Hicks Car Works

Trolleyville Update

2010-01-07T15:35:00.003-06:00

I've been getting periodic updates on the status of the steel cars at Cleveland. Due to various technical and weather-related difficulties, the cars still haven't moved from Central Rail shops, and probably won't until sometime next week. So we're still waiting.

Note that this movement includes all five steel CA&E cars, three of which are coming to IRM and two of which are going elsewhere. Tim and the GCRTA crew are still doing their best to get this done.

IRM, CA&E Cars Featured in Trains Magazine Advertisement

2010-01-05T20:59:00.006-06:00

This evening, upon my arrival home from work, I found the February 2010 issue of Trains Magazine. After taking a quick glance, I noticed one of the "blow-in" return mail cards for an upcoming special issue titled Historic Trains Today prominently features IRM. The majority of the card consists of a photo of CA&E 309 meeting CB&Q 504 at the heavyweight coach train at Johnson Siding. It's a nice photo, and I hope IRM is featured prominently in the issue as well.

UPDATE: The color scanner at the office isn't working today, so we will have to be content with the black and white scanner. Sorry for the image quality, but in real-life the card is in glorious color and featured near the front of the magazine, next to a story about Milwaukee Road 261 returning to Green Bay.

Visit with Bruneau

2010-01-05T15:27:00.005-06:00

I paid a visit to Bob Bruneau today. I'm happy to report that he is making a slow but steady recovery and is, of course, still very interested in what's happening out at the Museum. It's been about three weeks since he was last out, and of course the weather is a real hindrance. He enjoys having visitors, so I could provide contact information to anyone who would like to stop in. He told me several useful things about current projects, I handed back some photos I'd borrowed and picked up others, and I managed to shut off the burglar alarm which was constantly beeping. So it was well worthwhile.

News from Decatur Shops

2010-01-02T16:46:00.007-06:00

That should be in quotes: "Decatur Shops" has now shrunk to the baggage compartment of the 277. But there's always something to do, even in this frigid weather. First of all, I had to fill a crack in one of the 518 windows, then sand it down and give it a first coat of primer. I was also able to stain the inside surfaces of both 518 windows currently in the shop.

I removed the metal plate which was barely attached to one of the body posts. This is certainly the most rotted out section of the car, and I would like to start by patching it. From the picture you can see how the outer half or so of the post has rotted away, but the inner half is still OK. I measured it for making patch pieces. The horizontal blocks had already been patched by Bob Bruneau at some point. And then I did some sanding and scraping on interior walls of the front compartment, where it's at least tolerable.

There was a stream of members coming through Barn 8 to see the recent acquisitions.

There wasn't anything I could do on the new cars except take a few pictures of the roof. Notice that the 36 never got "Utility" ventilators like the newer wood cars. Instead, there's just some simple louvers, some of which (L) have metal baffles to direct air into the car. There are only three per side, so less ventilation than on the others.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T08:37:00.006-06:00

Best wishes to everyone for a safe and productive new year!

Odds and ends:

Tim says he will try again to move the cars tomorrow (Saturday), and if that doesn't work, again Monday.

If you haven't noticed Tom Gears' RSS blog feed, check it out at this link. It presents every new post from something like 25 railway preservation blogs across the country. It sometimes appears to be about half IRM and half everybody else. That seems about right....

Bill Buhrmaster sent me a copy of the Mid-Continent calendar, which has a nice picture of LS&I #64 on the front. This car was built by Hicks in 1910 for the Munising, and is now preserved at North Freedom. Here's the photo the cover is based on. Each month is on a large sheet and has a nice steam locomotive shot. You can order it online via the MCRM website. He also sent a detailed progress report from the car shop for 2009.

I have added car histories for the 36 and 319 to our car history page. Of course, the history of these cars is still being written! Anybody who would like to write up similar histories for the steel cars is welcome to do so. Meanwhile, Bob Kutella is working on a history of Sand Springs 68 for me.

And I almost forgot: Santa Claus brought us both nice warm overalls and jackets, so we're ready to work out in the cold! Bring it on!

