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!