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Tuesday, November 17. 2009
As we go into winter mode, I have decided to at least log on the majority of the report I send to the board every month. This way, even if I run out of time to write updates, our remote friends and visitors will have a bit of information. In adfor a dition, we hope to have the Yard 5 set open for volunteers during the Holiday train event. While it is not planned as a public area, our friends will have a place to go for a cup of coffee or tea or cocoa, and a place to "set a spell". GENERAL DEPARTMENT PROGRESS
The month of October was spent mostly supporting Terror on the Railroad. The screamliner set was successful, and we encountered no significant mechanical issues throughout.
The wheel switch on the CRIP coach is delayed until spring, and expenses estimate is included in the 2010 budget.
We hope to complete several projects this winter, as well as awaiting the completion of Barn 11.
CBQ 993, a Havelock built baggage car is now en route, having left St Louis 11-8 via UP through Pekin and Proviso.
CBQ 1309, a baggage car owned by IRM at least since 2001, has been located recently and we have begun to inquire about the method of movement to finally get it home. Info coming from the Executive Director includes availability of a flat car in the area. A crane service has been identified by the Colorado Railroad Museum as someone they know. We project making progress on this car over the winter and hope to move it in early 2010.
INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT REPORTS
DLW coaches (3) Two cars are service. The third car is still undergoing required structural welding. The repairs are now progressing, with deck plates being installed.
Glen Springs Roger Kramer has made significant progress on the car. Batteries have been reinstalled, and basic electrical function of the car has been reactivated. Exterior cabinet doors have been reattached, and latch mechanisms have been restored.
ATSF 2544 One side of the coach area has now been installed, and the second side of “modern” seats is being removed, to allow for completion of the area for spring. All seat frames are now located, and the prep work on the second set will be conducted over winter. http://www.irm.org/gallery/ATSF2544 John McGloughlin Interior restoration continues, as well as metal and paint work on one vestibule
Dover Strait Most interior painting is complete, with some ceiling to be completed in spring. Light fixtures were removed and refinished, now being reinstalled.
B&M 3288/1094 No significant changes, beyond the continued progress. Jack continues on the coach area of the car. Windows are reinstalled. Seat frames are being located and installed. We await the assistance to use the forklift and retrieve the steps from the material yard. Once they are located behind the barn, prep work can begin.
RDC 9933 We have begun to disassemble more seating for repairs. We have also disassembled one bathroom wall, to restore the proper doorway. Our off season restoration plans include further repairs to baggage rack lighting circuits, as well as a planned spring effort to repair the secondary air circuit to provide interior brake control as well as a horn. http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9933
CBQ Silver Ridge Electrical conversion of low voltage DC fixtures has been completed We are proceeding to backdate some of the bedrooms to original salmon In addition the hope is to continue to backdate more bedrooms and bathrooms to original CBQ colors.
ACL Birmingham The kitchen has some backdating to be done, but it will take a secondary role as we focus on Silver Ridge and the ventilation system.
Sunday, October 11. 2009
I know it has been a long time for the passenger dept reports, and i apologize.
It will be just a bit longer, I am afraid, mostly because the latter parts of the season found us with a lot of work and only a few hands. The one item i wanted to announce however, is that for the first time since its arrival in (?) 1991(?), CNW RDC 9933 has entered revenue service on the Halloween train. http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9933 We have been successful in getting the electrical system to function, including number boards, markers and headlights. Under the current circumstances, as many of you know, I have converted the car from its original 64vdc to 120vac to allow for station wiring, as well as generator power feeds. Everything is working as expected, and I hope to bring you more information on this and other projects with more frequency after Nov 1 when we will begin to go into "winter repair mode". Many things have actually been happening on several pieces, its mostly my fault for not having enough time to post info here. Thanks to Bob Kutella and others for sometimes inserting updates in my absence.
Sunday, October 4. 2009
The Wednesday Irregulars have completed this car including lettering. I know I have posted images of this work elsewhere on the blogs, but a search has failed me. Enjoy this view under cloudy skies 10/3/09.
