Quick Sunday Report

Frank and I don't often get to work together on the same day any more, but yesterday was an exception.  We managed to get a few things done, and I believe he'll have more pictures to add.

But first, left over from Milwaukee Transit Day on Saturday, the M37 was sitting outside Barn 8.  Newly repainted, it looks great.  Since we weren't there on Saturday, we'd welcome any pictures people might submit of the event.

The main priority was to address the problem with a contactor on the 36.  There was no obvious mechanical problem, so I went through our limited supply of spare contactor tips and selected the two thickest ones and installed them.  Frank and I spent some time testing the control system, and it seemed to work OK.  Some day when we're not interfering with revenue service, we will have to try a test run with the 36.

Then we went over to Barn 13 and looked at what needs to be done on the 1218.  There are many cosmetic items that should be addressed sooner or later, but this car seems to be a relatively easy project.  Once it's back in electrified territory, we can start checking out the control system.

One of these days I need to start trying to replicate the mottled finish on the window frames in this car.  The following picture shows what we need to replicate.   To the lower right is a window frame with the unusual finish.  All side windows have this type of appearance on both the wood and metal parts.  The window post and the upper piece of wood have a more normal finish, although much of it is alligatored.  But there's a definite difference between the common alligator problem and the finish on the windows, which we're sure was deliberate.  

And then we looked at some of the other projects that were going on.   I took a picture of Norm Krentel trying to figure out the wiring in the 28, but I'm going to withhold that for blackmail purposes.  And then Frank started doing some more painting on the 150, but I forgot to get a picture of him!  So stay tuned.

Frank adds...

When I showed up, early afternoon, there was a switch move in progress in Yard 6. All four CA&E steel cars were out on Sunday with the purpose being to put the 431 on the pit, as shown above. It had a motor lead failure earlier this summer so Joel will be taking a look to see whether we just need to repair that lead or whether the others may need some attention as well.

But more interesting, perhaps, was seeing the 451 outside for the first time in a while. The 409 and 460 had towed it out of the way of the 431 and here they're seen shoving it back towards Barn 6. This car is currently seeing some work to repaint two of its step wells. At some point in the future the plan is to put the saddles, roof boards, and trolley poles back on the roof and make it operational. This car is being backdated to its late-1940s appearance with a different shade of grey and Futura lettering.

After helping out a little with the 36 and the 18, I did a little bit of painting on the 150's left side belt rail and then sprayed a coat of black paint onto the replacement steel panel for the 18. Unfortunately I neglected to get photos - oops! But I did get some general progress shots. Above, you can see that the industrial shelving that last week was just stacked on the floor in the "lean-three" has now been set up. This will be a big help in creating a long-term home for various spare parts that currently live on the floor underneath work benches. In the foreground, the next baggage door from North Shore 213 to be rebuilt - or at least the remnants thereof - are now set up on sawhorses.

And Tim has wyed the 1754 and is now working on the other end of the car. Take a good look at those shortened end windows because they won't be around for long. The original location of the window sills is quite evident and before long Tim will be restoring the car to that earlier configuration and it will lose the "dual personality" its ends have now.

I also wandered over to the trolley bus barn, where Ray and Richard were putting away the items from the Bus Stop Shop and putting the trolley buses back inside. One critter I hadn't seen in at least a decade was this small forklift. This thing was fixed up back in about 2004 by Bruce Lampson and the late Butch Lanphier but it was stored in a makeshift shed, inoperable and out of sight, until Dan Fenlaciki got it running again this summer. It was used to put the Seattle trolley bus acquired earlier this year, right behind it in the photo, inside the trolley bus barn for storage.

Glenn Andersen designed the trolley bus barn, which was eventually named in his honor, for three "lanes" of buses. But our enterprising volunteers figured out that there's barely enough space for four lanes if you really pack them in - and if you have enough ground men watching your corners when you do it. Buses pictured include the Milwaukee Marmon, a Dayton bus, a bus, some other bus behind it, another bus, and another bus.

The CA&E steel cars doing the switch move mentioned earlier, the 409 and 460, didn't sit idle long; it turns out they went into service mid-afternoon after North Shore 749 suffered a failure in its overload relay. So at the end of the day the attention of the Car Shop Crew turned to fixing that. Here the 714 and 749 sit on the pit lead awaiting redemption.

And salvation arrives in the form of the Sunday regulars, Greg (under the car), Richard, and Joel. True to form, they got the problem fixed in fairly short order and both North Shore cars ran themselves back to the barn without incident. Another day, another running repair.