Entries by Robert Kutella

There was a lot of activity yesterday in spite of cold blustery weather.  This could probably go into several categories, but I will lump all together under this heading.  First, our NEWEST ARRIVAL.

A Tender Subject

Here is the Vanderbilt tender from Kansas City Southern 759.  Newly arrived and now placed on its trucks, south of Barn 9.  I believe this was acquired decades ago and owned by IRM - stored offsite at Galt, IL.  If not mistaken it was plucked from the scrap line at Northwest Steel and Wire in Sterling, IL before they shut down.

X 38 Windows

Here is your first view of three newly completed windows for the CGW X 38 snowplow.  We processed these last week and they are now ready for paint.  Buzz Morisette graciously volunteered to check dimensions.

Carlines

Working on his own project Buzz had made several new carlines or roof ribs for our private car ELY.  Any such repair project inevitably turns out to be much more work and requires more effort than first thought.

Threshold

Victor Humphreys is on 'the threshold of a new discovery' as he grinds weld on new steel for this threshold for our B&O wagon top boxcar.  I say threshold guardedly since it is a heavy steel plate which get fastened to the wood floorboards just at the doorway.

Lettering

Tom Bernacki volunteered to help document lettering on our MILW 97054 airslide covered hopper.  It was very cold and blustery, windy, but dry most of the day.  He made several trips to the car's storage location in the South End Yard 14, coming into the shop for lunch and some breaks to warm up.  Here is part of his work, half of the reporting marks and car number.

Another Window

Joel Ahrendt is working on a new window for the cab of our Milwaukee Electric L 4 steeplecab locomotive.  Now painted and finished, he is glazing and putting the finishing touches on it before installing it in its rightful place.

The Rack

New shelving and racks were assembled and installed just this week in the latest addition to the Barn 4 shop space.  Volunteers wasted no time in putting them to work and doing some housecleaning in that room.  Eric Lorenz is the antithesis of a hoarder, yet manages to survive in the world of IRM packrats.  Behind him is an entire shelf of windows and other parts for our Cleveland Transit System 4223 PCC car.

Ceiling Parts

Eric and Lorne Tweed exhumed several steel panels from storage and they also are now stowed on the racks.  These are curved sections which will be stripped, primed and painted, ready to hold the ad cards originally displayed by them in the 4223.

Seating

Seating was also placed high on the new racks with a large crew removing the parts from Chicago Rapid Transit 1024.  Some of those seat back 'cushions' must be 20 feet long of rattan, springs, and wood frames.   The crew included Scott Greig, Bill Wulfert, Tim Peters, and Eric Lorenz.

I said we had a large turnout and we also had an aggressive work plan for the X 38.

Moving Time

The first order of business was some cleanup and relocation of pieces of our new lumber stock so the Berlin Sander could be used.  Three new windows were previously glued up and now it was time to sand them finished.

Oiling Around

As John Faulhaber put it, "Any of you guys want to beard the lion?"  John is mentoring Dave Rogan and Jim Leonard on their first exposure to this 12,000 lb machine.  First step is to lubricate and check the 96 bearings on the machine.  Another one of our great collection of wood shop machines, many from the Milwaukee Electric Cold Springs, WI shops.  In due course the machine was started up and the three new window frames were finished successfully - that is not always a given with a machine now 98 years old.  No pics of those steps as I had my hands full.

Trim

With the windows sanded we went to the table saw and trimmed off the stiles, and then put a bevel on the bottom rail.  They are ready for prime painting and here Dave Rogan and Jim Leonard are cutting and mitering some of the 1/4 inch quarter round we made to retain the glazing.

Had Enough

I guess this is a rhetorical question with this crew.  Time for some fussy work to set up a jig and use the table saw to cut all the tenons for four more 'kits' for new windows.  John Faulhaber is doing the careful work of slicing thin pieces off the rail to create the cheek of the tenons.

Assembly

Final fitting was done on the kits for two more plow windows, these destined for the rear of the control cab.  Then on to assembly and gluing with John Faulhaber doing the honors.

Two More Done

There they are, all glued up, squared up, and clamped in our gluing press.  John checks square again and makes some fine tuning adjustments.