Freight Car Department

As we set to work in the morning it was raining so we moved into the wood shop.  Dave Rogan, Rich Witt, and I manufactured about 50 feet of special profile molding (two different shapes) to act as stop jambs for the window and door openings.  The rain stopped so everyone shifted gears and went to our 'outdoors' shop space.

Floored

Buzz Morrisette was fastest on duty and he continues to cut out damaged flooring and to replace the heavy boards.

Visitor

Mr. Hans Bolt was visiting IRM from Switzerland and we showed him the plow work in progress.  Dave Rogan is explaining the mechanism for moving the plow wings.

Priming

Victor Humphreys set up ladders to work in tight places once we opened the plow wing.  He wirebrushed all the areas needlechipped of many layers of old paint, and then set about applying primer.

The Edge

It is pretty easy to see large flat areas of the side that are cleaned and ready for paint.  But there are a lot of odd details still needing attention.  Dave steadies the ladder while Victor gets to the upper rear edge of the wing.

Working not Watching

There is always some task ready for attention.  When Victor did not need a ground man for the high painting, Dave Rogan set up a needle chipper and began to attack the steps under the rear door.  Dave also did some work chipping the cast steel door threshholds during 'intermissions'.

QUIZ

Here is your quiz for the day.  The rear truck has casting marks indicating it was originally for the New York Central.  Interesting, but not unheard of for rail equipment to have had their trucks swapped for any number of reasons or maintenance.  But look at this image.  To the right of the bolster pocket there is a raised part of the casting, with a hole in it, and a slot behind that hole with a sheet metal retainer of some sort.  There is one on each side of the bolster pocket.  Does anyone have an idea what their purpose was??

We considered that these are freight car trucks.  Parts of the NYC ran from third rail but no reason to attach any kind of device to pick up current for a freight car, and unlikely there could have been any need for an inductance box or other device to be hung there, to trigger signal indications.

This will be a relatively short update.  We did not have a lot of volunteers, and many probably chose to spend the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day Weekend, with family or other pursuits.  But we did get a lot done.

Rear Wall

This is the rear wall, now nearly done.  Saturday we did some blacksmith work and straightened the metal above the rear window.  It had bowed inward about a half inch and there were sledgehammers swinging and some new words invented.  With the wall straight, we fabricated remaining window framing, primed it, and installed it, as seen here.  You can also see some of the bodywork and filler that has been applied to smooth out weld areas, where the missing metal panel was welded in below the window.

North Side

On the north side the goal is to have some finish paint applied very soon.  But needlechipping remained to be done in some fairly inaccessible areas.  Maybe that is why it was saved until last.  Look up under the small roof overhang behind the plow wing, half is cleaned up.  By days end, all had been chipped as well as the short notch wall behind the plow.  Of course that meant we got to charge up the air system and move the wing out, and then back in.  Obviously a railfan effort of fun, but we 'needed' to do it.

Front Anchor

On the front nose of the plow is a massive anchor casting and that is used to mount a front coupler when needed for ferry moves.  There really is no springing or draft gear in the traditional sense, merely a very stout pin to hold the coupler in place.  What you see could interfere with good snow removal and the air pipe and hangers often got damaged or bent in severe situations.  So it was made largely removable for winter operations.  There is also a train air pipe down to the coupler mounts, and when the coupler was removed, that pipe has a universal joint and the drop leg is swung back and over the plow roof, to rest upon it, in front of the cab cupola.  In the background, note the passenger department roof repairs underway on DM&IR 84.

Surely you modelers will want to include this detail on your masterpiece.  Walthers made a model of the Russell Plow in HO scale and while out of stock, they can be found on E bay.  This detail is not included on the model.  A little kitbashing and adding details and you will have a very credible model of the real thing, only found at IRM in Union IL.

Rare Visitor

I will digress strictly from the snow plow report, here, to show a rare visitor to Barn 4.  The Nebraska Zephyr is receiving a detailed inspection and some repairs in preparation for the upcoming excursion trip.

And in the Freight Car Department we completed a two and one half week blitz to repaint our Borden's Milk Car, BFIX 520.  We sanded, primed, and applied two coats of finish enamel to the top half of the car, as well a some washing and cleaning, and a repaint of the black handrails and grab irons.

This was another productive day for the crew working in the Freight Car Department

Spreading Its Wings

Simon Harrison and Dave Rogan are the proud parents of a milestone accomplishment for our snow plow.  Pictured here, BOTH plow wings are now operational and can be extended or retracted.  At the lunch table we invited any of the volunteers on site to come over and get a chance to operate the wings - many did just that!

The wings may move about 36 inches outward, and many may have the misconception that they swing much farther.  As we got the plow it was repainted by the CNW into its yellow scheme.  But behind the plow wings lives the CGW bright orange from the 1970's.  Some say CNW stands for Cheap & Nothing Wasted, - in any case they apparently sprayed all around the exterior but did not bother to open the wings and finish the job.

Roofwalk

Jim Leonard continues to wrestle with well rusted nuts and bolts on the roofwalk.

New Flooring

Buzz Morisette is making good progress with framing repairs and now is laying down new flooring in the carbody box, between the doors on each side.

Moving Up

Simon Harrison is chipping high on the car side, only a few areas left to clean up on the north side, and then on to the finish paint.

Looking Down on the Crew

We do not look down on our volunteers, but I had a chance while up on the roof to get this unusual angle of Simon and Dave working just below the edge of the roof line.

Cab Details

Modelers may be interested in this shot of the cab roof.  It was almost a spotting feature of the CGW (their steel cupola cabooses also had this) that a handrail was installed around the perimeter of that small roof.  Most other railroads did not go to the expense.

In the Corner

The handrail was supported by eye bolts and at the corner it was rounded.

Also this week, a separate crew finished the second coat of new paint on our Borden's Milk Tank Car.  That was good.

Those of you patient enough to read this far - we would like to extend an invitation to all those members and friends who plan to come out for Museum Showcase Weekend.  On Saturday 9/15 about 1:30 PM we are going to do a demonstration of the snow plow wings in action.  And ANY of you physically able to get up into the plow, and to its cab (not yet restored) are invited to try your hand at the controls.  Of course, first come, first served, and if 50 of you are hoping for this rare experience, well - we will do what we can.  Did any of you wonder what it was like to run such a plow, to have the power in your hands to swing the wings, to have bragging rights over your fellow railfans or modelers?  Now is your chance for this rare opportunity not available to the general public.