Monday, September 28. 2009
The lounge area interior is really taking shape with nice glossy finish after more spraying today. Actually MORE PAINT is needed to continue and complete the spraying. Still, a big change and big improvement is noted as the project moves along.
Friday, September 25. 2009
After the spectacular completion and display of the car's exterior last year, the restoration team has not been sitting idle. A lot of work has been focused on the car interior. Here you may view the newly painted hallway, which runs along one side of the car past the bedrooms. The car's lounge has a lot of walls, trim, and complexity and Bob Hunter continues to work in there. Here you can see much of the results - new finish painted walls. Bob Hunter is hand painting the inside of the shade boxes, or metal covers that will be installed prior to the last coat spray painting of the lounge.
Tuesday, August 4. 2009
In our wanderings this weekend Kirk Warner supplied an image showing the progress made on this combine. The roof has been repaired and repainted, and a lot of body work done over the last two seasons with rotted metal being replaced and patched in. Mark Gellman has done a cosmetic paint job which really improves the look of this piece. I believe it will be operating for the Thomas Event.
Monday, July 27. 2009
I know, I know...i have been remiss in my postings lately. i have to admit, its parlty because i dont like to simply rehash old news. So at least for now i will try to give a bit of an update Maintenance is always the priority for us durning operating season. We have all the coaches to inspect, clean and test for operations, plus deal with malfunctions along the way. One Lackawanna coach needed a brake valve, it is now repaired and back in service The CNW combine 7700 has been out of service this year waiting for roof repair, as we dont like it to rain on our visitors indoors.... Well, Mike finally had the time to make progress on it. New Aluminum panels formed and mounted, and last week the process of repainting was begun. Give these forlks a ton of credit for doing all the dirty work to keep the cars operaing for the trains. http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW7700 Bob Hunter keeps making progress on Dover, and Roger has begun th eprocess of painting the corridor. That is the final piece of the ability to open the car for passage. Once the corridor is painted, we can clear out the buffet end and allow visitors. That will give us a chance to make a second complete walk through track in Barn 3, which will be nice for our visitors. on another front, I have been busy with power feeds for the cars in Barn 3. Last year we began to install quick disconnect inlets for the cars, to not only create a secure, safe power feed, but also to create a system making the cars interchangeable when we relocate them. Last rport i talked about getting the one on the dover Strait done, and with the exception of a bit of housework, it is complete. Anticipating the arrival of ATSF fans over diesel weekend i also managed to get the plug installed for ATSF 2544 as well. Not a fancy part of the job, but it cleans up the image a bit. We now have eleven cars in te barn lit for display, and four of them det up with the new power feeders. Roger keeps plugging along with John McGlothan, and in case i didnt mention it, he also got many windows intalled in the Glen Springs. http://www.irm.org/gallery/GlenSprings/abg Out in Yard 5 the streamliner sleeper set is in display mode, so not a lot of new work going on. We have a new member of our dept "family" and he is interested in CBQ so I am happy to welcome Kevin to the group. He began last week taking Amtrak paint off a door, and it successful, he is welcome to just keep on going. Since i lose a lot of my time with display and barn maintenance, I really appreciate additional help to keep projects moving. Another item in the works is somewhat hidden from view for right now. Adam Robillard from the track dept was kind enough to donate to the Silver Ridge allowing me to have two matching bedroom chairs rebuilt. One was complete but raggedy, the second was a bare frame that i discovered in our storage. Realizing i had the chance to make a set, i planned the work over the winter. They are not back yet, mostly waiting for metal parts to be fabricated that were missing from the second chair, but i think they will be great when they get back. I havent had a chance to thank Adam much for his financial help so let this be a small note of appreciation to him , as well as Kevin Brown and all the other folks that have made donations large and small to the set. Thomas weekends approach, so we will be busy doing all the proep work for that event, as will many other departments. As always, we have need for docents. We would like to open more cars for guests, but will need to have folks on site to monitor them. And as always, we could use any donations possible. We dont have any real restoration budget, and much of our department funds were allocated to the new barn to get equipment inside, so help is always appreciated. If you have a specific piece of equipment you can make donations specific, or you can make an online donation to the department. http://www.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=35 se you soon and have a great summer!
