Feel the Extra Power

I was able to spend a partial day out at IRM on Sunday afternoon and managed to get a fair amount done.  First, I washed down the 205 in preparation for putting the final coat of Indiana Railroad orange on it, which I'm hoping to embark upon within the next week or two.  Dan Mulvihill took the photo below.

Dan also helped retrieve the #1 end pilot for the 36 from one of our storage containers and we brought it back to Barn 4, where I needle-chipped it (as seen below).  It will still need to be wire-wheeled and painted, but it can then be put back on the 36 to make the car's under-floor equipment complete again.

The museum was very busy on the last day of the Thomas event, which was good to see, particularly considering how nice the weather was.  The usual slate of equipment was operating except that the two-car CA&E steel train had been substituted in for the North Shore cars.  Norm Krentel and Jeff Brady were working on Michigan Electric 28 (Jeff is shown below) too.  They're nearly finished on the wooden roof at the east end of the car, which went much more quickly than the roof at the west end.  Once that's done they'll almost be ready for canvas!

But what about the "extra power" mentioned in the post title, you ask?  Well, at the end of the day Dan stopped by to say the Diesel Department guys were bringing South Shore 803 out of Barn 2 for testing.  So naturally I went over to have a look.

After a bit of testing, and tightening down a loose gasket that made a sound like squirrels being tortured every time the air compressor ran, the ComEd diesel towed the 803 out onto the main line in front of the station and released its brakes.  Jamie began notching up the 803 and ran a couple of brief trips back and forth in front of the station - sure enough, it still works, 21 years after its last foray onto the main line!

It's an impressive locomotive, 88' long and rated at over 5,000 hp.  They went for two mainline trips, though they stopped short of Johnson Siding on both.  The wire frogs aren't configured for pantographs so the pans had to be dropped at each frog.  Nevertheless, the test was considered a success and the 803 is now ready to participate in the 60th Anniversary event next weekend.

A Postcard from Promontory

David writes....

North American has yet to show up with our stuff.  It has not left St. Louis.  With the free time, I decided to drive up to Promontory Summit on Friday and snapped this photo at Golden Spike National Historic Site.  Enjoy!

Feel the Power

After a couple of frustrating delays, we finally received the correct insulating material for connecting the motor leads on the 36.  Rod ordered these, and it's the same material used on the 1797.  There are two layers, as seen here.  These were much easier to install than the rubber tubing I had been struggling with.

And when installed, they look like this.  One can only hope nobody notices the garish colors.  And yes, I admit I wound up using duct tape to hold them in place.  So our old friend "Red Green" can have a good laugh at my expense. Of course, this is under the car and it will not actually be noticeable.  Except to those of you who are in on the secret.

This is somewhat ironic: our GE traction motors were rebuilt at Cleveland by the Westinghouse Apparatus Repair shop.  They seem to have done an excellent job of rebuilding, though.

Once the motors were connected, I did some electrical testing.  This revealed a problem with one of the reverser fingers.  It wasn't making good contact in one direction.   The reverser finger is actually a thick copper bar, so I took it to the village blacksmith, with his large and sinewy hands, who straightened it out for me, and everything appeared to be in working order.

And now it's time to put power to the car for the first time.  This is one of the most exciting (or frightful) experiences at the Museum I know.  I can easily remember the first time we powered up each of the other cars: the 309 in 1978, the 321 in 1998, the 308 in 2001, and the 319 in 2010. Joe Stupar helped by observing and running the car.  We pushed it out of the barn with the 319, then I put in the motor switch and prayed for success.  The motors worked fine and operated in the correct direction on the first try!  We ran it back and forth a couple of times.  We noticed that there were sparks falling from the grids, due to loose connections.  The geniuses at Cleveland had loosened up several of the grid connections for unknown reasons, and then left the loose bolts to rust.  I had missed a couple of these, which I later fixed.  Nonetheless, this test was very successful and the car is now able to power itself.  It still needs a functioning compressor to operate on its own, of course, and we'll get to that soon.  

After tightening up all the connections, I would have liked to test the car again, but the yard trackage was embargoed due to work on the overhead wires by the Bureau of Electricity.  He didn't send me an official embargo notice, but his bucket truck over the tracks speaks for itself.  But that's fine, I can always do it next time.

Meanwhile, Thomas was going full blast.  When it wasn't the music playing over and over again, either Harold Krewer or our own Al Reinschmidt was hard at work on the loudspeakers, keeping the vast multitudes entertained.  They deserve a lot of thanks for the hard work nobody else seems qualified or willing to do!  As do all the other members who were hard at work, making DOWT a success.

