Illinois Railway Museum Blog

This report is more along the lines of NO REPORT.  I have been trying to deal with some health issues so had a short half day at IRM and no opportunity to take pics.  There was a shorthanded crew on duty and we were stymied on some work.  I had hoped to place some more lettering on our GN X-1390 tank car but the weather set this off.  All week it was pretty cold and the 30 tons of steel that we call a tank car got all the BTUs sucked out of it.  By Saturday it had warmed up to unseasonal temps with the result that the cold tank car was a lot like a can of your favourite adult beverage in the summer.  Condensation and wetness.

We saw other work including Victor Humphreys and I roughing out stock for seven new windows for our Pennsy wood caboose; Buzz Morisette continuing work with new wood for the private car ELY; Eric Lorenz working on Cleveland Transit System 4223; John Faulhaber painting the canvas roof for the Lake Shore Electric 810; Tim Peters, Bill Wulfert and Dan Fenlaciki working on parts for Chicago Rapid Transit 1024; Rich Witt working out the details for new drawings and plans for various new windows and doors; and Randy Hicks passing through the shop as he continues roof work for Chicago Aurora and Elgin 319.

Normally I strive to take pictures for the BLOG of our volunteers at work.  This week it just did not work out for my schedule so here are some shots of the work, albeit without the hands doing it.

Ad Panels

We would like to welcome our Wednesday Special Projects Team, led by Joe Luciani, to our indoor shop work area for the winter.  On Wednesday AM the temp was 8 F (with wind chill) with patchy snow and ice on the ground.  Not good weather for outdoor restorations.  Here, Lee Regione has completed painting the back side of all the ad panels for our Cleveland Transit System 4223 PCC streetcar.

Light Mounting Plates

These are the metal plates for mounting the ceiling lights in the 4223.  'Doc' Walsh painted them all, both sides, with a good quality enamel.  These are now protected well as they will not be easily accessible when mounted above the lighting ceiling panels.  We used some surplus or leftover enamel from another project.

The Plane Truth

Paul Cronin is planing many pieces of wood to thickness for a passenger department window project.  Joe Luciani helped on this task although not in this pic.  The Special Project Team spent some quality outdoor time after lunch when it warmed up a bit, rolling up air hoses for the winter, tidying up site work, and closing things down for the season.

Dome Walkway

Dave Rogan is bolting down the second dome walkway on our Great Northern X-1390 tank car.  Recall that these were removed during the painting.  A short section of open grating - HUH!  Over 150 lbs I bet and twelve feet in the air.  What we finally did was to craft a system of ropes and ladders and with the help of Dave, Victor Humphreys, John Faulhaber and Paul Cronin the steel was up in the air in less than five minutes. 

More Wood Lining

More wood was primed for the interior lining of our Chicago Great Western snowplow.  Where does it all go?  Seems like more is painted every week.  It has to be around here somewhere.

Seat Back

Here is a seat back being reupholstered by John McKelvey.  It is a bit more complicated job than the simpler cushions.

Roof Paint

John Faulhaber applied another coat of canvas roof paint to the Lake Shore Electric 810.  With each coat it soaks in less and less and the color becomes richer.

Glazing

Finally a pic with someone doing the work.  Jeff Brady is glazing another upper window sash for the Michigan Electric 28.  This pressed cathedral pattern glass makes a real statement!