Illinois Railway Museum Blog

It was a fabulous day. Early in the day Shelly Vanderschaegen and John McKelvey continued the big job of reupholstering seats for the RI 2612 coach. Michael Baksic, Ray Mormann, and Mark Gellman were trying to drill holes for the vestibule door between the Birmingham and the Loch Sloy. They worked on it all day but were unable to make much headway.

During the mid-morning Jon Habegger helped Shelly prepare food for the lunch to come.

Before his shift as conductor, Michael McCraren and Mark Gellman tackled the number board on the north side of the Pacific Peak. Last weekend work was done on the number board on the south side of the car.

Pacific Peak north side original number board covered with a panel - Photo by Michael McCraren

Mark Gellman drilling out the pop rivets and removing the panel - Photo by Michael McCraren

A one inch wide band of yellow was discovered which was a surprise - Photo by Michael McCraren

Michael McCraren painted the area yellow with UP model railroad paint - Photo by Michael McCraren

Michael masked the area painted black on the south side and sprayed on the yellow paint - Photo by Michael McCraren

We had a great turnout for a plaque presentation to Susan, David, and Rob Stepek in honor of Phil Stepek who passed away last year. Shelly Vanderschaegen came up with the idea to create the plaque, Jon Habegger put the words together, and Pauline Trabert helped Shelly choose the plaque and design. Michael Baksic made the presentation to the Stepek family. A second identical plaque will be hung inside the Birmingham diner where Phil spent a great deal of time.

David, Rob, and Susan Stepek in the Birmingham - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

Michael Baksic presents a plaque to Susan Stepek - Photo courtesy of Shelly Vanderschaegen

After the plaque presentation, there was a picnic lunch in the Birmingham followed by a ride on the coach train. Later on David and Rob Stepek crushed cans which had been collected by the department. This is David's usual volunteer job.

Jon Habegger went to his post in the 1st Exhibit Car following the luncheon.

Jon Habegger wears a Birmingham serving jacket - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

David gives the thumbs up inside the coach train. Behind him are his brother and mother - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

A glorious day at the Illinois Railway Museum. It was beautiful all day - a bit warm but we'll take it.

Mitch O'Brien, Ray Mormann, and Kevin Kriebs each had a screwdiver and removed most of the hardware from two doors purchased to use in the Birmingham diner. Once most of the hardware was removed, Kevin started stripping paint from one of the doors.

Kevin setup for stripping a door - Photo by Michael McCraren

Kevin stripping paint from a door to be used in the Birmingham - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

Kevin had to strip many layers of paint from one door - Photo by Jon Habegger

There is much work required to repair the rust damage at the bottom of this door - Photo by Jon Habegger

While Kevin was stripping paint from one door, Michael Baksic, Ray Mormann, and Mark Gellman worked on positioning a second interior door on the kitchen end. Because the kitchen wall is at an angle, installing a door there, mounting it to the car, will be a challenge.

Michael Baksic and Ray Mormann work on the kitchen end door - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

Mark G. and Michael B. kneeling down to work on the kitchen end door - Photo by Michael McCraren

Michael Baksic looks through the Birmingham kitchen door as it is being installed - Photo by Michael McCraren

Because of the wall angle, installing a door at the kitchen end will be challenging - Photo by Jon Habegger

From Michael McCraren: All sleeping car and coaches of a long distance passenger train had a number assigned to them in the consist. For example, on "The City of Los Angeles" the first sleeping car would be assigned the number 1031 meaning train #103 (westbound COLA), first sleeping car. This way the passenger would know which car they were in. On the Union Pacific "Peak" series, the number board was located below the porter's room window on one side and below the bathroom window on the other. During the Pacific Peak's time with Amtrak, the number boards were plated over. On Saturday, Mark Gellman, Jon Habegger, and myself removed the plating and exposed the original number boards. They were cleaned, primed and painted black. Glass will be placed over the number boards to complete the work.

Mark Gellman drilling out pop rivets - Photo by Michael McCraren

Mark prying off the plate - Photo by Michael McCraren

Pacific Peak original number board uncovered after some 40 years - Photo by Michael McCraren

After some clean up and priming the board is painted black - Photo by Jon Habegger

The number board taken from the inside the Pacific Peak - Photo by Jon Habegger

Shelly was working with John McKelvey in the wood shop all day stripping RI 2612 Henrietta seats down to the frame. Broken metal clips on the springs were replaced, then Shelly epoxied the bottom of the seat frame where the tack strips are located. Meanwhile, John put tarp material over the repaired springs, tacked it down, then applied horsehair padding. A layer of padding was applied over top of the horsehair, then another layer of horsehair was added, then another layer of tarp was applied to cover the layers of padding. Next, the actual upholstery material can be applied. There is a great deal of work involved in reupholstering these old coach seats and this is why we ask passengers to treat them with care.

John McKelvey sewing upholstery padding pieces together - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

John working on layers of seat material for a Henrietta coach seat - Photo by Shelly Vanderschaegen

Lunch was in the Birmingham as usual with a small celebration of Michael Baksic's birthday. Elegant Farmer apple pie and whipped cream were enjoyed by the crew. Everyone returned to their respective work for the day after this all too brief intermission.

Kevin Kriebs and Mitch OBrien at lunch - Photo by Michael McCraren

Shelly Vanderschaegen and Michael Baksic with birthday apple pie - Photo by Michael McCraren

Michael B., Buzz Morisette, and Ray Mormann finishing up lunch - Photo by Michael McCraren