Did we mention the Labor Day Weekend 60th Anniversary Extravaganza, which is now just one week away?  The 0-6-0T has already arrived, and was parked on the lead to Barn 6.  What a neat little engine!  I can't wait to see it in operation.  This is really going to be an amazing event.  If you can possibly make it out to IRM next weekend, and fail to do so, you will descend in sorrow to an early grave.  I hope.

Labor Day Extravaganza

If you haven't seen it already, follow this link for the latest info on the Museum's 60th Anniversary Extravaganza, over four days.  This is something you won't want to miss!  The South Shore 803 is now officially on the program, as well as the two visiting steam locomotives and the Zephyr.  Lots of other stuff will be operating, including the CA&E woods on Saturday and Monday.  And check out the nighttime photo sessions!  Can I get in on the session if I bring my own train?

36 Report

This will be brief.  Yesterday John Faulhaber needed to attach some more straps to the tarp over the Dallas PCC, which we're storing out in Yard 14 for our friends at McKinney, so Simon and I helped him with that.  And while I was in the neighborhood, I dropped in on the 321.  Too bad I didn't have my camera.

 

Later, John helped me drill the 3/4" mounting holes in the new third-rail beams for the 36.  Thanks!  If we can ever dig the hardware out of our storage trailer, these will be mounted on the car.

And I painted a window, took some measurements, and did other miscellaneous tasks.  Meanwhile, in the rest of the Museum it was sort of a lull between the two Thomas weekends.

Lightning Arrester

It's time to play "Stump the Professor!"   Here's a physics-related question that has me mystified.  The page above is from the Westinghouse manual for AMM brakes from 1908.  I just don't understand how the point where the compressor circuit is connected, in connection with leaving the lights on during an electrical storm, can provide an "efficient lightning arrester."  They also don't make it clear whether they expect you to have the pole up or down during the storm.

So I'm presenting this to the collective wisdom of our readership, which I value highly.  Can anyone explain how this is supposed to work?

While we're at it, I might point out that the IRM rule book requires the operator, in case of an electrical storm, to bring the car to a stop in a safe place (i.e., not blocking Olson Road, I guess!) and pull the pole.  This is certainly the right thing to do.  If lightning were to strike the overhead line anywhere, and a car's pole were up, the pulse would be transmitted into the car with disastrous results.  If the pole is down, and you're physically underneath the wire, the probability of a strike hitting the car should be very low.

Three Days of Thomas or He's a Useful (to the bottom line) Blue Engine

Al writes...

As I did last year I volunteered to be part of the boarding and master of ceremonies team for the Day Out With Thomas event.

Day 1

We got out to the museum early on Friday to make sure everything was in place and working.
Sure enough there were some bits and pieces that were missing, like the ropes to hold the crowd back when the Thomas train departed and returned.  It was soon realized that these were things that Jim Nauer  had taken care of and they weren't on a to-do list anywhere.  Another way he is missed.  Anyway after a bit of scrambling things got organized.

It wasn't too much after the 9 o'clock opening that the crowd began lining up for the first trip at 10. Part of the schtick that Harold Krewer and I developed was for me to act as the man on the street, to go out and fire up the crowd for the ride, then to do some "man on the street" interviews after the train returned.

Friday's crowd started out fairly heavy with the early trains sold out. But by around 1 the crowds began to thin.  It's been noted that Friday was the first day of school for a number of districts around Chicago land, so something to consider for future years?

As usual we did provide a lunch for the train crew and other volunteers helping with the boarding process.The lunch was the healthy selection of burgers, cheeseburgers, brats and hotdogs as well as pizza from the cafeteria.

As usual we had 4 cars on the car line as well as three mainline trains running.

 

And there was a familier face operating the 415.

Day 2

Arrived a bit later this AM as things were hopefully still set up from Friday.  The day was once again beautiful with a nice temperature , low humidity and not a cloud in the sky.   Things proceeded fairly well through out the morning.  One of our duties is to handle the missed connections {those that missed their assigned train times) and with a few "held back" seats on the train I think all were accommodated on the next train.  But we did have a few missed days, folks with Friday tickets arriving on Sat.  I was waiting for someone with a missed year, binging a set of 2012 tickets.   I took a little time off to take care of my crew that were out to enjoy the day.

