319 Report

Most of the day was spent painting the vestibule of the 319 again. It's going well and I'm sure it will be put into service on schedule. The cars need to be inspected, and arrangements are being made to facilitate that. The inspections will probably be done during the week, so if anybody wants to help, let me know!

This was another IT day, actually: service cars were the 101 and 415. Here's the 101 at the west end of the line. We had a charter from Peoria, so I'm sure they were suitably impressed.

Here Dave Diamond and his crew are at work in front of Barn 4. A steel post for the RR crossing sign had to be moved, since it was in front of the overhead door in the new shop extension. Too bad I didn't get a picture of him running the jackhammer.

And the east wall of the Schroeder Store has been finished. Dave says the same process will be used for the front of the building; it will look pretty much the same, but using modern materials that will require little or no maintenance. The building will house another retail facility. It hasn't been decided yet whether this will be a book store or gift shop; in any case, that will wait until the street is in place so visitors can access it easily.

You May Have Red About This

Now that the IT meet is over, the main project is to get the 319 ready for revenue service in about three weeks. We need to do inspections, and there are a few minor things that need to be addressed, but the main task is to repaint the #1 vestibule.

I got a new can of red paint, which appears to match the exterior color very well. The guys at Diamond Paint in Des Plaines do a very meticulous job of paint matching. I basically spent all day painting. By the end of the day, I had finished about half of the compartment, as seen at right. The picture probably makes it look better than it really is; at least one more finish coat will be needed, since red generally does not cover very well in our experience. So the masking will be left in place. The dark spot in the upper left corner is where the flag box will be installed. I also started putting some primer on the floor, since I now have a quart of the pumpkin color for the floor of the vestibule. In any case, compare the exterior door on the left, which was sprayed with the rest of the car, with the new paint on the other surfaces. Nice match, isn't it? The old red paint in the vestibule is darker, and may be hard to cover.

I also collected all of the antimacassars from the 277, so I can work on getting them lettered.

In other news, work is progressing on the Schroeder store. Today the contractors nearly finished the east wall (L); the west and south walls are already done (R). It's looking good!

Chuck Amstein Photos - Updated

Our friend Chuck Amstein took a lot of great photos, as usual, of the IT Meet, and I'll be adding them here as I get time. To begin with, here are links to four videos. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXSdTv26F_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlUFDnvP_tA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuj_gzj0rZY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHLxAPDOJUs








































Dale Jenkins photographing an IT employee.

Bob Kutella displays several woodworking machines that came from Decatur Shops

Dale Jenkins, IT Society president









Harold Krewer dispatching

Dale Jenkins presents Bob Heinlein with the IT Golden Key award

And at night:

Always Check Your Timetable

When you work for the railroad, you should always check the timetable. Here, we see a very serious-looking Randy checking the special IT Meet timetable against his watch. As mentioned below, the special timetable was prepared by Bob Heinlein. Photo by Gwen Stupar, photo used with permission.

It's a Sign!

Gwyn Stupar sent us some photos and a brief account to answer the question: so how did three

"No Trespassing: Property of the Illinois Terminal System"signs mysteriously appear on the property by Barn 2, Karsten's Crossing, and Johnson Siding?

Joe Stupar's idea to give the property a special sparkle for this past weekend's festivities came to life with the help of Joel Arendt, Warren Lloyd, Greg Kepka, and Dan and Jon Fenlaciki. First, Joel Ahrendt climbed high up to photograph the valuable original. Joe took the copy and produced a life-sized replica that was later mounted to cardboard. Joe and Gwyn meticulously cut the stencil to perfection. Joel prepared the white wooden signs, which were later masked and sprayed by Ray Weart and Warren Lloyd.

On Saturday morning, the Fenlackis graciously drove throughout the property strategically hanging the signage. At the end of the evening, one lucky visitor got to take the handiwork home for a $75.00 donation. If you are interesting in obtaining your own replica, please contact Joe Stupar at jstupar@irm.org. The original sign can be viewed in Barn 6. All proceeds benefit the museum.

























Top left, Joe Stupar working on the stencil; top right, the signs in the shop; bottom left, Dan Fenlaciki loading signs into the car; bottom right, Dan and Jon Fenlaciki putting up a sign. All photos by Gwyn Stupar.

Odds and Ends

Thanks to Jamie Kolanowski, our IT (that's "information technology") guru, we now have a time-lapse video of the action yesterday. This is a very nice feature!

And here is a link to E. Harper Charlton's Notes on Roofs and Trucks for electric railway cars. These should be of interest to anyone in the electric railway field.

Finally, one of the members of the CA&E Yahoo list, George Foelschow, will be contracting to produce a lot of CA&E uniform buttons. These are 5/8" diameter, suitable for jacket sleeves. The three of us are ordering some. If you are interested, you can join the Yahoo list and contact Mr. Foelschow directly, or you can email me and I'll put you in touch with him.