Trolley Bus Update

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!