Antidecalcomania Made Easy

Chris Buck was working with me again today on the 319. He did all of the sanding on the upper parts of the car on the north side, working from the platform. This prepares the surface for repainting. He finished the entire side, which is very helpful. The car is supposed to be moved over to track 83, so we'll be able to move the platform over to the other aisle and do the other side of the car. One important aspect of this work is removing the lettering, all of which was done with decals.

The word "decal" is actually an abbreviation of decalcomania. Cliff Perry must have been a modeller. I've been looking back through my notes, and found where he told me how he chose the 319's paint: he found a formula in a model railroad magazine and mixed up some Floquil, then had it matched in gallons. And then he had the car lettered with decals, as seen here.

Fortunately it's not too hard to remove them, but there's still a layer of glue underneath which we had to work to remove. We don't want ghostly outlines of the previous lettering showing under the new paint. Chris did a good job of sanding it all down.

Meanwhile, I removed all of the siding pieces that had been cut to install the dash lights. I have made the replacement siding pieces, but they still need chamfers and some trimming. Installation will start next time. The #1 end now looks like this. I like to include the tools I use in these pictures; this one shows the Hicks Chair of Mathematics and Bill Nedden's hammer.

I also finished installing the first top rod and got the second one into position; there's still some more adjustment to be done, but the brake rigging is nearly complete.

Later in the day, Chris put another coat of white primer on the drop sash for the 319, so it can be put back on the car soon. Thanks!

There were many other things going on today, too many to mention. Lots of switching; the Zephyr was pulled out to remove the Grand Trunk RPO. You should just barely see the E-5 and Milwaukee FM switcher in the distance.

Charlie Strong was working on the roof of the 451, helped by Tim and others. There are two layers of canvas, both installed by the CA&E. Here you can see how the top layer is being peeled off. As often happens, we discover unexpected problems when doing things like this, but nothing that can't be fixed.

And then the top platform for the South Shore line car arrived on a flat bed; here Joe and Joel are unloading it with the big forklift. I had to leave before it was safely stored. And as I say, there were many other projects being pursued. If you're sorry you missed out on all this fun, there's always next week!