Sandley Works Catalog

While sorting through old files, I came across this catalog. It's a little off topic from our usual full-sized railroad preservation, but still of interest.

Both of the locomotives shown here were built at the Dells for the Milwaukee Zoo; the 82 is now back at the R&GN. I must say that 45 MPH for a 15" gauge locomotive seems rather unrealistic.

Don Ross has a complete page listing every locomotive built by Sandley here.

And I see that there's more about this company at the R&GN website.

I had such a deprived childhood, I was never able to buy anything from this catalog. But I can remember wishing!

Annual Meeting and Rules Weekend

It is that time of year again, time for the IRM annual meeting, and rules class/safety meeting. As I write this, I am on Amtrak #302, part of the Lincoln Service heading north from St. Louis. Our long time blog readers will know that I attempted to do live updates from the annual meeting a few years ago, without much success. I have better mobile technology now, and let us hope that Union is now on the cell phone map for AT&T.

Besides the meeting and rules/safety meeting, Frank and I have a little project lined up as well, which will be the subject of a blog post. See everyone on Saturday!

Oh, We Get Letters!

Yes, here at the Hicks Car Works blog we get letters. Most recently, we received a piece of correspondence that is quite a bit nicer than the usual reams of hate mail that typically clog our inboxes. Recently, young blog reader Zach Ehlers sent us this drawing he made of CA&E 409. Zach is a high school senior and will be attending Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana in the fall. Thanks Zach!

A Rare Appearance

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday, partly sunny and about 85 degrees. I spent part of the afternoon helping with another in our series of switch moves, in this case some switching to further prepare for the imminent IT meet at the end of the month. The decision was made to pull IT line car 1702 outside for photography on the day of the meet, which meant it had to be "un-buried" from behind the Electroliner and a couple of other cars. "Doodlebug Dan" Mulvihill, shown at left, and Rod were our two intrepid engineers, while Joel, Dan F. and Greg worked as ground men. Below right, the line-up of some of the cars being switched out.










And then there was the 1702, which hadn't left Barn 7 in about 30 years as far as any of us could tell. The open platform end had been restored by Bob Bruneau back in the late 1980's but the car suffered from serious weather damage before it was put inside and would need a lot of work.
After the switch move was successfully completed, I spent some time putting more body filler on the 205, taking advantage of the warmer weather. Later I'll come back and sand it down before finishing work. The car is getting ever closer to being painted, and I spoke with both Jamie K. and Rod about the best way to paint the car when we get to that point.

CA&E Videos

Ed Allen has sent us a package with three DVD's of his personal movies from the 1950's. Most of it deals with the CA&E, since that's where he was working at the time, but there's a lot of other material, such the L, North Shore, some steam, and other things. As far as I know these have not been publicly available. He also included a flimsy from the CA&E, shown here. Thanks, Ed!!!

Update: Ed said I could post the videos to the site, but they're too big for the Blogger limit. Perhaps with some expert help I can break them down into bite-sized chunks. Ed also said that he did not want these videos reproduced or sold on the open market.

Shovel All the Coal In

Gotta keep 'er rollin'! The steam team was busy loading coal and water into the 1630 today, so that's a very good sign! (R) I just missed showing the coal dropping into the tender, but that's the way it goes. It will really be exciting to see steam return to the Museum this year! The steam guys deserve a lot of credit for all the work they've put into making this possible.



There are eight windows on the 319 that didn't get stripped in time to be painted with the rest of the car last May. Jamie Kolanowski has generously offered to spray them for me, so today I finished removing and masking them and took them over to Barn 2. I then got some spare windows from the container to fill the holes. These old windows from the 318 don't look like much, but it's just temporary. I promise.

A number of new display signs (known as "Kevin signs" in honor of the late Kevin McCabe, who designed and made the first set) have been produced, and are sitting in the car shop waiting for installation. Here's the one for the 36.

Ed Oslowski has been hard at work on the interior of IT 277, as seen here.

The front compartment is nearly ready to paint.

In the main compartment, Joel has installed all of the baggage racks, and the racks for the front compartment are ready for installation.

