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Monday, July 27. 2015Trolley Bus/Motor Bus Department Update 07/27/2015
In the Trolley Bus Department: Thanks to the hard work of Richard Schauer,
Rod Turner, Greg Kepka and Nick Espevik (I'm sure I'm leaving out others,
sorry), the drag link on Chicago Marmon 9553 has been repaired and
reinstalled. The coach has been given a
bath inside and out and Richard has just completed the inspection. It has been on several test trips with no
issues. Thanks guys!!!
Bill Wagner will be visiting in two weeks for the official dedication of the Wagner Loop. We are scheduled to hold a brief ceremony on Saturday, August 08 at 11:00am. We may provide some service with the Chicago Marmon that day.
If all goes as planned, the Chicago Marmon, along with other coaches, will be in service for Member's Day on Saturday, September 19. We will be having regularly scheduled trolley bus operations in 2016. Watch for the museum calendar coming with your December issue of Rail & Wire for the schedule.
In the Motor Bus Department: Master mechanic Vince Allen, along with Fred McGullam and John LeBeau, continue to work on the CMC 605. It is now at the point where it starts reliably. They are currently working on the transmission which appears to be the final hurdle in getting it fully operational.
Julie Piesciuk has been working feverishly on emptying and cleaning all the motor coaches. She has done a fantastic job on the CMC 605, and the CTA 8715. She has also done the Chicago Marmon trolley coach 9553 and will shortly complete the Janesville 412. We hope to have several of these open and available for inspection during our Vintage Transport Extravaganza on Sunday, August 02.
We are in the process of cleaning and reorganizing the Hoffman Garage (and the immediate area around it). Thanks to everyone mentioned above for helping out in this endeavor, plus B&G Superintendent Dave Diamond. If you visit over the next few months, don't be surprised if you see empty space inside, vehicles outside, vehicles inside not in perfect rows, and things in unusual locations. We hope to have this project complete by winter to make the garage and surroundings a little more visitor-friendly in 2016.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us out and the show of support from other volunteers and visitors alike. We look forward to continued progress!!!
Friday, July 24. 2015What's happening in the Ely?
Buzz has been focusing on the further restoration and upgrades of our famous "private varnish" passenger car The Ely. While working on the ceiling in the Ely he noticed the 32 volt light fixtures had paper insulators that were deteriorating from heat built up and old age. He searched various web sites and ordered new replacements but had to modify them to fit.
 Crumbling insulator led to socket rebuilding  85 yr old sockets are made well but they do deteriorate Here you see the broken porcelain  Here is the results of his efforts a cleaned and rebuilt light fixture  Rebuilt fixture connected to wire leads  Light fixture back in service Beautiful job  Elys white observation ceiling showing its pin stripping. Very Fancy  Latch/hinge mechanism  Recently reinstalled in the Porters hallway to it like new appearance Tuesday, July 21. 2015Update on the CGW X38 Plow
This is a small CGW X38 plow update sent to me from Buzz Morisette
 Please notice the painted doors. They were painted and restored in our woodshop  Even the smallest details are being addressed Tight quarters under the truck.  Another pic showing the pot belly stove |
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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 [...]