Archive for RDC
RDC 9933 progress Report 2011-12-24
Posted by: | Comments
Donations are needed to make more progress, the fund specific to the RDC is
R9934
Department Update 2011-12-22
Posted by: | CommentsTo open this holiday report, I first want to once again extend our thanks to all of the supporters of the Passenger Dept. Several of you have made donations to the department and we appreciate the help.
Again and again, I am astonished and honored that so many folks seem to think our efforts are worthy of their support. We hope to continue as proper stewards of this part of the world.
We also need more support to keep these many projects moving forward. As we approach the end of the year, please think about your favorite passenger car.
There are several individual online donations possible:
http://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_7
If you wish to donate to a piece not listed, feel free to call the office and identify your wishes. Every piece of equipment has an account and, if a donation is targeted, we are legally required to use the money for the intended item.
Merry Christmas
Happy Chanukah
Happy New Year
GENERAL DEPARTMENT PROGRESS
Winter for the Passenger Dept usually means a time to get some messy work done, and this year is no different. Since we do not have heated facilities, we begin by setting up local heat in work spaces around the Barn, and planning indoor work for days the weather is not cooperative.
The majority of the damages related to the Terror event have been repaired, and the final work will be time consuming only because we need to locate a source to reproduce the broken lamp globe.
EQUIPMENT REPORTS
Inbound Acquisitions
Incoming acquisitions have been sidetracked for the short term, but NEWS is in as recently as this week!!!
PROGRESS!!
YAY!
The UP transport approvals are not yet forthcoming, and we continue to await the resolution via the Executive Director.
Number One
The baggage car Silver Beaver has been put into work at Gateway in preparation for its trip to us. We now know that the wheels are approved, and the brakes are being inspected. It is expected that the car may be ready to come in, ON ITS OWN WHEELS, sometime in mid to late January.
The car will be coming in as RCPX 801 (its original number) for those of you that follow that kind of stuff. The great news is that, if the car comes in on wheels, the only costs will be to make it roadworthy at Gateway. In addition, the track space for this car is already paid, as it will absorb the track space released by the sale of the Glen Alta.
Number Two
Next on the good news info, is that the wheels from Olympus have been offered to us for Silver Pony. This is, as many of you know, HUGE!!!!!
The down side is, since they are now a separate acquisition, they will need to be purchased. The cost at this point appears to be about $10-12,000. Whatever the cost, they will also incur about $1000 to get them here.
They are not perfect, as we have discussed in the past, but they are the correct design, and it will allow us to get the car on wheels and work on the mechanics as time goes on. Also, while not cheap, they are the only solution we have heard until now.
It also means that the Silver Pony fund will need help in a significant way, to absorb the costs. There have been a couple of wonderful donations recently toward the car, and we are extremely grateful.
Number Three
Lake City donor request is on the webstore, and photos have been posted in the department gallery. Milwaukee Rd Historical Society has been apprised of the acquisition, and plan to run a special notice in their upcoming publication. This move also awaits planning information from the Executive Director
Number Four
The new owner of Glen Alta arranged an inspection this past week, and the expectation is to have the car prepped on site and shipped out in early spring.
Number Five
The newly acquired CRIP coach in Iowa awaits movement to IRM. Brake work has been done and the car is now mechanically ready to transport.
Number Six
CBQ 1309 baggage car in Denver awaits transport completion by the Executive Director
No changes to equipment.
567, is in service.
561 is in service as well, following significant repairs to brake structure and attachments
556, with the end of operating season, work has begun again, with interior cleaning a priority.
We have continued the process of grinding old paint surfaces in the car.
The single window damaged during Terror has not yet been repaired, but the car is safe in Barn 9, so there is no risk.
Rock Island Coaches (6)
The repair of the roof of CRIP 2571 remains a project planned for winter and spring, but since much of the work will be needed outdoors on scaffold, the plan is to perform the work in later winter /early spring.
B&M 3288/1094
Continued interior work.
Exterior painting has also continued following the end of public days.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/BM1094
Dover Strait
Underbody finishing was completed . The interior is making progress.
Barricades are being developed for the bedrooms to allow public viewing of the car, and lounge carpeting has been identified.
