Rainy Day

Saturday had some heavy intermittent showers during the morning, which reduced the visitor count.  At one point the rain was so heavy operations were suspended.  But of course we don't let that stop us completely -- there's always something to be done.  I spent some time cleaning and organizing the 451, which will be moving to Barn 4 soon.

And I installed the newly-repaired wiper mechanism on the 319.  Then I started on stripping paint from another of the trap doors for the 451.  And that went on with interruptions for the rest of the day.

But by the early afternoon the rain stopped, and we were ready for another exciting, gigantic switch move, involving many pieces of equipment in Barns 7, 13, and 14.  It doesn't get any better than this.  One of the main goals was to move the Cleveland 1218 to Barn 7 so it can be worked on.  It was on track 131, so that had to cleared out first.  The switch crew included Nick Espevik, Joel, Richard, Gregg, and Jeron.

The Ohio crane was moved over to Yard 15. 

Then the Armco engine was moved over two tracks.  We're told cosmetic work on it will start soon.

Finally, the CNW 6363, or what's left of it, was coaxed into motion and moved over to Yard 14.  It is heav-vee!

Its original boom had several problems and has fallen victim to another wartime scrap drive.  But we already have a replacement.

While all that is going on, let's see what's of interest in Barns 13 and 14.  We haven't been here for a while.

Ah, there's the 172.  It's patiently waiting its turn, like many other things.

And here's the rotary we saw last time.  Jamie was working on cleaning it up in preparation for painting.  (That's him on top.)

You don't usually get to see the back of the front unit: 

The tender will be next.

And these are the new wheelsets and tires for the Ingersoll-Rand boxcab.  

And the Detroit Peter Witt will go over to 131, where the 1218 was.

Meanwhile, the 6125-6126 are pulled out and parked....

And we're down to the 1218.

I got to go for a ride, to make sure windows didn't try to fall out, or other things go wrong.

This will be a nice car when it's finished.

And here we are, crossing Central Avenue.

The 1218 is now on display on track 73, about where the 309 and 321 lived for many years.