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Thursday, May 23. 2013CGW X38 Update - May 22, 2013The string of two consecutive good weather workdays was broken yesterday with intermittent rain, some of it heavy. So we worked in the shop and inside the plow body.  Framing Buzz Morisette was in the shop fabricating and shaping new framing timbers for the cab cupola on the plow. Most of the wood around the windows and sills was rotted and will be replaced.  Priming Dave Rogan worked inside the cupola between downpours and needlechipped and wire brushed a lot of the steel. In an afternoon dry spell he is applying primer here, and then the temporary window blanks were re-installed to help keep it dry.  Lining Victor Humphreys and I fussed with the next piece of lining inside the plow. For some reason it was troublesome to fit into place. I bet we went through five fits and they gave us fits. Each time the wood notches seemed to expand (high humidity?) to prevent the piece from slipping in cleanly.  To the Corner With the long piece installed below the side window, Victor quickly marched up the wall toward the right front corner. These are some of the pieces measured and cut last weekend and now ready for nailing.  Looking Ahead Paul Cronin is just completing the last of 32 more new pieces of interior lining and framing for the plow body. Whoever arrives first on Saturday will have some painting ready for them! Thursday, May 23. 2013Wood Shop Update - May 22, 2013 Barn 4 Visitor Chicago Aurora & Elgin 308 was a visitor to Barn 4 yesterday. Randall Hicks was able to operate the car to here and spot it over the pit for annual inspections and maintenance. This type of behind the scenes labor requires skill and time and is often unnoticed. But very important if we wish to have safe cars to operate for public rides.  The Rack Pete Galayda is completing the insulator mounting arrangement for the grid boxes on Charles City Western 300, a steeple cab locomotive. That orange is REALLY ORANGE!!!  Window Tracks Simon Harrison is mounting window tracks in the openings on the right side of Cleveland Transit System 4223. These were pieces laboriously cleaned up last year in the shop during poor weather conditions and now they are in their rightful place.  Post Caps While Simon worked on the right side, Lorne Tweed raced to stay ahead of him by mounting more of the window post caps on the left side of the car. Other activity on this car included removal of the twelfth light fixture from the old decrepit ceiling panels, removal of all old rusted in screws from those and the steel backer plates, wire brushing the plates ready for paint, and fabricating two more new ceiling panels.  Side Framing Tim Peters is examining some of the side framing on Chicago Rapid Transit 1024. As so often happens, any little thing becomes a much bigger thing. A rotted window sill was removed and this led to the discovery of water damage and rot of two of the cars window posts.  At the Platform Tim is working on the platform at the west end, discovering more needed repairs layer by layer. Here he is down to the steel for supporting the end platform and fitting some reinforcing steel. And this is one of the GOOD corners! We also noticed a lot of infrastructure and site work in process. At least five new steel poles for the electric trolley bus system extension have been painted and are ready to plant in the ground. Concrete forms were being prepared to sink in the holes as soon as they are dug and dry - we hope. Work continued on stump removal from a low area that had 'volunteer' trees and brush growing in it for a decade or more. This will be a big improvement to the parking area, more capacity, and improved drainage. |
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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 [...]