Illinois Railway Museum Blog

CGW X38 Update - May 18, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-19T20:10:01Z

Control Cupola

Buzz Morisette is up inside the control cab as we try to re-engineer how all the windows, sills, and stops will go together. Note that much of this was totally useless and rotted away. He is holding up one of the original windows for size and placement

Ceiling Lettering

Before too much dismantling was done to replace the bad parts, Buzz took many pictures to help document the areas. Kind of unusual to find instructions painted on the ceiling - but here it is.

Center Front

Left Front

Right Front

Here is an experiment in formatting so you may see the front of the cab by stitching together the three views. The left front view shows faint traces of more lettering; the right front view shows "EMERGENCY VALVE" stenciled in red. Lots of piping, electrical, gauges - most of which will have to be removed to replace the spongy wood behind them.

Step One

A lot of the work is now started with removal of the window post and corner posts on the left side. Look closely and you will see the empty mounting holes in the steel members. And what a scenic view out the window! Freight cars, of course - that is our department.

Look Closely

This view looks downward at the left front corner. the wood has been removed to the bare steel framing. And another trace at the very top of this image of more lettering and flaky paint - we figured this one out - but not without some headscratching and creative railroad archeology.

Wood Shop Update - May 18, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-19T19:51:07Z

More PCC Work

Cleveland Transit System 4223 - - - Lorne Tweed and Eric Lorenz are fitting together pieces inside the left rear of the car. We are relying almost totally on the memory of Eric who started working on this project more years ago than he would like to admit.

Right Interior

Eric is admiring the interior work on the right side to the rear of the car. Amazingly, this part has most of the pieces where they should go.

Right Side

Of course the object of doing as much interior work as possible has a side benefit. With all pieces and their sequence accounted for it is possible to install the passenger windows. It has been a LOONG time since we could look down the side of the car and see a view like this. During the day I fussed a bit with the old narrow ceiling panels containing the bulls eye lights. Try as a might, I made little progress with the rusty light fixture screws, following in the footsteps of at least three other volunteers. Then I got a tip from Dave Diaz who was passing through the shop and his idea worked like a charm - relatively speaking. I managed to remove two of the fixtures in about 30 minutes.

The Jig

Jeff Brady and Bill Peterson are reworking a steam bending jig for work on the Michigan Electric 28. The good news is that Jeff has just about perfected steam bending and this allows creating custom stock for special situations. Not something that was in our arsenal of tools and techniques. You steam a board, bend the board, and after it takes a set, check the curve and fit. Here, they have made a few adjustments to the form.

HOT Wood

When the wood has been steamed long enough you need several sets of hands to handle the 200 F stock, clamp one end, and quickly bend it around the form and clamp it down. You have about 60 seconds to do this or face the probability it will be too cold and stiff and you might as well start the next piece.

CGW X38 Update - May 15, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-16T16:19:22Z

On the Roof

Gerry Dettloff, Jim Leonard, and Dave Rogan are up on the roof of our snow plow. Gerry volunteered to drag the cutting torch up top to remove the first section of metal grating, while Dave is needle chipping more of the cupola roof. Sharp eyed readers may notice something different in this picture. The completed side of the X 38 is in the sun! Yes, some excellent cooperation by other departments resulted in this unit being turned end for end, as well as the B&O wagon top boxcar just to the east.

Grating

Jim Leonard is lifting away the old metal grating. This will allow us to clean and repaint the area below it. For the period of this restoration, wooden roof walks will be added in place of the metal.

A Wooden Lining

Victor Humphreys is installing another section of the interior lining inside the snow plow body.

Cupola Roof

Here is a better view of what Dave Rogan was cleaning on the cupola roof. He and Jim Leonard worked mightily in the sun most of the day. Removing old paint, wirebrushing the area, and then applying primer. In addition to this roof area, they did some paint removal and priming on what is now the north door wall. Buzz Morisette has begun the tasks needed to install the new cupola windows, John Faulhaber is working to trace and document lettering in the cab. And on the B&O boxcar a repaired door threshold plate was installed.

Wood Shop Update - May 15, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-16T15:54:24Z

On the Move

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 309 was on the move on Track 41 heading into the Barn for the inspection pit. Father and son team, Randall and Frank Hicks, worked throughout the day and accomplished most of the items on the checklist and inspection report.

