I'm looking forward to the 70 for 70 Pageant coming to a museum near you this July-- who isn't? And planning ahead, we'll want to run two four-car CA&E trains -- something that hasn't been done in 66 years. And that will require control jumpers. The number of jumpers needed is equal to the number of cars minus the number of trains, so 8-2 = 6. And it's good to have some working spares. So I finally finished up the most recent one that had been handed to me, after it was pulled apart in service.
I documented this process about five years ago here: Control Jumper Repair. Nothing has changed, but here are pictures of today's finished product.
I believe the reason these jumpers get damaged in service is that people making up the train are not checking that the jumpers are locked into the receptacle properly. It's hard to get a picture of this, but the circular lid on the receptacle has a projection that needs to fit over the large pin on top of the jumper's end casting. If you then push down on the lid, it will force the pin farther into the receptacle, and the jumper will not come loose. I will be happy to demonstrate this to anyone who's interested. It's easier to demonstrate than explain.
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