Saturday Progress

Another busy Saturday's exciting progress is ready for your viewing pleasure.  We'll start with the 451.

The new side doors were still missing some parts.  This one didn't have the latch that holds the trap door installed yet, so I had to drill and tap some holes very carefully.

And when it's done, it looks like this.  There will be a lot of parts that need to be painted red once this process is complete.

We ordered some more carriage bolts so the grab irons on the train door could be installed.

And one more, on the same side door seen above.

The threshold casting is big and heavy.  It was held to the wooden floor by four wood screws, all of which were rusted into the casting, and broken off at the bottom.

But after drilling them out on the big drill press, new screws fit perfectly and we should be ready for installation after finishing the woodwork.

But the big question is why we only have one of these.  There are several parts like this where I can only find 3 out of 4, or 1 out of 2.  I went over to Barn 2 to see if I could find anything that got left behind, without success.  

In any case, I needed four latches for the drop sash on the side doors, and Bill Wulfert got them out of stock for me.  Luckily these are a standard item.  They were then cleaned up and taken home for repair and adjustment as needed.

Let's see what else is going on.   Since the Electroliner is now in Barn 7, I haven't checked in for months.  They're still hard at work.  Here are the two sections that are getting restored.

And a couple more of the ceiling fixtures for the 1754.

Since the contractors weren't working on Saturday, the MPG was locked up, but I got an interior view through the window.  The new walls are going up rapidly.

And the rotary tender has been repainted and lettered, and was on its way from Barn 2 to 14.  This is an astounding change if you remember what it used to look like, when it was on display on the steam leads.

Work continued on the Cleveland PCC.  I didn't get a picture of work on the truck frames, but Eric showed me the big electrical print of the wiring.  This includes everything: control, heat, light, signals, etc.  I sure wish I had something like this for the 451.  

And Rich continues to install the baggage compartment floor in the 28.