i know its been a while, but we have been really busy with the late summer projects

First of all, to brag on Dover Strait, both sides are now lettered, and the second diaphragm is coming along

We hope to have it outside in the sunshine for everyone to see for Showcase Weekend

http://www.irm.org/gallery/DoverStrait

for those that have not noticed, the photos are now in folders for each year of work, to help keep from digging through a multipage listing

Thomas trains worked out well, no major malfunctions

The second power pole is running, and so we are now on external power with NO generators running! Max made an extra effort and got stuff installed almost as fast as the parts were delivered. On behalf of the tranquility in Yards 4 and 5….. THANK YOU!!!

Streamliner sleeper train has had its brakes checked and two problems found have both been dealt with.

We have begun to plan for next weeks showcase weekend, a bit late because no one planned (or asked) us to participate until last week, and there was no crew set up. If there is no crew for the event, the set will be open for visits throughour the evening so a night experience will be possible either way.

On top of all, the RDC brakes work!!!! Mike found a cracked pipe and we hope to get that fixed this weekend; if all goes well, we will have RDC 9934 on the tail of the train for showcase weekend! After 17 years of sitting dormant, we will get her back to life. tomorrow we hope to get the power supply run so we can use the interior lights for night operations. No headlight or horn yet…but i have been able to track down some of the circuitry so I should be able to connect both the classification lights and headlights over the fall and early winter…..

http://www.irm.org/gallery/CNW9934?page=1

see you all soon at Showcase weekend

Well 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!!!

ok 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.