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Friday, October 12. 2012Yard 10 Report - October 10, 2012Buzz Morisette is one of those volunteer members who contributes to many varied projects, while somehow finding the time to move ahead on those favorites of his. Here are some pics and notes he submitted about recent work on two cabooses sitting outdoors in Yard 10.  Weatherproofing Dave Hybicki and Buzz are taking steps to stave off continued deterioration on caboose CNW 10494. As a stopgap they are covering the south side of the caboose with tarpaper held on by wood battens.  Batten the Hatches This may look odd, but it will help this side, what is left of it, survive another winter.  Floor Repairs Switching to another caboose sitting outdoors in Yard 10, we find ATSF 1400. Buzz has worked long and hard on many restoration tasks and here we see that the caboose now has a complete floor again - lots of rotted wood replaced with new stock.  Stove Work And Buzz has managed to exercise some seldom used muscles to get the cast iron stove back in place.  New Windows If you read these BLOGS on any regular basis you will remember entries a year ago of Buzz working in the wood shop making new windows. Here they are finished, glazed, painted, and installed on the caboose! Both of these cabooses (cabeese?) sit outdoors and are very subject to deterioration from the extremes of weather we have in the midwest. They are wood bodied cars 89-97 years old and deserve to be protected and saved. You may help with a restricted donation to the INDOOR STORAGE fund for the Freight Car Department. Another Barn is in the plans and would be started already with more funds on hand. A substantial amount of money has been raised, let's help push this over the top.
Thursday, October 11. 2012Michigan Electric 28 Update - October 7, 2012Rear 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. Tuesday, October 9. 2012CGW X 38 Update - October 9, 2012READY FOR WINTER? Thanks to Merrill Price who has allowed us to share this dramatic photo with you.  Rough Ride It must have been a rough ride for the crew near Marshalltown, Iowa that day. This is a sister of our Russell plow, lettered CGW 4057. Note that the left wing of the plow is fully extended as it came to rest. I wonder where the track and right of way are, under all that snow? So, are you ready for winter? We are working to keep busy on the plow project this winter in our wood shop. The goal is to make eleven new windows (five different designs) and two new doors for the X 38. Of course that means we will have to purchase a substantial amount of hardwood lumber as the raw material, as well as resorcinol glue, primer, paint, and glass. You may help us out here with a donation to fund R X38. AND - - You may now donate on line to this project http://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=1989 Thanks, The crew of the X 38 project.
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Comments
Fri, 03-29-2024 21:26
We're slackers and spend more time working on the equipment in the shop than keeping all you readers updated. We'll work on it, but I'm sure updates [...]
Thu, 03-14-2024 08:02
What happened to the Department Blog? It's been over 2 years and I still regularly check for updates, but nothing comes...
Mon, 12-27-2021 16:28
Happy New Year to all the Departments at the Illinois railway Museum! Thanks for all the good work you do in railroad preservation. Ted Miles, [...]
Wed, 10-13-2021 13:33
Was the CB&Q 1309 every transported to IRM?I’ve been reading old issues of Rail&Wire and the car was mentioned several times.
Mon, 06-07-2021 22:40
I was wondering if in the model layout display what scale would you guys be using and would you be displaying model train history as well? Just [...]
Wed, 06-02-2021 17:27
Nice to see 428's cab back on. Looking forward to when it is operable!
Tue, 06-01-2021 16:47
I hope the work will continue on the UP #428. Now that they are the museum's connection to the national railroad network; she would be very [...]
Sat, 04-17-2021 23:07
What is the status of 126, the Milwaukee Buffet car that is in S. Dakota? Any guess on when or if it will get to IRM?
Wed, 04-14-2021 21:09
Perhaps it is time to scrap the remains of the c, B & Q 7128 to make room for the Villa Real. Ted miles, IRM member
Wed, 04-14-2021 15:26
Hi IRM my name is Jason and I was wonder If you guys would be willing to save a CN Dash8-40cm they are currently being retired by CN and being [...]
Fri, 04-09-2021 19:56
Bear in mind that the Nebraska Zephyr is an articulated train set, so cars cannot be inserted at will. Although cars and/or a second engine could be [...]
Wed, 03-31-2021 11:37
I believe Silver Pony is currently on the back burner, and has been put into storage in one of the barns. The car needs a lot of work done to it's [...]