Lighting Panel

Rich Witt has completed available work on several recent projects and volunteered to work on removing light fixtures from a ceiling panel for Cleveland Transit System 4223. They are very stubborn and recalcitrant, the metal screws being truly well rusted into place. Later in the day we got to see an original First Aid Box from the CA&E cars and Randy Hicks entered a request for six of them to be built.

The Last Box

John Nelligan is grinning broadly next the last of seven resistance boxes to be restored for Charles City Western 300. And why not? It seems he may have spent the last several months glued to a stool at the sandblaster cleaning the many parts before assembly work could be done.

In Place

John is beside himself and also beside the locomotive. The first grid box is in place and mounting porcelain ready to receive the next three.

Toy Boxcar

John Faulhaber and Henry Vincent are just finishing up the children's activity boxcar sponsored by Ray Bellock. Before the day was over it rolled happily out of the shop doors, another project complete.

Getting Legs

Jim Foraker worked on parts for our new saw base. Legs and mounting pads were cut to length and prepped for welding.

Steam Department

Norm Krentel is enjoying the pleasant weather as he monitors the steam generator and steaming tube while a length of white oak is warming up inside. This for another of the curved pieces being made for Michigan Electric 28.

Steam Department Update 05-11-2013

nospam@example.com (Nigel Bennett) — 2013-05-16T02:29:29Z

A short and second hand update this week, courtesy of Phil and Collin, as I was enjoying myself in New York City last weekend. It sounds as if good progress was made on a number of fronts.

Unfortunately everything else is overshadowed by the news that Glen, one of our regular team, was seriously injured in a motor bike accident last week. From what we can gather, he is in the ICU at Rockford Memorial and the path forward is unclear at present. Our thoughts are with him.

On 1630:

· The flue removed last weekend, that has to be reworked, was cleaned up and prepared.

· The jacketing painted last week is now back in store and the last of the jacketing is now down in the shop for cleaning and painting.

· Mike reassembled the bucker, which is critical to riveting the patch into place. It was hooked up to the air supply and works!.

The bucker is now complete and tested

· Phil, Tom and Mike started working with the bucker in the firebox to determine how it can best be supported to provide a smooth and reliable position when riveting. This is essential as the core of the riveting process is that the yellow hot rivet must be passed into the firebox, put into the hole and the bucker accurately and firmly applied in a matter of 15 seconds. If the rivet cools too much or the bucker moves, you will get a badly formed rivet and the need for many hours of work to drill it back out again and re-prepare the hole. So there will be a LOT of planning and practicing ahead of driving the rivets

This is where it must be used

A rivet must be set in each of the holes. So we need to be able to place the bucker quickly and firmly and use it in each position, while still allowing room to place the hot rivet.

On the Shay:

· Alex used the degreaser and put it on the front truck. (Sounds like I had better make plans to borrow the steam cleaner from the car shop to finish the process)

Truck soaking in degreaser

· Alex, Brian, Cameron, and Phil fired up the furnace and annealed the last of the flues. They are now ready to be put back in the box car. This was a very positive sign for the future. The whole team was young guys all in their lower 20's or teens, which makes a big change from the reliance on us old codgers!.

Last of the tubes now swaged

In other areas:

· Bill, Stu, and Bob worked on the water supply in the boxcar and started on the modifications to the pumping system. The objectives are to ensure that the locomotive crew can reliably get water with minimum knowledge of the system without risk of damage and that treatment chemicals can be added automatically.

· A key piece of the planer was refitted. The directional control lever was reassembled. As is common with rebuilding old equipment, this was much more difficult than it sounds. A pin had sheared off in the shaft and Bob had worked much of last weekend to get it out without damaging the shaft.

So, a good day, from the progress point of view.

Nigel (as scribe for Phil and Collin !)

DM&IR 84 Window Repairs Complete for Now

nospam@example.com (Pauline Trabert) — 2013-05-14T19:10:54Z

On Saturday, May 4, 2013, Chuck Trabert installed the last of the windows refinished for the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railway 84 coach over the winter. Chuck has been working on the windows of this coach for the last several winters and feels he is almost caught up with the most urgent window repairs in this car.