We await information from the supplier to complete the process.
This car is slated next for conversion to 120vac lamps.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DoverStrait
IC 3345
No progress at this time
CZ Silver Pony
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CZ-Silver-Pony
With the end of public season, we have been able to renew some work inside the car.
Seats are in process, and the missing seat mount pedestals are also being fabricated.
Lenses for the dome lights have been acquired
We know the windows are a priority, but a major stalling point was locating the gasket material for the windows.
With the help of the Executive Director, we have located a possible source, and hope to make progress soon.
Currently, we have gotten one of the vestibule traps working. It needs a bit of adjusting yet, but the mechanism is all back together and working.
We also have begun to work on the blower system, to try and ventilate the car this spring.
We have the fans back in place, so now we have to fabricate a blower motor mount.
It appears similar to the one we built for Silver Ridge, so maybe we will get lucky.
We also are beginning to repair the ceiling lights, new ballasts and starters.
CNW RDC 9933
We have received the missing interior baggage rack lights, rewired them and are currently installing them.
Construction of baggage racks will follow in time for 2012 season.
We also hope to improve the electrical feed to this car, enhancing ventilation for next year.
CBQ Silver Ridge
Some interior restoration remains planned.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/UP1432
Steady progress is being made in backdating interior wall surfaces.
Carpet removal in a double bedroom with exposure of original wall surfaces.
Mike hopes to complete this space over the winter.
We have located original color scheme information through the UP Historical Society, so if time and resources permit, we will be able to make the restoration accurate.
ACL Birmingham
The car has once again been winterized to provide a place for all volunteers to use during the winter. We plan to spend some time improving ventilation in the kitchen area this winter.
NP Loch Sloy
With completion of repairs, current plans to work on this car will be on hold until later in the off season. With limited manpower resources, we try to maintain realistic timetables to ensure the cars readiness for Spring season.
NP 230 Baggage Car
http://www.irm.org/gallery/NP230
The exterior painting of the car is complete.
YARD 5 DISPLAYS
Special Exhibit cars
http://www.irm.org/gallery/Special-Exhibit-Cars
The exit vestibule has been cleaned of obstructions and the center sill and coupler pocket are exposed.
Welding repairs have begun as we build a new vestibule platform for the exit end of the cars.
The video security system has arrived, and installation will be done by Les and Wally after the interior is finished.
A malfunction of the AC unit in the car late in the season has been assessed and Jerry Lynn is preparing an estimate to repair the system for next year.
We still await the completion of the second car power supply, with some of the repair and display ideas waiting for electricity.
updates 2011-05-15
Posted by: | Commentsok so the weather was lousy!
temperatures hovered around 50 as a high all weekend, with on and off rain and then the wind picked up….a raw time, felt like March
Then Saturday the front of Yard 5 got torn up for a major repair job.
I applaud the work. Dave is getting a ton of infrastructure done all at once, new plumbing, new gas, new electrical.
I only wish we had a pedestrian pathway to and from the yard.
Lacking a safe passage, we had to close all Yard 5 displays for the weekend.
With that done, we went to work on some of the projects we had put off for a while
I managed to actually get things done on all five cars over the two days, so all in all it wasnt a total loss for us.
I promise to set up some pictures in the blog soon, i am not quite ready, so I hope the links will do for now.
RDC got the light housings in the last baggage posts. They came in from the metal shop and i picked up glass lenses for them and installed it all Friday night.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW-9933-2011
RDC reading light installed and operating
Silver Ridge finally got the last four vent grilles installed. I mentioned that Marc had found them and this weekend was a perfect time to do inside work, so they got cleaned and put in. Paint will have to come later, but they are the correct parts, and now the only holes in the ceiling are the six light fixtures i still need
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CBQ-Silver-Ridge?page=1
last ceiling vent goes in
Pacific Peak has had a broken diaphragm curtain for a couple of years, and i had been jury rigging it for use. Once again, having time without visitors passing through, I found another curtain that i freed up and adjusted. Now installed, another weather protection for our guests in place.
