Getting Ready for the Car Show

Frank writes...

Sunday was an eventful day, which I'll get to, but my main priority was to get the CA&E wood train ready for the Vintage Transport Extravaganza next Sunday. This involved switching the order of the three cars so the 308 is in the middle and checking the motor armature bearings and axle cap bearings to make sure they had enough oil.

Here's the consist on the ladder track. A huge thank you goes out to Zach, who helped with switching and oiling the cars. The "Kodachrome sky" looks nice, but it was really hot - temperatures were in the low 90s, and I believe the heat index was a bit over 100. 

Zach got this photo of me putting a soup can's worth of journal oil into one of the axle cap bearings under the 319. It's hard to overstate how much easier it is to check the bearings on this car versus the older cars; there's a lot more room under the car and the design of the waste access hatches is better. But I'd expect nothing less from 10-15 years worth of technological development. After all the lubrication work was done, we put the train back in Barn 8 and uncoupled the 309 in case we need it during the week.

HELP WANTED: We still need at least one trainman (and ideally two) for the CA&E train next Sunday! If you're free, sign up today. Thanks!

After dinner, I put a first coat of maroon paint on the belt rail stripes down the left side of Shaker 63.

And with some help from Good Nick, I got an initial mockup of the car number printed up. Whaddaya think? I need to compare this with photos and maybe do some fine tuning, but once it's judged acceptable, I'll make up a stencil and then paint the numbers on the car at some point.

In other news, there's been more progress on Barn 15: the side-lights are in on the north side of the building.

And when I mentioned it being an eventful day, the first event was underway when I arrived. A vintage, 1858-rules baseball game was just finishing up down in Springfield Park, which is the more poetic name of what has formerly been referred to as the "Thomas boarding area." 

I enjoyed watching about an inning's worth of play, interrupted only briefly by a passing streetcar. The main differences I noticed were underhand pitching; a complete absence of gloves; and the fact that the ball was still considered "caught" (as in, the batter is "out") after one bounce. 

Next, let's see what's happening over in Barn 4. As it turns out, a lot is going on. North Shore 251 was being inspected by Joel, Will, and Ashtin following the reinstallation of its air compressor last weekend. With luck, it should be back on the railroad soon. Joel pointed out that other recent work included inspection of the 1754 and installation of a rebuilt MG set under CTA "single spam can" 41, which should enable it to go back into service. It's been a couple of years since the "single cars" were available for regular use, so it will be nice to have them available again once the cars are fully inspected and any other issues are addressed.

And in other eventful happenings, Zach and Greg's London bus has returned! It has been coming to Union for the Vintage Transport Extravaganza and Bus Day events, so it showed up on Sunday around the time I did.

Of course, it made a couple of test trips around the property. Here, Zach drives down Central Avenue with Richard and Jim in the "railfan" seats. By the way, did I mention that this coming Sunday is the Vintage Transport Extravaganza? Tell your friends and family - it's always a great day to visit!