Extra, extra, read all about it: the latest IRM publicity e-missive is out! Our newest CA&E car is featured prominently, of course.
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Wednesday, October 23, 2019
The Union News
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Progress on 451
Yesterday was a typically busy Wednesday, but as a result I didn't get any pictures of what other people were doing. But at a minimum Pete Galayda, Buzz Morisette, Tim Peters, John Sheldon, and the freight car guys were hard at work on their projects, and probably others. And I got some essential help from Gerry Dettloff and Chuck Meter on the 451.
I had noticed that the last remaining pilot bracket for the car had gotten bent somehow, so it would no longer fit around the stepwell. Gerry was able to heat it up and bend it with Chuck's help so that it was the correct shape. This bracket is large and heavy, and that was no easy task. Chuck then helped me get it into position, with the use of a floor jack as seen here, and then with some effort we were able to bolt it into position. Thanks!
The next step will be to move the pilot itself into position, then lift it up and bolt it to the two brackets on either side of the #1 end.
And then I started installing saddles on the roof, as seen here. Four have been done, twelve to go, but now that I have all of the necessary tools in position it should go faster next time. All of the positions have been marked. The rolling lift certainly makes this job easier.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Have You Seen This Car???
Please be on the lookout for a missing streetcar. When last seen, it looked like this:
This was the body of Milwaukee Electric car 200, a very historic single-trucker that was preserved at East Troy. It was built as a parlor car, then rebuilt into a hospital car, and then a tool car. Our friends at the East Troy Electric Railroad sent it to Spring Green to be restored, and as you can see some work was done. But the owner of the property has died, and no one seems to know what happened to the 200. If you have any information, call 911 let us know here at Hicks Car Works and we'll pass it on.
This has been a public service announcement from Hicks Car Works. News you can't get anywhere else.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Top to Bottom
Today was another busy Saturday at IRM, and as usual I can only report on a few of the things that were going on. Sorry! At a minimum, I know that people from the Steam Dept., Freight Car Dept., and Track were busy, and probably others, so what you have here is a biased sample of all the activity. Be that as it may...
We'll start with B&G. It was cold and windy today, as you may note from the flag, and this is the same Marengo Depot that has been there since 1964. But for the first time since it arrived on the property, the depot has working heat. This will be important since we want to have it available for Happy Holidays Railway and other activities during the winter months.
While it was cold and windy outside, inside Barn 4 it was quite pleasant. I've started on finishing the roof work on the 451, and the rolling fork lift makes this much easier. The next step will be to install the saddles, and I found it was easy enough to locate the correct locations on the roof.
The saddles that I made a couple of years ago were brought up and spread out on the roof. I also spent some time working up a system using a long string to mark the exact center of the roof. It turns out that the seam in the canvas is remarkably accurate as a center line. Now I just need to obtain the correct screws and some caulk to start attaching the saddles.
Inspection is a never-ending process these days, and because this is track 41, it will often be necessary to have trolley power in the barn, when we will want to work on the roof of the 451. So I spent some time attaching these professional cable guards over the trolley wire, which the late Max Tyms acquired for us. They're very stiff, but with enough effort they provide absolute protection. Safety First, as they say.
Over on the next track, Tim is installing the floor ribs in the 1754.
And Bill was doing finish painting on the underbody equipment.
Another long-term Car Dept. project has been replacing the canvas roof on our first car, IR 65. Jon Fenlaciki has been working on this, and today the canvas was lifted onto the car's roof. Seen here are Tim and Jon pulling the folded canvas onto the roof.
By the end of the day, it was being stretched:
In other news, the trucks for the Ingersoll-Rand boxcab have been assembled, and are temporarily stored next door in Barn 3.
And the Car Dept. guys spent much of the afternoon assembling the North Shore trucks back behind Barn 4:
And of course there were several other active projects being worked on. You just have to be there in person to get the full picture.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Memorial Service for Wally Ostopowicz
Information received from Wally's sister about the Military Honor service:
The
service will be held on Sunday, November 3, 2019
Location:
Hackney's on Lake Street
1514 E. Lake Street
Glenview, IL 60025
Victoria
room upstairs
Times:
11:30 arrival of attendees
12:00 Military Honor service - absolutely no alcohol until after the
Honor service
and any memorial speakers
12:45 Luncheon
Wally's family have decided that in lieu of flowers, donations to IRM are what he would have wanted.
