Wood Shop

Inspections

What?  Freight Cars on Track 41?  Yes!!  Dave Rogan is shown by four of our cars as they underwent inspections and maintenance.  A large dose of "thank you" is needed for Rod Turner, Jim West, and Gerry Dettloff who went out of their way to move the cars, some from deep in Yard 14, to this track where we have the air supply, tools, and records for this annual task.

The Boss

I am usually the one lurking in the background and trying to catch a pic of the work.  In this case Norm Krentel provided the candid image of me during the car inspections.  Victor Humphreys and Paul Cronin also played a big part in the chores.  The cars now released for operations are SHPX 42, GN X1390, BFIX 520, and GN 70104.

Window Post Caps

Lorne Tweed is hard at work installing more of the window post caps inside Cleveland Transit System 4223.  Only two remain on the left side of the car.  Those on the right side are installed, as are all the window tracks on the right side, and most of the window sash.

Welcome Back

We were all delighted to welcome Al Reinschmidt back to the fold of the Wednesday volunteers.  He is still in the recovery stage following a serious illness, but all those get well cards may have had some effect.  Here, Al is straightening and making repairs to the window tracks, many more needed for the left side of the 4223.

A New Face

Russ Prince joined us for a day of FUN.  He quickly took up the banner and is shown here cleaning up some of the needed window tracks.

Relief Man

Al provided a break for Russ, he is well qualified for this task, having processed many many pieces, most of which are now installed in the 4223.

Chemist

Norm Krental resembles a mad chemist at work on the bench.  He and Jeff Brady were on hand to continue the work on the new roof for Michigan Electric 28.

Interior Wood

Dave Rogan squeezed in some time to paint new wood parts for the Chicago Great Western X 38 snowplow.  We pitched in to take the measurements and cut the wood, and before the sawdust settled the primer was going on.  Many of these were installed later in the afternoon.  Lorne Tweed looks on in the background - is he giving instructions, or just fascinated by the smell of fresh paint?

Cab Cupola

Buzz Morisette continues to make progress in the restoration of the many deteriorated wood parts in the cupola of the X 38.  Framing and corner posts are made and being fitted into place.

A Change of Pace

John Nelligan is priming a steel panel destined for the inside of Charles City Western 300.  He has spent weeks on the resistor grid work, and now finally gets some variety in his work.

Planning

Rich Witt continues on a batch of First Aid Boxes for our Chicago Aurora and Elgin cars.  The drawings have been made and now Rich is laying out the needed cuts to optimize use of the boards on hand.  Good planning makes for good work, and of course, less surprises along the way.

Barn 4 Visitor

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 308 was a visitor to Barn 4 yesterday.  Randall Hicks was able to operate the car to here and spot it over the pit for annual inspections and maintenance.  This type of behind the scenes labor requires skill and time and is often unnoticed.  But very important if we wish to have safe cars to operate for public rides.

The Rack

Pete Galayda is completing the insulator mounting arrangement for the grid boxes on Charles City Western 300, a steeple cab locomotive.  That orange is REALLY ORANGE!!!

Window Tracks

Simon Harrison is mounting window tracks in the openings on the right side of Cleveland Transit System 4223.  These were pieces laboriously cleaned up last year in the shop during poor weather conditions and now they are in their rightful place.

Post Caps

While Simon worked on the right side, Lorne Tweed raced to stay ahead of him by mounting more of the window post caps on the left side of the car.  Other activity on this car included removal of the twelfth light fixture from the old decrepit ceiling panels, removal of all old rusted in screws from those and the steel backer plates, wire brushing the plates ready for paint, and fabricating two more new ceiling panels.

Side Framing

Tim Peters is examining some of the side framing on Chicago Rapid Transit 1024.  As so often happens, any little thing becomes a much bigger thing.  A rotted window sill was removed and this led to the discovery of water damage and rot of two of the cars window posts.

At the Platform

Tim is working on the platform at the west end, discovering more needed repairs layer by layer.  Here he is down to the steel for supporting the end platform and fitting some reinforcing steel.  And this is one of the GOOD corners!

We also noticed a lot of infrastructure and site work in process.  At least five new steel poles for the electric trolley bus system extension have been painted and are ready to plant in the ground.  Concrete forms were being prepared to sink in the holes as soon as they are dug and dry - we hope.

Work continued on stump removal from a low area that had 'volunteer' trees and brush growing in it for a decade or more.  This will be a big improvement to the parking area, more capacity, and improved drainage.