Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451

Entries from February 2010

Sunday, February 21. 2010

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 update Posted by James Kolanowski in Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 at 22:20

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Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 update

Roof Prep and Repairs

Over the last two weeks the CA&E 451 has seen a lot of activity on its roof and exterior with over a dozen people working on it. The entire roof has been stripped of two layers of canvas, down to bare wood. A large amount of an epoxy like wood filler has been used to seal, strengthen and fill in various portions of the wood roof so that new canvas can soon be applied.

Chipping the last side

Almost all of the sides and ends have been needle chipped, including window posts, and the letter boards. One side has been DA sanded after the needle chipping. Prep work continues on the window frames and jambs. Some steel work will be started soon on the end doors near the floor along with some small areas above the anticlimbers.

Some mechanical work has been started as well, the bad order air compressor has been removed for some work. The batteries have been services and charged. Traction motor leads have been reconnected. Additional work will continue as time and space permits between all the body prep work.

Additional photos have been added to the CA&E 451 Restoration Gallery. To continue this aggressive restoration project into the Priming and Painting stage, additional monies and donations are still needed. To help with this project, please consider a donation to the Electric Car Department Car Painting Fund, your support will be appreciated.

Sunday, February 14. 2010

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 ... Posted by James Kolanowski in Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 at 15:31

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Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451 Restoration

On Saturday, February 6th, the CA&E 451 was moved into the Diesel Shop to begin its restoration. Over the past year or two, the diesel department and electric car department has been working together to trade heated shop space for storage barn space for various projects. In this case, the 451 is among the highest priority projects in the Electric Car Department, with the goal of having most of the restoration aspects completed by early April. The goal is to have the roof re-canvased after some roof repairs are completed, and have the car repainted after some minor repairs are made to the carbody.

CAE 451 progress

A photo album was created in the Electric Car Department Photo Gallery to photo document the progress of the CA&E 451's restoration. This album will most certainly be updated more often than the blog and its contributors will do their best to add cations/descriptions to the photos. The most recent photos will show up first.

To continue this aggressive restoration schedule, additional monies and donations will be needed. The entire restoration project for this car is estimated to cost about $12,000. To help with this project, please consider a donation to the Electric Car Department Car Painting Fund, your support will be appreciated.

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