Lorraine writes:
Please
let me know if you intend to attend so I can get a head count for the
restaurant. Also if there are
individuals who might like to speak about Walter
after the Military service let me know who
they are so I can compose a list of speakers.
Lorraine
Envall
envall2@att.net
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Projects Big and Small
Tuesday was relatively quiet in the car shop, but out in back, Dave Conrad was heading up the project to put the trucks back together for the Ingersoll-Rand boxcab, with Chris and Gregg.
These are based on the electric locomotive trucks of the period. There are always lots of heavy rusty parts that need to be taken apart, cleaned up, and put back together.
We all like to ham it up once in a while.
Also, about noon we had a visit from a group of railfans from Denmark, so Dave Conrad took some time off to show them around. They particularly wanted to see our steam locomotive facilities, and who better than Dave to explain it all? You can tell your friends that people from all over the world are clamoring to visit IRM. And it's even true!
Speaking of rusty parts, there were three bolts on the 451 that were rusted in place and needed some heat so they could be removed. These had been torched off when we were removing the steps at Cleveland, and we were in a hurry.
Gerry brought over the torch and made quick work of them. Thanks! Now the remaining pilot bracket can be bolted in place. First, I'll need some help getting the bracket from the northwest corner of the car to the southeast corner. Those brackets are big and heavy.
I spent much of the day cleaning, and installing hardware inside the car. There's still a lot to be done.
And meanwhile, Jamie Kolanowski was painting the UP rotary over in Barn 14. Here we see him finishing up the south side of the unit; the north side had already been done. He also said he hoped to start on a finish coat. This should really be a stunning display.
And then, Buzz Morisette sent me a picture from today of Dave and Chris assembling one of the trucks for the boxcab. And that's Gerry running the forklift, I think.
You too can see your name in genuine pixels by sending in progress photos of all the things that are going on when I'm not around. I just know there's a lot.
And by the way, here is the Rail and Wire article describing the history and acquisition of the Ingersoll-Rand engine. The best part is the final picture. About half of those guys are still around!
Frank adds: information on where the I-R engine spent the first 25 years of its life can be found here.
In Memoriam Wally Ostopowicz
Les Ascher has just informed us of the death of Wally Ostopowicz, a long-time member of IRM. He died on Sunday after a long illness, aged 74. He joined IRM at least 45 years ago, and worked in the DC Line department, later with Buildings and Grounds. He was always friendly and helpful, and worked hard on whatever he was doing. He will be sorely missed. Funeral arrangements will be made by his sister, and we will let you know the details when we can.
From two years ago, that's Wally on the right, with John McKelvey, Bill Wulfert, and Les Ascher.
Our condolences to his family, and to his many friends.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Progress Report
Saturday was another busy day at IRM, and we have a few pictures to prove it.
Somebody asked about progress on the Multi-Purpose Building. Contractors have been working on installing the insulation in the back walls, as seen here.
And then, progress has been made on the Steam Shop inspection pit. Here Matt Gustafson is working on the rail clips.
And I saw some old friends from the good old days, Dave Conrad and Dennis Daugherty. Dave has put the tires onto the wheelsets for the Ingersoll-Rand engine, and this week he plans to assemble the trucks for the locomotive. Gregg Wolfersheim was helping on this project, and Nick Kallas was pretending to supervise.
Dave Conrad also filled me in on other details about the IR locomotive, a very historic first-generation Diesel. Once the body has been put back on the correct trucks, they are planning to sand-blast it (with walnut shells) and paint it. Dave explained to me the advantages of using walnut shells instead of sand or other abrasives. And he wants to repaint it in the Bicentennial paint scheme. Now I thought at the time that the Bicentennial was pretty much an aesthetic disaster all around, but it's now history. Sigh. Anyway, he has also managed to free up the prime mover and rotate it by hand several times, so it will probably be functional. It can't be started yet because it has an air starter, and the pony engine for pumping up the air doesn't work yet, so that will have to be fixed. The major problem is that two traction motors are blown, so they need to be rewound. That spells $$$. But progress is certainly being made.
Jon Fenlaciki has finished painting the roof of the 65, and he will be spreading out the canvas and soaking it this week.
I was working on the 451. I cleaned up the interior quite a bit, and vacuumed the seats and parts of the floor. It's still very dusty, and more cleaning will be needed.
Then I attached the remaining bolts for holding up the stairwell we recently installed. It's very difficult to access some of the bolts from the other side.
And as usual there were several other projects forging ahead, but I didn't get pictures of them. Tune in again next time.
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