Baltimore & Ohio 374065 Wagon Top Boxcar

This was a very productive day for accomplishing a much needed repair to the car.  There were a lot of players including some of our SKILL LEVEL experts.  The problem:  the door on what is now the south side of the car could not be opened.

It Moves

The roof framing and door track on the top of the car had been bent downward and inward at some time in the past, resulting in a bind that prevented the door from moving at all, at least with the resources available to mere mortals.  Lots of cribbing, timbers and a heavy duty pneumatic jack on the inside of the car got some upward pressure to free it up.  John Faulhaber is marveling at the open door, an unseen mystery of the ages.  And of course not be missed is the rare shot of this car on Track 41 at the east end of Barn 4.

Fully Open

With the door fully open, it was time to make 'adjustments'.  The crew is here engaged in a further tweak of the frame and door track upward, more jacking, a little heat from the torch, and it is much better.

SEE THE MAGIC HAPPEN!!

After a summer of brutally hot weather the temperatures seem to have become more moderate.  The past few months the car work has continued although the order of certain tasks had to change to protect the health of the volunteers.  Body repairs continued in the form of removing rust, cleaning old paint, repairing dents and dings, repairing the interior car floor, emptying the car of much stored equipment, cutting away rust outs, fabricating new steel panel plugs, welding them in, grinding, installing new rivets, and prime painting.

If you were to walk by the car, much of this progress might not be noticed except by a very detailed look by a trained observer.

The Magic

But the day dawned clear and Victor Humphreys was on hand early in the day, cleaned and wiped down sides, and in short order the first finish paint was being applied to the south side of the car.  It was an almost instant transformation from an ugly duckling to a swan of princely stature.

Third Panel

Three of the panels on that side were painted with the correct finished color and the effect is spectacular, and gratifying to see the work.  Thank you Victor for being the champion on this project and doing much of the work yourself.

Progress continues with the pleasant weather, although heavy ground fog early today made one question how it could turn out so nice.

Sanding

The first two panels are finally ready for finish paint.  The welding, rivets and priming are done, and Victor Humphreys is sanding and touching up the primer.

Fourth Patch

This is the last patch to be done along this half side of the car.  One more day of work and priming, and then it is off to the races with more paint.  The car is looking really nice with the rust outs gone and sides smooth and intact, bulges gone.  The large area of filler to the right and above the new steel is an area that had severe pitting in the original steel side, some sort of badge or board having resided there at some date in the car's past.

Work on this restoration project has continued all summer, with rusted out areas of the car sides cut out and removed.  New metal was cut and fit into place waiting for welding.

Welding

All the pieces fell into place, as it were, and the boxcar was moved inside Barn 4.  A welder systematically wrestled with the new steel and matched it up very well, to the existing sides.  This was necessary since the steel sides, and patches for that matter, are somewhat flexible.

New Steel in Place

By the end of the day four areas had new steel welded in and all the sections were bolted in place.  These bolts are to hold everything tight and are removed, one at a time, to place the new rivets.  Of course there will be a few hours of work with the grinder to smooth the welds out and make them 'disappear'.

Spring is here and that means on good weather days, the Freight Department crew is at work in our outdoor 'shop'.  Here is a sort of photo essay (not much text) on work this week, lots of participants and onlookers encouraged to learn and get a 'feel' for this sort of blacksmith work and tools involved.

Rust Out

Gerry Dettloff is getting ready with an acetylene torch with Dick Cubbage and Simon Harrison looking on.

Cutting

Some sections of the side at the bottom were badly rusted out.  The first step here is to use an acetylene torch to burn off the old rivet heads.  Gerry is using the torch and Victor Humphreys ready to help as needed.

Peeling

The metal is being peeled back by Victor, Gerry, and Dick.

Next

After cutting the rivet heads form the outside, shards of old metal siding and layers of rust are removed.  Some additional grinding of the torched off rivet stubs might need to be done.  Then out with the small sledge hammer and a punch pin to poke the rivet out the back.

The Stubs

Not much left after the torching, but some medallions of remaining metal sides need to be peeled away, pried away, or otherwise coaxed to leave.

Punching

Then on to the satisfying part of punching out what remains of the rivets.  Sort of like an 'aggression therapy' session.  Jim Leonard takes a turn.  That entire section is complete.  The next step is to fit and cut a new metal patch, drill it for placing new rivets, weld it in, grind, fill, paint - you get the idea.

Paint Crew

Today we managed to paint a second coat of finish enamel on the roof of the boxcar.  Cool weather, but the steel warmed up quickly in the sun.  Victor Humphreys and Roger Kramer are pictured.  Roger deserves a special thanks for his help on this.  Other BLOG posts from me will be sketchy this week, since I was up on the roof slogging paint with the others, and sometimes wondered if more paint got on me or on the roof.

This was another of the Freight Car Department 'milestone' goals accomplished, as each year we race the calendar to beat old man winter.

Long View

Buzz Morisette, Bob Kutella, and Victor Humphreys are on the roof of this boxcar, to spray paint the first coat of finish enamel on the roof, thus protecting the primer from the ravages of oncoming winter.

Finishing Up

Buzz and Victor are at the A end, finishing up the tough areas around the roofwalk and laterals.

Big Change

It was a very long day for the three of us, but here is the result.  A very big change in appearance for anyone tall enough to see it.  In this one season, about half the area of the boxcar sides, ends and roof have been restored, primed and painted!