Illinois Railway Museum Blog

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!

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.