Friday Features

 There is relatively little to report in the Car Dept. for today; I worked some more on the trap door for the 453, and then went over to Barn 8 to put the train together and fill the compressors with oil.  The three-car wood train will be operating on Sunday for Vintage Transport Day, and I wanted to make sure it was ready.  You won't want to miss it.  Bill Wulfert was the only other Car Dept. person I saw; John and Jane were working on seats for the Dover Strait, as usual.  But nothing much to take a picture of.

So on the way out I stopped over by Barns 10 and 11 to see for myself what's happening.  Here there was a lot to look at.  Out in front of Barn 10, several cars of the Museum's vast Rock Island coach fleet were placed, either being cleaned up or repainted.   They wanted to make as many of these look good for Thomas as they could, and it's pretty impressive.

Many of them look as though they've been repainted, but actually they have just been cleaned up and given a coat of Penetrol, which vastly improves the appearance.

At least one is in primer:

And another is getting its roof repainted:

Over in Barn 11, the Milwaukee Road dynamometer now looks like this:

They're getting ready to repaint it.

And I happened to run into Roger, who was glad to give me a tour of the Dover Strait, which is really making progress.  The exterior NYC paint scheme is excellent.

Inside, the parlor compartment is nicely done, and ready for service.  The floor needs carpeting installed eventually, and some of the furniture will be replaced, but most of the interior restoration is complete.

Roger said they were planning to make a brake test on the car later today, and he hopes to have it in service by Labor Day.

Here is one of the roomettes, with its upper berth and private washroom.  It's too compact to be easily photographed.  But as I told Roger, now all we need are manikins of Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.

And then I met Buzz, so here is some of the lettering he's been doing on the freight cars.

And finally, the ex-Soo Milwaukee caboose.

And as usual, I'm sure there's lots of other things I missed.  But this is enough to show that the work never stops at IRM.

CA&E Headlight Circuit

The CA&E had its own system for portable headlights, which cannot be interchanged with anything else at IRM.  The main parts of the circuit on each car are the headlight switch and fuse in the electrical cabinet, the resistor box under the car, and a DPDT switch at each end in the ceiling above the motorman.  The headlight has two leads, connected across the bulb.  One plug is white and the other is black, and these go into two receptacles in the car, labeled B and D (for bright and dim).

You will observe that the direction of current is reversed when switching from bright to dim.  The reason for this has to do with arc headlights, explained below.  It makes no difference with incandescent bulbs, of course.

However, the headlights were later modified by adding a small resistor to the headlight, which grounds through the case.  This has the effect of making "dim" somewhat dimmer.  But this resistor can be removed or disconnected, so that the headlight does not ground through the case in either position, and so that it doesn't matter if the headlight leads are switched.  This change thus makes the system safer.  Some but not all of our available CA&E headlights have been thus modified.  In any case, as a general safety precaution all crews should be careful not to handle a headlight or even open the train door when the lamp is on.  On the North Shore cars this is especially important.

The DPDT switch is enclosed in a metal casting that looks like this:

In this picture the switch is in the center off position.  Inside the casting:

I believe most of the wood cars originally had the receptacles for the headlight plugs located one on either side of the train door, as seen here.  In our collection, the 308 and 309 are still this way.

But later, blocks with two receptacles were mounted to one side, and this is the way all of the steel cars are arranged.

In fact, we have a couple of spare blocks from Wheaton in our collection.

The main cause of system failure, other than a bulb burning out, is the failure of one or more resistors in the box under the car.

 

Typical Results for 600V Trolley Voltage

	Dim	Bright
Voltage across bulb	60V	100V
Voltage across box	540V	500V
Current	2.7A	4.0A
Resistance across box	200Ω	125Ω
Resistance per tube	40Ω	42Ω
Power dissipated per tube	300W	650W
Power dissipated in bulb	160W	400W

Note: Five tubes in series when dim, three tubes when bright.

Of course, these values may vary depending upon the particular headlight bulb.

CARBON ARC HEADLIGHTS

Carbon arc lamps operate by starting a spark between two carbon electrodes.  The spark continues by allowing a current between the electrodes due to the generation of a hydrocarbon gas, which provides a very intense light.  The carbon arc lamp is generally a pretty rugged and reliable device, which does not require a vacuum tube, but it is more complicated, and the carbon electrodes are gradually consumed as the lamp operates.