We had sold out trains through the 3 o'clock trip, the 3:30 was about 75% and the 4 about 40% so a good solid day attendance wise. The funniest incident of the day was the 4391 getting stopped on the section insulator on the south side of the car line.  There's no wire on an adjacent track to swing the pole against to get the car moving again.  Several riders (members in this case) ended up pushing the car to get under live wire.Wish I was able to get a photo.

Day 3

 Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Sat.  Beautiful weather and good crowds. Loading was about the same as on Saturday.  Did get a chance to get over to the station to get a photo of the crew on the NSL cars.  Again a familiar face along with his motorman Ron Seavers.

After the crowd went home the 141 did make an appearance for the benefit of the volunteers.

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Restaurant reviews

We ended up each day with a group dinner. So here's a quick review of 3 places within striking distance of IRM.

The first evening we went to Cafe 20 in Marengo. They had a bit of trouble handling a group larger than 4 but after a considerable wait we did get seated, it was worth the wait.  Dinner for me consisted of a pint of Haufbrau lager, some all you can eat walleye and potato pancakes with apple sauce.  The German genes in me were quite satisfied.

On Sat. I'm not sure why, but we did a repeat of last year's disaster at the Marengo bowl.  In contrast to last year the staff was ready, the orders were correct and the checks were available promptly. They didn't do too badly for the sudden appearance of a group of 30 or so. I had some teriyaki salmon (should have been called wasabi salmon), it opened by nasal system pretty well and was quite tasty.  The only thing that didn't change from last year was the quality of the live music but we were able to exit quickly without too much ear damage.

Sunday night was at Alexander's on Rt 31, just north of the tollway in Elgin. After a spot of bother over seating arrangements, things got better.  This place is typical of the Greek owned family restaurants so common in the Chicago area.  Lots of variety, good food and reasonable prices.  After being a good boy with fish 2 nights in a row I opted for the small cut of prime rib.  Not the best I have ever had but good value for money as my British friends would say.

I do have to say this weekend was a test for my newly regained stamina, the most intense I've worked since the transplant.  The long days, leaving the house around 7:30 getting back at around 10, was a bit taxing, but it is great to see the kids enjoying them selves so much.  Hopefully we have planted the seeds for a few future volunteers and contributors to help ensure the future of IRM and the contribution to the bottom line doesn't hurt either.

The downside of all of this is the ear worms of Thomas music that gets stuck in your brain. If I hear "He's the Director of the Railway" in my head one more time I might scream!

Waukegan Local via DOWT

Sunday I was back out at IRM for Thomas Day Three.  This time I was conductor on the North Shore train with Ron Seavers as the motorman.  It's been a number of years since I worked on the North Shore cars, so it was interesting to reacquaint myself with the differences between them and the CA&E woods.  For much of the day I was the only conductor, but Keith Letsche joined the crew for the last few runs and manned the 749 while I took the 714.

One object of note in the above photograph is the yellow thing peeking out from behind the 714.  I forgot to get a photo of it, but the "Henrietta," IRM's newest CRANDIC (ex-Rock Island) car, was in public operation following quite a bit of cleanup work by the Coach Department.  This car just arrived on the property earlier this year and, while work certainly remains to be done, it was impressive to see it made available for service so quickly.

The crowd seemed good; it's certainly encouraging to see the parking lot so full.  As with most Thomas days, people seemed to be enjoying themselves and many aspects of the museum's normal operation were revelations.  You mean the train rides are included with my ticket?  You guys are open other times of year too?  All of the people working on the trains are volunteers?  It's always fun to talk with people who have never been to IRM before, and it's encouraging to see the equipment and the operations exposed to people who have never even seen an interurban car before.  I tried to talk up some of the museum's other events, like Labor Day Weekend and the Happy Holiday Railway.  More than a few families seemed very interested in these, particularly the December event.

This is the Place!

David writes....

We are here!  Katy and I are now residing in Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, though I hear the name has been "modernized" a bit recently.  We left St. Louis at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, after the movers from North American Van Lines completed loading the truck.  We drove to Lincoln, Nebraska, arriving at 10:30, after a short stop for dinner somewhere in Missouri.  

On Wednesday, as we drove west along I-80, we stopped in North Platte, Nebraska and visited the Golden Spike Tower & Visitor Center.  Located adjacent to Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, the tower affords a wonderful view of the yard.  A small admission fee is charged, after which, you ascend in an elevator to either the open-air viewing area on the 7th floor, or the enclosed (and climate controlled) viewing platform on the 8th floor.  A retired UP employee served as a volunteer docent on the top floor to answer questions.  