Chuck Trabert installing a refinished window in the DMIR 84 coach

Window repair is not an easy job and it is costly to buy new glass, hardware, paints and varnishes. This car is frequently used in passenger operations and receives even more wear and tear as a result. All passenger cars required to be outside are at greater risk for damage from the elements so there is a goal to get them all under the shelter of a barn to be spared the worse of the sun and rain. You can help make that happen with an easy $25 donation for indoor storage. Choose the Passenger Car Department and add your donation to the cart. With your hep we will eventually get all passenger cars under cover. Many thanks!

Signal Department - May 11, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-13T09:51:42Z

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.

Wood Shop Update - May 11, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-12T14:52:55Z

In Memory

Just one week ago long time member of IRM and officer of the organization succumbed to a long and arduous hard fought battle with cancer. In his memory the CA&E train, led by car 409, displayed black marker flags and black bunting across the front. Crew members included Randall Hicks and Jeff Obarek. We will all miss and remember you, Jim

Light Panels

Dave Diaz returned to our shops and helped John McKelvey on seat repairs and then moved to working on the old lighting ceiling panels for Cleveland Transit System 4223. He did make some good progress and managed to remove several of the light fixtures which were held in stubbornly by a host of rusty screws.

Bending Wood

Bill Peterson, Jeff Brady, and Norm Krentel were quite successful in steam bending some white oak slats for the new roof on Michigan Electric 28. They used a home made steam generator and steaming 'chamber' to cook the wood for two hours.

More Bill

We return to the popular feature MORE BILL. Bill Wulfert has great patience and stick-to-it-ness as he continues the painstaking work of repairing and restoring myriad light fixture sockets. Don't tell him I said this as his fame will make him hard to live with.

There was other work going on including more progress on the CGW X 38 snowplow, and on Chicago Rapid Transit 1024, and Electric Car Department tasks.

This will be a short report today as I met and escorted two members of the Great Northern Railway Historical Society on a tour and with meetings to schedule a special event for them. The GNRHS is holding their annual convention in Chicago this year for the first time and they will spend Saturday July 27 at IRM. If you are already a GNRHS member, remember the date and plan to attend. If not there is still time to join them. There are still volunteers needed to act as tour docents and other IRM support tasks.

CGW X38 Update - May 8, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-09T15:48:52Z

Another unusually nice weather day saw many volunteers going on and in the Chicago Great Western X 38 snowplow.

WOW

WOW - the iconic CGW Corn Belt Route herald was completed today and it really sets off the north side. Some of the crew for today are seen here, Dave Rogan, John F, Victor H, Jim Leonard, and Bob Kutella. Thanks go to Rich Witt for volunteering to snap this image, mostly one of us is behind the lens instead of in front of it.

Control Cab

Jim Leonard went up on the roof quickly to take advantage of good weather and he set to work removing rust and paint from the window posts and framework on the north side windows. Dave Rogan also pitched in here on the 'high wire' work.

Herald

John F pitched in with me on the painting of the CGW herald. Not done yet in this pic but we were focused on the end zone throughout the day.

Progress

Jim L is working to close up the open windows on the control cab at the end of the day. You can see some of the roof cleaned and primed, the headlight mounting plate, etc.

In Closing

I just cannot resist another shot of the plow showing the new herald, the two new windows installed and lacking only the new door (already made) to pose this view as 'done'.

Other progress on the plow today included installation of some more of the interior lining, and removal of the two operator's seats up in the cab. This was done now to get fabric on order for re-upholstery and also to make more room for the window work.

Wood Shop Update - May 8, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-09T15:32:38Z

This entry will be for general interest work I saw on site today, and perhaps one surprise pic.

Childrens Boxcar

John Faulhaber made some slight adjustments and finishing touches, then went on to prime the car.

Interior Paneling

Lorne Tweed is making good progress on the Cleveland Transit System 4223 interior behind the rear door. Several pieces are test fit here, including one piece, new from the fabricator just today.

Sign Box

In the above pic you may notice a void or empty space just to the rear of the rear door. The rear sign box will be mounted here as shown by Lorne. It fits like a glove!

Window Tracks

Of course there is usually more than one person working on any of our projects. Simon Harrison is installing window tracks, two for each window. Slow work to be sure - the process, not Simon.

