Al writes.....
I did get out to IRM on Wed and due to the heat spent time in the woodshop. I started out the day helping Dave Rogan get some beams and other metal parts for CTS 4223 primed. These beams will be mounted on the roof and become part of the trolley base assembly.
I also continued to work on the door for the 36, all the parts have now been primed and with Randy's work on the drop sash we will be ready to reassemble the door. We do have to get a new metal plates for the lower inside door pockets fabricated. The interior metal plates on both of the south side doors were rusted through so there are 2 to fabricate.
In spite of the heat the B&G group was doing some landscaping between barns 7 & 8. I guess I hadn't thought too much about it but visitors continue to make positive comments about how neat and clean the grounds are. Many thanks to the B&G folks for their continued work on this aspect of the site.
Now to the second railway. Wednesdays are my busy railway days as after heading home and grabing a quick bite I'm off to my local model railroad, the
Prairie Scale Model Railroad Club . Wednesdays are their group work night. I won't continue to blog on the work here but I'll give you a brief glimpse of this operation. It's located in the basement of an apartment building right next to the CA&E right of way in Lombard. There once was a bowling alley in that space but now is being put to much better use as a model railroad. Only about 25% of the eventual route is operational but that takes almost 30 minutes to get around. The club is still rather new so there is still a lot of work to be done and the scenery is still rather basic. I won't turn this into a model railroad blog but just give you an idea of how my Wednesdays are spent.
BTW Adam Robillard (who I think many of you know) lived in this building and didn't realize for several years there was a model railroad there.
3 comments:
I am glad you mentioned the building and grounds folks who do an outstanding job which is more noticeable as the years pass and the facilities grow..I don't think it can be underestimated just how much their efforts add to the flavor of the experience of a first time visit by non rail fan families.
Agreed! We try to highlight various improvements made by B&G when we can. But much of what they do often goes unnoticed.
I also agree, I think the attention to the condition of the grounds at IRM is one of the things that sets IRM apart from other museums. It allows for a nice visitor experience, which makes a very good impression on the general public. The B&G department's work on the grounds may not be as "sexy" as other work at IRM, but it is very important.
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