Archive for August, 2008
Update August 20 2008
Posted by: | Commentsnot a lot to report, simply because we are in the middle of the Thomas weekends.
Dover Strait lettering contionues to progress, going to be great to have it out in the sun soon, if Bob will let us set it out for display.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DoverStrait
Streamliner progress is also being made, but not much visible. We now have the first of the electrical poles up and running, and we hope to have Birminghams new power supply connected for this weekend!
The cord alone is costing $1100 so if anyone feels like donating, now would be a good time. The costs have almost doubled since the move to Yard 5 was first discussed, due to increased cost of the plastic, copper and shipping.
nothing is being wasted from our old wiring. The old Birmingham equipment will go to power the baggage car so we can actually have some working electricity for the shop.
The old baggage car inlet will go onto the RDC, as we get that car energized for the fall.
Its going to be neat to see the entire set lit after dark again without the need for generators! We will stil need two generators this weekend, to run Loch Sloy and the AC unit in Silver Ridge, but as soon as the parts come in Max has promised to do his best to get things connected. He already has all three breaker panels installed, and most of the outlets connected as well. Thanks to him for all the effort.
I hope to get the classification lights and headlights on the RDC working soon. I have located the circuitry, and will try to get them going. i had to stop to get the power pole done, but want to try and have more of the lights working saturday night.
I know its kind of neat for the volunteers to see the set lit after a hard day work on Thomas, and everyone is welcome for a snack or beverage if they wish. There are so many folks working so hard to make the Thomas event successful, its impossible to name them all.
Update August 11 2008
Posted by: | CommentsWell no time like the present to drop a note for all.
The department makes progress and plans for our little blue “friend” next week, and so some of our restoration projects have taken a slight slow-down. There are always exceptions, however……
First I simply have to brag on Bob Hunter, Bob Kutella and all the folks i cant name that have done a splendid job on Dover Strait. She got one side striped and lettered last week, and part of the sunday switch move was to get her turned for the second side. Thanks again to Kirk Warner for the inside pics, as he was busy scuffing the tank car for painting, and stopped long enough to keep us all up to date.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DoverStrait?page=1
second as we clean up the streamliner set for visitors, the RDC takes on a much better “look”.
Interior baggage lights are in better shape, we got last of the stuff cleared out of the inside, and with all seats in place, the lady cleans up pretty well.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9934
Shelly got the mirrors intalled in Galt House, and in the absence of photos right now , believe me when I say the car is looking great!
Wayne made some modifications to the entry step for Susan Marie, and now the way is clear and solid for folks to get on the platform, with our plan still to make the interior accessible in the near future.
Also in the absence of photos, the bathroom in John McGlothan is also looking more and more like a bathroom, thanks to the continuing work of Roger Kramer
Parts have arrived to let Max begin the installation on the new power cabinets for Yard 5 , and when the transformer parts get here, the cabinets will be waiting for them eagerly (not to mention us).
Time to batten down and take care of the Thomas event; it looks like the weather will be reasonably cool. The forecast right now is for rain Sunday, but good temparatures, and pleasant skies the rest of the time. No swimming in Barn 3 allowed this year!!!
Update August 6 2008
Posted by: | Commentsok folks i have been less than chatty for a bit . as we pass through midsummer work times. Have been tied up with the streamliner set, getting things settled and dealing with maintenance on the Barn as well, so, while we have been out and busy every weekend, there has not been a lot of big splashy itemes to discuss Sorry…
Just to keep everyone up on our progress, not too many new photos but a few.
In barn 3 we now have opened Galt House for tours since July 4 Shelly continues to make is sparkle, and she has now reinstalled the end mirrors in the seating area. I hope to find time to get the kitchen lighting to work so she can go at it in there too. I finally got a few interior photos on the website.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/LN2726
elsewhere in Barn 3 we have opened a stepwell on Susan Marie, giving folks a chance to climb the platform for now, and /Mike is contemplating how we can enclose the bedrooms to allow folks to tour the car again. As much as we would like to do it now, it is sounding like a winter project, after the DLW coupler pocket repair.
speaking of the welding work, it is coming along, just a bit slowly as every portion of the pocket has to be rebuilt one step at a time.
Dover Strait is getting her stripes and letters, and a few shots of the progress, thanks to Kirk Warner The work is finally paying off! we are so happy for the folks involved and all their work over the years
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DoverStrait
Barn 11 has not been started yet, but the price has gone up! It will now be $180 per foot to build, so anyone that is interested in a car goiong in, now is your chance to help us finance the building! There are some donation links on the IRM store page, or send in your donation to the Passenger department indoor storage fund, which will reduce the need for cars to pay their own way in. If you want to contribute to a specific car, please feel free to contact the museum and earmark your donation. Every little bit helps!!!
Out in Yard 5 we still await electricity, so we are forced to operate on generators to simply feed the air conditioners, and that is only about half of what we need.
The progres son the RDC continues, with removal of exterior paint and clearing of more inside. The paint on the letterboard is 4 or 5 layers thick, and in the middle of it we have discovered Baltimore and Ohio. It forced us to slow down and try and preserve the lettering long enough to photograph it for history, because as soon as we clean the letterboard for CNW it will be gone.
Seat movements on one side have been repaired, and i hope to have the seating reinstalled in time for Thomas to make the set look pretty.
In addition, we have gotten the electrical cabinet figured to some extent and we now have the baggage rack lights working. The car is designed to be self contained, and run completely from its power plant, which is 64vdc. As a trailer we are much better off converting it to a more commn power supply, and a couple of eastern operators have suggested exactly that to Marc so after trying to avoid it, we will be changing the car to 110vac, and we have started to replace light equipment to allow that. With that decision made, it will simplify the cirsuirty, and our work will include all the fluorescent ballasts and incandescent lamps, plus replacing the blower motor. The advantage is once we have those few, relatively simple changes made, the car will be functional from our trainline generators, and the power from the pole when we get it.
For the CNW RDC fans , we also located marking on interior parts that confirm the car is in fact 9934 instead of 9933.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9934
Antique car weekend saw a warm up and a significant crowd, so in anticipation we added an other AC unit in the vestibule of Pacific Peak. It seems to make a difference as the Birmingham was able to keep its comfort level up without fighting the influx of heat from the other cars. My thanks to our donors, including Kevin Brown, who have continued to support the cars and made the funds accessible to make the purchase.
I promise to try and get more pictures listed and write updates more often, i simply got wrapped up in the day to day of the department and ran out of time.