Express Yourself

Painting is always a good way to express yourself, I find. So today I started by sanding down and applying filler to the end of the 36, then putting on a second coat of both brown and white primer to the upper parts of the end. The two stark colors provide a dramatic contrast with the bare wood below. And the word "Express" in black letters on white is meant to express the inescapable, either/or choices that we sometimes must make unwillingly in the existential search for life's meaning.

And if you're not into fine art, well, you can Louvre it or leave it.

But really, it was too hot to work for very long in the barn. So most of the time I spent working on more windows in the shop. By the end of the day I had two more with a first coat of primer on two sides. Al was meanwhile working on the door, and it's very close to being reinstalled in the car. I'll let him post something about that himself.

The Zephyr is over the pit, and the trucks are being thoroughly overhauled. Springs, pins, bushings, and so on are being checked and repaired as needed. Rod is doing machine work on this project, which is headed by Jamie and several helpers. Excursion excitement is building! I heard that the parlor car seats sold out in a matter of hours, but plenty of coach seats are still available, especially on Sunday. Since tickets only went on sale yesterday, I don't think we're worried. What, me worry?


Finally, something I've been wanting for the last 37 years....

One of the 309's three glass globes was destroyed in the 1971 fire, and we had been unable to find a replacement. For most of that time, one of the ceiling fixtures just had bare bulbs; a few years ago, I found a hardware store fixture that was vaguely similar and almost large enough to use. It wasn't quite big enough, so I had to cut out a ring of Masonite to hold it in place. The globe issue still irked me, the last real vestige of the fire damage.

By the way, the standard Pullman globes look much like the ones the CA&E used but are smaller, 12" diameter instead of 14". They are easy to find, but are the wrong size. The 14" globes are very rare, and would cost a fortune to reproduce.

Then it was discovered in sorting out the Johnson collection that one of these globes was there, still in excellent condition. I took possession of it today and couldn't wait to install it.

Ah, that's much better. As I say, this is really the final piece of fire damage to be fixed. I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make this possible.