View From the Top

Here is pic of our B&O 374065 wagon top boxcar from an angle not usually seen. In this case from the top of the adjacent CGW X 38 snow plow. During the day, Victor Humphreys worked on this car, installing a repaired side door threshold plate.

Bending Jig

Jeff Brady and Norm Krentel are making a sturdy bending jig while just outside the door, a steam generator is 'cooking' a piece of white oak. The result we hope for is a nicely contoured runner for new roof mats for Michigan Electric 28

Steam Department Update 05-04-2013

nospam@example.com (Nigel Bennett) — 2013-05-05T21:16:48Z

A fairly short update this week. It was a long and hard day's work. But, while we made reasonable progress, not much of it was visible.

On 1630:

· Most of us focused on the issue, identified last weekend, of the flues that moved forward as the ends were rolled into the front tube sheet. All but one were moved sufficiently to provide the required projection at the rear to allow beading. The one that could not be moved was removed and will be reworked. Having reduced the issue to one flue, we should be able to keep the delay to a couple of weeks.

· The remaining flues were rolled additionally in the rear sheet to reduce any likelihood of movement when these are rolled at the front end.

· Sean made great progress on priming the cladding sheets. After his efforts, a satisfying number were standing in the shop to finally harden before being put back into storage ready for refitting.

Lots of cladding ready to refit

· Tom was working on the lathe to produce the guides that will be used to drill and tap the holes for the two stays that are to be fitted into the firebox patch. These screw into the caps of the flexible stays, that are already part of the outer firebox wrapper. They guide the drill to make an accurate hole in the inner firebox sheet, into which the stay is then threaded.

· Having checked to confirm that everything is working correctly in the water supply boxcar, Ed was working on refurbishing the pipe work for the boiler backhead fittings.

· The specially made seals for the bucker have arrived at last, so, once they have been softened by soaking in oil, work can begin during the week to get this reassembled and ready for the riveting to begin.

In other areas:

· Dennis completed the boom for the fork lift. Here it is upside down to allow the main beam to be welded to the frame that fits over the forks. This will hopefully be used before long to lift parts such as the dome cover back on to the locomotive.

Dennis finishing the boom

· Bob and Mike continued work on the planer.

· Glenn continued building the guards for the drive belts on the new air compressor.

· Jerry did a great job on clearing the front of the shop. For those visiting us, we can no longer be identified as the shop behind the stack of debris, drums and disused "A" frame !!.

Next week I will be in New York on vacation, so I am looking forward to finding a lot of progress when I get back in two weeks time !.

Nigel

Wood Shop Update - May 4, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-05T15:09:26Z

More Bill

Based upon feedback from our readers, here is (on request) MORE BILL. That would be Bill Wulfert continuing on restoring and cleaning the many light socket assemblies we need now. Funny thing is, he looks like he is enjoying it.

Big News of the Week

The big news of the week involved delivery of new castings for resistance grid boxes on Chicago & West Towns 141. There is a lot of grinding and cleanup needed on the foundry castings, but they have all been examined and tested.

Wood Lining

Bill Peterson is cutting many more boards to length as destined for interior lining on our Chicago Great Western X 38 snow plow. Then he sanded them all and Vicotr Humphreys started the step of applying white primer.

Framing

Buzz Morisette is installing two new timbers at the top of the interior rear wall on the X 38. It seems nothing is ever simple and he had to overcome some drama due to their inconvenient location.

Lettering

It was gloomy and rainy in the morning but after that ended and the sun came out, I continued on painting more of the CGW herald on the X 38. Only two good hours, but slowly, it is taking form.

Ceiling Lighting Panels

Ray Pollice is taking the old bulls-eye lights out from the ceiling panels for Cleveland Transit System 4223. The old rusty screws present quite a problem. As soon as one of the old panels was down its bare substance it was used as a pattern and Brian Patterson and I laid out and cut a new replacement.

Window Tracks

Inside the 4223 Lorne Tweed was mounting aluminum tracks on the window posts, - if you have been following this story you know what we are referring to and where it will lead.

In at Last

It is not the last window to go in, but Lorne said at last we are putting windows in!

