Thanks to Richard Schauer for sending along this update of progress on Milwaukee trolley bus 441, which is being externally restored and repainted by an off-site contractor, last Friday:
I have a great update for you this week... and no photos for it. The picture files on my camera show up as corrupted, and I have to wonder if the weather had something to do with it. So, I'll describe what I saw!
The rear end of the 441 below the belt rail is done. A leveling coat was applied to the whole thing after the dent in the lower part was pulled out, and it's in good shape. The lower rear curb-side corner showed something was amiss underneath the wrap-around of the bumper, and it was removed (the bumper is three pieces, counting the wrap-arounds). The body skin underneath it had been eaten away, as the bumper piece trapped salt and moisture inside. This was being fixed on Wednesday, and appears to be a simple job. The street side behind the rear wheels had received a first sanding, and looked good.
For the big news, the front end received a lot of work. The front sheet under the headlights had been removed, and will be replaced as one piece. A couple of small breaks in the framework were found, and won't be a big deal to fix. They found something unusual inside the dash, practically unreachable from inside the bus unless you had long rubber arms- someone had stashed two brand new hubodometers and two trolley carbons and holders inside. Milwaukee didn't use hubodometers to my knowledge, so I suppose this was done at IRM; they appear to be the same type CTA used.
I will check in again next week at the shop to shoot some more pictures and see if they've made more progress. Until then, Merry Christmas to everyone, and stay warm!
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