Sunday Report

Frank writes...

The focus for me on Sunday was, again, the 451.

I spent a while needle-chipping and managed to effectively complete that task inside the car. The only areas of metal not already chipped are a couple of sections along the advertising card racks, which I want to leave intact so that there's some sample of the original paint color left. Next up: wire wheeling.

Richard (left), Greg (right), and Nick were working more on the new bumper for the end of the 268. Additional progress was made in heating it and bending it to the correct arc.

And pest that I am, I persuaded Richard and Greg to help me out with the 451 while the torch was out. The car only has a rope guard fitted at one end because the one for the other end was pretty badly bent when we got it. Fortunately, Richard and Greg - with some assistance from Bob, who happened by - were able to figure out how to get it restored to the correct arc shape. Nick snapped the above photo of Richard providing the heat while Greg and I do the bending.

Voila! I need to wire wheel and prime the areas that were heated, then paint the thing black, but after that it's ready to put on the car. Thanks also to Nick and Greg for helping me move the two third rail beams for the 451 off the bench in the wood shop and out into the barn. And finally, after dinner, Nick, Steven, Greg, and I made progress on repairs to the 600V switch in Barn 8.

This coming weekend is Museum Showcase Weekend, and all sorts of interesting operations are planned. Make sure to come out and join us - you don't want to miss out!