Getting Ready

On Wednesday I started cleaning up the trolley bases for the 453.  One of them had already been disassembled by Greg, so I took the larger parts out to the rear of the barn for wire-wheeling.

This one still has its OB builder's plate; the other doesn't.

I then disassembled the other one...

...and left a second pile of kit parts on the bench.

I think the springs still need to be wire-wheeled and painted, but they need to be stretched.  We have a spring stretcher, I'm told, but we have to find it, and in any case I don't know how to use it.  And stretching those springs is potentially dangerous.  So that's another job for the second shift!

Meanwhile, the bases and pole clamp assemblies got primed and painted.

So now, I think, we just need to repaint the springs, lubricate the mechanisms, and re-assemble the bases so they can be installed.

Pete Galayda was working on the 160, of course.  I should have tried to get some interior pictures.  Anyway, here is the first aid box, with a furniture-quality finish.

I feel safer already.  And John was working on the 306, mostly on fitting parts to the window posts.  Some fixes will be needed for the tack moldings in various places:

Next, I installed more leather straps to hold the roof cables in place on the 453.  I will need a helper to resolder the connectors onto the cables, to undo what we did here.  

And then, I went over to Barn 8 to check on the wood train.  We have three cars ready to go: 309, 36, and 319.  I checked the oil on the compressors we'll be using and filled them up.  Nobody wants to do that job when he's got his operating clothes on.   And I checked that everything's in place, the switches are in the correct position, etc. 

And while I was in Barn 8, I ran into Nick Dey who was getting ready to clean up the IC Highliners for their big debut this weekend. 

We won't be handling too many passengers, of course.  As I understand it, the train will be at Schmidt Siding to run back and forth a little, and the 460 will be in shuttle service from 50th Avenue to take people there.  So I suppose the regular main-line trains will all short-turn at West Switch, which is fine with me.

As we've mentioned before, you -- yes, you -- can run the Highliners briefly this weekend for the low, low price of $10, cash only, first come first served.  I can only hope we don't have fisticuffs. 

But you won't have to fight to get a seat on the many regular service trains that will be operating this weekend, so don't miss it!  Visit the IRM website for details.