Michael McCraren Reporting: On Saturday, March 28th, Buzz Morisette and Kevin Kriebs assembled the second cabinet for the lantern display.
The opening of the 1st Exhibit Car with the china display is scheduled for May 2. Previews maybe held in April depending on staffing. Work has begun on adding displays to the 2nd Exhibit Car.
On Sunday, March 29th, Michael Baksic and Ray Mormann continued their work in the Birmingham.
Brian LaKemper Reporting: The 556's brakes are completely reassembled and ready for an air test.
On Sunday, March 29th, I cut the final pipe to the correct length, threaded and installed it with the help of Cody Z. from the steam shop. The needed fittings to assemble it all were procured and installed. Thanks to the Steam Department and the Electric Car Department for all their help on this part of the project.
Mark Hoffman finished priming the cleaned ceiling panels. Still a lot of work in the interior of the car.
On Wednesday, April 1st, Brian Patterson and myself applied air to test the brakes. After receiving a replacement gasket from Rod Turner (Thanks Rod!), everything was leak free and the brakes worked as intended. Once the interior is finished, the car will be ready for operation.
Elsewhere on the property: the clutch was removed from the Joy #2, so it can be repaired. The L car team has mounted poles on the 2400s and are rapidly finishing them up. In steam land, work is progressing on machining 428's axle boxes, 1630's winter repairs, and clearing tell-tales on the Shay.
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 [...]