Here the latest news on the Green Bay and Western 109. Jack Biesterfeld has been very committed working on the old wooden coach. Along with Bob Olsen they have been slowly bringing back the luster of this coach. Right how they have begun sanding and painting the ceiling. There are many worthy projects for donations and this one is one of them. Yet to consider is the exterior restoration and purchase of the correct seat frames and cushions. We might have to consider manufacturing them. We have seats from an old Lackawanna electric trailer but they are by no means correct. Estimate costs for new frames are $17,000 to $22,000. Please consider adding this coach to your donation list. Thanks Roger
Rich Thomas and his small team have been continuing the restoration of the UP 428 cab. This time his efforts are concentrating on the installation of the interior wooden side panels. During that same time the two metal floor replacements for the cab were finished and made ready for installation. The riveting team of Jerry and Stu installed about 50 rivets into both floor panels. Work has begun to prepare and old Illinois Central tender once used on the steam pile driver for eventual use as an auxiliary water tender for the Frisco 1630! Not only is the steam department cosmetically restoring this tender but they are also working on installing new brakes and steps. The 975 is receiving a much needed paint job. Not an easy task but one that is definitely needed.Dennis, our in house volunteer welder, is finishing a couple of key components for our shay.
This is just a small sample of the work being preformed in the department. Yet to be blog about are another two huge projects, The sandblasting and painting of the UP Rotary Snowplow and
the reassemble of the 10 ton crane located in back of the steam shop. We need this crane back in operation in order to lift the UP428 cab back on the engine's frame. Thanks Roger
Tuesday, August 28. 2018
We are still proceeding on the goal of having the 649 ready for the Happy Holiday Railroad this Christmas Season. The work has been slow and somewhat tedious but progress has been made on all sides of the coach. With a small and dedicated crew of three, to five, we have made real inroads. The project was progressing slowly when a new volunteer joined the coach department and began working on the 649. Steve Dobberfuhl is the newest member of the coach department. He has shown us what working on a project two or three days a week can do. Welcome to the Passenger Car Department, Steve! After prepping the car body it was ready for priming. Howard was on vacation so inorder to continue the progress I decided to prime the coach. With the help of Steve, I applied two coats of Sherwin Williams grey primer to the body.
Helping us on this project would greatly be appreciated. The small team meets every Wednesday and Saturday. Come on down and join us. Thanks Roger
Comments
Mon, 09-08-2025 08:22
Good job on the Burlington Nortern 9976. OK.
Tue, 08-12-2025 12:56
No new news that I have heard of thus far.
Tue, 08-12-2025 12:53
I'll also be doing another update on it soon. Keep en eye out for that.
Tue, 08-12-2025 12:47
A little work was done to it for Diesel Days this year. You'll see photos floating around for the temporary short term job that was done to make it [...]
Wed, 08-06-2025 13:01
Is steam car CN 15444 going to be coming to museum several times it was to be moved to muesum
Sat, 07-19-2025 18:56
Yeah, sadly it's still there as of 7/19/2025
Thu, 06-12-2025 19:14
Its been 14 years guys, where is the unit? Like really? Did you guys misplace it? Or are repairs taking that long? At this point be might we will have [...]
Wed, 04-09-2025 17:40
Jamie Thanks for the update. She's gonna shine like every thing else you guys do! Smeds
Thu, 03-06-2025 16:28
Yes, there is a wye. Those two have been MU'ed on diesel days a year or two ago.
Wed, 03-05-2025 14:04
7009 number boards look good. Is there a way to turn a locomotive around at IRM? In case you ever had a mind to connect 7009 and 6847?
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...