Monday, June 8. 2009
The passenger Dept is getting ready for the RPO weekend coming this week. Sunday Nick, Marc and Shelly spent the biggest chunk of day washing the car, getting most of the graffiti off. Marc has done a great job with touchup paint, and he is really having a good time with the event. As with many events we begin, it has become bigger and bigger every year. On the other fronts, we have made progress on the stair repair to the DLW coach with the owie, and Mike hopes to have it out for brake testing and service this weekend. Roger has been steadily making progress on paint removal on the vestibule of the John McGlothan. The electrical feeder to the Dover Strait is moving along. Streamliner sleeper set will be open for display both days this weekend, and I hope to get a good set of photos of the events for the website. Everyone come on out and have a good time this week!
Wednesday, June 3. 2009
well folks , a small update As some are aware, the genealogy of our RDC has been a bit cloudy. We know that the CNW had only two RDC-1 units. The information posted on the car when the passenger dept started in 2008 identified the car as both 9933 and 9934, almost in the same sentence. As I began to explore the car, i located C&O/B&O markings that seemes to identify the car as 9934, and research from the good folks at Strahorn supported the idea that the car with the markings i found was in fact 9934. However, that still was not the end of it. First, our unit has pilots on it, and the rumor from the past was that, since the three cars were operated as a set, the 9934 would not have had a pilot attached, being the center unit throughout its time in Chicago. Second, there were other folks that persisted in the theory that the identity of the units was mixed up after moving to the east coast, perhaps during the renumbering process. Lo and behold, after doing a bit more exploration under the car in the milder weather of spring, we discovered the Budd builders plate on the center sill. Car built 5003 which translates as ....9933! http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9934/acn In the absence of any written documentation at this point, it appears the numbering got switched during the cars life at C&O Soooo, for now, we will consider that the current location is 9933 here at IRM , 9934 in Minnesota, 9935 wrecked, 430 in French Lick Indiana Our thanks to everyone that kept digging up info to keep the question active, and now apparently answered once and for all.
Thursday, May 28. 2009
The passenger Dept is happy to announce and support the upcoming RPO Weekend June 13 and 14. Rather than try to duplicate the information, I have been given permission by Jon Habegger, event organizer, to use his description, as it covers it pretty well. June 13 and 14 (Saturday and Sunday) will feature former RPO (Railway Post Office) clerks at the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM). Eight or more former clerks are expected to be on site with most on Saturday. Many of these men will be making their first catches from a moving RPO for the first time in over 40 years.
An additional highlight will be the Union, Illinois Post Office canceling mail with a special cancellation remembering the adjacent UP (former C&NW) rail line where the Chicago & Freeport RPO once operated. IRM will be selling cachets with the special postal cancellation as a fundraiser to repaint the RPO car (former CB&Q 1923).
Without the assistance of numerous volunteers at IRM, this event could not take place. The Passenger Car Department is preparing CB&Q 1923 (combination baggage and RPO) for this event. The Operating Department is altering the normal operation of the diesel coach train to allow two mail catches on each run. Thank you all at IRM for recreating the RPO operation.
RPO catches began at IRM with the donation of a mail crane three years ago. In September 2007, N.J. Shacklette and John Rothwell arranged for Andy Koval, a former RPO clerk dying of cancer to make one more catch. A year later, in September 2008, with the encouragement of Shacklette and Rothwell, I arranged for both Frank Scheer, curator of the Railway Mail Service Library in Boyce, Virginia, and Ed DeRouin, author of Moving Mail and Express by Rail (2007), to come to IRM and tell the story of the RPO. The 2008 event brought four former clerks to IRM to each make anther catch. One of last year's participants was so excited that he is bringing five other former clerks to the Museum on June 13 and 14.
