Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Finally the warmth of spring has erupted! So we went from being too cold to being too hot!

Jon Habegger, Michael McCraren and Mark Gellman (welcome back Mark!) worked on the CBQ1923 RPO diaphragm curtain. After lunch they discovered the RPO door was sticking and needed some persuasion.

After the harsh winter, the RPO door started to bind as it was opened and then stuck in place. Mark opened up the area to find the spot where the door was binding. Once opened up, wood from the floor that apparently was causing the door to bind was removed. With some spray lubricant, the door is now able to open and close. There will be more work done on the doors of the CBQ 1923 to allow them all to move freely (both RPO and baggage). One can't be too hard on this car as it is 100 years old this year.

Ray Mormann and Michael Baksic were finishing up putting parts and pieces back into the Loch Sloy. By the end of the day the Loch Sloy prep was finished except for vacuuming and making the beds for viewing.

Shelly Vandreschaegen was in the Ely with Buzz Morisette. Buzz took down some of the plastic and painter's tape. Then Shelly watched Buzz put one of the clerestory windows in.

Then Buzz demonstrated how to wipe off and then wax the Ely mahogany walls and carved trim. After Buzz left, Shelly took down the plastic and painters tape as needed before begining the work of wiping off and waxing. This is a long work in progress.

Buzz explained to Shelly that he uses two different brushes to work on the carved wood pieces; one brush for dusting and a second brush for applying wax.

Buzz showed Shelly how he removed the majority of paint from the clerestory windows using a heat gun. After that step, any remaining paint was removed with a paint stripper.

When you compare how the clerestory windows looked before Buzz refinished the windows to how they look now you can see a very big difference!

Lunch in the Birmingham as usual. Buzz joined the regulars and Bob Hunter stopped by for a brief visit.

In the afternoon Jon spent the entire afternoon at his post in the 1st Exhibit Car talking to visitors. The exhibit car opened for the first time this year to visitors. The people Jon had the opportunity to speak with appeared to find the exhibits of interest.

Jon Habegger captured an image of the UP Turbine and the prep work Buzz is doing on the nose. Spots where he is priming the engine make it look as if the turbine has acne.

Big thanks to Shelly Vanderschaegen, Mark Gellman, Jon Habegger, Michael McCraren and Buzz Morisette for supplying information and images for this blog post. What a great team effort!