Mostly I worked on the 319's #1 vestibule. The best way to strip old paint from a pipe is to wrap a chain around it and pull it back and forth. I can't take a picture of myself actually doing this, but I hope you get the idea. This is an old Navy technique that I learned from some of the several IRM members who used to be sailors. They probably used bigger chains, on bigger pipes!

And then I did some more painting with white primer. The area around and behind the piping for the controls takes a lot of attention.

I also spent an hour or so installing the rest of the repainted windows in the 518; we're planning to paint the side of the car this week. And Bob Opal gave an impromptu seminar on FRA rules, which was quite informative and useful.

Here's an interesting operation. Max needed to pull three-phase wiring through a conduit along the length of most of Barn 4. His truck is parked out on Depot St., and the winch (red arrow) is pulling a rope through a couple of pulleys, and pulling the wire into the box (green arrow). The wire was being fed from a reel back at the east end of the shop by Max and Rod, several hundred feet away. Bob Sunderlin ran the winch and was instructed by radio. Just like downtown!

"It's the man that counts"

This car card is in the 36, where nearly all of them are in good condition.

Say, let's have a Contest: Your job is to photoshop the above ad into an IRM recruiting poster. Submit your artwork via email prior to the Annual Meeting. Entries will be judged by our panel of impartial experts. And me. The winner will receive fame and stardom. Void where prohibited or taxed.

319 Report

The Zephyr happens to be parked outside, and was posed next to the safety island at Barn 9 North. Nobody else has anything quite like this!

Otherwise, there wasn't a lot to take pictures of today. Mostly, I'm trying to get ready to repaint the #1 vestibule. So there was sanding, scraping, and other surface prep. I stripped the paint from the heater bracket and the brass brake handle, as seen here. It's too bad I then had to paint it again.

Most of the vestibule is now ready for finish red, but the last 10% always seems to take 90% of the effort.

And then there was more cleanup, since the cars have been rearranged. The front end of the 233 is now adjacent to the 319, so it can be pulled out for pictures. Looking in the front window, we can see it has a C6 controller, the same as the CA&E cars. But it has no MU connections of any sort, so there's no way to take advantage of that coincidence.

An old wooden grain elevator in Huntley is being dismantled, and as a result some very large pieces of lumber are available, much bigger than anything we can get new. Frank lives in Huntley and got in contact with the demolition contractor; he visited IRM today and Tim gave him a Cook's tour, focusing on the wooden cars. Tim was also busy taking measurements of things we might need new lumber for, such as the double-truck open car. And incidentally, you can even watch the building being demolished at this link. Ain't technology wonderful?

Inspection Time!

The inspection season is now in progress, and every electric car needs to undergo a thorough inspection prior to revenue service. I strongly suggest that everyone involved in electric car operations - all motormen and conductors - should spend at least one day a year helping on inspections. Due to recent acquisitions, we now have more operational cars than ever before. And if you want to operate or ride them, we need help. And not only could we use the help, but inspection is the most effective way for crewmen to be familiar with all the mechanical parts of the car, and what most often goes wrong. Classroom-type training is good, but it is not an effective substitute for hands-on experience. You'll be glad you helped!

Sandwich News

Close to home, the Sandwich Diner has been completely refurbished, and now looks completely different. But you can still get a good sandwich in the diner in Sandwich.

In response to various questions: While I would have thought it was obvious, let me say that our April 1st post was not meant as a comment in any fashion on President Obama. I would have written the same nonsense no matter who was President. Here at Hicks Car Works, we do not endorse any particular candidates, parties, or political policies. (If somebody paid us really well, that policy might change.)

On the other hand, if entertaining and informative political commentary is what you want, I suppose I could recommend my cousin Joe.

Spring Cleaning

IRM was very busy today, and I think everybody had a great time. A lot got done. T0day was also opening day, and we had a few visitors.

I started by installing the final piece of window sill on the 518, and then painting it with white primer. The car has been turned so what is usually the north side is now to the south, to make it easier to work on. This side has had only a yellow primer for many years, but we're planning to paint this side in traction orange soon, for the Illinois Terminal extravaganza on April 30th.