Unlike 2008, there no formal talks are planned. Instead, the RPO clerks will do the talking. This year's RPO days at IRM does two things. First, this event brings together 8 or more former clerks to share their experiences with visitors and to have the opportunity to make another catch. Second, this event allows these former clerks to share their stories of working on the rails with the public.
Come on out to IRM on June 13 and 14 to meet these former clerks. The website for IRM is www.irm.org.
I thank all at IRM who are making this event possible and for the former clerks traveling to IRM to share their stories.
Jon Habegger
Thursday, May 28. 2009
Hi folks sorry for the lack of updates , we have been busy opening for season, and finishing some projects. Hope to post more after this weekend. with two weeks of "relative normalcy" around the pass dept
Wednesday, April 29. 2009
Its Show Time!!!! Final preparations for the official first event of the season are well along, and we hope to be completely ready for Saturday. Mike and Ray got two cars (CNW 7700 and DLW coach) ready for mainline service, and Jamie got them switched out sunday placed on station 2 i know Mike would really prefer to get the vestibule of the other DLW car done, but since he and Ray are the only ones doing air testing it kind of narrows his focus a bit for now. In addition. Mark Hoffman is making progress on the side panels for the third DLW step frame, smooshed from last year. When that is done, we can add it to the train. Inside the barn, we have all the lights in the display cars lit, lamps changed and ready. I managed to get out today and replaced a couple of burnt out barn lights and a couple of display lights, so we are at 100%. Eleven cars are lit, and we will begin with three open for visits as a set. If progress is made, we would like to open the 31 track for walk through as well, but that will take a bit more prep work first. If we get some docent help, we can have a great season, since we are ready to open both Ely and Susan Marie to visitors when we can staff them. Shelly is waiting for anyone with a day (or a couple of days, or one day per month, or.....) to get in touch and join the party! Ray Bellock and Sam Polonetzky have both expressed interest and we hope thay can make time from their other tasks. A day spent "hanging out" with our visitors is not a bad way to relax and enjoy the museum while making our guests happy too. On the Barn 3 restoration front, ASTF 2544 will have its "new" seats installed as soon as its warm enough to paint the walls behind them. We hope soon. IC3345 is waiting for some more metal work on the second window, so visitors will notice that its "white" again since we turned it around. We saw Andy last weekend at the rules test and he has been busy at work, but plans to get out as soon as he can to finish. Dover Strait keeps pluggin' along too, Bob making some interior progress, and planning for the painting of the corridor. We hope that gets done this year. Then he can begin on the lounge area. I have a task to get the wiring for the car straightened out, as someone managed to alter the low voltage feeder last autumn, and so i want to make time to sit and fix it completely. Perhaps after season is rolling and i can look at summer projects. Jack Biesterfield keeps making magic on the B&M car as well. He enjoys the woodwork and it shows. He has replaced many of the windows on the public side, so it might actually be possible to see in this year. The arched glass above the windows alone is worth the view. Roger says the work on the McGlothan is going slow right now, so he has been doing some work on the windows for the Glen Springs. Out in Yard 5, we have spent the past couple of weeks getting the display ready. as I reported last time. We have managed to get done all the way through, and we are now down to finishing some of the display materials. Since the Pullman display in the RDC is new this season, I am experimenting as I go. I will probably be doing it some more this weekend after we open. The nice thing is all the ventilation items are in place and all the video services are connected. I used last Sunday as a "dress rehearsal" and everything worked well. I hope everyone that comes out this summer has a much fun as I do. May is busy. Scrapbook/Mothers Day/ Scout Day/ Memorial day all in a row. June will not only be Fathers Day/ Chicago Day but also we are once again doing a RPO weekend. As the usual moment of request/disclaimer, if anyone is interested in playing with us, get in touch with Mike Baksic or myself. In addition we really could use any donations possible, as we depleted much of our dept money to pay for the Barn 11 space, and there are still several projects in need, both in heavyweights and streamliners. Please remember that if you choose to donate to a specific piece of equipment, that money MUST be spent on that equipment. Everyone have a great spring!
