Electric Car Department

I will try to post something here this morning although it will be necessarily short as I am about to get back on site at Union to work with a contractor today.  I noticed Randy Hicks gave us a plug for the woodworkers convention.  We had the biggest attendance ever and this time cracked the international barrier with two attending form Belgium.  That would be the Belgium in Europe, not the Belgium two hundred miles north in Wisconsin.

A Bundle of Canvas

Jeff Brady and Bill Peterson have managed to extract the canvas from storage and with great effort have it hoisted up on the roof of the car.  This is just the start of the process as the next step is to unroll all of that.

The Big Rag

This is a big rag, probably over 1100 square feet of canvas.  I do not think IRM has had to recanvas a roof on a car this long to this moment in time.  So, as with everything, there is some new learning along the way.  There is a trim allowance on all the dimensions but it only makes sense to try to slide and push it around to center it on the roof.  Easier said than done.

The Clamps

We made ( I do not include me in that) a dozen new clamps of our own design to clamp to the edges of the canvas, and they were mounted, starting at the ends of the car; shown here as Jeff and Bill demonstrate.

Rolled out

The large white thing stretching into the distance is the canvas all rolled out.  If it seems a long way away, it is, and more so if you consider the work left, which includes setting about 1500 tacks.  For now we have stretched and pulled the canvas to begin the process of removing all the wrinkles and get it to lay down flat on the roof.

I think I will split the Wednesday work into two reports this time, since we had a large and productive crew working almost exclusively on the Cleveland PCC.

Rear Interior Trim

Simon Harrison was taking no chances as he is geared up to removing old paint from a piece of sheet metal to go on the left rear interior of the PCC.

Preparation

There are a lot of old broken off screw stubs inside the PCC.  Dave Diaz took a turn at removing them, Simon did more in the afternoon.  We are doing that now as it will soon be time to mount more of the interior panels.

Out in the Barn

Out in the Barn on a workbench, Jim Leonard processed several of the curved ad card panels, removing dirt, rust, and paint from the back side of these.

Priming

As fast as they were cleaned, Jonathan Soucek was priming them, along with a sign box, and some of the other trim panels.

A Straight Shot

Many of these ad card panels suffered through years of storage and had some bent corners or other dings in them.  Dave Diaz did a very good job of taking all those out.

Wow

By the end of the day all these seven were primed, and three more, two other miscellaneous panels, and the sign box.

We will start with some views of the new work going on in the Cleveland Transit System 4223 PCC car.  In the old reports we explained how there are many layers of parts for the interior and windows which must go in a specific order.  The critical delay was to have new window post caps made, after it was determined the old ones could not be salvaged and repaired to look and perform well.  They have arrived and the team has wasted no time in installing.

Right Side

Lorne Tweed is working on the right side of the car, forward of the center door.  It is easy to see the finished look and large improvement.  If only it was not so cold and damp in the barn I bet you would see more speed.

Right Side Rear

Eric Lorenz was just as busy working on the post caps on the right side, to the rear of the center door.

Left Side

Then Eric moved to the left side and began working his way forward.  Six in a row installed in this image.  At the very front and rear of the car and alongside the center door, these sheet metal caps are 'special' requiring more fitting and fussing.

I have a number of images for one project today, Cleveland Transit System 4223, a PCC car.  Lorne Tweed took several of these so I will split this weeks news into two BLOG entries

Switch Cabinet

Dave Diaz is painting a new switch cabinet for the car.  It has been fabricated new, and a lot of prep work has gone into adding the needed attachments and holes for mounting under the front dash of the car.

Left Rear

The next few images were taken inside the car, left side rear.  We have all the panels and trim for the car, but they have been out of it for many years.  It is like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle without benefit of the picture on the box.  Wise advice to budding restorationists:  Take a lot of pics, mark each piece where it came from with a paper tag, and write the id on each piece.  Surely one of those pieces of information will be lost to memory or time.

Wall Panel

There are wide wall panels to be mounted below the row of standee windows and above the ordinary passenger windows.  Simon Harrison is holding the first one, working from the rear to front on the left side.

Upper Trim

Simon Harrison is now fitting a piece of trim above the row of standee windows.  Many of these pieces appear to be the same, but have subtle differences, different hole patterns.  You really need to lay out and sort out each group of pieces.

Side Windows

In the shop the seemingly endless task of preparing the side windows, passenger windows, goes on.  For this car there is an upper and lower for each opening.  Simon is applying a clear protective finish to the cleaned aluminum frames, in this case one of the lower sash.

You who read along regularly know that as a Collection Curator I try to bring your attention to worthy projects.  Lately that has been Barn 14 funding and I cannot emphasize that too strongly.

Executive Director Nick Kallas

Here is our smiling Executive Director, Nick Kallas, with a new to us Johnson farebox destined for the Sand Springs 68.  Why is he smiling?  Through Nick's efforts it seems one of our cars has received an 11th hour reprieve from de-accessioning and scrapping.  It appears funds are now sufficient to place Chicago & Western Indiana 1185 wood gondola in the select group that will be housed in Barn 14 when it is built.  The message is clear - IT CAN BE DONE!

In this entry I would also like to call attention to the need for funding for many of our recently acquired Electric Cars.  The typical trolley is a fragile thing, often with a canvas roof, and many with wood parts that are particularly susceptible to wind and weather.  Some of these cars yet remain outdoors, some under tarps which is a temporary stop gap measure at best.

Of course, if you have a favorite you may donate to the restricted fund for that car number.  If you are not that familiar with the details of the collection there is another way.  Please send a donation to RISWEC (on line or by mail) or to RTRKEC.  Those two fund balances are managed by that department head and thus can be apportioned to do the most good.  The first fund is for Indoor Storage of Electric Cars and the second for Track Space for Electric Cars.

Why the notice to support the track space fund?  The simple answer is that our system of acquisitions is that each new arrival is assessed a charge to help offset the cost of the track it sits upon.  Some of the recent electric cars still have not cleared those charges and those MUST be cleared for the car to be eligible for permanent space in a Barn.  Both funds urgently need donations.

On line or by mail to

Illinois Railway Museum

Box 427

Union, IL 60180

Here is a report from Lorne Tweed who has been working over one year with the crew on CTS 4223.

Assembly

Eric Lorenz is at work assembling the many pieces for the roof trolley boards and electrical, the trolley base.  You see him in the "well" which is a depression in  the shroud that is the roof monitor on this PCC.  It is a shame that all the fine work is basically hidden from the ground.

Done

This is the view of the completed work.

Lorne says: This weekend, Eric Lorenz (pictured) and Lorne Tweed were able to get the trolley pole base, fuse box, and lightning arrestor all installed on the top of the Cleveland Transit System 4223.   Except for the trolley pole installation and some electrical connections, this finishes the work on this sub project.   Many thanks to all of the volunteers that cleaned, painted, rebuilt, and fabricated these parts.