This was also the first car cleaning day. A good number of volunteers showed up to wash windows, vacuum, and mop floors in the cars that will be used for revenue service this year. We really appreciate this help, let me tell you. There's still another opportunity, next Saturday, I believe, to participate in this activity. Otherwise, you should be ashamed of yourself. (OK, maybe not.)

For the 319 and 308, we had the Evans family hard at work washing windows. (L) The younger generation, Lee III and Julia, and (R) their father Lee Evans are doing a thorough job.

On the 309, Tom Lawson did the windows and then vacuumed the floor. Tom was a member back in the fifties but then moved about; he is recently retired and hopes to spend more time out at the Museum. So we had a good conversation. Among other things, he had known Julie Johnson through business, as he supplied paper to American Slide-Chart.

Many other people were helping out with the car cleaning, including Dennis, Steve, Linda, Tom, Dan and Chris, and others. Thanks!!!

I spent some time working on the 319's vestibule, in preparation for painting. Then, without warning, I learned it was time for:

Switching the World, Part LXXXIV

Yes, folks, it's time for another huge switch move, requiring at leat two locomotives and a cast of several. For one thing, we wanted to bring IT #233 out to an accessible location so it can be pulled out for pictures during the IT meet. Eventually, it will be stationed at the west end of 84, but in the meantime it'll be at the east end. In any case, track 84 was completely switched out, as well as most of 82, all of 62, and I don't know what else.

So I got to run the three-car train (319, 308, 309) back and forth, and helped with other parts of the shuffle.

These switch moves are more work than you might think. The participants today included the usual crew: Rod, Joel, Joe, Greg K., Dan, and Chris. I had to leave before it was done.

Here's the M1, which seldom sees daylight. This was one of Frank's first cosmetic projects, and still looks good.

The 36 and 1808 were moved from 82 to 84. The current line-up on 84 from east to west is now: 233, 319-308-309, 36-1808. The CA&E woods need to be inspected, but that won't happen until after IT Day. AndMay 28, Memorial Day weekend, will be when operation of the CA&E cars starts. Don't miss it!

Nick Kallas Nominated to Supreme Court

(Reuter) In a move that surprised observers across the political spectrum, the White House announced that Nick Kallas of Illinois would be nominated to the Supreme Court. Several of the current Justices are expected to take the early retirement buyout that was recently negotiated with the SEIU, thus averting a threatened strike that might have thrown the government into turmoil. So several new nominations are in the works.

In a prepared statement released today, the President said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce the nomination of an incredible American. Everyone who knows him describes Nick as a man of empathy and compassion, with an instinctive understanding of the needs of the little guy. His long years of service in education and in the non-profit sector, and his vast knowledge of cosmetology combined with his skills in operating heavy machinery make him uniquely qualified to understand the problems of working Americans. I am sure he will make a unique contribution to our Nation’s highest court.”

“Nick who???” was the most common reaction from professional pundits, many of whom are so out of touch they had never heard of the famous slumlord and philanthropist. Of course, partisan political commentators on both the right and left such as Rush Limbaugh, James Carville, and Ed Rosenau were quick to condemn the new choice as insufficiently ideological for their tastes. On the other hand, many heartily approved of the selection and applauded the President for thinking outside the box. A man giving his name only as “Dave” immediately began jumping for joy when he heard the news. “That’s effing FANTASTIC!!” he shouted. “I can’t believe it! This is the best thing that could have happened for the mu--, I mean, for the country!!!” He was last seen doing handsprings down Central Avenue.

Before the nomination is considered by the full Senate, it must first be approved by the Senate Subcommittee on Deals of the Week. The subcommittee’s lawyers have requested thousands of pages of documents to investigate. The current plan is to use a front-loader to dump the entire contents of Nick’s office (seen at right) into a container and ship it to Washington. That should keep those government lawyers busy and out of trouble for months.

It is highly unusual for a Supreme Court nominee to comment on cases currently pending, but Nick is a man unfettered by petty notions of decorum. He let it be known that he would definitely favor granting cert in the ongoing litigation about DL&W 952. So the time to start sending in your bribes is NOW, folks!