Wednesday Report

Yesterday was another busy day at IRM, and as usual lately I was too busy to take many pictures.  Mostly what I have to report is about the 451.

I installed the repaired contact piece for the MG control system, as seen here.  It now seems to work properly, and I ran it off and on during the day.  The batteries appeared to remain fully charged, and you could hear the contacts cycling on and off occasionally.  So that's good.

I also got the #2 controller put back together and working properly.  The sleeve that slides up and down by spring pressure is still a little gummed up and moves sluggishly, but I should think with some more Kroil or other lubricant that problem will cure itself.  Otherwise it's mechanically and electrically complete.

I checked out the control system some more, with the help of Norm Krentel.  I hadn't realized that the reverser needs air to operate, so until the compressor is installed we won't be able to go any further.  The heat in the main compartment works, but the smoker compartment appears to be dead.  But that's a low priority item.

The next item is the blower motor, which is a fairly large motor mounted in the front closet.  I was able to reslot the commutator and rotate it easily without taking it apart.

 Nothing happened when I tried to energize it, so that will need some more investigation.  

Among other Car Dept. projects, the guys put a large tarp over the 306 so it can be warmed up during the winter for interior work.  Here we see Gerry, John Sheldon, Chuck, and Lorne helping with this project.

Finally, I noticed that the Multi-Purpose Building now has a large scaffold all around the front side, so that's an exciting sign of progress to come.

I helped with Happy Holiday Railway last Saturday, but didn't take many pictures.

In the evening we lost electrical power on the property (this was a widespread outage from Com Ed) but the train kept running.  We still need trainmen to sign up for several of the upcoming operating days.