Our Usual Busy Selves

Monday was another busy day in the Car Shop, so I didn't get a chance to check out the various other areas in the Museum.  

Pete was finishing a door; I never got around to asking him where it goes.

 

John and Norm were discussing wiring on the 306.  And that's Gerry in the distance.  Work on this car is continuing at a steady pace.

And Norm is also hard at work getting the next two volumes of his monumental book on the Michigan Electric ready for the publisher.  I can't wait.

I'm not sure who's hiding under all that protective gear, but I suspect it's Tim, applying finish to new wood pieces with his typical efficient methods.

Fritz was working on the 28; here are some of the pieces he made to install the ceiling in the baggage compartment.

And here we see him attaching some parts.

Gerry and Phil are working on installing the stanchions in the 306.

Finally, I purchased some new wood and started making the next third-rail beam.  Two pieces were jointed, ripped, and then glued.  It looks just like the first one did.  Here the end is visible at left.  

For the first beam, since the fuses could not be dislodged from the shoe casting, I decided it was easier to just swap it out with another one, which has fuses pointing the right way.  And I also wanted to use longer bolts to hold it together.  And I attached the scraper to the shaft, so it's more or less complete.  Now it just needs a nice coat of black -- feel free!

Finally, while we're on the subject of third rails, someone brought in a rather tired CA&E third rail support.  It's badly rusted, but these things are hard to find.  And to think there used to be thousands of them.