When a carbon arc lamp is operated on DC, the positive carbon is consumed about twice as fast as the negative one, and a concave pit is developed in the end of the positive carbon, known as the crater.  The crater is very hot, and most of the light is generated by this crater.  For general illumination, the positive carbon would be placed directly above the gap, as shown below in Fig. 238.  But for a searchlight or headlight, the carbons would usually be placed at an angle, as shown in Fig. 239, to direct the light in the desired direction.  Of course, in a headlight the parabolic reflector is placed to focus the light also.  (Fig. 240 shows an AC arc lamp, which doesn't concern us here.)

When the headlight is switched to dim, the direction of the current is reversed, and this makes the upper carbon negative in Fig. 239.  The result is to make the rate at which the carbons are consumed more equal, and also to diffuse the light being generated somewhat.

The mechanism for a carbon arc lamp was rather complicated, but I will present a simplified explanation.  The upper carbon is held in a movable holder, which is adjusted by two solenoids acting in opposite directions.  There is a solenoid for lifting the carbon, wired in series with the arc, and a solenoid for pulling it down, wired in parallel with the arc.  These are known as the series solenoid and shunt solenoid, respectively.  There must also be a resistor in series with the lamp when it is operated from a constant-voltage source, such as on an electric car.  And the lamp has a dash pot, to slow the motion of the holder.

When the lamp is off, the upper carbon drops by gravity until it touches the lower carbon.  In this case, there is no resistance between the two elements, and when the lamp is turned on, maximum current flows through the series solenoid and through the carbons.  The series solenoid then starts to raise the upper carbon, starting the arc.  As the arc widens, the voltage across it increases, and this voltage is applied to the shunt solenoid.  The downward force exerted by the shunt solenoid therefore increases until the net force is zero, and the upper carbon remains in place, with a fixed voltage and current.  As the carbons are slowly eaten away, the arc widens, the voltage across it increases, and the solenoids automatically adjust the gap.  If the power is turned off, as may often happen on an electric car (especially if you have third-rail gaps), gravity once more causes the upper carbon to drop down, and the process repeats.

I can only imagine everybody was glad when incandescent headlight bulbs came along.

Reference: Practical Applied Electricity by Moreton, 1911

Tuesday Report

It was generally pretty hot today, but if you can find something to do in our nice air-conditioned shop facilities, that's all to the good.

First, I had some training to do.  Fred needed instruction so he can be qualified on the wood cars.  We ran the three car out to the tail track and changed ends.

Then we went back to the barn and did some coupling and uncoupling.  We were planning to take the 309 on a main-line trip, but it started to rain.   Unexpectedly.  So that trip was cancelled, and he took the749 for revenue service instead.  In any case, the training went well.

Meanwhile, back in the shop the usual crew were working on their projects.   Gerry was welding up the end of the 2872.

And John has acquired the new upper-sash glass for the 306.  This will really look good.

And he is fitting the individual upper sash frames to the car.

One of the trap doors on the 453 was partly rusted out, and the linoleum was loose, so it had been removed many months ago.  But you don't want to fall into this trap...

So I decided to try patching it up with epoxy as a temporary fix until at some point it can be rebuilt.  That went pretty well, and I had some machine screws that had broken off, so those needed to be drilled and tapped, and that was all a good way to spend time in the shop instead of the barn.

And then I was able to put it back in place, adjust the spring, and it works.  The latch on the door is missing, so that needs to be found, but otherwise it's ready for use.  Next time, when the epoxy has completely cured, it can be painted.

Vintage Transport Day is this Sunday already, so you won't want to miss it!   Weather permitting, the 309, 36, and 319 will be running in main-line service, along with the Zephyr and two steam trains.  It doesn't get any better than that!

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum visit

Frank writes...

I'm back on the road, traveling for business, very nearly for the first time since March 2020. This past weekend, work took me to Pittsburgh, so of course that meant stopping in and saying hello to Bruce Wells and the folks at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington, PA.

