Diesel Department

It was Jeron and I on the evening of the 27th in the Diesel Shop. We spent some time on the CE 15, our EMD SW1 that has been our primary switcher for the museum. I started by watering the batteries, adding about 6 gallons of distilled water, and then putting them on the charger. When Jeron arrived, we went over all the things we wanted to work on while it is in the shop for a few weeks. There were two belts on the Aux Gen that had come off the pulleys, the front radiator shutters were very sticky, and several other small items. We also made a list of supplies that needed to be ordered for the upcoming work. After that, Jeron thoroughly cleaned the headlight reflectors and lenses and lubricated some moving parts in the throttle to make it easier to move. I started working on drilling out the broken bolts and tapping the holes on the ground lights for the CB&Q 504 and replaced the sockets that were bad.

Photo:CE 15, an EMD SW1 in the shop.

Photo: Fan belts and pulleys of CE 15.

On Saturday the 30th, Mike and Matt started attacking the belts on the Aux Gen, by loosening the 4 bolts securing the Aux Gen and lowering the 4 adjustment bolts to drop it to make clearance to move the belts over the pulleys, and raise it back into position with a little more tension, then put the belt guards back on. I changed the fuel filters and Mike changed the oil filters. Jeron started taking the front screen off the radiator shutters to work on freeing those up. A lot of cleaning, dry lubrication, and some bending of some steel solved that issue. They work very nicely now. Colton went through the Aux Gen and Main Gen checking brushes, wiping down everything, including thoroughly cleaning the brush holder insulators. Jeron and I lubricated the front fan pulleys and tensioned those belts. It is at its maximum travel, and the belts are getting very worn, so we'll probably change them at the next inspection. Laddie spent a lot of time sandblasting many parts for the 33C. All in all, it was a very productive day.

Photo: CBQ 504, an EMD SD24 in the shop.