Pull All the Stops

It's time once again to pull out all the stops!  (Actually, it's best to leave this to an expert.  Luckily, we happen to know one.)  The Steam Department Benefit at the astounding San Fillippo Estate will be taking place again on Sunday, June 29th.  Follow the link to get all the details and purchase tickets.  You'll be glad you did!

36 Report

 

The last two days were spent mostly on inspecting the 36.  No unexpected problems were found.

The main step forward was in getting ready to change out the compressor.  Gerry Dettloff provided the expertise in burning off the rusted bolts on the brackets without harming the brackets.  They now have new bolts which will be easy to remove when we're ready to actually lift the cradle off the car.

And here's a view of some of the underbody equipment, including the inward-facing contactor box.  It's a lot easier to check things out when the car is over the pit.

I also fixed the brake slack adjustment on the 309, so it should be ready for service this weekend.  We plan to have the 308 and 309 operating on Monday.

In other exciting news, the 1630 was being loaded with coal and water on Wednesday.  Here's the latest semi-automated method for coaling the locomotive:

 

1) Coal in the new bunker by Barn 8 is loaded into a coaling bucket by a bobcat.  Mark Secco rescued this 1 cubic yard C&NW coaling bucket  from Chicago, and it is being carried by the big forklift.  Jeff Calendine is driving the forklift, and Marko is running the bobcat. 

 

2) The forklift drives over to the tender and raises the bucket.  Two members of the Steam Team stand ready on the line.

3) With sufficient effort, the bucket is tipped over and the coal falls into the tender, with none being spilled.

4) Our Chief Financial Officer supervises the process from behind the doghouse, to ensure that none of the museum's assets are being wasted. 

The 1630 is getting some fine tuning to the front end, but should be ready for operation by Saturday.  Don't miss it!

And finally, here's another view of the scenery.

Inspection Car Update

Our Milwaukee Road inspection car has now been moved out to the parking lot at North Freedom, where it's more accessible.  So progress is being made rapidly.  That means we need the funds to pay for transportation and track space.  Please donate to the restricted fund for Milwaukee Rd. #30 today!

Thanks.

Open House at Kloke's

Dave Kloke held an open house for the public today to show off the progress on his Lincoln Funeral Car project, and so we took the opportunity to see it. 

The frame of the car is made of steel square tubing welded together, as seen here.  I'm sure it is extremely strong.  This is covered with plywood attached to pine lumber framing.  

 

Samples of the journal boxes, pedestals, and leaf springs for the truck.  

Outside is the frame for the officers' car that he is also building.  The black extension to the front is a removable gooseneck so that the car can be towed over the roads with a dolly under the rear of the car.

Also stored outside is something I found interesting also: an old C&NW wooden car which had been converted to camp service, that Dave acquired from a yard in Chicago.  Various parts, including seats, windows, and trucks, have been salvaged for use on the new cars, and the body will be scrapped.

The car was sitting on these wood-frame passenger trucks.  They will be rebuilt and go under the officers' car.

 

And here are some ancient Huntoon arch-bar freight trucks.

And here is the boiler for the next locomotive under construction at the Kloke Locomotive Works.

Dave himself was sitting there running the drill press, but he also took time to answer visitors' questions as needed.

Getting Ready

 

 Today was Scout Day, among other things, so there were lots of Boy Scouts around, along with their scoutmasters and families, and a good number of other visitors.  I worked on fixing various issues with doors and windows on the 36, and checked the roof hardware on the 308 and 309.  Nothing to see here, people, move along.  But look, the 409 is over the inspection pit, so the two-car steel train can be in service tomorrow.

These grids are a much better design than the ones used on the wood cars.  Among other things, the shunts are mounted underneath and don't have the drooping, jerry-rigged look that the earlier types do.  

Here's a view of the brake rigging and one of the motors. 

Joel is now the Pit Czar, and here we see him inspecting the traction motors.  This one evidently had mice nests inside.   

