Hello there, and welcome to the Weekend Update... Okay, maybe I'm not on Saturday Night Live.
I was out both days of the weekend, and got to see much activity being done.
Work
on the windows for the "Baldy" CTA 4146 continue along with cleaning
all the parts. It takes a bit to bring old brass windows back to brass
color. They are fully taking the windows apart to do this.
Metal
work on the doors for the PCC in the shop continues as well. There is
always discussions on what point in history to restore cars to and this
one has a few interesting angles; though not having heard all the
information, I'm hesitant on mentioning everything. I do know that
there will be some metal plates in the back doors and not fully glass.
If I'm wrong, of course, I do hope someone will correct me. It's
amazing how much damage salt actually does to cars.
The Michigan car's roof continues to get the attention it deserves.
The
cab heaters for the CAE 431 have had the rotten metal replaced. These
should be done soon and ready for installation in the pit..er I mean
the car. (It's a running joke that we are going to wire in Jeff's
heaters in the pit to allow us some heat down there).
Perhaps
the biggest news is that on Saturday, the old wire for the burned out
grid on CNS 714 was pulled out and the new wire put in with the help
and teachings of the DC Line Department. On Sunday, the grid was
re-installed and after a few other minor fixes, the car ran itself out
of the barn and down the mainline for a test. (Well, as far as we could
go with the ballast dump that had been done previously, see the track
blog). There were no major problems with the run, a few things we'll
want to check after it's run in revenue for a few weeks, but the
inspection is done and the car will be ready for April 6.
This
means that the next car will be able to come over and be inspected, and
that's good. We can get back on track with things now (no pun
intended), and hopefully, no more blown up grids.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joel Ahrendt
P.S. If i miss anything or any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I will gladly add anything that needs to be added.
Comments
Fri, 03-29-2024 21:26
We're slackers and spend more time working on the equipment in the shop than keeping all you readers updated. We'll work on it, but I'm sure updates [...]
Thu, 03-14-2024 08:02
What happened to the Department Blog? It's been over 2 years and I still regularly check for updates, but nothing comes...
Mon, 12-27-2021 16:28
Happy New Year to all the Departments at the Illinois railway Museum! Thanks for all the good work you do in railroad preservation. Ted Miles, [...]
Wed, 10-13-2021 13:33
Was the CB&Q 1309 every transported to IRM?I’ve been reading old issues of Rail&Wire and the car was mentioned several times.
Mon, 06-07-2021 22:40
I was wondering if in the model layout display what scale would you guys be using and would you be displaying model train history as well? Just [...]
Wed, 06-02-2021 17:27
Nice to see 428's cab back on. Looking forward to when it is operable!
Tue, 06-01-2021 16:47
I hope the work will continue on the UP #428. Now that they are the museum's connection to the national railroad network; she would be very [...]
Sat, 04-17-2021 23:07
What is the status of 126, the Milwaukee Buffet car that is in S. Dakota? Any guess on when or if it will get to IRM?
Wed, 04-14-2021 21:09
Perhaps it is time to scrap the remains of the c, B & Q 7128 to make room for the Villa Real. Ted miles, IRM member
Wed, 04-14-2021 15:26
Hi IRM my name is Jason and I was wonder If you guys would be willing to save a CN Dash8-40cm they are currently being retired by CN and being [...]
Fri, 04-09-2021 19:56
Bear in mind that the Nebraska Zephyr is an articulated train set, so cars cannot be inserted at will. Although cars and/or a second engine could be [...]
Wed, 03-31-2021 11:37
I believe Silver Pony is currently on the back burner, and has been put into storage in one of the barns. The car needs a lot of work done to it's [...]