Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Wednesday was an exceptionally productive and satisfying day for the crew.

A Prime Candidate

Rich Witt worked diligently to prime paint new parts for the interior of the plow.  15 pieces made today, and as fast as Rich processed them, they went up on the car.  On some of them the paint was still wet.

More Help

Whenever and wherever help is needed, Henry Vincent is there to help.  There is an array of primed parts on the bench before him

Drilling

This piece of interior lining is ready to fit.  Dave Rogan is drilling clearance and counterbores, having marked it up when we fit it inside the plow.

Last Look

Here is a last look through the north side doorway.  About half the rear wall now has new tongue and groove lining.  Much more was in place at the end of the day.

Weatherstrip

I said above that was the last look, meaning that doorway will soon be closed up for winter.  Jim Leonard fit in a blank door, and here he is installing new weatherstrip to help keep out the rain and coming snow.  The weatherstrip is exactly the same section material used by the CGW.

Paint Removal

Fred Ash helped again with removing paint from the south side of the nose.

Big Jobs

There were two big jobs we set as goals for the day.  Here Victor Humphreys is wiping down the rear wall after sanding it, and Dick Cubbage is working his way around to the south side with a wire wheel, prior to priming that area.

Maroon

Then Victor moved in with a bucket of maroon paint destined for the back wall.  All was done at day's end and it looks almost startling to see it in maroon as compared to rust, peeling paint, and a large gaping hole there when we acquired this only a few months ago.

In the Bucket

Jim Leonard attacked the front area of the plow with black paint.  Here he is in the bucket to reach the structural channel under the roof, cleaned and primed last week.

Done

Jim finished up the second coat of shiny black enamel over the half of the nose we are working on now, and it fairly glistens, even in the soft cloudy light today.

Lots of odds and ends addressed and completed on this project today, including more of the above mentioned interior lining, two more framing timbers, and more!