518 Window Work

Today I started working on windows for Illinois Terminal car 518 in earnest. Most of the interior windows need to be refinished. As shown at left, the car has outer storm windows, which are normally stored in the up position, and inner windows which can be adjusted by the passenger. In this view the two storm windows to the left are in the up position, and the ones on the right are down. Once I remove a window for refurbishing, I can put the storm window down. Most of the storm windows are in very good condition because they're always up inside the car.

To the right, we see a pair of windows from the inside. Notice the water stains on the inner windows? In order to remove them, one must first remove the window shade box, as well as the window shade tracks on each side. The window can then be lifted out. This is actually easier than it was on the 308 and 309, where I had to partly remove the seat backs to get windows in and out.

To the left, we see a pair where I have removed the inner windows. Now the storm windows are down.

I also worked some more on re-organizing the 321, where the refinishing will take place. And I started stripping the two windows I had removed from the 518.



And I went for a walk. Three contractor employees were busily attaching the lower wooden planks to the frame of Barn 11. I noticed they were using a chain saw to trim the boards to length. That's carpentry on a slightly different scale than I'm used to.

And here's a view of the berm along the south edge of our property. This would probably make a good defensive position for the next Civil War battle that gets fought at IRM. On the other hand, it may be too far from the supply lines. It's difficult for the armies to fight without adequate supplies of food, ammunition, and spectators.

First finish paint goes onto 205

A milestone in the 205 cosmetic restoration project was reached today: the first finish paint went onto the car itself. It wasn't orange though - it was green. I painted the roof saddles and roof vents with a coat of IR dark green paint; both had previously received a coat of paint, but the roof had been painted with a much darker green (almost black) as a first coat. The paint we're using for the second coat matches the roof and step wells of the 65. The difference can be seen below:
After this was done I was running out of time (I didn't get out to IRM until mid-afternoon) but I decided to borrow the official Car Department Truck, IRM fleet #45, and drove to the Menards in Woodstock to save more money on some 12' long 2x6's. These will be used as roof boards on the car, replacing the (badly rotted) 2x6 roof boards it had when we got it. I also bought a new pad sander to use on Bondo applications on the 205. I had already picked up some paint roller supplies, and I hope that within the next couple of weeks I'll be able to put the final coat of green on the entire roof. All in all, it was a productive day.

Memorial Bench

Frank and I donated a memorial bench in memory of my father, Allan Hicks, who was a generous supporter of the Museum for many years. It arrived on Saturday and was installed at the Depot. Pictures by Dave Diamond -- thanks, Dave!

Wye It's Important

Today Wes Lloyd helped me wye the 321 to put its better side towards the public sidewalk. It's been sort of an eyesore for the past couple of years, and I finally was able to put the good side in view. That's the side that appears in all of our recent pictures on the web. And since I wasn't able to operate anything on Member's Day, at least I got to run the 308+309 out and back in again. And it was fun to ride the 321 on the connector track and around the car line. Thanks, Wes!

It's always hard to take good pictures inside the barn, so you'll just have to take my word for it, or see for yourself. And no more 'wye' puns for a while, I promise.

I spent most of the rest of the day working on rearranging things inside the 321 to make it a more efficient working space. I also put a first coat of varnish on my two 518 windows, but I'll need a key to the IT cars before I can do much more.

And finally, for this week's campus scenery, we have news! This great new billboard has just been installed along Riverside Drive, south of the Hoffman building. It's a vast improvement over looking at the material yard. Put up billboards and Keep America Beautiful!

Washout Part II It Could Have Been Worse...

On early Sunday morning, the St. Louis area received torrential rains. Some areas got as much as 7 inches in two hours. Add that on top of an already rainy September, and what do you get? Flash flooding! The Red Cross had to set up overnight shelters in University City and other suburbs. Boats were used to evacuate people from Ladue.

At the Museum of Transportation, the new parking lot got wet. Also, the track for the miniature train ride was flooded. The photo to the right was taken from the present parking lot. The foreground is where the new visitor's center is planned to be built, and the new parking lot is beyond that. Below the T-80 trainer should be try land and behind it should be a road and a golf driving range. I guess mother nature had other plans.