Steel Car Update

2009-12-31T19:44:00.005-06:00

We got an update from our good friend Tim O'Donnell in Cleveland, whose help has been absolutely invaluable in the process of getting the CA&E cars prepped for movement to IRM. The first transfer of the steel CA&E cars to Brookpark was to take place in the early hours of Thursday, but due to several uncontrollable events had to be postponed. The two 450-series cars being acquired by IRM are being used to move the three non-operational cars (409, 453 and 458) to Brookpark. Stay tuned!

Home At Last

2009-12-30T17:24:00.016-06:00

The hopes and dreams of many years finally became reality today as the two CA&E wood cars were unloaded and safely stored in Barn 8.

They arrived at IRM about 1 PM on Tuesday, as seen here. We took the two drivers from Silk Road out to lunch. Don and Brian did a great job and can be very proud of their contributions to this project. We then spent another four or five hours until almost 8 PM switching trucks into the proper positions for the two cars. Due to various delays along the way, Nick had already decided to put off unloading the cars until 8 AM on Wednesday. Many of us stayed over at the Museum Tuesday night.

You have probably asked yourself: What's the best way to unload a fragile piece of furniture 50 feet long and weighing 30 tons?

Well, you're not alone. Here we are discussing the proper procedures with Nick. We hired a large forklift from White Bros. in Wasco, and Nick ran our forklift. First, we lift one end off the dolly. Stan gives the signals to the operators.

Gerry, driving the Bobcat, pulls the dolly out of the way, then the truck is pushed under the car.

Finally, after some pushing and shoving, the car sits down onto the truck properly, and we're halfway there. For this car.

Then we do the same thing at the other end, and the 36 is once again a railroad car. I was busy working and wasn't able to take as many pictures as I'd like. Many others were taking pictures, so we welcome any submissions to fill out the sequence!

Next, the 319 is up. Here we have lifted it off one truck, and the dolly has been rolled out of the way.

Actually, after wasting all this time and money, we realized that the easiest way was just to have two strong young men lift the car by brute force. It's not as heavy as it looks. You should try this at home, kids!

Hey, something's missing!

Finally, the cars were stored safely in Barn 8. Here we see the 36 on 83, later joined by the 319.

I can't express enough appreciation for all the help provided by many members of the Car Dept. (This is always dangerous because I'll probably miss somebody, but...) The guys in charge were Nick and Stan, and we had Greg, Gerry, Dan, Joe, Joel, Steve O, Frank, Mike, Tim, Charlie, Scott, Henry and yours truly helping. This was the worst possible time of year to do this, but everybody performed magnificently. Next week: three cars instead of two. You won't want to miss it!

Change of Plans

2009-12-29T11:11:00.002-06:00

Well it would seem there was some delay in the transportation of the 36 and 319 to Union; they headed west via I-70 due to clearances and spent last night near Indianapolis. The current expectation is that they will arrive in Union sometime on the afternoon of the 29th and will be unloaded early on the 30th. Stay tuned for more info!

Update: They're Home!

Trucks and Motors

2009-12-27T20:39:00.016-06:00

Update: the 36 and 319 left Brookpark at 9:10 AM Eastern.

First of all, here are the latest rumors about what's happening with the Trolleyville CA&E cars. We believe the two wood cars will depart Cleveland tomorrow (Monday) and arrive at the Museum some time Tuesday. I'll be going out there again to help unload them, and they will be placed in Barn 8 for storage. We're hoping the three steel cars will be moved to Brookpark later this week, and we'll go out to Cleveland to prepare them for shipment next weekend. This will be on short notice again; I'll try to post as much info as I can as soon as possible. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to be ahead of Hicks Car Works!

Today we worked on removing motors from the 319's trucks. The two pairs of trucks from the wood cars arrived on Tuesday, and here they are before we started. The GE 254's from the 319 are spares for the 409, 431, and 319. The two trucks from the 36 have no motors, yet.

Wintertime railroading is such fun!

The Joy kept getting stuck due to its light weight. Here Stan and Greg look on in frustration as Warren spins the wheels trying to get off the crossing.

