Thanks to Richard Schauer for sending along the latest news regarding our Milwaukee Marmon-Herrington trolley bus, number 441, which is off-site undergoing a full exterior restoration.
Progress on 441 continues, not as fast as before, but it's still moving along. Work is now focused on the upper section. The window frames have been masked off, and the petrified rubber roof mat has been chipped off. The first three photos show this work.
The sign shop has provided lettering masks, which will be used to "letter under" the top coat of paint. The area is painted first with the lettering color, the mask is applied, and then the surrounding topcoat color is applied. When the vinyl mask is peeled off, the lettering color shows through. (I should note the spacing of the masks on their backing sheet does not reflect their spacing on the bus, with the exception of the delicate EXIT and ONLY letters. Each mask is cut out and applied individually, according to photographic and physical evidence of its former location.)
I'll address the likelihood that 441 will be ready by Bus Day at the end of the month, or the original target of its 75th birthday in October: I don't think so, unfortunately. I also don't think it will miss by much, and would expect it back on property before winter. The list of remaining work is steadily shrinking, but still substantial. Remember also that if it's completed and returned to IRM on some particular date, it will still take some reassembly time to become a running vehicle again, which for 9631 amounted to two months.
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