It seems like only yesterday. Bob Rayunec and I had been working over the winter to check out the 309's control system with the expert help of Norm Krentel. A wire running from one electrical cabinet to the other had to be replaced, but otherwise everything seemed OK. The contactors, all 26 of them, seemed to operate in sequence correctly. The traction motors meggered somewhat lower than we would have liked, about half a meg, but still usable. And the air system was made operational and seemed to function correctly.
And so, on the Saturday before Memorial Day, the car was finally pulled out of Barn 4 by the 229. It looked like this:
You may notice the plywood door, the pieces of canvas tied over the ventilators, missing parts of the clerestory, missing siding, the unfinished roof work, the incomplete paint job... well, you can't have everything all at once. And restoration of the burned-out interior had barely started.
So the 309 was placed on the east wye for a test track. This was a couple of years before the streetcar line was put into service, so the legs of the wye could be used for temporary storage or testing during the day. The pole went up, Norm and then Bob got to run the controller, and I got to run alongside and watch for arcs and sparks. And for the first time at IRM, it ran under its own power.
That was forty years ago.
The 309 has since been completely restored, of course, and is still operating for revenue service. It will be running this Saturday, so come on out and take a ride if you can!
And if you can't, we would ask you to consider making a donation for the replacement bearings that are needed to keep this beautiful car in service. See the details here. Thanks!!!!
PS. The next day, on Sunday I managed to twist my ankle while jumping off the 321 and had to go to Woodstock Memorial. They gave me an Ace bandage and a crutch, and for a few days I was hobbling about. But that was my first and last lost-time accident at IRM. So be careful -- Safety First!
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