After spending an hour or so accomplishing less than we hoped, it was decided only a real locomotive would do.
Here we are watching the Com Ed Diesel being hooked up to one of the 319 trucks.

These are the newly rebuilt motors (GE 66B) for car 36, now in storage in the barn. They will be going into the 36's motor truck sometime later this year, we hope.

After removing a lot of nuts, bolts, cotter pins, and so forth, here is the first motor being lifted out of the truck.

Thanks to all those who helped today: Stan, Greg, Warren, Frank S., Frank H., Joel, Joe, and myself.

Frank adds: Of the four motors in the 319's trucks, one is reputed to be unserviceable but the other three should be in working condition. One will go into the 409 to replace a bad motor under that car and the remaining two good motors, plus the bad one, will be used as spares. Seen below left are the 319 trucks after being brought into the shop; below right, Greg hauls on the chain hoist to raise the first motor while Stan watches the progress. The motor needs to be rotated up around the axle in order to lift it out of the truck. The red box highlights the brake beam, which is a different design on these cars than on the earlier 300's; on the Jewetts the brake beam was located near the truck bolster right over the inboard motor, meaning it had to be disconnected before the motor could be pulled.

Gone But Not Forgotten

2009-12-27T06:59:00.005-06:00

Our friend Bob Kutella says:

Does anyone collect business cards? I suppose somewhere, someone collects business cards with railroad history as part of them. It is (or must be) human nature to be 'collectors'.

I was pushing stuff around on the desk and came across this business card from the now defunct Trolleyville. The front of the card is very attractive with nice graphic design. I have deleted the contact info to respect privacy and since none of it is probably active.

But look at the back of the card! A nice shot of the 19 in service, smiling faces, and sunny skies! Of course that car now resides in our IRM Barn 4, somewhat the worse for wear and in need of a good sprucing up to again be as sparkling and triumphant as in this image.

The only thing that never changes is that EVERYTHING CHANGES.

Bob Kutella

Trolleyville Update

2009-12-26T13:46:00.004-06:00

Our friend Steve Heister reports that our three steel cars left the tower tracks this morning just before noon and were moved to Central shops. The 451 needs its compressor replaced, and then they can be moved to Brookpark. No word yet on exactly when the wood cars can be moved by Silk Road from Brookpark to Union. Thanks for the update!

Tim O'Donnell says they will try to find time to swap the compressor on 451 early in the week, then start to move the 450's to Brookpark. Will try to move 409 last unless he can leave it in Brookpark Shop. He doesn't want to leave it outside unattended too long.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T21:10:00.006-06:00

I'm getting ready to hit the road for the holidays. On behalf of myself, as

"Chief Legal Counsel" (Cheap Legal Counsel?) for the Hicks Car Works, I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season.

The photo to the right was taken in January 2008 at the Museum of Transportation. It was my first year in St. Louis, having arrived the previous August. We're switching the Philly PCC around the museum to take it into the shop. Our shop is not under wire, and our switch lead is beyond the fence, right next to the UP, ex MOPAC mainline. Just as we clear the fence, I napped this photo as a coal train roars by.

518 Report

2009-12-21T17:12:00.007-06:00

Now we're waiting for the trucks from the 36 and 319 to arrive sometime soon, but I'm not sure when. Tim Peters was working as usual on the 1268, but there was no one else from the Car Dept. around.

So I did some more work on the 518. I had completed two windows a couple of months ago, but they had not yet been installed. The outer storm windows are generally in good shape, so I just put them down while the inner windows are being repaired. Here's (L) the double window sector with everything removed. And after the new windows were installed and all screws installed, it looks (R) like this:

Then I removed the next two inner windows and took them to my workshop in the baggage compartment of the 277. Both windows were stripped and sanded. Here's one of them. The space heater doesn't get the compartment really warm, but it's certainly comfortable enough for working.

And here's one of the windows after a first coat of brown primer on the outside. I only have room to do one at a time.