Some of you know that the museum has a storage barn on this level, where the bulk of the electric railway collection is stored. Early reports indicate that the water did not reach the building, or even near it.

RR Steakhouse

The "RR Steakhouse" is a small supper club-type restaurant located on Rt. 20 about three miles from the Museum, just west of the intersection of Coral Rd. and 20. (I.e. south on Olson to Coral, west on Coral to 20, turn right, and it's on the left.) This place has been there since at least the seventies under various owners.

Various types of steak are available at $18 to $22, including salad, potato, and rolls. Seafood generally runs about $14, apart from lobster. We tried the prime rib, New York strip, and steamed salmon, and all were very good. The menu also includes burgers, pasta, appetizers, etc. Drinks are very reasonably priced. You can eat either in the main dining area or at the bar, and the informal atmosphere should appeal to working members, or even rich lawyers. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Definitely recommended.

Washout!

Member's Day 2008 was essentially washed out by the constant rain, so relatively little happened. Flooding was not as bad as it might appear, and there is no significant flood damage. So the three of us (David Wilkins came up from St. Louis) made the best of it we could.

I decided that this was a good opportunity to check again whether Barn 8 was leaking over "my" cars. There are no leaks over the CA&E cars, but I found there were three or four serious leaks over the IT 277 and 518. (This isn't quite as drastic as it sounds. The cars were moved to a new location just last week, so it isn't as though the cars have been rained on for the last twenty years.) I put plastic sheets over the roofs, and then tried to caulk up the leaks in the ceiling. This probably wasn't too effective, since the caulk won't adhere to wet surfaces, but I hoped it would at least slow the drips for today and tomorrow. This post shows a picture of what the caulking process does.

The three of us then used the rolling scaffold to check for leaks over every car in Barn 8; no more serious problems were found. A slow leak over a 6000, which is entirely aluminum, was judged not to be a problem.

Then we went for rides on the silver train and the heavyweight train, which operated without difficulty, of course. Here (R) is the crew of the silver train. L to R, John Bender, Linda Evans, Debbie Fowler.

The dining car Birmingham (L) was packed with passengers on its first trip.

And here's a typical passenger (R) in the sleeper Silver Ridge, obviously enjoying his trip. Note the rain running down the window.


I spent several hours cleaning and straightening in the 321.

Later in the afternoon, North Shore car 749 was brought out for several trips. To the right we see its beautiful interior. David got to operate it for part of a trip.

Finally, the big news is that Barn 11 is now under construction. Here are two views of the complete set of posts. This barn, when complete, will protect a large number of valuable pieces of equipment in our historic collection.

IT Work Starts

The steady rain today limited the things I could do. I went up on the roof of the 277 and finished taking measurements and making sketches for an engineering drawing of the roof equipment we'll need to replace. I also did some excavation to see how much wood we'll need to replace. All of the trolley boards and saddles for the rear half of the car will be replaced, but it appeared that less of the roof itself needs to be replaced than I had thought. Certainly we'll need all new canvas. I found that there was a layer of felt under the canvas; this felt just turns to dust when you try to handle it. I also made a wiring diagram.

Then I started on refinishing 518 windows in my 321 workshop. These two had already been stripped, so I put a first coat of primer on the outside and stain on the inside. They're going to look very good.

I also checked the 308 and 309, looked at the trolley shoes, and verified the roof isn't leaking. And I spent some time cleaning up the 321 and getting it ready to be moved. I want to wye the car to put the better-looking side towards the sidewalk.

And for this week's campus scenery, here's a picture taken a few weeks ago of the Kishwaukee River flowing under the old North Western bridge at the east end of our line. I suppose those posts must be left over from an earlier trestle. Or else they're to keep the abutments from being rammed by heavy barges. Who knows?

"IT" Lives!

Illinois Terminal combine #277 was successfully tested today, operated for the first time in nearly 20 years. Due to the hard work of a number of department volunteers, the car was inspected, repaired and made operational over the past several weeks, and today IRM saw the operation of a real "traction orange" interurban train for the first time in many years.

