Advancing on multiple fronts

 Frank writes...

Sunday was a productive day for a few different projects with which I'm involved, not to mention progress on other projects with which I am not involved. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the most photogenic part of the day, but I've got an excuse explanation and I'll get to that.

First we'll start with the 451. A bit THANK YOU to the guys in the Steam Shop, who UT and hydro tested the outboard air tank that was removed from the car a couple of weeks ago. This happened sooner than we expected and we really appreciate it. As shown above, the air tank was already returned to Barn 4 (the chalk marks indicate different sectors which were UT tested for thickness). There were no problems with the tank and it seemed to be in excellent condition.

Above, Greg is shown putting a coat of primer on the tank. This will be followed by black paint and then it will be stored for the time being until the replacement for the 451's inboard air tank - the one with the hole in it - is acquired. Then both tanks will be put back on the car and we are all set with that part of the project. These are both main reservoir tanks, of course, and befitting a car built after WWII they are welded with convex ends, rather different than most of our interurban cars.

Then in the afternoon I spent a while needle-chipping on the 451, including finishing the step well at the southwest corner of the car. Well, I need to pull off that sign and remove the paint right around it, but the step well is pretty much ready for a quick wire-wheel cleanup and then primer and paint. For the "before" image you can see last week's post.

From progress on the 451, we now move along to progress on the 36. "The 36?" you ask quizzically. "I didn't think anything was being done on that car." Well you would have been right, but that is now changing. The 36 was semi-retired last summer with a bad knock in its air compressor. It can still run with its pump cut out, but since the whistle (of all things) feeds from the main reservoir, it can only be in the middle of the train. That's why we used it a few times towards the end of the season last year as the middle car in a three-car train. Anyway, the 1754 also has a D3-EG type air compressor that had a knock, so Dan F rebuilt a spare pump of that type and on Saturday the rebuilt pump was fitted to the 1754. That frees up the 1754's air compressor - shown above in the lean-three - and the plan is that in a few weeks Dan will start working to rebuild this one. Once it's ready to go, it will be installed on the 36 and the car will be back and ready for service. So that's exciting.

And then we get to progress on the third CA&E car for the day, and the section for which I have no photos. The plan for the 451 is to remove the inboard air tank (for replacement) and the car's air compressor (for valve and bushing work), but once that work is done - currently scheduled for next weekend - there's not too much that can be done on the car itself to advance it closer to running. On the other hand, my father is quite interested in starting to work on the roof of the 453, the car that we acquired last year from Scranton. So a plan was hatched to swap locations between three cars: the 451, which has been at the northwest corner of Barn 4; CTA 4146 (the "Baldy"), which has been in the "roof booth" on track 42; and the 453, which has been on display in Barn 6. The plan was to move the 453 into the roof booth, the "Baldy" to the northwest corner of 4, and the 451 into Barn 6. And over the course of only an hour or two late in the day on Sunday, that's what a large crew of volunteers did. The 451 actually ended up just west of the pit on track 41, so that its air tank and pump can be pulled next weekend, but it will then go over to Barn 6 where it will make a much more attractive display piece than the 453. The 453 is now in the roof booth, where work on its roof will commence shortly, while the "Baldy" is on track 41 which may actually make it easier to work on the car's exterior without all of the scaffolding. The switch move involved a lot of moving parts, but a rainstorm was headed in and so I wasn't able to take any time off to grab photos. But many thanks to everyone involved, particularly Greg, who organized the entire thing. Others working the move included Joel, Nick, Jeron, Jack, Richard, and Thomas.

Next up for the 453 project will be ordering canvas - donations are always appreciated!

And of course there's been plenty of progress on other cars in the shop. Here you can see one of the dash panels on Michigan Electric 28, which has acquired framing pieces and rivets.

Our General Manager of Collections, Phil Hehn, stopped by and happened to be present when a donated B&O hand lantern was brought in. Naysayers in our midst suggested that it wasn't worth keeping due to some rust, but Phil spent a few minutes cleaning it up and got it working and lit in short order. It will go over to the Steam Shop for potential use by the steam engine crews on night operations. Thanks, Phil! In the background here you can see our two green-and-orange projects, the 28 on the left and the 1754 (over the pit for its pump replacement) on the right.

Our iconic and unique "butter dish" milk car, which rarely sees the light of day, has been sitting in Yard 3 the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure whether it's just on display or intended to go inside on track 34 to join the freight car exhibit.

I'll tell ya, Bruneau Drive is a rough neighborhood...