Illinois Railway Museum Blog

West Hood

Charles City Western 300 - this is the newly painted west hood area.  In the past you saw a similarly restored west hood, but the locomotive has been turned.  The body area is now nearly repainted, look closely and you will see Pete Galayda laboring away.

Roof Parts

John Faulhaber and Rich Witt are measuring carefully to produce new interior roof and framing parts for the Milwaukee Electric D 13 dump motor.  Five new pieces were produced, and of course none of these could be made from anything close in a lumber dealer today.

Electric Supplies

Henry Vincent was sorting and inventorying lots of electrical and conduit parts recently acquired in brand new condition as a donation.  Maybe next time we will not have to look for the ONE PART needed.

Steel Side Sill

Now for a quick look at the Lake Shore Electric 810 traction trailer.  The new steel side sill has been coaxed into position with jacks and some muscle.  Gerry Dettloff and George Clark are examining the fit and placement before welding begins.

Sparks Fly

Gerry has begun the welding process for the new side sill.  Exciting stuff to watch.  It was in place and cleaned up by the end of the day.  Next steps - fit and place a new wood filler side sill, tie rods, and bolts.

Let There Be Light

We talked briefly in previous entries about wiring for the lighting circuits on the Sand Springs 68.  Another full day on our backs under the car, with Victor Humphreys back from his vacation helping a LOT!  Sometime after 3 PM we put up the pole and one of the lighting circuits worked perfectly - the first time since 1955 that trolley voltage coursed through the wires.  There are two more circuits to complete, but here, Henry Vincent and Victor Humphreys examine the end running light, one of the lights in series with interior ceiling lights.  All are glowing warmly.

Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago there was little use of digital cameras, and no BLOG such as this.  But Gerry Dettloff passed on a print of what we doing then.  In this image I am carefully hand painting lettering on our GATX Industrial Molasses tank car.  And yes, younger and healthier, I spray painted the car also.  Those were the days.