Trolleyville Update

2009-12-21T07:58:00.003-06:00

Nick, Stan, Joe, and Charlie have returned from Cleveland after prepping the 36 and 319 for movement. Stan has posted a number of pictures on the member's photo gallery here.

And Stan says:

This trip was short notice and that's an understatement. Nick called me at one thirty in the afternoon Friday and said that the cars will be loaded on Monday, then I called Charlie and Joe. Within a few hours of finding out we were on the way to Cleveland. We arrived in Cleveland around 2 am Saturday morning, got a few hours sleep at the Red Roof Inn and unwillingly woke up at 7:30 am Saturday. Grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to Brookpark to meet with Tim and Ken, who already had the 303 pumped up and ready to do some switching. Thankfully Tim is a fan of IRM and allowed us to work in the shop which was heated, well lit and had a full length pit. The plan was made and we quickly got to work knowing that we only had till 2 pm to get this done, and if not finished we were going to work outside in the snow. Charlie and Nick went to the roof and removed bases and poles along with Tim. Joe and I went deep and removed brake rigging and motor leads along with labeling everything. Once this was done Nick, Charlie, Tim and Joe removed pilots and steps from one end of each car. We also took down the globes and secured anything that might break while in transit. We got done around 3 pm and cleaned up, put tools away and washed up, then went to lunch with Tim. After lunch we hit the road and headed west toward Chicago and when I got home I passed out and woke up Sunday afternoon..

This is one of two trips to Cleveland for preparing the cars to ship and the next time will involve much more work. Three cars which are all complete and one even has a pan to remove. This again will be extremely short notice and I hope to get one or two more guys to come and help.

Silk Road will load the carbodies onto dollies today, but they will not be shipped to IRM until Monday, Dec. 28, due to restrictions on getting permits. The trucks, however, should arrive in the next couple of days. Tim hopes to move the 415 and 460 to Central this week for replacing the 451's compressor, then move all of the remaining steel cars to Brookpark next week for prep.

Thanks for all this hard work on short notice!

Friday Evening Update

2009-12-18T18:13:00.002-06:00

It's happening! Nick, Stan, Joe, and Charlie are on their way to Cleveland even as we speak. Tim has set it up so they can work all day tomorrow (Saturday) and prep the two wood cars to be shipped either Monday or Tuesday. Meanwhile, others of us will be getting things ready to make sure they can be unloaded toot sweet once they arrive. Merry Christmas, everybody!

Trolleyville Update!!

2009-12-17T11:31:00.002-06:00

Latest news is that the three wood cars were moved to Brookpark shops early this morning. Thanks to Tim O'Donnell and all his co-workers for getting this done! Updates will be posted here as we get the information.

Nick's Used Car Lot

2009-12-16T16:31:00.020-06:00

Nick is making lots of amazing deals! But don't get too excited. This Dallas double-ender PCC is not part of the IRM collection. We're just storing it temporarily for McKinney Avenue, its eventual permanent home. IRM is doing this as a good-will gesture for our friends in Dallas.

Here it is arriving at the front gate, then negotiating the tight turns at Springfield Ave. and Riverview, and then at Depot and Central.

We had the same driver from Silk Road as before with the Twin City car. He had the hardest job.

Then it had to be unloaded at Central onto the yard 6 leads.

This required chopping out the ice and frozen gravel from several places so the Joy engine could get through. All went well; Gerry was running the locomotive.

And it is now safely back on track.

So I didn't get anything else accomplished today. And man, was it cold! At least this is good training for the next five cars to arrive. Heh.

Today also happened to be the big holiday lunch for the Wednesday crowd. Phyllis Schauer is retiring at the end of the month, so it was also a farewell party. Here she is cutting the cake. I'm sure everyone will miss her!

Update: Our good friend Tom Hunter sent us the below photo of a car from this series in service on Route 8 in Dallas in 1948 (3334 was originally Dallas 612) , about ten years before the cars were sold to Boston.

Trolleyville Update

2009-12-15T20:55:00.003-06:00

Latest news is that the 319 and 303 have been moved to the E. 55th shops in Cleveland and joined to the 36, so the three of them can be run down to the Brookpark shops soon. Tim O'Donnell hopes to do that before this weekend, but that is by no means certain. In any case, progress is being made. (The 36 and 319 are ours, the 303 will be going to the Connecticut Trolley Museum.)

