Electric Car Department

Many thanks to Kirk Warner for supplying pictures taken showing progress on several different projects as of this date.  These may be the last for a while as Kirk should now be on his way to sunny Florida for the winter!

New Canvas

Tim Peters continues to show remarkable perseverance and progress on a difficult job.  Here you see new canvas being draped over one of the hip roof sections.

Installation Finished

Now the canvas has been stretched, trimmed, and tacked down.  Painting it will likely wait for the return of warmer weather.

Showcase Weekend

Here is a nice photo taken by and forwarded by Andrew Cornillie.  Fans will immediately recognize the South Shore 803, all spiffed up with lights, number boards and markers working.  I believe I saw Charlie Strong putting in some time earlier, so that this night shot would be possible.

Front End

Eric Lorenz is working on the front of the car, doing some remaining body work.  You can see the tremendous difference that a coat of primer paint makes.  For years we have passed this car with its 'measles' amd speckled body work, and now taking shape, we can appreciate the styling and body work.

North Side

Here is the north side essentially completely in primer.  Only some priming on the front remains to be completed before cold weather sets in.

West End

Pete Galayda nd John Faulhaber continue to work on the painting project and the progress really shows.  Here is the newly painted west end of the car.

I guess I will throw in a few pics with an Electric Car Department Theme, unusual and behind the scenes views.

CA and E

Randal Hicks and son Frank Hicks fill and test marker lights for planned night time operations.  The unusual photo caption is due to software limitations of trying to use an ampersand in the caption.

South Shore

The South Shore 803 was brought out for display on the west leg of the wye.  Paying attention to details such as mounting the marker lights really adds a finishing touch to such an effort.

Pilot

Wes Lloyd was enlisted as the pilot for the first revenue runs of the year for the Sand Springs 68.

Motorman

And that is yours truly hiding behind the farebox, as we get ready to pull out of Barn 4.

Greg Stepanek Photo

Yesterday we trotted out the Sand Springs 68, and we went over to the Barn 4 pit area for maintenance and inspection duties.  Two relatively minor defects were noted (not real serious) along with the more routine oiling around, etc.  That completed, we continued around the car line loop and back to Barn 4.

Since the car first became operational at IRM after 4 decades of restoration work, I have kept a log of when and how much mileage was run.  (Maybe this is a sign of age, or worse yet, obsessive compulsive disorder.)

As of yesterday the Sand Springs 68 has traveled at IRM under its own power for 68 miles!

The previous blog post for this car showed a rebuilt motor just back from the shop.  Today, the car was jacked up, the truck pulled out, and the motor re-hung in the truck frame.

Cramped Quarters

Dick Cubbage (hidden), Dan Fenlaciki, Stan Wdowikowski, and Mike Stauber reach in to help position the axle cap bearings as the motor is dropped into place.