Tuesday, April 21, 2015

319 Report

There are just a few more things that need to be finished up on the roof of the 319.  

 
First of all, I went along the side of the car (next to the sidewalk) and put a finish coat of gloss black on the lower tack molding.  Extra pieces of masking tape, plastic, and chalk marks left over from attaching the canvas were removed.   I hope you can see the difference between before (L) and after (R).



At the end of the car, I sanded down and put a coat of primer on the rope guard.  Next time, black.






And the grab iron on this side was attached and carefully tested for strength and rigidity.  I'm betting my life this won't come loose!








And I wandered out to yard 11 to check on the 321 and verify that the correct grid box is still there.  And it looks better than the box on the 319.



Which is more than you can say for the interior.

And I took inventory of the flags on the cars, since now that we will have four cars available for service we'll need more flags.  The HCW Women's Auxillary will be more than happy to produce what we need.   We hope.


Meanwhile, other interesting things are going on.   Pete Galayda was working on the second arc headlight for the Charles City engine.  This is really a fascinating device.  The lower electrode is held up against the upper by a weighted balance.  Then a solenoid in series with the light itself pulls the electrode down, forming the arc and regulating the separation. 

This one needed some rebuilding, but the other one is already working.  One of these days I need to get a video of it in operation.





And a couple of brush holders for the traction motors have been rebuilt, but the rest are OK and the motors should be good to go.






 Frank Kehoe is using the magnetic drill to make the new end sill for the 24.

And Buzz has finished the lettering for the Lake Shore Electric roll sign I plan to mount on the 150.  I'll have some pictures of that project as it progresses at home.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suppose since it's a wooden car, it doesn't matter that the hand grab is directly next to the 600V trolley feed?

Randall Hicks said...

That's basically correct. First of all, the cable is well insulated, and will be held down with another strap or two. By the time you're up high enough to reach this grab iron, you're being supported by little steps attached to the wooden sides of the car, so there's no danger of being part of a circuit.

Electrical safety is vital, of course, and something to always keep in mind. But when I'm on the roof of a car, I'm usually much more worried about falling off than getting zapped. I think it's generally easier to eliminate the danger of electric shock as opposed to the danger of tripping or slipping, losing one's balance, etc.

Joel Ahrendt said...

We also take great care and training on those that would climb on the roof of cars to make sure we are aware of what is live (if there is any) and what isn't. We do tend to frown on non-shop people on the roof.