Frank writes...
Sunday was all about motors and trucks. When I arrived at about 2pm, it was just after a motor issue with the 36 had been discovered. The service train for the day was the 36 and 319, but the 36 was spinning its wheels immediately upon starting. This could be a stuck contactor or something else, but we're hoping (fingers crossed) that it's an easy and - more importantly - cheap fix. In the meantime, with a lot on the agenda for the day, Greg and Good Nick cut out the motors on the 36 and moved the car back to Barn 8 using the 319 as the horse. Troubleshooting will be done as time permits.
After the train was back in the barn, the next of the day's planned activities commenced. Greg and Norm had agreed to walk through some of our outdoor parts storage areas to identify components (mostly trucks, motors, and control equipment) that are allocated for specific projects or uses. Norm has been around long enough that he recalls the histories of some of these pieces better than just about anyone, so this was a way of recording some of this information for future use. It was also a fascinating couple of hours for a "parts fan" like myself! Trivia question: can you ID one or both of these? (And yes, there is a correct answer for both!)
And by 5:30 the truck was out and Brian had the forklift ready to lift the motor into the truck. The axle caps are in the right foreground.
Voila! By 6:30, the motor was in the truck, though some finagling of one axle cap still needed to be done. Here Joel is standing astride the truck fender.
While the truck and motor work was happening, the new center bearing was test-fit to the locomotive. A few minor adjustments were needed, which Doodlebug Bob took care of, and then Joel and I lifted it into place. The new bearing is at center top in the photo below.
It was at about this point that we took a break for dinner. Our friend Jim Ward was visiting from Rio Vista, so it was great to get a chance to talk to him. After dinner, the truck was moved under the locomotive using the 25-tonner and then the L4 was gently set back down. And there you go.
Some work is still needed, including hooking up brake rigging and motor leads, reattaching sand hoses, and oiling axle caps, but the L4 should be useable again for the first time since it was taken out of service in late 2017. While I was at it, I noticed the below emblem on the side of the locomotive. It still wears its 1960s-era Wisconsin Electric Power Company paint, but underneath the "Reddy Kilowatt" logo, you can still see part of the old TMER&T diamond emblem showing through.
And just for yucks, another overall view of Barn 4 in oddly empty condition.
The below photos were sent in by Bill Wulfert, who was around on Sunday afternoon to observe the proceedings. Thanks, Bill! First of all we have a shot of the L4 up on jack stands while Joel and Zach crouch underneath to test-fit the center bearing plate.
Here's Zach, myself, and Joel, with Brian out of sight running the forklift, lowering the traction motor into place. Zach and I are mainly watching the axle cap bearings and trying to keep the bearings from falling off the axle into the dirt.
More of the same, with Zach and I holding up the bearings with sticks while Joel practices his dance moves atop the truck.
And finally, a photo of one of the motors installed in the 1754 truck. This installation project, begun last weekend, was finished on Saturday by Dan and others. The axle caps are now fully bolted in and this truck (I think?) is ready to put under the 1754.
10 comments:
Frank,
You should erase the Wisconsin Electric power logo and repaint the TMER&T logo.
Ted Miles, Long time IRM Member
If you did that, wouldn't it also be necessary to repaint the whole thing into TM olive drab and yellow?
C Kronenwetter
Yes, anything other than its current WEPCO "Reddy Kilowatt" livery would involve painting it back into Pullman Green and yellow. I believe that it would have originally worn a TMER&L diamond, then a TMER&T diamond, then block "TMER&TCO" lettering like L10 currently has, then WEPCO light green. I don't think there are any plans to backdate this one, though at some point it would be nice to put a fresh coat of WEPCO green on it.
Actually, the brake rigging was reattached before we closed up the barn for the night, so that little bit is done.
I spent a good few minutes browsing through photos of stuff IRM owned in the past and the present in an effort to figure out where those spare trucks came from. The closest thing I could find for the top truck is maybe one of the 4000s. The bottom truck is puzzling me, as it looks like it has brackets for third rail pick ups. It doesn't look like a truck from a North Shore car or a CA&E car. CTA 1700 series Wood car perhaps?
-Matt Maloy
Those are good guesses, Matt! You're close, but these are pretty obscure types. The truck on top is a McGuire 20A, an MCB design very similar to a 4000 truck in function. This was acquired as a spare for North Shore 604, which has trucks of this type.
Good catch on the bottom truck's third rail beam mounts. This one is really a rarity, and it isn't from Chicago. It comes from a Brooklyn Bridge elevated car built in 1890s by Pullman. Electric traction was new enough at the time that the available motors weren't powerful (or maybe reliable) enough to take the cars over the bridge, so they functioned as cable cars over the bridge and just had electric motors to move around the yard. One car was later sold to the Mason City & Clear Lake in Iowa (at some point acquiring bigger motors!) and ran on the MC&CL as a box motor into the late 1930s. It sat around until the early 1960s, when IRM scrapped its remains for parts. Photo at https://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/mccl19.jpg
Hi Frank,
Talking about identifying parts. Would you be chance know where the plow blade that's on the gravel road near barns 2 and 4. I knew the story at one time, but I completely forgot where it originally came from.
Thanks
That plow goes to the TM D-13.
L4 started out in yellow with red trim, then was in TMER&L green/yellow by the 1930s. It is not possible to restore it back to those eras, due to the 1944 wreck at the Lakeside Belt's Milwaukee Road interchange that left nothing recognizable above the deck, save for the remains of one hood. When it was rebuilt at Cold Spring, its original narrow cab (like L3) was replaced with a wider cab (like L10). There were some other changes made (primarily to the step arrangement) between 1944 and its current configuration.
In theory it could be backdated to the 1944-1960 Transport Company era (green/yellow with diamond herald), but it would need quite a bit of research to get it right. And, in truth, would it be worth the bother when L3 can be restored all the way back to its TMER&L appearance without much difficulty?
The bottom truck reminds me of a McGuire 26, which was used by the South Side Rapid Transit on some of its cars.
Post a Comment