 

Among other things, I checked brake operation on the 36 and lubricated all the walkover seats.  They now all work fairly easily, which is good news.  I would still like to be able to run the car in revenue service a few times this year.

And the pot is still boiling on the Dodge inspection car.  Your donations to Milwaukee Rd. 30 will help pay for track space, transportation, and repainting.  It'll be a very interesting display piece.

And as usual, this is only a small sample of all the things that were happening at the Museum today.  Memorial Day weekend is only a week away.  The big news is that the 1630 should be running.  We're planning to have the wood cars running on Monday, although I'm not yet sure which two it will be.  Don't miss it!

Milwaukee Road Inspection Car

This is Milwaukee Road inspection car #30, a 1947 Dodge Custom sedan.  It was modified by the railroad shops for use by company officials inspecting the line, and was used until 1961.  For the past 40 years or more it's been sitting in front of the depot at North Freedom, but MCRM decided it no longer fit in with their collection policy, and so it's been sold to us!

 Car 30 on the Milwaukee  (photo by Don Ross)

Unlike modern hi-rail equipment, the car cannot operate on the street.  Steel flanges were attached to the hubs, and the narrow rubber tires ride on the rails.  The steering was disconnected.  Also, an underframe of steel channels was installed so that if the car were to come off the rails, it couldn't drop down far enough to be damaged by landing on the rails.  Also, there is a hydraulic jack under the car so it can be raised up and rotated.  Since it hasn't been exposed to salt, it's in pretty good condition for a car that's been stored outside all this time.

(The car in 1976 at North Freedom, from the MCRM website)

The Dodge Custom sedan was the top of the line model for 1947.  It's 19' long and seats 7, using jump seats in back.   It has a three-speed column mounted manual shift.  You can see the pump for the hydraulic jack mounted on the front bumper:

Bob Olson, Nick Kallas, and I have put up the money to buy the car, but we still need to pay for transportation and track space.  So we're soliciting donations for this unique piece of railroad equipment.  Final plans for how it will be stored and displayed, and perhaps even made operational, depend on the level of enthusiasm we can generate.  Nick and Rod will be in charge of arranging the move, and we'll let you know when it arrives.

You can help by donating to the restricted fund for Milwaukee Road #30.   As always, donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.

More Inspection

The last two days were mostly spent on inspecting the 309. There are still some things that need to be done on both the 308 and 309, for which I'll need some help, but mostly everything has gone well.

We should be operating on Memorial Day, May 26, probably with the 308 and 309.

This is not easy work, and I seem to be getting older faster than the car.  But that's as it should be.

Yesterday evening I went for a walk again.  Several trees have fallen athwart the creek due to the hard winter, but the stream is still flowing rapidly.

And a four-car train of newer L cars is parked on the connector.  With a little photo-shopping, you could easily imagine this as the center of Congress. 

 

And then I did some more tacking on the 319, and brought out the broken seat back for the 36 that I repaired at home.  Now if I can just remember to bring the other bracket along, it can be installed.

The Road to Progress

 Coral Township has been repaving Olson Road, which certainly needed it, and in order to promote neighborly relations with our township, IRM assisted with the project.  We are getting a waiver of many oversize permit fees as a result of this effort.  Of course, Dave Diamond was the chief liaison officer for this project, and we also want to thank B&G member Tom Opolony for making the info sign!  (Photos by Dave Diamond)

In case it's not clear, the new paving job includes bypass lanes for southbound traffic at both the visitor entrance and the Museum Dr. entrance, and the pavement at Museum goes in past the gate for several feet.  So these are significant improvements.

That's what's happening outside.  Inside the property, our contractors are at work rebuilding Museum Drive (L) and relocating Railroad Ave. to the west (R).

The work on Museum Dr. is interesting because all traffic in or out has to go this way, and it's now essentially one lane.  (But if you don't like chaos, you've come to the wrong place!)  And I believe Railroad is being relocated to allow for an eventual run-around track to the west of the Steam Shop.  Of course, plans are always subject to change.  I also noticed that the current alignment of Railroad Ave. appears to run right over a Nicor gas line.