Baltimore & Ohio 374065 Wagon Top Boxcar

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!

Paint

Just as 'clothes make the man', so does paint make a boxcar.  Victor Humphreys began early Saturday to put the first coat of finish enamel on our B&O boxcar.

Right Side

By late afternoon half of the right side had been painted.  This are was where a lot of the warm weather months were spent making repairs, scrubbing off rust and old paint, and priming.  Looks nice!!

A End

The weather still held Sunday, so Victor was again on the job and he completely painted the A End.

I have been delinquent in posting current news but trust me, there has been a LOT going on in the Freight Car Department with every day this week seeing work done, as we try to make the most of an unexpected late fall spell of good weather.  For our B&O wagon top boxcar project, some significant milestones were reached.

Blast It

We began by hiring a contractor to sandblast the roof areas to white metal, to remove all the rust and remaining traces of old deteriorated paint.

Blasting

Finishing Up

BLASTED

John Faulhaber looks over the results on the roof.  By spending money here we avoided  an entire summer's worth of volunteers sweating it out on top, and got a completely clean surface.

A Clean Sweep

The contractor was finishing up, touching a few more spots, and blowing off all traces of the blast media.

Spraying Primer

John Faulhaber and Buzz Morisette were able to change their schedules on short notice and come out to help on a Monday.  The new primer is being sprayed on the roof.

Windshield

A bit of a breeze came up in the afternoon and the paint crew coped with that by using a sort of shield to minimize blow away.  Behind them is the painted roof area.

Patching

On Wednesday Rod Turner and John Faulhaber were fitting and welding new steel onto one of the rusted out ribs on the corner of the car.  In previous weeks we had fabricated some of these tricky pieces of sheet metal, and now the results came to hand.

Done

Looks Good

John Faulhaber checks the work before prime painting.  This will complete repairs this season on half of the right hand side of the car.

Within the scope of the world debt crisis, this did not cost a lot of money - we got a good price, and struck while the weather was good.  But we REALLY need your help and support to pay the bill.  OR - perish the thought - I will have to dig into my meager billfold to cover the costs.  Any donation, large or small, to restricted fund R 374065 will assure that restorations like this will continue to proceed.  THANKS!

A End

Despite unsettled skies, it did not rain after 10 AM or so and Victor Humphreys is sanding primed areas on the A end.  At the same time Mike Alterio fabricated the two remaining grab irons for the B end and installed them.

Priming Done

Here is an overall view of the north side and A end of the car.  The A end and four side panels have had welding and repairs completed, been primed, sanded, and re-primed.  It is quite a visual difference in person, so look closely at the pic to compare the left side, largely 'painted' in rust, with the right half of the completed work.

Roof

Meanwhile the roof needs some attention.  We have been diligently working to have it sandblasted and prime painted by a contractor due to the gratings and other details that make it impractical to do by hand.  So far, since the beginning of August we have hired two different guys to make this happen, and both have been unable to do the job.  It is not that complicated.

So, if any of you have a cousin or uncle that is a legitimate sandblaster, please have them contact me so this can be completed before winter.  (Temperature early this AM about 40 F).  And yes this will cost money so if you can see your way to helping support the work, donations may be sent to fund R374065.  Thanks

Patches

Victor Humphreys continued to install patches and do related body work throughout the day.  He is a perfectionist, insisting on the finished work being almost invisible of the repairs.

How Does That Grab You

Mike Alterio is installing new grab irons to replace those damaged and missing on the A end.  This day two were complete - fabricated, installed, and primed.

Fixture

Rich Witt has become a valued fixture in our shop, but in this case 'fixture' refers to the wooden oak form and jig being assembled.  New volunteer in our shop, David Diaz helps on the task.

Bending

As soon as the wood jig was done, we fit a steel custom made die assembly into the hydraulic press and began forming new caps for the ribs on the boxcar.  Rich Witt is supplying the muscle to the pump.  IT WORKED!  And as I was leaving the crew were hard at work to have seven pieces made and complete.