Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Superheater Blocks

We will start out this entry with a Steam Department report.  Jim Opolony from Steamland joined the wood shop crew today to fabricate new wood blocks to protect the ends of superheaters being removed from the Frisco 1630.  There were not enough previously on hand (from UP 428) to accommodate the number in the decapod.  Jim and Rich Witt have prepared the blocks and are laying out the remaining work.

Drilling

Jim, Rich and Victor Humphreys were boring the last of them by the end of the afternoon.  They are complete and ready for the steam team to continuing pulling the superheaters Saturday.

Upholstery

We have shown a few pics along the way of John McKelvey recovering seats for the North Shore 757.  In case you do not understand the scope of what he has accomplished, working alone, all the seat cushions (bottoms) are done and only nine of the seat backs remain to be worked upon.  This is very specialized work and John is willingly volunteering for this large task.

Seat Handles

As a fill-in job when forces are available, we have been working on the brass trim for the Sand Springs 68.  We are apparently in the monsoon season so many of us were chased indoors to the shop, and Pete Galayda joined in the fray.  Here he has the rough castings to be drilled and countersunk.

Drilling

John Faulhaber constructed a neat fixture to help the seat handle drilling and here, Pete and John are on the large drill press making brass chips.

Finishing Touches

Victor Humphreys is doing the final touch up on primer paint for the new station door completed in recent months.

Hood Running Boards

Earlier in the day Pete applied the first color coat of orange paint to the new running boards destined for the Charles City Western 300 locomotive.

MILW 01984

Here is a Buzz Morisette photo of the newly restored Milwaukee Road caboose.  We all enjoy seeing spanking new clean equipment turned out by the volunteers.  In this case, expenses for supplies and materials went beyond our estimates so we are asking for help to complete paying for them.  (All labor and skilled work was done by our volunteers.)  The fund is R01984 for all you generous supporters of IRM.