel Department about volunteering? I am studying mechanical engineering and I would love to get [...]
Thu, 07-24-2014 00:01
I will commit something to 2702 if I see a specific fund for it. Supposedly the owners made an effort to keep it original, other than removing seats. [...]
Wed, 07-23-2014 19:54
Hi Nigel, I have some suggestions to enhance the experience of steam railroading for museum visitors: 1) In September 2002, I visited on the [...]
Wed, 07-23-2014 00:17
while watching the Diesel Days parade, i noticed a detail on UP 1848 that stood out to me. it was its cab number, i could tell it had a previous [...]
Mon, 07-21-2014 17:48
The hydraulic drawbar on X-5000 works. Its operation was determined Saturday evening and successfully used all day Sunday. The car measured up to a [...]
Sun, 07-20-2014 13:56
2702 would definitely be a project of a massive effort. It has some sort of giant roadside casino sign installed on it. The interior is completely [...]