Wood Shop

Well, I see that the BLOG site has the expanded screen size problem again.  So far as I can remember, that has only happened after Roger Kramer has made a post.  If I were Sherlock Holmes I would be beginning to make a deduction.  Hopefully Jamie can fix it again.

This will be very short since I seem to be in the 'fuzzy picture' mode as happened to me eight months ago.  The images are bad, even for my blurry vision.  But here are two.

Open Space Concept

As reported elsewhere on the web, we are hosting a national meet of the members of the Old Woodworking Machine group.  There are 93 registered this year which would make this the largest so far.  We spent Wednesday on the annual spring cleaning of the wood shop areas, and managed to fill the dumpster, and hauled some away to another dumpster.  The result is a clean and seemingly larger shop, with an open space concept.  Folks are on hand as I write this now, giving clinics and demos, and from far away places - including Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and California.  Did I mention North Dakota?

Ceiling Plates

The crew on the CTS 4223 thought they were all done with these, but during the cleanup, we 'discovered' another eight or so.  So Al Reinschmidt cleaned them up and went about the painting tasks.

The weather was nearly perfect for our Chicago Great Western X 38 open house.  A large crowd had assembled by 1 PM and after a few adjustments and bugs were worked out we were off and running.  Folks were in line and more coming in for almost two hours.  Nearly 100 visitors (maybe more) climbed into the plow and most took a turn in the operators seat.  The cost to them was only stuffing the donation can if they wished and the value to us of their smiles - PRICELESS.  We received many compliments, questions, and positive reinforcement from the visitors to continue the work.  Here are a few pics from Barbara Lanphier of those climbing into the plow.  Special thanks to Barbara Lanphier, Linda Lanphier, Buzz Morisette, Kirk Warner, and Victor Humphreys for working on the crew, and presenting  a personable and professional appearance and behavior for our visitors.

Priceless Excitement

Up the Steps

And to avoid this becoming stale and old news, here is shot we saw on Friday afternoon of Tim Peters doing some last minute painting on the west end of Chicago Rapid Transit 1024.  Much of this area has seen extensive work over the summer and it is almost back together with the gates and new cab window in place.  The underside of the end roofs and the tack molding are painted a dark brown described as "90% cocoa" and you can see the carefully matched bronzy green on the corner posts and siding.

Touch Up

There are a lot of topics and pics this time around.  I will lump most together in this entry, and make a following entry for the CGW X 38.

What is a Clamshell

The crew working on Cleveland Transit System 4223 has a nickname for everything.  In this case there is no mistaking the formed metal head lining going into the front end of the PCC.  It is not really that thin, so it is pretty heavy and required many hands.  To lift it, hold it up, and take deep breathing exercises while some screws were driven into place.

Another View

In case you did not recognize all the players in the first picture, here is another view of the crew on the clamshell job.  Maybe this is the better side that you will be able to set names to.

Ad Card Panels

Nick Rindt set up some horses on the outside and scrubbed paint off of several of the metal panels that were used to hold ad cards.

Primed

Al Reinschmidt came over to the shop near the middle of the afternoon and set about taking the above panels, wiping them down, and applying primer.

Have a Seat

John Mc Kelvey is working on another seat for the LAKE CITY.  This bench seat is destined to go into the smoking lounge of the Men's Lavatory.

Canvas

John Faulhaber (shown) and Gerry Dettloff have spent a few extra days on campus this week.  The result is a new piece of roof canvas in place on the Lake Shore Electric 810.  This traction trailer has been a long time in the shop and now it appears the end may be near.  The canvas has been stretched and tacks are being driven.

Speaking of Roofs

Just across the aisle from the LSE 810 is our Michigan Electric 28.  Jeff Brady and Norm Krentel have labored long and hard and here is the result.  A new wood roof, sanded, painted, and ready to receive new canvas of its own.

Put a Shine On It

Jeff Brady was in the shop and had set up a buffing wheel to polish brass window lifts and other hardware for the ME 28.

And the Window

Another restored window for the ME 28 receives some attention from Jeff as he mounts the needed hardware on the sash.