Projects Big and Small

Tuesday was relatively quiet in the car shop, but out in back, Dave Conrad was heading up the project to put the trucks back together for the Ingersoll-Rand boxcab, with Chris and Gregg.

These are based on the electric locomotive trucks of the period.  There are always lots of heavy rusty parts that need to be taken apart, cleaned up, and put back together.

We all like to ham it up once in a while.

Also, about noon we had a visit from a group of railfans from Denmark, so Dave Conrad took some time off to show them around.   They particularly wanted to see our steam locomotive facilities, and who better than Dave to explain it all?  You can tell your friends that people from all over the world are clamoring to visit IRM.  And it's even true!

Speaking of rusty parts, there were three bolts on the 451 that were rusted in place and needed some heat so they could be removed.  These had been torched off when we were removing the steps at Cleveland, and we were in a hurry.

Gerry brought over the torch and made quick work of them.  Thanks!  Now the remaining pilot bracket can be bolted in place.  First, I'll need some help getting the bracket from the northwest corner of the car to the southeast corner.  Those brackets are big and heavy.  

I spent much of the day cleaning, and installing hardware inside the car.  There's still a lot to be done.

And meanwhile, Jamie Kolanowski was painting the UP rotary over in Barn 14.  Here we see him finishing up the south side of the unit; the north side had already been done.  He also said he hoped to start on a finish coat.  This should really be a stunning display.

And then, Buzz Morisette sent me a picture from today of Dave and Chris assembling one of the trucks for the boxcab.  And that's Gerry running the forklift, I think.

You too can see your name in genuine pixels by sending in progress photos of all the things that are going on when I'm not around.  I just know there's a lot.

And by the way, here is the Rail and Wire article describing the history and acquisition of the Ingersoll-Rand engine.  The best part is the final picture.  About half of those guys are still around!

Frank adds: information on where the I-R engine spent the first 25 years of its life can be found here.