New Roof

Tim Peters is up on a lift working on the roof at the east end of Chicago Rapid Transit 1024. The center section wood and supports below it have been 100% replaced and are taking shape nicely.

CGW X38 Update - May 1, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-02T20:54:37Z

We celebrated May Day working outdoors on the Chicago Great Western X 38 snowplow. At 82 F it was the warmest day we have seen in SEVEN months!

Prep Work

Victor Humphreys sands and cleans up new interior lining wood while Dave Rogan primes them as soon as they are ready. Dave also primed the two new interior framing timbers made last weekend. Several of these short pieces were installed inside the plow next to the south doorway, even as the paint continued to dry.

Cupola Roof

Jim Leonard is a champion - he volunteered at once to continue body cleanup and repairs outdoors on the plow body. The first area to be attacked was the cupola, as completion here will allow for installation of new windows made in the shop over the winter. In this pic he is wrestling with a pneumatic air scaler to remove old paint and rust from the roof.

Priming

With the weather holding favorable into the afternoon, Jim wire brushed an area clean and began applying fresh primer to the roof.

Meanwhile

I could ill afford to let such nice weather be wasted. So we began the complicated task of hand painting the famous CORN BELT ROUTE herald on the north side of the plow. Paul Cronin assists in lining up the pattern and tracing the artwork.

Prep Work

John Faulhaber helped me out while planning which part could be done in the time remaining and masking areas that lent themselves to the task. Just like the old game show - BEAT THE CLOCK.

On to Painting

The first word we painted was of course CHICAGO. If you are not familiar with this iconic herald stay tuned. Weather permitting more will appear each week.

Stripes

Below the CHICAGO there are four horizontal stripes, which could largely be masked off for painting.

End of Day

The stripes were completed as the sun sank ever lower. I suppose this looks disconnected and puzzling. I guess it is - I know where we are going, yet it is hard to visualize.

I stayed on task while the other members of the crew worked on installation of more interior lining and applying steel capping to the doorway weatherstrips.

Wood Shop Update - May 1, 2013

nospam@example.com (Robert Kutella) — 2013-05-02T20:43:28Z

There was a lot of work done today, but I was outdoors working on another project. But here are a few images I caught walking through the shop early.

Toy Boxcar

John Faulhaber is putting the finishing touches on the boxcar he is building for the Ray Bellock children's program this summer.

Washington Blue

The repaired and restored door for Chicago Aurora & Elgin 36 received its first coat of blue, earlier in the week. It really looks good.

TM Green

Henry Vincent is applying the shade of green used by the TM in their Cold Spring Shops as the table saw restoration continues.

Interior

Eric Lorenz and Lorne Tweed are making good progress working on the interior of the Cleveland Transit System 4223. As mentioned before, it is a puzzle of sorts and many of these pieces and parts must be sorted out and installed to allow installation of the side windows. Simon Harrison helped throughout the day.

Other work included the Michigan Electric 28 crew of Jeff Brady and Norm Krentel working on a new roof, and completion of a new door for our 1851 depot building.

IRM Receives Charitable Grant for Exterior Restoration of CTA 2153-2154

nospam@example.com (Ray Piesciuk) — 2013-05-01T05:18:52Z

2000s in their original Mint Green and Alpine White paint scheme

The Illinois Railway Museum is pleased to announce that it has received a $5,000 Railroad Heritage Grant from the Tom E. Dailey Foundation. This generous contribution from the Foundation has been earmarked for our CTA 2000-series "L" cars, 2153-2154 (Pullman-Standard, 1964). Specifically, the grant will greatly help fund the exterior restoration of CTA 2153-2154, in which they will be backdated to the distinctive Mint Green and Alpine White paint colors which they wore upon their delivery to the CTA in 1964. CTA 2153-2154 are the only unmodified 2000-series "L" cars in preservation, and were considered cutting-edge upon their manufacture due to the inclusion of fluorescent lighting, air conditioning, molded fiberglass carbody components, and "Space Age" design elements.

The Tom E. Dailey Foundation Inc (501)(C)(3) was established through an endowment by Tom Dailey, a senior executive in the payment processing industry for nearly 30 years. The Foundation was created as a way to to support specific causes which are close to his heart and to share the blessings he has received.

2153-2154 at 50th Avenue Station