Little Toot Railroad

2009-12-11T19:58:00.022-06:00

We don't usually deal with live steam or model trains, but a couple of weeks ago I had some free time while visiting in-laws, so I drove down to Flora to see the Little Toot Railroad, 15" gauge, which is located in a large park on the edge of town. It's a pretty impressive operation, and entirely operated by volunteers such as Norm Morgan, who graciously showed me around and told me the history of the trains.

The right-of-way includes three trestles, of which this is the largest.

The engine house, car barn, and turntable.

The dispatcher's tower.

This water tower is functional.

Right now, all three steam locomotives are under repair, but at least one will be running next year. One of them, I can't say which, was the first production model built by Crown, which I guess was a well-known builder of these things.

So holiday service is being run with a "Diesel."

And here it is: an IC streamliner.

And a couple of coaches
and a waycar.
All aboard!

Out back, some bodies await their turn for restoration. Just like a real museum! They're also planning to expand the layout considerably, and track materials are being stored here. Notice the diamonds in the foreground.

More in line with our usual fare is this wooden waycar on display near the station. And the depot in downtown Flora is quite impressive. It was located at a diamond which is no longer there, but the old B&O main line is still quite busy under CSX.

Another Season on the Trans-Siberian

2009-12-10T23:03:00.014-06:00

At least that's what it sometimes may seem like. It was extremely cold today with strong winds. At least there's no wind chill inside the barn. Here we see the 321 and 4001 now stored behind Barn 8 under their tarps. The only reason I went out back at all was because I realized I had left my lettering enamel in the 321 and had to retrieve it.

And I'll add some nice winter scenes to the scenery page.

Here's the result of all the switching that was done last weekend. We now have three open slots in Barn 8. One of them is currently occupied by three pairs of trucks, for the 319, 1100, and 141. And in the center aisle, we see the pilots and steps from the 321, and the Hicks Chair of Mathematics.

I decided one feasible project for a cold day was to finish lettering the 309, actually. The #2 vestibule had never gotten the warning on the train door for some reason. A space heater can easily bring the little vestibule up to a nice warm temperature, so it's a good place to work. As seen to the right, I applied a matrix of masking tape as a guide for lettering the door. Getting the heater and extension cord installed, making the measurements, getting the paint from the 321 and warming everything up took more time than the actual lettering.

So here I am part way through. I'm a little out of practice and decided to start over after the first two words. The second time went better after warming the paint some more. If you flub up, it's easy to just wipe it off with mineral spirits and redo.

And the final result.

The next winter project should be to letter the interior of the 308; in several places it's supposed to say "Please keep your feet off seats." But heating up an entire compartment is harder, so it can't be quite so cold outside.

Dave's Depots -- Deatsville, Kentucky

2009-12-09T19:15:00.001-06:00

While Randy and the other IRM volunteers were working away in Cleveland in November, Katy and I visited my parents in my hometown of Bardstown, Kentucky. Bardstown, as you may know, is the center of the bourbon-making industry.

On Sunday, as we headed out of town, we stopped at the town of Deatsville, Kentucky. The town sits on the former L&N Bardstown branch, now operated by RJ Corman as his Bardstown Line. The line was and is known as a supplier for the bourbon-making industry. Deatsville was home of the T.W. Samuels Distillery. The distillery closed in the 1950s, another distillery owns the trademarks. The facility is still used for storage and for a while hosted a spring water company. The Samuels family went on to bigger and better things, namely founding Makers Mark in nearby Loreto.

The Depot at Deatsville is one of 3 depots on the line still in existence. The other two are at Bardstown, and the depot/distillery office at the old Jim Beam distillery. The depot is in good shape, and was used for many years as a antique shop. It sits empty now. It is of standard L&N design.

I've rolled past this depot twice on a train, once on an L&N 152 excursion on the branch sponsored by the Kentucky Railway Museum, and another time on RJ Corman's dinner train.