Loch Sloy also had a chronic problem that i simply hadnt found the time or energy to attack. The passage light in the non vestibule end had been out, and it was a bad socket. Today was the excuse to tear it down, clean and repair it and reinstall it. Works well, now the connection between cars is better lit, and makes the exit corner from Birmingham a little more visitor friendly
I didnt think i had a “honey-do” list for the cars, but i guess i did!
Birmingham was the last stop on this repair tour, and its not quite done yet.
I have started to track down the power for the lights inside the freezer units, which, while not a major issue, is another one of those small cosmetic things that will brighten up the car and perhaps show folks more of the functions.
With a bit of luck Wednesday is the day i will be able to finish them too.
I know folks are interested in Silver Pony, but with the weather as it was this weekend, I certainly didnt plan to do windows on a ladder.
If i get a bit of sunshine, i hope to get back to it in the next week.
Obviously in two weeks, the WW2 event will take a lot of my time, but for this week, and perhaps this weekend coming I can make progress.
On the Barn 3 heavyweight front, Mike has been fighting the brakes of the second Lackawanna coach.
It has some issues, even after the repairs so far. He hopes it wil fix next week.
Shelly and Wayne got the seats back in the DMIR 84 coach after their great floor rebuild, and Mike and crew did the brake test, so its ready to go . The IC 2804 coach is done as well.
If the second DLW coach gets working all the top tier cars are ready for service. and he will be able to start on the CRIP coaches early.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DMIR84
Congraatulations to the mechanical team!
He might even have time to do restoration work this summer in there!
Thats about all for now. Not a lot of drama, not a lot of big visible projects, but a lot of nagging issues resolved this week, so we feel pretty decent about it all even with the weather issues.
As always dont forget we still need donations for both Silver Pony and Olympus, not to mention the other projects going on.
We have noticed the the webmaster has been able to add a donation spot for indoor storage as well. This would be a donation to the Passenger Dept indoor storage fund, and the money would be specifically used to get more passenger dept equipment inside.
If you are interested in a particular piece of equipment, you will still need to make a specific donation to that piece. Some are on the website, all others can be done over the phone or in the mail or in person
Thank you in advance to anyone that can help us along.
http://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_7
Update 2011-04-24
Posted by: | CommentsCurrent events for the weekend
I hope to post the department notes later in the week, following Mikes review.
For now, just a Yard 5 update.
first, for the photo browsers, i have begun to organize the galleries in the Passenger dept gallery, to keep things a bit more organized. i am adding sub folders by year.
Next, the work in progress.
i am making progress in getting the set ready for the season.
As many of you know, I aim for Mothers Day every year, and this year was no different, until I learned that the Illinois Terminal Historical society is coming out on saturday.
So i am trying to suport that project a bit, simply by having displays open and running.
i have made a conscious decision to begin the season with a simpler (and cleaner looking) display, reducing many of the handouts and posters. At least for now. If more information seems right later, I can always add them.
I simply had a feeling last year that the displays were losing their value through overload.
The one big change will be the RDC displays. I have kept the RDC stuff, and pulled back on all the others. Personally, i like the appearance more, with the car actually looking like a railcar and not a picture gallery.
I think the Budd/Pullman display can be redone, but maybe in the Exhibit cars instead.
The same goes for the Operation Lifesaver stuff.
The other part of the reality, is that it will make the exhibit a bit easier to maintain.
Once I get the cars done, I do have a little project sitting on a flat car waiting patiently, no?
i took some railfan/modeler pictures of the RDC undercarraige added to the gallery
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW-9933-2011
will put the Zephyr information in Silver Ridge, as a more appropriate location.
Ridge took two days; partly self imposed.
I have negelcted this car for a while, with all the other things going on, and I promised her some serious work this year. Soooo,
I started at one end, and reinstalled window ledges, i also got the carpet in the corridor edged and reinstalled. It is not quite long enough after the repairs, but it is straight and gives a better line to the space.
As i have mentioned before, Marc found the ceiling vents that are missing, and I hope to get them installed this year. I do want to try and clean/repaint them before i put them in, but at least we have them now
I also replaced some of the berth latch hardware.
Little pieces but more and more back together, huh?
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CBQ-Silver-Ridge
I also have some new NP info and a video that i want to run in Loch Sloy once i can figure out a place to show it. Its not easy with all the small rooms, and no real open space as in the other cars.
