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Frank writes...

On Sunday I resumed the window repainting project on the 18, a project which has been a feature of the last couple of winters.

All the original windows on the right side of the car have been removed and repainted, as have most of the ones near the front on the left side. About 10 windows remain to be done, most near the back on the left side. The window shown here is L18, the last window on the left side. This window and the very first window on the right side share a little gizmo (barely visible at bottom right) that allows the window to be opened only a few inches, whereas all the other windows only have two positions, closed and open. I wonder whether the idea was to create a cross breeze through the car in the winter without making it too cold?

Anyway, here are windows L15 through L18 on the bench. I removed the glass from each one, heat-stripped off the paint, sanded them, reinstalled the glass, and then added a little epoxy wood filler as needed. These windows weren't too bad but the bottom rails all had small cracks or splits.

Here's the stack after this work was done. With a bit of sanding to smooth off the new epoxy, they'll be ready for primer and then Bankers Cream. If anyone out during the week feels like moving these somewhere that's less in the way, I'd appreciate it!

The Illinois Terminal department was hard at work on IT Class B 1565. Bob, Brian, and Mikey were over at the locomotive working on contactors and brakes. Here, Zach (yellow hat) and Nick (not yellow hat) are working on rebuilding arc chutes using nothing but epoxy, Glyptal, and old fashioned grit and moxie. Actually, no Moxie. And the grit was mainly for cleaning hardware.

I even caught Bob from the Track Department doing car work. Make sure you fill out the Car Department volunteer hours sheet!

In other news, Tim was working on planing wooden planks for the 1808; Zach and Steven J were working on windows for the 749; Thomas and Ashton were working on rebuilding a U-valve, I believe for one of our CTA 4000s; Steven J was doing some cleanup on CSL 144; and Joel was working on a variety of things, as usual. Nick and Matthew also helped me put some spare parts away to clear a bit more floor space in the shop. And the photo above shows recent progress made by the weekday crew on a new baggage door for North Shore MD car 213, which is the only "end-door" MD car preserved. The original door behind it makes the need clear!