Anticipation in the Air

Frank writes...

The Electric Car Department was abuzz with activity on Sunday. Have we mentioned yet that we've got a big event coming up? Anyway, I'll start with the most interesting stuff, i.e. what everyone else is doing.

The 803 is currently parked in front of Barn 2, coupled to the GG-1. These were both brought over by a diesel for a good wash. In case you were wondering, these are two of the three largest (by weight, anyway) preserved electric locomotives. It turns out the "bi-polar" down in St. Louis weighs more than the GG-1, though less than the 803.

This is just another photo of the Barn 4 addition progress.

At the west end of Barn 4, I snapped this photo, showing canvas being stretched on one of the "hips" of the 1808's roof. That's exciting progress. Between the 1808 and 1754, it's like we're back at Wilson!

I got to see the 65 motoring for the first time in five years or so, though it was just a low-speed switch move. It had been discovered that the car's original E relay valve was badly worn, so it was replaced with an identical unit out of the 205 that happened to be in good condition. So now both cars have relay valves that match the overall condition of the cars they're fitted to.

Here's Zach at the controller. He pointed out that he has run two out of the four extant ex-Indiana Railroad cars that are operational. Can you name all four without checking PNAERC?

Over in the shop, Doodlebug Bob was machining new pins for the DB-160 contactors in the Class B. The Class B has had contactor problems due in part to bad mechanical wear, so Bob is replacing things like pins and bushings to get things working again.

And that leads us to my projects for the day. First, I checked the oil in the motor armature bearings and air compressor on the 18, so it should be ready to go for the parade on the 1st. I also checked the motor armature bearings on the 309 and added oil as necessary - many thanks to Doodlebug Dan for his help. After that, it was back over to the 18, where I wire-wheeled the panel at the front right corner of the car as shown. Afterward, those holey sections at the bottom got some Bondo.

After dinner, it was time to sand down the Bondo and apply a coat of white primer. This is certainly an improvement. I hope to get a coat of Bankers Cream on this next weekend.

And in a bit of exciting news, a huge thank you to Joel for building a brand new window for the front end of the car to the motorman's right. The end windows on this car are quite large and the original in this spot had some issues, so this will be great to get completed and installed. It received white primer too.