As usual, there were a couple of active restoration projects in the shop. Shown here is Philadelphia Peter Witt 8042, which is undergoing a major rebuilding that is being accomplished both by PTM volunteers and by restoration-guru-for-hire Keith Bray. Keith has largely rebuilt both ends of the car and when I was visiting Bruce had just put a coat of paint on new upper-sash windows for the car. Over my left shoulder as I took this photo was Red Arrow center door car 73, which unfortunately I failed to get any photos of. It's been brought into the shop for some steel work.

Another shop project is PTM's Rio open car, which needs work on the motor armature bearings. They're doing this work in-house - above, Art Ellis is using a mill to do some machining on one end of the motor armature shaft.

But the really interesting part of the visit was a tour of PTM's new building. This isn't their impressive new visitor's center - ground has been broken on that and construction should be starting sometime this fall, along with new track down "Trolley Street" that may start being laid as early as next month. No, this is the Reliance Building, an industrial building located right alongside the museum's line roughly halfway between their original museum site and their new east campus.

The Reliance Building is truly impressive. It's about 170'x360', with four 40' wide bays running the length of the building, plus a two-story office wing on one side. Until recently it was occupied by a company that rebuilt, of all things, electric motors for industrial and mining operations. The building came with several overhead cranes, of which the largest are a 20T and 25T, and at least a dozen jib cranes mounted to posts.

When PTM bought the building, they also bid on a couple of the machines, so they got a huge horizontal mill (this is intended to be used for line-boring motor housings and bearings among other things) as well as the lathe in the background of this photo, a 33" machine with a 35' bed. In the foreground are a high-precision Hardinge lathe purchased from government surplus and a forge. The Reliance Building will be used for several different things. First, it will house a machine shop, using the aforementioned machines. Second, it will house the museum's archives. The impending razing of the (rented) building that had been housing the museum's archives was actually what prompted PTM to look seriously at purchasing this building. Third, the building will provide indoor storage for the fleet of rubber-tire maintenance vehicles. Fourth, the office wing will house much of the museum's professional staff. And fifth, there's enough extra space to rent out as commercial warehouse space to earn a bit of income. In the future there's the potential to add more roles. I don't think there are any current plans to run tracks into the building from the adjacent PTM main line but there's nothing that would preclude it.

So anyway, this is quite a step forward for PTM, to go along with the other big steps forward they're making right now like the visitor's center, Trolley Street trackage, and the new wye and track connection to their Artifact Preservation Building. Many thanks to Bruce, Art, and the whole gang for showing me around!

Wednesday Report

 Another busy day at the Museum, and we have reports on only a part of it.

First, I needed to get exact results for CA&E headlight circuit resistors, since some of them on the 319 burned out, and they need to be replaced before the car can operate at night.  I examined the box on the 308 in detail, since it was easier to get at and still in very good condition.   It looks like this.

I then hooked up a headlight and measured the voltages and currents, as a check on the resistor values.  I'll post this as a separate item, since it may be useful in the future to anyone who needs to repair a CA&E headlight circuit.  Since the same headlights were used on all cars, I believe the headlight circuits were all essentially identical.

The 409 was holding down revenue service today.   Ron Seavers, motorman.

And the track and B&G crews were digging a hole for a new foundation.  BNSF has donated a Santa Fe semaphore recently removed from service, and overhauled it for us in their shops.  It will be mounted as a display next to the giant Santa Fe sign.  We really appreciate all the help that BNSF has given us over the years.  This semaphore will be another dramatic improvement to the campus.

Speaking of the campus, it's time for some more education.  Today's topic: monkey links!

(Since somebody asked....)

Closed and open.

Rope is looped through one end of the link, then the link is closed.  This particular rope is tied and taped the way the CA&E did it.

And here it is mounted on the 453.  Any questions?  This will be on the semester final.

Meanwhile, next door Pete Galayda continues to make good progress on the 160's interior.  Here we see some of the newly-repainted baggage racks being installed.

Fritz and Pete can be proud of their work.

And in other news, I managed to find a pile of parts which we believe are what's left of the original roof mats ("lobster traps") on the 714.  It's possible they can be reused, but if not, they will probably make good patterns for new ones.  So the exact location of this bonanza is a company secret.

Sunday update

Frank writes...

