Anniversary

It was fifty years ago to the day that the 309, 321, and 431 left Wheaton for the last time and moved to IRM, which was then located in North Chicago. A lot has happened since then!

Today was a busy day. It seems I was too busy to take any good pictures. Anyhow, the first thing to do was to move the rest of the scaffold from Barn 6 over to 8. I also picked up several things I had left in the center aisle there.

I don't know if this gives any idea of what the scaffold actually looks like. The lighting in the barn is a problem.

Anyhow, then several volunteers showed up for the car cleaning extravaganza. In the absence of official supervision, I talked them into cleaning the 319, using my own vacuum cleaner and supplies.


They cleaned the interior up nicely, and a good time was had by all. Thanks!

I spent most of the rest of the day working on the exterior of the 36, removing paint and sanding it all down. I then applied white primer to the parts which will be grey or red. The lighting's bad, the scaffold's in the way -- I can always find something to whine about.

By the way, Bill Buhrmaster told me an interesting story: back in early 1962, Mid-Continent had acquired the Copper Range combine, and was looking for seats for it. His father, Ray Buhrmaster, was in charge of finding them. It had originally had rattan upholstery. He went to Wheaton and tried to buy the seats from car 36, since it was one of only two cars left with rattan seats. But Gerald Brookins had already bought the car, so he had to settle for the leather seats from car 300, which were later installed in the EJ&S #2. And those are the ones we'll be acquiring next month. Meanwhile, the 36 still has its rattan upholstery. Whew!