General

One of the active members and volunteers in the Signal Department is Frank Carraro.  Here are pictures and a report submitted by Frank.  Good work, and thank you, Frank.

New Bungalow

If you haven't noticed the small aluminum building at the corner of the Office building on the Central Ave side, you should.  It is an "instrument hut" or "signal bungalow", and something important happened in it Saturday May 11th.  In particular, the first wire in the actual complex signal wiring was installed. 

Relay Rack

In the photo of the interior of the hut, the structure on the left is a rack of 74 relay plugboards. 

Relay Pugged In

In this photo you see one relay inserted in the board just to show what one looks like when plugged
in. 

First Wire

On the back side of the rack is much much of the wiring needed to make the whole thing work.  The wires are connected to a small metal clip which snaps into place so that the wire connects to the relay when it is plugged in.   In the next photo you see it being inserted into the proper slot.  The first wire that interconnects one relay to another. As you may guess this is very painstaking work.  A mistake can cause trouble the first time the whole thing is powered up, or years down the line when a signal gives an incorrect indication.  

The circuit drawings were created by Member John Wells, who is a professional signal designer.  Each wire is shown and has a name, such as "121HD3".  It has a starting point, such as "121EHDR-F1"   and and ending point such as "112TPPR-H4".   A small plastic wire tag is placed on the wire at each end when the wire is connected to the device.  Then, after double checking that the wire is connected where the tag says it is, the circuit print is marked out to show it's done.

When this hut is done - this fall maybe - it wiill be picked up and moved to the east end of the depot tracks, and after a lot more work, connected to the signals, and the newly installed switch machines it will control and then, by means of our CTC system, to the Dispatcher's control panel in Spaulding tower.

That's how our signal system expands.  One wire at a time.

There was a lot of activity yesterday in spite of cold blustery weather.  This could probably go into several categories, but I will lump all together under this heading.  First, our NEWEST ARRIVAL.

A Tender Subject

Here is the Vanderbilt tender from Kansas City Southern 759.  Newly arrived and now placed on its trucks, south of Barn 9.  I believe this was acquired decades ago and owned by IRM - stored offsite at Galt, IL.  If not mistaken it was plucked from the scrap line at Northwest Steel and Wire in Sterling, IL before they shut down.

X 38 Windows

Here is your first view of three newly completed windows for the CGW X 38 snowplow.  We processed these last week and they are now ready for paint.  Buzz Morisette graciously volunteered to check dimensions.

Carlines

Working on his own project Buzz had made several new carlines or roof ribs for our private car ELY.  Any such repair project inevitably turns out to be much more work and requires more effort than first thought.

Threshold

Victor Humphreys is on 'the threshold of a new discovery' as he grinds weld on new steel for this threshold for our B&O wagon top boxcar.  I say threshold guardedly since it is a heavy steel plate which get fastened to the wood floorboards just at the doorway.

Lettering

Tom Bernacki volunteered to help document lettering on our MILW 97054 airslide covered hopper.  It was very cold and blustery, windy, but dry most of the day.  He made several trips to the car's storage location in the South End Yard 14, coming into the shop for lunch and some breaks to warm up.  Here is part of his work, half of the reporting marks and car number.

Another Window

Joel Ahrendt is working on a new window for the cab of our Milwaukee Electric L 4 steeplecab locomotive.  Now painted and finished, he is glazing and putting the finishing touches on it before installing it in its rightful place.

The Rack

New shelving and racks were assembled and installed just this week in the latest addition to the Barn 4 shop space.  Volunteers wasted no time in putting them to work and doing some housecleaning in that room.  Eric Lorenz is the antithesis of a hoarder, yet manages to survive in the world of IRM packrats.  Behind him is an entire shelf of windows and other parts for our Cleveland Transit System 4223 PCC car.

Ceiling Parts

Eric and Lorne Tweed exhumed several steel panels from storage and they also are now stowed on the racks.  These are curved sections which will be stripped, primed and painted, ready to hold the ad cards originally displayed by them in the 4223.

Seating

Seating was also placed high on the new racks with a large crew removing the parts from Chicago Rapid Transit 1024.  Some of those seat back 'cushions' must be 20 feet long of rattan, springs, and wood frames.   The crew included Scott Greig, Bill Wulfert, Tim Peters, and Eric Lorenz.

Motoring in Style

Working as a volunteer at IRM often has unexpected fringe benefits.  Pictured here is Frank Carraro operating a two car North Shore train last weekend.

Frank has worked a long and productive career for real railroads and recently found time to come out and join the volunteers at IRM.  Sort of a busman's holiday, he has joined the Signal Department, mirroring the bulk of his professional work.

I have known Frank and of his railroad interests for longer than we both probably care to admit.  Suffice to say I rode with him chasing the North Shore when it was still in operation, as we hoped to take and record photo images of the cars and line.

Frank has always had a hope of someday operating a North Shore car, and it came to pass, as a two car train no less!  When you are a volunteer at IRM you often join up with a likeable bunch of fellows (and some gals) as much for the social aspect, as for contributing to railroad preservation, and also learning in the process.  In Frank's case he may be taking on some of the teacher role since I bet he has forgotten more about railroads than I will ever learn.

But the crew learned of his 'bucket list' wishes and when the opportunity presented itself, all of the crews worked around scheduled operations and got him a complete mainline round trip in the cab.  There are other satisfactions to volunteering at IRM, and believe it or not, positions are OPEN.  We do a lot of work throughout the winter, in the wood shop for instance.  Give us a try.