If folks have ideas to make the show better, please let me know. Comments here or in person are always welcome.
For now, RDC and Silver Ridge are both completed and open fully. I hope to finish Pacific Peak this week, and the rest over next weekend.
Dont forget, much of this will cost money, and so donations will ALWAYS be needed. Olympus and Silver Pony remain on the donation site,
http://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_7
and if you call the office you can donate to any piece of equipment directly,
Alternatives are the Passenger Car Dept in general RSPSGR
or the streamliner set in general RSILVER
Thanks to everyone that helps out.
I will post more general department info later in the week.
Update October 2008
Posted by: | Commentsyes I know its been far too long and info doesnt get shared unless its written. So here we go
We face the issue of preparation and operation from early August until November, Vintage transport, then Thomas, then Showcase, then Halloween, so we face a period of time when we sometimes get a bit behind. Its hard sometimes because we have to concentrate our efforts on operations and active displays for a big chunk of time, and so much of the restoration work grinds to a halt for three months of the year. Lets try to catch up a bit
On the heavyweight front,
i reported last month that the Dover has now been painted and lettered on both sides, Bob has made great progress on both vestibules, and progress is being made inside on the corridor. There remains a bit of a problem involving the electrical feed for the car, and i hope to get it resolved completely this off season. Mike and Ray also are working on the hand brake, non functional for ?? maybe years. It might be able to go for a ride next season. even as an exterior show it will be great to show it off. Bob Hunter deserves all the kudos for moving forward all the time.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DoverStrait
Roger has been plugging along on the bathrooms of the John McGlothan as well, and I dont want to forget to give credit where its due, even though i am sorry i dont have any new photos to include just yet. Perhaps one of the projects this off season will be a new set of pics for the photo gallery.
The Boston and Maine cafe keeps going as well. Jack made it into this months Rail and Wire.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/BM3288
With the season slowing down after this weekend, Mike hopes to get the DLW coach vestibule repairs completed this winter, as well as a couple of coach ceilings that need repairs. There a some new pics of the work in the car folder, for the structural fans.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/DLW556
A slightly different item involves road trips to Monee Il, where there are several privately held pieces being scrapped. Steam team has begun to acquire two unique locos from there, and while there are a coupkle of heavyweitght passenger cars on the property, the reality is that we do not have the funds to transport them , store them, or restore them. The decision then was made to make trips and remove parts we can use. We did acquire a set of seats for the ATSF 2544 to allow us to install authentic seating in the coach area, and remove the streamliner seats that are there.
After Halloween, the streamliner sleepers will come home and, while it will take a couple of weeks to winterize them, we have made some more progress as well.
Two of the three power poles in Yard 5 are in place and operating, so we are almost completely connected. Max had a bit of delay with some pressing personal issues, but he has been out a bit more lately, and we hope to be ready when the cars come back next week. This will give us solid electrical connections for all cars, plus decent power supply for the baggage/shop car at the end, which will make the winter much more functional. I cant wait to have them in, winterized and lit for the holidays this year.
RDC 9934 now has all the interior lights working, and I want to get the classification lights working soon, but of course getting the set “buttoned up” and settled in for the winter takes precedence.
The one passenger window that was leaking has been repaired, as we discovered that it was installed upside down, with only 3 screws holding it in instead of the designed 26. New gasket material around the exterior and a solid mount and we think we have most if not all of the water leaks in RDC solved for now.
The one cab window that is missing has been located, (at least we think so ) in the Diesel locomotive storage, and as soon as someone gets a chance they will pull it out for us and we can get that issue resolved too.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9934
Plans include progress in all three sleepers, plus some more kitchen work in Birmingham. We will have to see just how much we can get accomplished in the 4-5 months of the off season. Spring comes quick, and we feel responsible to have the display open by May, so as always, help would be neat if anyone is interested, and donations are welcome all season.
The cost of the electrical system in Yard 5 has seriously depleted our restoration funds, and there are a few pieces of interior that i would love to restore in Silver Ridge, but do not have the funding for.
We hope to get back in the habit of regular updates, and hope to see many visitors by spring.
Hope everyone has a fun autumn and a happy winter season, see you soon!