277 Update

The 308 and 309 operated both days last weekend, and everything went well, I believe. While inspecting the cars today, I noticed a couple of minor problems to fix. One door on the 309 didn't lock properly, so I adjusted it. And the whistle cord had come loose, so that was re-attached. Then, since the 3007 was outside, I took some pictures to update the steam page.

After that, it was back to the 277. I started disassembling some parts of the wall on the left-hand side that will have to be replaced, as seen here. I'll need to make new molding pieces.





The paint on the smoker bulkhead is alligatored, as seen to the left. I used the heat gun to remove it on the right-hand part, being careful not to use too much heat to damage the wood. It was then sanded down and given a first coat of primer, as seen to the right. It will require another couple of coats of paint and sanding.

And then I stored some more parts, took a seat arm home, etc. But it's nice out, so let's go for a walk and see some scenery.

CTA S-329 started life as a Metropolitan wooden coach. After many years of service, it was demoted by the CTA to a flat car. Its frame then became a foot bridge across Boot Creek, until the floor rotted out, making it unsafe.

Across the creek and through the woods, we come across more of the Museum's farm land. Here the corn is doing well. Eventually the plan is to build a connecting line from the new south yards to the main line right through this area. The main is just beyond the tree line in the distance.