From Pole to Pole

You do the math: if two interurban cars have two trolley poles apiece, how many poles are there altogether? And if two have been rebuilt, how many does that leave to rebuild? (Pause) If you answered two, congratulations! Well, that's enough advanced math for this week. For next week, I want you to read the chapter on eigenvalue equations.

Today, I started replacing the trolley hardware on the third trolley pole, helped by Wes Lloyd and Dan Mulvihill. The weather was good, so some of this was done outside because several other projects were going on inside the shop. The old trolley casting (L) was removed, and after some sanding, filing, and grinding, the new trolley casting was heated up to red-hot and forced onto the end of the pole. However, we didn't have the right size of rivet, so the project has stopped at this point. Rivets are on order, so the rest of the process will be quickly completed next time.

So then, I drove a Museum truck to Woodstock and purchased four 10' 2x6 timbers for the new running boards on the 277. I lifted them up onto the roof of the car, and next time I'm out there I can start fitting them to the saddles. The 101 was moved out of the barn for inspection, so here's a view of the 277 and the Class B.

And here's a picture of the 415 and 101 switching places on the tail track, two different types of IT suburban cars with the same paint scheme. Only at IRM!

I also took some better pictures of the Salem diner, which I have updated on the Roadside Diners page.