Tuesday, April 14. 2009
hi again, sorry for the delay. We have been in "season prep" mode for a while and while its been busy, there really has not been any significant changes. Cleanup and stage setting is one of those background but important roles we face as we approach the start of a new public season. When it comes time to set up, I am always amazed at just how much mess we made over the winter! Not a lot of new photos but heres whats up... On the Barn 3 front, Mike has made a lot of progress on the Lackawanna coach vestibule. New buffer springs were fabricated and after a bunch of tussles they were installed. Now the part comes to rebuild the platform itself. http://www.irm.org/gallery/album133 Out in Yard 5, we have been working from one end getting things put away and setting the stage. This is where I realized what a mess I made all winter. It took me three full days to get the RDC set up alone, and another full day to prepare Silver Ridge. Three to go . Anyone interested in simple housework is welcome. RDC 9934 is more and more along the path to respectability. Thanks to Bill Wulfert, we located the missing cab window frame, and got it rebuilt and reglazed. We have repaired the number board lights and traced down the classification light circuit. No photos yet but hopefully I will have a chance to get a couple of night shots with the car lit, especially after i have the chance to get the numbers "corrected". In addition, we have set the car up to help tell the story. The front half of the car will be pretty much intact as it was inservice, baggage racks in place and all seating areas cleared out to provide the complete visual image. The rear half will be set up with multiple displays, not only about the RDC experience, but i hope to use the space to develop a comparison between Budd and Pullman. I have been fascinated by the similarities and the differences between the two major players in the railroad industry, and I hope to give folks a sense of the competition between them. i have managed to locate several video presentations that will be appropriate for the display as well. right now, I plan 6 videos along the way, each in an appropriate location. I would like to find something about ACL and NP passenger service if anyone has any ideas. Our goal remains being completed by May 2 weekend to support the museums first event of the year. As always, if the steps are open to the RDC and the lights are on, that means folks are welcome, and the coffee pot is on. Come on by and say hi. Docents are still needed to open two parlor cars in Barn 3 as well as folks to be on hand in Yard 5 display. If you are interested in working on the cars, or just want to come out and visit with visitors as they go by, feel free to let us know.
Sunday, March 22. 2009
late winter /early spring. Things keep moving along, beginning to get ready for Opening In Barn 3 we have begun to set up the display cars. First the globes for the reading lights in the ATSF lounge are finally in! After years, all the lights in the car now have lenses and are working. http://www.irm.org/gallery/ATSF1534 Next we went through Susan Marie and Ely and double checked all the lights in those cars as well We are preparing for two main walking tours within the barn; 3-4 cars each, plus the streamliner sleeper train out in Yard 5. we have also talked (ok mostly me) about more display pieces in Barn 9. Again a call for anyone interested in acting as a docent in one of the passenger sets in Barn 3 or Yard 5 this summer. We want to open more equipment for visits, but cannot unless we have folks we can count on to "keep an eye" on the equipment. the task is not to be a traffic cop, more a guide, answer person and all around social visitor. On the mechanical front, Mike is making serious progress in the vestibule and buffer of the lamented DLW coach, hoping to have it operational early this season as well. Still a lot of work to go, but progress is always good. The walls in ATSF 2544 are getting primed and painted after a lot of metaland sanding work. After this the "new" seats will go in and one side will be done for this season, with the second side planned for next winter. The car has thin wheels, so she is not going out this year anyway. While I dont have any new photos yet, I dont want to forget that Roger has been working away at the bathrooms in John McGLothan as well, and I know when they are done they will be Gorgeous! Out in Yard 5 The baggage racks in the front of the RDC are in and beginning to be painted. We had a broken seat frame, and managed to locate a replacement unit, so now all the seats are secure in place, and ready for guests. The second bathroom has been cleared out, and we are trying to come up with a way to feed AC into the car until we can afford to replace the blower motor. Plans for multiple displays in one section of the car, should make it a reasonably interseting place to visit. We also got the light units for the number boards out today, and should be a straightforward fix once we convert the ballasts like the ceiling fixtures. Then we hope to get correct number plates made and installes, make the unit 9934 again! Birminghams air curtain is done and working fine. The kitchen is nearly ready for opening, with a bit more cleaning. We found the correct tablecloths and so this year we may have real table settings. While the dining area AC was stable last year, we have modified the kitchen AC to allow a bit more realistic space, and we hope it will give our visitors even more of a sense of the "way it was". Come on out and say Hi. We are now in season prep mode, so anyone with the interest feel free to get in touch. We will be spending next week and probably the week after getting stuff "gussied up" sio even if you dont have the desire to be mechanical, we can use the help just cleaning and shining.
