Thursday, February 20, 2014

Cold. Damp. Ours.

So now that the weather has warmed up above freezing for the first time in a month, instead of snow we have freezing rain, sleet, ice, fog, and lots of slush everywhere.  Who could ask for anything more?  And look, water is running down the sides of these cars in a thin even trickle.  But after planning to stay home all day, I finally decided to get up and do what needs to be done.

The main priority right now is to finish repainting a side door on the 36.  Frank did a great job of needle-chipping the steel plates last time, and they got a coat of primer on both sides.

And the metal strips that hold the drop sash in place got a coat of blue on the back side, so they can be attached next time:



The various pieces of hardware needed to be stripped down and repainted.  Here the spring latch and the sash lift are installed on the drop sash, and were then painted with primer.



And then the two fancy door handles were also stripped and primed.   The other cars just have ordinary round door knobs.

And windows 23 and 24 got a finish coat of interior tan.


Speaking of sash lifts, I probably have about a car's worth of spare sash lifts of this type, used on the 308, 309, 318, and 321.  Unfortunately, they are larger and the holes are farther apart.  I probably don't want to drill new holes in the window rails, and if they're attached with only one screw they'll work loose, so I don't know if this will work as a temporary solution to the sash lift shortage or not. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that arch bar truck going under LSE 810?
Also how are the THI&E bodies holding up in the destructive cycle of thawing and refreezing? It's probably impossible to even get out to 14 right now but was curious.

Tim Fennell

Randall Hicks said...

Tim: The truck question I'll have to pass on for Joel or somebody to answer. As for the THI&E bodies, they were in bad condition to begin with, and aren't getting any better. That's all I'll say there.

It's now been a couple of months since I've been out to Yard 14, and I really ought to check on the 321. It appears to be OK from the road, but that's no substitute for an inspection in person. I actually own a pair of snowshoes, so I should bring them out sometime and play "Arctic Explorer" on a trek to 14. Thanks for bringing that up!