After a brief lunch in North Platte, we headed continued our westward journey.  At this point, the UP mainline, part of the original Transcontinental Railroad often runs close to the interstate, providing many interesting train watching opportunities.  

In Cheyenne, we made a quick lap through town and parked the car and stretched our feet at the Cheyenne Depot.  After filling up the car, we headed west, arriving in Green River, Wyoming at 9pm that evening, covering an impressive 719 miles.  Wyoming after Cheyenne might as well be the surface of the moon.  Having never driving through this portion of the country, I never realized how desolate it is.  We did see some amazing scenery, including being able to watch two UP trains pass each other just west of Rawlins, Wyoming.

Thursday, we loaded up early for the short drive in to Salt Lake City, through Echo Canyon and down into the Salt Lake Valley.  We have spent the past several days cleaning the house, getting some things we needed, like a washer and dryer, and other tasks.  We have lots to do this week, including finding me a job, unpacking and awaiting our stuff to arrive from St. Louis.  Maybe I'll have lunch at Ruth's Diner tomorrow after I go to get the car re-titled and my Utah driver's license.  

I have more photos on my other camera I'll be posting later on.  

Day Three

This is what we like to see.  Capacity crowds enjoying themselves with Thomas, other train rides, various activities, food, and so on.  We can only hope many of them will come back on less crowded days and perhaps learn more about railroad history.

As for myself, there's not much to report.  What I had wanted to accomplish on the 36 wasn't feasible, and will have to wait for another day.  There are always things I can do on the interior, and I had a couple of other things to fix on the other cars, but nothing picture-worthy.  Frank was the conductor on the North Shore train, so he'll have more

But so you'll have something to look at, I stopped in St. Charles on the way home.  This (L) was the main line of the Chicago Great Western.  I hadn't thought about it for a while -- how long has it been since there were any trains over the river?   This is taken from the 2nd St. bridge, and in the distance (R) you can see the track on the big bridge.  There really aren't many abandoned railroads around here, so this stretch of the CGW is interesting.

The bridge over the Fox has always been impressive, although that new bicycle path bridge certainly clutters up the picture.

The bridge appears to be in excellent condition to my untrained eye. 

If only we knew a Professional Engineer (P.E.), I wonder what he would make of it.

Meanwhile, we're waiting for railroad-related news from Salt Lake City.   I hope David will find an opportunity to check out Ruth's Diner, for instance.

Thomas Day One

I was out at the museum on Friday for the first of five Day Out With Thomas days.  The crowd was certainly terrific by normal standards, though slower than is typical for Saturdays or Sundays during the Thomas event.  I was running IT 415, the museum's ol' reliable all-purpose car, as one of four cars on the streetcar line.  I was too busy to take photos but a stock photo is shown below.

Of course, if you've been to IRM any time during the last 47 years you probably have a better than 50/50 chance of having seen the 415 in service, so admittedly this photo isn't really necessary.  Anyway, I was running all day along with the 144, 3142 and 4391, and everything went smoothly.  Jon Habermaas was the relief crewman and gave me a lunch break while Jim West, the Car Line Dispatcher, kept everything running like clockwork.

As usual with the Thomas event, not much else was happening.  But I did happen upon Tim Peters in Barn 4 who was working on fitting the wooden crown beam to the 1024.  He also pointed out the mocked-up roof hardware which will have to be fabricated for the car as part of the backdating process.

36 Report

For two days' worth of work, not a lot got accomplished that was worth taking a picture of.  The main challenge is to get the compressor cradle loose, and this went slowly.

 

The bracket at the left is now loose, and being held up with two new bolts. At the time the picture to the right was taken, the other one was still frozen, but after a lot of pounding, prying, and torquing it came loose too.  But  these are just the two at the front, which are easy to get to.  There are two more attached to a center sill under the car, and for those we will probably need to use a torch, over the pit. 

I also spent some time attaching new roundels for IRMA to various signs, as seen here.  Much less frustrating.

And then I spent more time on the interior, which is also a more congenial task.  Here we see some of the repainted windows in place.  Eventually the interior will be completely repainted.  Along the edges of the double window post, you should be able to make out the places where the paint has flaked off, outlining the original inlay strips.  That's interesting, but it will need to be covered over.  The window shades are old and fragile, and if they come out of the brackets, they're very hard to get back in, because the brackets are up inside the walls and nearly inaccessible.  So I'm installing screws to keep the window shades from being lowered.  The same thing was done on the 308, and has worked well.