I've Got a Secret

 ... but it's being saved for last.  Meanwhile, Larry Stone was out to help again today, so we concentrated on projects for which a second person is a definite asset.  In the morning, we worked on the new wooden beams to support the grid boxes. Photography here is difficult, to say the least.  One beam was easier to replace, so it was installed and the new bolts have all been put in place with their washers and nuts.  The nuts have not been tightened, of course, but at least now the boxes can't just be accidentally knocked off the platform.

The second beam is much harder to remove, due to the bolts sticking out of it, so I'll have to cut it in half.  The new one should then be easy enough to install.  So this project is going well.

In the afternoon we worked on the last two third rail beams for the 36.   All of the major holes were drilled.

None of our drill presses have a sufficient range to enable the vertical holes through the beam to be drilled in one pass, so we have to start from both ends and hope they meet in the middle with minimal offset, in the same way that the Moffat Tunnel was dug, for instance.   As they say, two heads are better than one, so the holes we drilled all met with an imperceptible error. 

 The castings need to be wire brushed before they are painted, but we'll save that for next week.  Here you can see that the bolts at least line up for attaching the sleet scraper cylinder.   Man, these parts are heavy!  I cannot explain how they can have gotten heavier over the past twenty years or so, but it's true.  

And of course many other projects were progressing.  Buzz Morrisette is working on making new roll signs for the 24, and in the process he also graciously agreed to make a single panel for our Lake Shore Electric car 150, since we don't have all of the roll sign mechanism.  I made a tentative drawing of a destination based on the available photographs. Buzz improved the artwork considerably, and it will look like this, though with white (transparent) letters on a black background.  And the sign box itself is backlit.  So that will be nice.  Then the sign box can be mounted on the front of the 150. 

Explanation: An LSE car running west from Cleveland in the early days could run through Toledo, and then over the Detroit United Railway to Detroit, taking about six hours to make the trip.  Between Ceylon Junction and Fremont on the LSE there were two routes: a northern route through Sandusky and a southern route through Norwalk.  So this sign tells you what you need to know to reach your destination. 

And Bill was working on light fixtures for the ceiling of the 24, so they look as good as new, if not better.  Lots of other stuff was going on, but I didn't get a picture.  So you'll just have to take my word for it.

Anyway, a significant milestone has been reached on one of our Car Dept. projects, but for reasons which I am not allowed to explain, we are forbidden to reveal it until Tuesday.  So you will just have to wait until then for pictures and details.  Ha ha!