We're On Fire!

Smoke was rising over the Museum today, as two steam locomotives were fired up in preparation for the weekend extravaganza!  We haven't seen such a sight for a long time.  This is really going to be a great display of operating equipment.  Say, did I mention this is something you shouldn't miss?

The Leviathan arrived and was unloaded by Dave Kloke and his crew, with the expert help of our own Rod Turner.  In this picture it is awaiting the installation of its pilot, smokestack, and headlight.  I should have worn my sunglasses, the sunlight reflected off the polished surfaces can be blinding!

Meanwhile the saddletanker was also prepped.  Water lines were attached from the water treatment car, and the tanks get to fulfill their purpose in life.  Later it was also fired up, as seen above.

OK, you can relax.  Nothing else was on fire, although it was quite hot and muggy.  I did some more work on the 36, and needing something to do inside our nice air-conditioned shop, I repaired a loose seat arm.  It's probably not evident, but several of the screw holes had stripped their threads, so to speak.  The arm is held on with short flat head screws (white circle), and I suppose it's amazing most of the arm rests are still solidly attached.

I've been doing this sort of repair for a long time.  The holes were drilled out, and 1/2" or so lengths of hardwood dowel were epoxied in place.

Then new holes are marked and drilled, and when it's all assembled, it looks like this.  Nice and solid.  Please don't let the passengers put their weight on it, though!

I also made up one of our "you are there" signs for the end bulkhead and had it laminated.  

Used Furniture Dept.

 

This once-attractive easy chair came from a CA&E parlor car, and was part of the Johnson Collection.  For some reason it was stored inside the 810, where the cat(s) seemed to amuse themselves by ripping the covering, etc.  And it was no longer welcome inside an active project, so it was unceremoniously moved to the aisle of Barn 4, which is even worse.  We do not have any CA&E parlor cars, of course, but I got stuck with the job of storing it in a cat-free zone anyway.  It's sturdy enough, and maybe with some cleaning I'll be able to relax after a hard day with a nice cold can of root beer....

Tim was showing me some of the castings he has recently received from a foundry in Chicago.  It's near the home of Frank Kehoe, so he does all the leg work in dealing with the foundry, and also making patterns when necessary.  Here we see two complicated door thresholds for the 24, with one of the well-worn originals to the right.  They seem to do excellent work, so I'm going to try getting some of the parts I need this way. 

Finally, I had to switch all four of my cars around to get ready for operations this Saturday and Monday.

Here's the 36 sitting by itself.  It looks ready for service, but of course we need to replace the compressor before it can operate on its own.  If you look closely, you can see smoke rising from the Leviathan in the background. 

 

For regular service this weekend, we'll be running the 308 and 319.  Aren't they pretty?