Trucks and Motors

On Sunday, Stan and the crew moved the 321's trucks onto 82 and 83, as seen here, so they'll be ready to go under the 319 whenever it arrives. They're over the sidewalk (we're closed for the season, so that's OK) and I was thinking about oiling up all of the various bearings you can never get at when the truck is under the car, but the oil would drip onto the pavement, making me unpopular. Maybe I'll get a chance later.

We had noticed that the center bearing on the #2 truck was cracked. It appears to have been like this in service, and I don't know whether it can be fixed. Presumably we'll be OK with it as is; with the kingpin in there should be no problem. I took measurements and verified that the center bearings on the 318 and 321 are indeed different. Who would have thought? However, even if the 319's trucks match the 318, the carbody will sit onto the truck bolster correctly.

When the 321's trucks were rolled out, we found this wrench wedged in between a motor and the truck frame, where you'd never see it or reach it while the car was there. I'm sure I didn't drop it, and I doubt anyone else at IRM did, so it must have come to us from Wheaton, another venerated relic.

I spent most of the day cleaning and sorting parts in the IT cars. Tomorrow I'll be driving to Cleveland, as will six other guys, to sort and select parts from the Trolleyville collection. Watch this space for news from Cleveland you won't get anywhere else!


Finally, here's what the new shop extension looks like. The floor has been poured, and the next step will evidently be putting the insulation in the ceiling.