Contactors and Concrete

We are in the process of getting replacement contactor tips made for GE DB-15 and DB-131 contactors. Norm Krentel is in charge of this project, and if anyone out there is interested and hasn't contactored Norm yet, please let us know. I removed a sample of each type, one from the 308 and one from the 309, for Norm to use.

I started by testing the brakes on the 319; the leak through the exhaust port on the triple valve has nearly disappeared, in both release and service lap. That's a big relief.

I put a second and final coat of finish color on the next four windows, as seen here. And I worked on various minor details inside the car, such as window latches, the buzzer, and the dome light which I want to replace. The newly repainted dome fixture is now in place, but I didn't have all the tools I needed to finish the job. I went out to check on the 321, and brought back the can of 309 ceiling paint. This should be a good first coat for ceiling use on the 319.

I also sorted through my small collection of wrecking tools and found a good hammer/axe to install in the wreck tool box. All the tools were missing when we got the car, and I'm not sure exactly what goes where. But this looks OK. I need to apply another strap or two to make sure the hammer and crowbar can't work loose, break through the glass, and land on a passenger's head. That would be embarrassing.

In other news, we're making some concrete improvements to the property. Here we see Dave, Gerry, Carl, and the cement mixer driver pouring a concrete pad in front of the new car shop extension.


It may look like Dave is stuck in the concrete, but he managed to escape.




They then went over and poured the posts for the big EMD sign, which you can see in the background.

The base for the Schroeder Store had already been poured, but the walls need to be done next, I believe. You can see the rebar sticking up around the perimeter.

By the end of the day the pad looked like this, complete with fall leaves blowing around. Dave and Carl did a careful job on the finishing.

As I was about to leave, I noticed that the Steam Team were doing a switch move, so I stayed around to observe and report. The 1630 was to be moved over to the steam servicing lead.

Jamie was helping by running the WC engine.

This required switching out a couple of things from the turntable leads, including the Rock Island Pacific. It was stored inside the barn on 94.

And here is the 1630 in motion. One thing I couldn't capture on these pictures is that since it's complete, as it was being pushed along it was breathing, and you could see some exhaust from the cylinder cocks. It's starting to come back to life!

The Decapod winds up face-to-face with one of the little Monee engines.