The 277's first run was a mid-afternoon solo jaunt around the streetcar line (below left), after which it was coupled to trailer 518 to make reverse moves easier. Though a trailer, 518 does have a pole that can be used to operate the train "backwards." The train was then operated around the car line again (below right) before heading out onto the main line.











Below is an image never before seen: a view of the end-of-track at Kishwaukee Grove from the front window of the 277! This car has been out of service since before the museum's main line was extended to its current eastern terminus.
The day wasn't all IT, though. I got some needle-chipping work done on the 205 (below left), nearly concluding the last of the needle-chipping on the car. I did most of the anti-climber at the west end, the remainder of the west end letterboard and the last two side window posts. Thanks to Joe Stupar for his help with this work! The 308 and 309 were also in operation (below right) and ran all day without incident. Finally, Art Schwartz from the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum was visiting and I showed him around Barns 7 & 8.

Can't Stand the Suspense

The 308 and 309 were operating today, under the expert control of Bob Heinlein and Rich Block. I started by reattaching the shunt to the rebuilt trolley shoe on the 308, which had come loose last time. After some other minor maintenance, the cars were cleared for service. I then spent some time cleaning up the area where the cars usually sit, and made a better attachment for the banner from the dedication of the 308 in 2006. Unfortunately, the banner from the 309's dedication earlier this year seems to have disappeared!

Here's the line car heading out to Schmidt siding to repair the overhead. The car can no longer operate under its own power, so it's being pulled by a locomotive. Max Tyms is the line foreman, aided in this case by Henry Vincent, Charlie Strong, and Stan W.

Here are Bob Kutella and Vic Humphreys working on their insulated boxcar.

This is the interior of the 309. See the CA&E photo album for more interior photos I took today.

I spent some time working on an engineering drawing of the roof of the 277, since I'll be replacing it this winter. When the line car crew returned, the 277 was moved over to the pit lead. We then started fixing up the switch group. Here Charlie does his usual thorough cleaning job on the car -- the improvement is impressive.

We disassembled the arc chutes, which Stan then painted with Glyptal, supervised by Max. I worked on filing down the fingers, checking the movement, etc. helped by Steve Lewkowycz and Dan Fenlaciki. This is the switch group with the arc chute parts and fingers removed.

I also had some time to clean up the interior a little, as seen here. Unfortunately, we couldn't test the car's operation before I had to leave. Rod was unable to make it out. But we'll let you know as soon as the results are in.

Finally, here is a picture of the CA&E cars waiting for their meet at Johnson siding. What a beautiful day!

Picking Away at the 205

I spent most of my time yesterday working on the 205. The hope is that we'll be able to switch it over to the pit lead sometime in the next few weeks to finish the last of the needle-chipping, but we'll see - stay tuned! In the meantime I cut the last of the "window sticks" needed for the door windows to length; these won't be installed until we obtain the pane of glass needed to replace the PEPCO drop-sash that was removed a few weeks ago. I also installed and primed a strip of tar paper around the tack molding at the west end of the car to even out the bottom edge of the roof line. This completes tar-papering on the roof; the next step is to paint everything green and then we can obtain and install roof boards, trolley bases and poles.The 308 and 309 were also operating, as shown in the previous blog post, so of course I had to take a few photos...











...and video!

Just Visiting

Today I was just visiting the Museum with my wife, since the two-car CA&E train was running. After watching the Labor Day parade in Naperville, we drove out to ride the cars. Jim Nauer was the motorman, and everything seemed to go well. (L) The crew have a conference before the next trip starts. The train was nearly full, as seen here (R).

We also got to ride the 4391, listen to the West End Jazz Band (L), look at some displays, and I had a few minutes to talk Museum politics with some of the others. Everybody needs to take a break once in a while. The 308 and 309 will also be operating next weekend, and on Saturday, Sept. 13th. See you then!

Update: You don't believe me? Here's some unbiased testimony from an independent source!