Shrink to Fit

 Our #1 priority is still the roof of the 319.  Since the car was wyed on Tuesday, the other side is now accessible for canvas.  First, I checked that all of the flashing was up, there were no remaining tacks, etc.  so that the canvas can be applied.

 

We saw this process a couple of months ago, but the next step is to roll the canvas out on the grass and soak it as much as possible.  Watering the canvas with a hose probably looks pretty dumb, and the result is that it shrinks rather than grows.  In fact, it shrinks a lot!

After letting it dry in the sun while I enjoyed some pizza and root beer at the Deluxe Diner, I rolled it out onto the roof.  It's on the upper roof because it will just fall off the car if I try to roll it onto the lower roof.   But wait -- it's way too short!  I even began to suspect that some miscreant had cut several feet of it off while it was stored in the shop, but after consulting with Tim, cooler heads prevailed.  It's probable that after the canvas has dried, we will be able to stretch it out quite a bit.  And my wife confirmed that cotton shrinks more in hot water than in cold, and it was certainly hot today.  So the next time I can spend a day working, it should be possible to start installing the lower canvas on this side.

After this was done, there wasn't much more I could do on the 319, so I spent some time checking the air system on the 36 and trying to identify (and fix, if possible) any slow leaks in the system.

We still need trainmen for this weekend.  Sign up now if you can.  Thanks.

Paul Schneble gave me a couple of pictures he had copied of rail inspection automobiles, but I left them at the Museum.  They're pretty interesting, but we'll just have to wait until next time.  Sorry!