Getting Ready

There was a lot going on today, so I'll try to keep the comments brief.

First, as mentioned last time, I noticed that there are two bolts missing in these brackets for the vestibule floor in the 36.  The back is certainly inaccessible, and I believe the brackets essentially keep the floor held down (as in case of a wreck) rather than hold the vestibule up.  I was unable to find a bolt that would mesh into anything, so we will just ignore this issue.  I am positive the vestibule will not fall off the car.

As Frank mentioned previously, the Steam Dept. guys straightened out our bent coupler drawbar quite nicely.  They have the tools, they have the talent.

 I didn't see Tom around, but decided to show my appreciation by installing it on the 321.  I couldn't find the nuts that hold the piping bracket to the coupler, but other than that, we're ready to couple onto a 100-car freight train and ...  well, maybe one or two.  What would Mr. Van Dorn say?

While over in Barn 11, there was an opportunity to photograph the TM line car D-22.  Frank painted it many years ago, and it looks a lot better than it actually is.

And in our pre-blog days, we specialized in display boards for favored pieces of equipment.

And next in line is North Shore 253, which also looks much better than it actually is.

Meanwhile, everybody's getting ready for the old car extravaganza.  This jewel is the best of the lot, in my biased opinion.  It wound up temporarily next to the Fannette waiting shelter.

And the track guys put an impressive collection of speeders on display in front of Barn 4.

And the B&G guys put signs all over the property for the various makes of vintage cars that will be on display tomorrow.

The 1630 was running, and is always popular with visitors.

 Illinois Terminal business car 233 is not normally open for visitors.  But if you're in the right place at the right time, you can get a guided tour.  Want to come along?  I know you do, so watch this space!

And then I decided to start on some more cosmetic work on the 150.  The front of the car looks particularly wretched.  It's not obvious, but there were screws and nails sticking out of the wood from various attempts to rebuild the car, and it was dangerous to brush against the end.   So let's start removing some of the phony additions.

 After some work, it may not look much better, but at least it's safer.

And I've started cutting out pieces of Masonite to patch over the end of the car.  This particular piece is pre-bent, which is quite convenient.

And I did a little more piping work for the sleet scrapers.

Meanwhile, my buddies in the Track Dept. were carefully putting the pride of the fleet in position in front of Barn 4.

Looking closely, you can even see the tread marks from the special Rail Type tires on the rail.  

By now, I probably don't have to whet your appetite for Vintage Transport.  Just be there!

AND....

My old friend Les Ascher sends us a link to an interesting site: the 1894 diary of a Chicago streetcar conductor.  If we only had an actual time machine....