Back on Four

Montreal Tramways 2600 is running back on four motors thanks to Galen Semprebon, John Pelletier, and others in the shop. The car was returned to service in time for operations training Saturday. First thing Saturday morning, New Orleans Public Service 836 was pulled out of Woods Car Barn and transferred to the shop so that work could start on the wheels of the car. Rio de Janeiro car 1850 was transferred to Woods Car Barn so that there would be room for car 2600 in Kelly Car Barn.

The Operations Department had their training session on Saturday. They were accompanied by Flat Stanley during their training. Flat Stanley is a paper cutout of a person who is mailed around by elementary school students to visit and learn about different places within the state.

In the afternoon, Bill Babbitt helped me with moving Fair Haven & Westville car 154 into the Visitor Center. Bill went back home to pick up his air hammer to knock out the rust in the brake system which was binding the wheels. John Cummins ran home to get his come along because the one that we were using broke. In addition, John Pelletier, Galen Semprebon, Brian Semprebon, David Lesniak, Bill Heim, George Contrada, Camilo Santiago, Matt Januska, and others helped move the car into the Visitor Center.

Cars Moved into the Visitor Center

On Saturday, we were able to get the Main Hall mostly set up. I started off in the morning by moving Montreal Tramways 2056 (Springfield Street Railway 575) to the west end of the main hall. Larry Lunden helped out by sweeping the tracks and vacuuming the flangeways. By the time I was ready to move the Ponemah Mills Locomotive into the Visitor Center, Dave Coppola, Brian Semprebon, and Alex Aberdale had arrived to help move the cars. We moved the Ponemah Mills Locomotive and New York Ontario & Western Caboose into the Visitor Center. Camilo Santiago and Xian Clere came to help move Connecticut Company Car 65 into place and finally Springfield Electric Railway (Vermont) Car 10 into the Visitor Center. The only cars left to move are the Northern Parlor Car to the west end of the main hall and the Fair Haven & Westville Car 154 into the Main Hall!

Meanwhile, George Contrada and Ted Coppola were busy loading the Winterfest Layouts into the storage trailer. Roger Pierson spent his day in Kelly Barn cleaning out the public operating fleet.

Up in the shop, Galen Semprebon and John Pelletier jacked up Montreal Tramways Car 2600 and installed the 4th motor back into the car. Next weekend, the car will be jacked back down on the truck. This car will now be running again on four motors for opening day!

I had the pleasure of giving a new volunteer, Dave, a tour of the property. He plans to be back next Saturday! Remember, we are always looking for new volunteers. Anyone who is interested in volunteering should contact the museum.

In Like a Lion

March has come in like a lion this year, and I am not talking about the weather. After a few weekends where not much has been happening, everyone seemed to be in full swing this weekend to get all of the Winterfest materials OUT of the Visitor Center. It started off in the morning with Galen & Brian Semprebon helping me load out the boxes of Winterfest into the trailer. Larry Lunden arrived soon after and helped shuttle the boxes to the door where we moved them to the trailer. When Roger Pierson arrived, he went up to Kelly Car Barn and removed the decorations from cars 4 and 1326. After lunch, Ted Coppola and I repaired the roof of the Winterfest Layout Trailer using flashing and pop-rivets. The large modular layout was then moved into the trailer by George Contrada, Dave Coppola, and Brian Semprebon.

Once all of the layouts are moved into the trailers, we will be able to shift cars around to set up the Visitor Center. The plan is to bring the Bobber Caboose into the Visitor Center paired with the Ponemah to have an enhanced exhibit on Trolley Freight Service.

Up in the shop, John Pelletier was busy cleaning, again. Pretty soon, everything will be in its place and we will be able to find the tool we need when we need it. Pat McCann was kept busy working on 2600's motor and motor support bearing. Within the next few weeks, the car will be jacked and the motor will be reinstalled in the car.

Unfortunately, it was quite busy so I was unable to get very many pictures of the day.

This year should be a very exciting year, and we could definitely use your help! We have many projects this year, some of them as follows: repairs to the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose, repairs and repainting of Engine 18, repairs to the open passenger car, and the repairs to the wheel-sets of New Orleans car 836.