Sunday, March 1. 2009
not a major report this time folks, but we are going to try and keep it up so our remote friends can follow our progress. On the heavyweight front, Mike and Ray are making some progress on the DLW coach doorframe...operating crews know it well...the one that never can open. ATSF 2544 is moving along, repairing the wall behind the "new" seats and then Mark Hoffman is finishing and priming. The continued cold is slowing things down a bit as it is hard to paint until the walls are consisitently warm. Over in Yard 5 the work contiues in Birmionghams kitchen. The entry air curtain is now working, and the final step will be to replace the wall section above the breakfront in the vestibule of the dining area. We hope to have that part finished this week, so we can move along into the other cars to prepare for spring. Marc has begun to open up the furniture to air out. All are welcome to stop by during the day on Saturday, if you make it out before the operating dept soiree. The coffee will be on and we will have a few light snacks, if folks just want to "stop and set a spell". Spring time will, as usual, bring a flurry of activity as we begin to prepare for season. Lots of housework and setup will be needed, so anyone that can is invited to join in the fun. In addition we continue to have several display ideas that will need the human touch both in setup and as docents to guide our visitors through. We want to open more equuipment this year, but will need folks that can be around to explain, and of course monitor. Its not a lot of strenuous work, but it can be a great time if you are interested. One day, one day a month, or every weekend, it doesnt matter. We can adjust our plans to fit your interest. Susan Marie, IC, DMIR set is on the agenda, and Ely is also a possibility. These will require someone to be the "historian/tourguide/docent" t obe open for visitors. Have a great week.
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Comments
Fri, 11-20-2009 23:23
Congrats to the IRM. I am from close by South Bend, Indiana and follow the museums workings closely (well as much as I can through internet). [...]
Fri, 11-20-2009 22:40
No, those parcels are owned by Zierer.
Fri, 11-20-2009 20:09
Are the 69.95 and 41.7 acre parcels owned by IRM?
Thu, 11-19-2009 11:25
>CBQ 1309, a baggage car owned by IRM >at least since 2001, has been >located recently. You lost a baggage car? Lucy you need to do some [...]
Thu, 11-19-2009 08:18
As usual, Pete's work is outstanding! Now if we could make some progress on the trucks, so that the car can be finished and operate on a limited [...]
Wed, 11-18-2009 16:39
Could someone please tell me what is going on with the Milwaukee Road 33C E9A in the barn? The last update is a few years old, and my friends and I [...]
Sun, 11-15-2009 22:09
And the B&G Department said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" In all honesty, this is one of the important things that we were missing for night time [...]
Thu, 11-12-2009 20:05
Perhaps about 200 of those page views were from this member, hoping that the museum would take advantage of the 50-60 degree November weather and [...]
Tue, 11-10-2009 10:41
I too would like to see more timely information posted on the IRM website regarding new acquisitions like the abovementioned Santa Fe engine, or IRM's [...]
Thu, 11-05-2009 13:05
Thanks for posting pictures and information on Sand Springs 68. Living in Sand Springs, I have only heard my parents talk about riding the street car [...]