Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Rear Roof Slat Installation Completed

With the cooler Autumn temperatures comes greater progress in the carbarn.  On Sunday, Jeff Brady fired up the roof slat steamer for bending and installing the final slats on the rear of the car.  I took a few pictures of Jeff while he was completing this important milestone.  The first picture shows Jeff on the rear scaffold holding the cap to the slat steamer pipe.  Can you see the slat inside the pipe waiting to be heated by steam?  When Jeff thinks the slat has “cooked” enough he quickly removes it and bends it to the correct curvature while nailing it in place.

Jeff Steaming a Roof Slat

While bending the slat, Jeff hand tapers the bottom end before nailing it to the tack molding.

Jeff Shaving a Roof Slat to Fit

View of Completed Rear Roof

At last the final slat was installed!  Can you see Jeff’s finger pointing to the small wedge shaped slat that finished the job?  Well done Jeff, the St. Louis Car Company would be proud!  After a final sanding of the top layer of slats, Jeff will move on to tackle the front of the car next.  I see a lot more slat bending and steaming in Jeff’s future.

That is the Last One!

While Jeff was working on the roof of the car, I was fabricating the first of five window guards for installation in the rear vestibule.  We do not have the original window guards as they were probably removed when the car was used as a cottage prior to 1971.  We did obtain the correct match for what was there, except the tube lengths are wrong.  Therefore, I have disassembled them and am now cutting new tubing to the correct length for reinstallation.  The picture below shows the first window guard temporarily installed to check the size and look.  I still need to install cold rivets to hold each of the four tubes in place.  The window guard will be primed, and painted a finish coat of orange before installation.

Rays Window Guard Progress

Interested in the 28 with time on your hands?  We are always looking for volunteers to help us finish the car to it's former glory.  To join the restoration team, please see us at work on Tuesdays and Sundays in Barn 4/Electric Car Shop.  Monetary donations are always welcome.  Donations buy the materials, we supply the labor.  Mail funds to IRM designating the ME28 restricted fund.  Thanks!

All pictures taken by Ray Schmid.  Additional ME28 pictures can be seen in the IRM Member Photo Gallery @ IRM.org.