I installed some more carpeting on the roof of the 321 today, so I believe it is ready to tarp. The used carpet came from an anonymous donor down the street from me. And then I spent most of the rest of the time removing my personal belongings and tools from the car, since it will be very difficult to get inside once the tarp is installed. That took longer than expected. For the time being, the baggage compartment of the 277 will be my workshop. Not much to see here, so let's look around a little.
On Sunday the crew did some switching, and the 205 was moved from track 81 to track 73, among its fellow streetcars, where it fits in much better. It also relieves the worries I had about backing the IT cars into it! Here (L) it is on 73, just about where the 309 and 321 lived for many years. The PFE reefer was then moved to track 84; here it is between the 218 and the IT train.
And contractors are making progress on framing the car shop extension over on the south side of Barn 4.Preparations for moving the Trolleyville collection are in progress, and the excitement is building. I'll be going to Cleveland for the weekend of the 31st to help collect the parts that belong to our cars. News and views will be posted here, of course.
2 comments:
(you don't have to publish this comment if you don't want)
Last time I was at IRM I noticed the beautiful restoration on the UP reefer, but also noticed the fresh paint is totally peeling. What happened? Do you know if this will be repaired? Is it common for paint to peel like that after a restoration? Just curious.
Bob Kutella comments:
The good news is that this paint job was done 15 to 20 years ago, and you still comment it is beautifully restored! Thus the importance of getting a car under roof. Understand I was not in charge of freight car restoration projects and was an interested observer.
There seems to be most of the peeling on one side and little on the other. The paint was applied by a 'paid' volunteer and it was late in the year (fall) when applied. It took till fall to get the new siding applied to the car, before it was ready to be painted. The donor who sponsored this work wanted it to proceed, and none of the departments had indoor shop space or even an empty slot in one of the barns. So, doing the work outdoors was the only choice.
Nevertheless, there are cold nights as you well have seen. Even on a clear sunny day, the north side of the car is the shady and cooler side, but condensation and dew do not know north from south. So my best detective work suggests that the bare wood on the north side was not totally dry when the paint was applied. Which prevents good bonding and leads to the peeling over time.
It is a shame, but nothing that about $1200 and a few hundred volunteer hours won't repair.
Bob Kutella
Collection Curator
IRM Freight Dept.
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