More Canvas

Lots of progress got done today; the main thing from my perspective is that the center canvas is now on the roof of the 319.

In the morning, I finished painting the roof, and then rolled out the canvas and soaked it for a long time.  It was then allowed to dry in the sun for a while.

The damp canvas is heavy, but I was able to lift it up the stairs onto the scaffold by myself, and then onto the roof.  After rolling it out, this is what it looks like when still wet, rather wrinkled and lumpy.  Like you slept under a bridge, as my mother would say.

While we're up here, turn around and look outside.  I must admit I tend to look down on streetcars....

During the day, the canvas seemed to stretch by at least three feet.  Most of this was probably pulling out the wrinkles, but as it dries, it should stretch.  In a week or so, we should be ready to start tacking.

Meanwhile, let's look at the other roof projects over in Barn 4.  The 810 has gotten a final coat of paint, and it looks great!  This is the only Lake Shore Electric car to be fully restored.  Of course, it doesn't have windows, seats, electrical equipment, and so on, but it has still been a huge project, and the result is going to be stunning.

 

And then the Michigan Electric 28 team have done a fantastic job on their roof.  They have evidently decided that wind propulsion will be more feasible than replacing the original control system....

In any case, it looks great.

Among other things, the 141 was out for a couple of trips, including a West Towns fan trip charter.

The weather today was perfect.  So let's take a walk out to the south yards

The cutoff track seems to be pretty much done.

And here's the 14-15 switch, which has been there for a while, but now the yard 15 track has been completed.

This is yard 13.  Tracks 1 and 2 are now complete but need ballast, it appears.

From left to right, in the distance you can see the storage building, then the single track of yard 15, and then yard 14, no longer as crowded as it used to be.  All we need now is a barn or two.

And I checked up on the 321, still its same old dreary self.

 

Yard 14 from the southwest.

Yard 15.

Contractors were finishing up the concrete pad for the storage barn extension.  And beyond that, excavation has started for more storage.  We could never have too much available space.

And this is, I believe, the eventual route of the car line extension.





Max has extended the power line parallel to Olson Road to the new facilities.




And in Barn 11, our toy train is waiting for eventual service.

Safety pictures are always good.  For some reason, the roof cables on the 319 are criss-crossed, so they have to pass under the trolley wire in the barn.  None of the other cars have this "feature".  I will want to tie the roof cables closer to the trolley wire, and would rather not rely on the ancient insulation, so I put in some special trolley wire covers that Max has provided us.  They're the yellow tubes in the picture.  Rated for 15 kV, they ought to be more than sufficient for 600V.