In the Light of Day

My primary goal in going out to IRM today was to work on the step well for the 319 (see below), but the highlight of the day was seeing the car itself towed outside Barn 2 for the first time since February. The purpose was to examine one possible match for the "Aurora Grey" color in natural light, but it was nice to see the car in its approximate final appearance outdoors. Charles Strong is doing a terrific job on it; it will be spectacular when painting is complete!

I spent much of my time wire-wheeling the step well seen at left, formerly of the 321 but soon to be fitted to the 319, and priming it. Note that the treads themselves will simply be spray-painted; in the 1950's the treads and leading edges were painted Aurora Grey, rather than silver as in earlier liveries. I also went on a trip over to the 321, which is currently stored in Yard 14, to look for spare bus jumper receptacle parts that will be needed for the 460.

There was a crew of people working on the 460 including Dan Mulvhill, Stan Wdowikowski, Greg Kepka and two people from the Diesel Shop. At right, Stan and Dan are seen attaching a brace for the step well; both step wells, their braces and the pilot were fitted to this end of the 460 over the course of the day.

I also took a peek in the smoking compartment of the 749, where Joe Stupar had spent much of the day installing seat frames that had been rebuilt some years back. This is the last part of the car's interior to be completed. Below is a photo of the smoker with the car's main compartment in the background, with Joe unsuccessfully ducking out of the photo in the background.