General Blog Entries

The exceptional weather on this fall day energized everyone and a lot went on, as usual for a Wednesday which is becoming a very popular day for volunteer work.

D 13

Work has continued on the TMER&T D 13, which is work car dump motor.  In recent weeks most of the roof structure over one of the 'telephone booth' cabs has been replaced and restored.  New saddles have been made and are fitted, ready to install.  Today, Gerry Dettloff, John Faulhaber, and Henry Vincent applied a new canvas fabric to the roof.

What Is Next

As they work their way along the side, it almost seems that democracy is in action.  "What should we do next on this side?"  Note that the car is in one of our storage barns and access is difficult, the crew resorting to creative staging and ladders.  Except for Gerry who quickly scampered up on top.

In the Shop

In the shop Pete Galayda (shown) and John Nelligan continue work on the Charles City Western steeple cab locomotive.  Here, a 'box' of resistance grids has been disassembled, a myriad of rusty and sometimes damaged parts in array on the work table.  Each is carefully cleaned or replaced and the parts reassembled into a box arrangement.  This is Number 3 of seven to be done.

Along Central Avenue

In recent weeks the Wednesday Special Projects Team have also been working on baggage car MILW 1309.  Some ten (or more?) years ago this was completely restored but years outdoors in the weather have resulted in a shabby and worn appearance.  That should not come as a surprise to any of your readers, but points out that the long term preservation of equipment, and best use of volunteer resources is NOT to do work over again, but work to fund and build the next Barn.  But it is looking very nice indeed.

As I mentioned previously in these entries, my time this weekend was almost totally consumed by IRM hosting a meet of folks interested in old wood working machines.  Over 85 attended on Saturday and I would like to thank all the volunteers that contributed their time and effort to make it a success, led various tours, and to those who cooperated indirectly in deferring their work, or scheduling it around the clinics and demos in the wood shop area.

That said, I managed to pick away at machining a new window sill for the X 38 snowplow and there was other work going on.  We thought the brutally hot summer would never end, but mother nature knows differently.  Nearby Sugar Grove registered a 32 F reading Sunday AM.  Now the race is on to use remaining good weather days on our projects before Jack Frost settles in for the winter.

Side Repairs

Victor Humphreys continues at warp speed on the repairs to the sides of our B&O wagon top boxcar.  Here is the first panel with new steel welded in, the welds ground down, and body filler applied and sanded.  Also you will note the new 'rivets' in place and the area ready to be prime painted.

Back In Barn 4

The Electric Car department managed to execute a long and complicated switch move to reassign space of many cars now that the Zephyr repairs are complete and the trips have been run.  (Remember that the Zephyr occupied most of Track 41 to allow repairs to take advantage of the repair pit.)  So the big news is that TMER&T 972 is back in Barn 4.  Watch for developments on this project in the coming weeks.

Here we were, toiling industriously on the Russell plow, when we heard a faint rumbling, that of a locomotive.  What to our wondering eyes should appear but the glorious LAKE CITY, out to stretch its legs, and to be turned end for end on the wye.

LAKE CITY