Frank writes...
To add to my father's post below, after finishing with oiling the armature bearings and axle caps on the 309, I went back to work on the new grid box for the 308. I was able to find some mica tubes in the grid car but we will need to order more if we want to have the ability to rebuild very many more grid boxes so I grabbed a short piece to measure the ID and OD and get a quote. But besides that, I was able to complete assembly of the box for the 308 as shown below.
Other activities around the car shop included a small group working on the truck from the Sand Springs car that had been removed a couple of weeks ago (the truck is now disassembled) and Norm working at putting another coat of paint on the roof of the Michigan car. And then there were Richard and Greg, who were over on the 50th Avenue west track stripping parts off of one of the CTA 2000s that we are going to be scrapping. This car, the "1992" (aka CTA 2008 if memory serves), is shown below with its grids on the ground next to the car and Greg preparing the torch for removal of the battery box. In case you're curious what's next in line, beyond the "1992" is Milwaukee Electric L3, Shaker Heights 63, Boston 3344 and Shaker Heights 18 (under the tarp), quite a motley assortment of oddities even by IRM standards.
7 comments:
So I'm curious, why does the museum scrap certain pieces? Are they just not worth saving?
Is next in line after 1992 - meaning that those pieces will be scrapped as well? The wording can be taken two ways.
I presume the cars "next in line" are there for storage - and not scrapping. Shaker 18 hasn't even been unwrapped. I would assume that 1991 is next? Good that those two cars will serve the purpose of supporting 2153 and 2154 with lots of extra parts.
Bob
Bob, you're correct, the cars next in line after 1992 will definitely not be scrapped (though the Boston PCC isn't owned by IRM so I don't know what the plans for that one are). The L3, 63 and 18 are all intended to be preserved. The 63 is operational now, though it would need work to be usable in regular service, and the 18 is due to be unwrapped and (hopefully) made operational as soon as the next barn is built.
Josh, the two CTA 2000s in the pseudo-historic livery were acquired because the CTA was going to scrap them and IRM wanted to salvage components from them to help keep our pair operating. The 2007-2008 (aka 1892 and 1992) had been modified by the CTA after removal from service and had already been stripped of some parts such as motors.
Randy I am curious about the resistor boxes you are rebuilding. Would anything be gained by painting the resistor elements with a high temperature paint to retard or prevent them from rusting and breaking?
Yard 1 was always a motley assortment. Why change the tradition?
We have never tried painting grid elements, mainly because it wasn't done that way. I think the main problem is usually melting (and sometimes cracks due to thermal stress) rather than rust. And I suppose you would have to paint the elements after the box was assembled, but that doesn't sound easy. Perhaps we could try it sometime as a science experiment. I like experiments.
When the grids get hot ( and they do get hot) the paint would just burn off the grids making a bad stink if not a fire. The idea is to get rid of the heat, not hold it in. Getting them too hot would hasten their failure. The key is keeping them cool.
Randy Stahl
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