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Thursday, June 27. 2013Wood Shop Update - June 26, 2013Yet more rain to start the day. The deluge ranged from 3-8 inches in our area, most coming down just ahead of morning drive time. Needless to say it was a slow trip to IRM, and some did not make it, as they were engaged with wet basements and property.  Showy John McKelvey is doing work to make the Chicago Great Western X 38 snow plow cab the envy of the industry. Old passenger car seats had been recycled to this duty, and here John shows off an upholstered panel for the first seat he is working on.  Prime Work Of course we were chased back inside the shop when the rain continued. Jim Leonard is priming the many boards we cut for the interior lining for the plow.  More Prime Jim is priming an interior frame post for the plow while Victor Humphreys assumes the duty of quality inspector. That is fair since Victor helped make the timber.  Cab Cupola Buzz Morissete kept the disk sander busy making ever more parts to go into the plow cab/cupola in our effort to have all new windows up there.  Hoser Not in the derogatory sense, but here is a control hose that Randall Hicks repaired. It was needed to test the prospect of operating a four car wood CA&E train as one unit. Success.  Retriever John Nelligan, Henry Vincent, and Pete Galayda are taking the short course in trolley rope retrievers. Here they are making up a new rope for the Charles City Western 300 locomotive.  Tenons Rich Witt is cutting stub tenons for doors on the six CA&E replica first aid boxes he is constructing.  Welding a Platform Gerry Dettloff is welding a new steel deck plate on the west end of Chicago Rapid Transit 1024. The old one was pretty much a lace doily as far as strength and integrity. Wait a minute, the doily would probably have won if there was a contest.  Bending in Action Tim Peters and John Faulhaber are bending a new piece of tack molding for Lake Shore Electric 810. This piece was custom milled from new stock and has been in a soaking tube for about three weeks. They are wrapping it around the end platform with guide blocks to hold the proper curves.  Bent Gerry D is helping secure and adjust the above piece of molding. They prepared and successfully bent two pieces, one for each end. Now all we need is drier weather for three weeks to get the water back out and have the wood take a set.  Roof Is Ready While the wood has been soaking John and Gerry have made all the necessary repairs to the 810 roof and it looks to be ready for new canvas - once the bent tack molding is installed on the ends. And as usual, other work continued even if I was not there to take a pic. Henry Vincent worked on the table saw restoration, Al Reinschmidt did some more work on CA&E parts restoration with Randall Hicks, and the CTS 4223 team was sweating out the humidity inside Barn 4. They were clearing out stored material from beneath the car. That is always a handy place to stow things you know you will need any minute. But in a week or so there are plans to move the car and roll it outdoors for display as part of our 60th anniversary special Trolley Pageant on July 6. Thursday, June 27. 2013Electroliner NewsELECTROLINER NEWS
We will start this entry by sharing a previously unpublished photo from the Fettinger Family Collection, showing one of the two Liners at Zion Illinois on a snowy day in 1962
The photo is courtesy of Barbara Lanphier of our Strahorn Library, whose father took the photo. I am sure most of you are aware of the upcoming IRM special events but in case you are not - - - We are holding the largest ever Trolley Pageant on July 6, larger by far than any of our previous Independence Day weekend parades, and surely larger than anything seen at any other Museum in the USA. That will be held July 6 - you do not want to miss it!! The following Sunday, July 7, we will be commemorating 50 years since the abandonment of the North Shore with North Shore Day at the Museum. There will be an opportunity to tour the Liner on July 4, July 6 & July 7. NSL and Liner memorabilia will be on sale on July 7 only--all proceeds going to the Liner Restoration Fund. On July 7 we will be launching the Campaign for the Electroliner, a fundraising effort to restore the Liner to operation. The Liner has operated on occasion at IRM - first in its Philadelphia Suburban colors, and a few times after that in a beautifully restored North Shore line paint job. Many elements of its electrical and mechanical workings are just plain worn out. We have a plan to make it operational in time for its 75th Birthday in 2016. Even given that time, it is an aggressive plan and will involve motor work, new upholstery, and rehabbing most of the interior. If we are successful in reaching the funding goal some of the necessary work will move along faster by allowing contracting and hiring of some tasks. The first milestone is to make the train able to operate reliably under its own power and then move on to the heating and air conditioning system (the train has sealed windows). Seat work can begin early in the process and will be ongoing. Come out for NORTH SHORE DAY and be sure to walk through the Liner, and pick up details and other information on the fundraising campaign. EXCITING HUH??. Thursday, June 27. 2013Passenger Car Department Update from June 15, 2013
Here is a photo mix of Spring into Summer happenings in the Passenger Car Department.
UP Pacific Peak:  Shelly Vanderschaegen peeling paint in the Pacific Peak on March 3, 2013  Mike peeling paint from the walls in Pacific Peak March 3, 2013 Second Special Exhibit Car:  Wayne
Baksic was fixing a door lock in the 2nd Exhibit car on April 7,
2013. Interior painting progress photos from April 27, 2013 demonstrate how big projects get done by a few people over long periods of time... one step at a time.  Shelly has primed the right side and back. She had started the first coat of primer on the ceiling.  After Shelly finished the primer, Mike Baksic sealed the seams.  Here Mike seals the edged of the light fixture ACL Birmingham Floor Repair:  Mike Baksic, Mark Gellman, and Ray Mormann removed the linoleum and wood underneath near the galley outside door  Here is the hall area along the galley counter which required repair  While Mike, Mark, and Ray worked on the floor repairs, Shelly cleaned the corrugated metal flooring for reuse After vacuuming up the loose debris Mike began adding reinforcement to hold the concrete patches used to repair the floor.  After vacuuming, pieces of metal were placed to hold the concrete to come  Mike continued to add reinforcement until he thought it was enough  Here Mike begins to apply the cement to the area in front of the galley door  About 2 hours into the project  3 hours and 2½ bags of concrete mix later the area by the door is patched  Ray Mormann applying rubberized floor sealant before laying new plywood in the corridor Then on Saturday, June 15th, the plywood was cut and laid over the cement patches and the hallway where the sealant had been applied.  Mike Baksic and Mark Gellman check out the first piece of plywood in place over the concrete by the door  New plywood was installed in the galley hallway  Cleaned corrugated steel flooring was replaced over the new plywood  Ray Mormann and Mike Baksic replace the cleaned steel flooring on Saturday, 6/15/13  A cabinet was returned to its place but not installed since it needed to be raised a bit Milwaukee Road Lake City:  One of two chairs John McKelvey is reupholstering for use in the Lake City  John applied stain to the woodwork and left the original upholstery intact underneath his work |
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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 [...]