Spring Break

This week happens to be Spring Break for me, so this is a report for two days of work.

On Tuesday, it was time to install some more saddles.  Five at the east end of the car were finished before the caulk ran out.

Then I put another coat of canvas paint on the lower roof, south side.  Now that we have nice newly-painted L cars on 82, I don't want to work in the center aisle.  I never liked that rolling platform on the uneven surface anyway.  When the time comes, I will switch the 319 over to 84, where the 309 is, to do the other side.

Tim went into the 1754 to look for parts, so I got a chance to take a couple of pictures of the interior.   Its general condition is much like the 321 -- not good.

And then some more work on the vestibule of the 36, finished with a first coat of blue on the pocket door.


And a nice sunset.

On Wednesday I started by attaching one of the rope guards.  The strings hold it in position while the screws are inserted.

Then all remaining saddles were attached.  The next step will be to attach the running boards, which should arrive next week.

And I installed one of the grab irons.  These are a matter of life and death, so it's important that they be done right.  I stood on it, I hung from it as best I could, and was able to rock the car from side to side a little by yanking on it, all without any perceptible motion.  So that's encouraging.

Then there was more stripping and sanding in the vestibule.  That is annoyingly slow and tiring.  Then I thought of something slightly more fun to do.  While repainting the smoker over the winter, the ventilators had to be closed while the compartment was heated.  But for passenger service we will undoubtedly keep the ventilators open, as we do on the other cars.  So I pried the doors open, sanded the sides of the chutes, and put on white primer.  Next time they'll get a finish coat to match the rest of the ceiling.  This is the only CA&E car with this type of ventilator.