Henry Vincent is continuing to work on the train door for the 36. I haven't actually seen him in person for a couple of weeks, but it's good to know that someone we can trust is working on his own to get the job done. The rotted parts of the inner door have been filled, and the stiles for the outer door have been carefully lapped for the new pieces.
I spent the whole day in surface prep and painting in the 319, as usual. First there was white primer at the #2 bulkhead, as seen here.
And then first finish tan on the wall, sectors 25-28 and including part of the bulkhead. The first coat is thinned somewhat, partly because it's so cold. All in all, things are going well, and if anything better than I would have expected.
And in other exciting news, the guys finished assembling both trucks for the dome car Silver Pony. Before you know it, the body will be back on trucks.
Viewing your latest update from the comparatively warmer clime of North Carolina, I am surprised that this flurry of pre-seasonal museum restoration work has not resulted in a flu epidemic. Just keeping equipment and personnel warm enough to paint is perhaps a challenge, but that photo of the trucks being prepared gave me the chills just looking at it. What a hardy and willful lot you all are.
ReplyDeleteBrrrr..
Bruce: I imagine that what you really wanted to say, but are too polite, is that we're all lunatics. But unlike Bears fans, for instance, at least we all bundle up as much as possible and retreat to heated areas when necessary.
ReplyDeleteIf you are lunatics, at least you have set goals in mind up there in Frostbite Falls when wandering through the tundra in search of a wrench. Are any of the barns heated? Although I imagine it would cost an arm and a leg to insulate them and not to mention energy costs. Maybe the next barn will not be a storage barn but rather an enclosed shop with an overhead crane, drop and inspection pit. It certainly seems like you do an amazing amount of work given the working conditions. Perhaps more volunteers would show up if this were so. I know..dream on..
ReplyDeleteThe diesel work barn (East half of Barn 2) is heated. The Electric Car Shop is heated, but the Barn isn't yet. And then when people work in various cars with heat when they are working in them. Or like me, work bundled up. If we had enough money, we could insulate the East part of Barn 4, and heat it.
ReplyDeleteBruce, I suspect you may not be aware of the regular news stories with pictures, put up every week on the main website www.irm.org
ReplyDeleteA lot of work gets done every week in the winter in the Barn 4 Wood Shop and in the Steam Shop, both of which are heated. On the home page click on the IRM BLOG link on the right hand side.
OT: 40 years ago I used to work for a guy named George Duensing - any relation?
Bob Kutella
Bob
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion to read the IRM blogs that were hiding in plain sight. As far as George is concerned, yes, George and I are related in that the Duensing's all originated from the same large immigrant German family that settled in Crete, Ill.