309 Update

Today the weather was nice, at least in the morning, and it's supposed to rain the rest of the week, so I took this opportunity to switch the locations of the 308 and 309, putting the 309 at the door. This way we can run it outside as needed for painting and inspection. I left it outside for a while and did touch-up painting on the ceiling of the main compartment, then green as needed on the walls. Then I ran it back in.

I worked a little more on the #2 end woodwork. The left doorpost is essentially done. After this coat of primer is dry, I need a little filler in the nail holes and patch lines. Then sand it down, repaint it, and you'll never know it was patched. I hope.

Also, since the ceiling and walls are pretty much done, I lubricated and installed the last two seat backs. The seat cushions are still stored in the 321, since they'd be in the way while painting the floor, but they literally just pop into place.

There's been a discussion on the IRM list about the special street railway bulbs we use. All of the CA&E cars have 36W 130V bulbs. They're expensive to replace, so I've constructed a "resistor stinger" to run the lights when I'm working in the cars. One stick hooks onto the trolley shoe, and the other hooks over the wire. If you stare at the picture to the right long enough, it may become clear. It's equipped with a heating element from a prototype oven I was working on a few years ago, roughly 50 ohms, so it drops the effective voltage for the lights to about 500V. They thus last much longer; in a year and a half of continuous work on the 309, I've only burned out one bulb. It's equipped with a simple wire fuse, so if you tried to put power to the car with the pump turned on, it won't melt the element. And it is cleverly designed to be just long enough so persons of our height can reach the (low) trolley wire in Barn 8. I suppose a more sophisticated device could be engineered for other applications. Let me know if there's any need for one. Operators are standing by to take your call!

On Sunday, Frank and I attended the visitation for Roger Hewett. He was a dedicated Museum member and a good friend. He was one of the people who did my training when I was new at the Museum, back in 1975 or so, and was probably the first person to point out that I happened to have the same last name as one of the cars! We will all miss him.