I didn't get out to IRM until mid-afternoon on Sunday, so with the final day of the Thomas event already winding down, I headed over to the car shop.

My first goal was to get the 18 a little bit of time on the inspection pit to start work on adjusting the brakes and generally inspecting the car's running gear. Here it is on the tail track, waiting for some of the revenue service cars to head back to the barn before proceeding to the pit. This is the car's first trip outside since this side was painted and lettered. I didn't get any photos while the car was on the pit, but Joel and Jeron were extremely helpful in getting the brake rigging adjusted. A little bit more work on this point will be needed, but things are working far better now than they were before. We will also need to try and procure a new brake shoe or two - this car has an odd design with the shoes held in by cotter pins, so I need to determine whether any of the eastern trolley museums have spares they could sell/trade us or whether we will eventually need to make a pattern and get some cast. Hopefully it's the former, not the latter. In the meantime, Zach tackled some wiring mysteries on the car and traced the inoperative tail lights to a bad resistor under the left rear bench seat. Once that resistor is replaced, we're hopeful that the tail lights will work.

In the evening, after the car was back in Barn 7, I installed the second of the three plywood panels that will cover the big hole in the ceiling aft of the doors. Here you can see the second panel in place but before I reinstalled the light fixture base at this location.

And here we are with the light fixture back in place and lit. One more panel (already painted and just awaiting cutting down to size) is needed, and then once the lap strips and ventilator covers are installed, this little project will be done. At least until we decide to go back and do it "right" in a few years with a single, huge, atrociously expensive piece of ceiling material.

In other 18 news, Joel put in an order with our in-house paint mixing department for a couple of gallons of Tile Red canvas paint. That will improve the 18's appearance noticeably. This is starting to sound expensive - help!

And finally for today, a quick stop by the Steam Shop revealed the impressive results of recent cosmetic work on Public Service Company 7. This was the museum's first steam engine and I believe it is being repainted for display in Barn 3. It's getting a new pilot beam and that was out of frame to the right, getting holes drilled before it's mounted on the engine.

Saturday Spectacular

Today was another great day out at the Museum.  Day Out With Thomas was in full swing, so we'll have a few pictures of that.  Tomorrow is your only chance to get in on the action, so don't miss it!

We'll start with a celebrity quiz: name the celebrities behind those masks!

Well, if you got less than five out of four, you need to work harder.  The important message is that there were lots of people working hard to make this a success for IRM.  The weather was almost perfect, so we had a great crowd of visitors, all of whom seemed to be having a good time.  I can't even start to name them all, but they all deserve a lot of thanks.

Thomas, of course, is oriented towards young people, but kids of all ages were having a good time.  Before I left, I stopped in at one of the tents to see the Kenosha Garden Railway layout.  And there were musicians, and various gift shop operations to see.

(How have I gotten through life without a gilsonite car?)

But since all of the operating slots had already been filled, I joined a few of the Car Shop regulars in continuing work on our various projects.  John Sheldon, Dan Fenlaciki, Bill Wulfert, Ed Woytula, Fritz, and Tim Peters were there.

I was able to solder up all of the connections on the roof cables, but doing it yourself leaves no time for taking pictures.  Later, it was all tested and should be OK.  And then all of the remaining cables were attached to the roof boards with leather straps.  And then there were various other details that needed attention.

At the east end, I attached a rope for raising and lowering the pole.  I still need a couple of monkey links.

And there was one good retriever already painted red, so I threaded a rope into it, pulled it out of retrieve, and mounted it.  Joel said he would select another retriever, paint it red, and give it to the 453.

So the roof work on the 453 is basically complete.  We will want to put another coat of black paint on it, but that will wait until the body has been sandblasted.  My original ambition was to complete the roof work in a year, and that has been accomplished with about three weeks to spare.  I would like to start on the 460, but we still need it for service this year, so after talking with Joel, it appears like the next roof project will be roof mats for the 714 -- which it has needed for the past 40 years or so.  Once it's in the roof booth, that shouldn't take too long.

In case that doesn't mean much to you, here's a recent picture of the 714.  If you know what a North Shore car should look like, it's like an old man with a receding hairline.  (Please, no snide comments!)  In any case, that should be an interesting project.  Stay tuned!