Test Post

2009-12-09T18:11:00.007-06:00

Do not be alarmed. This is only a test. If this had been an actual blog posting, I would have come up with a picture of a full-sized trestle.

We're just trying to see how the RSS feed works.

Update: OK, it seems to be working. Tom Gears has put together a bundle here for railway preservation blogs, so you can easily see the latest doings all over the place.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

2009-12-07T06:00:00.006-06:00

Today marks the sixty eighth anniversary of the entry of the United States into the World War II. As you know, the war began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This past October, Katy and I visited Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial during our honeymoon. For both of us, it was a "must see" on the trip. The memorial is a solemn reminder of those who perished on the Arizona that day. The visit that day reminded me of the epitaph Kohmia 2nd Division Memorial, commemorating the dead of the British and Commonwealth Armies who repulsed the Japanese invasion of India in 1944. The epitaph reads:

"When You Go Home, Tell Them of Us and Say,

For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"

Recreational Switching

2009-12-07T05:45:00.002-06:00

What with two major impending events - the arrival of the CA&E cars from Trolleyville and the approval for occupancy of Barn 11 - there has been a LOT of switching going on. I was able to make it out to IRM Sunday for the first time in a month and a half and was immediately put to work on a switch move down at the south end of the property. The job was to dig out Union Pacific McKeen trailer T8, which will be going into Barn 11; of course the T8 was near the west end of track 142 so quite a bit of equipment had to be dug out. Jeff Obarek ran Joy 2 for the entire day; Joe Stupar served to direct and coordinate moves as well as run errands like procuring chains, throwing switches and bringing over flashlights when it got dark; and several others helped as ground men at various times including Mark E, Stan Wdowikowski, and Greg "The New Guy" Kepka. At left, Jeff shoves CTA work motor S373 west while Mark watches from the ground.

At one point it was decided to conduct a quick repair of C&LE freight motor 640, which had had its coupler fall off the end of the circle iron during a previous switch move. Joe was able to dragoon Warren Lloyd into bringing the forklift over, and in short order the coupler was back in place and the switching continued. At right, Joe serves as ground man while Warren runs the forklift; note the coupler hanging at an unintended angle. Finally, when the shuffling in Yard 14 was done, we moved CSL 4001 off the connector track and Jeff and Warren put the engine away. Just another day at IRM!

The Good, The Bad, and the Really Ugly

2009-12-06T20:21:00.028-06:00

On Saturday, a huge switch job was accomplished by the Car Department. We had two switch engines (the Joy and the Com Ed) in continuous operation; most of 73 and nearly all of 81, 82, and 84 were switched out. I've been around a long time, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen so many pieces of equipment being switched in one day. Stan did the coördination and much of the work, with Rod Turner providing overall supervision. Other people included Charlie, Joe, Joel, Warren, Greg K., Greg C., and I'm probably forgetting some people. Sorry!

The whole process went extremely well. It was needed to facilitate both the anticipated opening of Barn 11, switching of Barn 10, and the arrival of the Trolleyville collection.

In between carrying drawbars hither and yon, watching flanges, throwing switches, and so on, I had a chance to take pictures of many pieces of equipment, some of which haven't seen the light of day for twenty years or more. This is TM snow sweeper B48. Dave Diamond started a beautiful restoration job on this sweeper before he was kicked upstairs to manage the entire property.

IT Birney 170 started life in Galesburg, and wound up as a yard office underground in the St. Louis subway. It was one of the earliest pieces IRM acquired.

Here's our Indiana Railroad collection: lightweight interurban #65 (L) and suburban car #205 (R). IRM was organized to preserve one car, the 65, but the mission statement somehow expanded.

Knoxville streetcar #419, one of the few surviving Cincinnati curvedsiders.

CSL #1467, the "skeleton." Let me just say that this item is a subject of controversy.

Fort Wayne and Lima interurban car #91.

An ex-chicken coop.

CTA 4321

Lake Shore Electric 150

By this time the sun was sinking rapidly in the west.

North Shore 253

CRT 1797