My apologies to my readers, as I have not posted in quite some time. Unfortunately, work has taken a considerable amount of my free time and posting here was lost in the shuffle. There has been a considerable amount of work accomplished in my absence.
Boston Elevated Railway Type-5 5645 - Galen Semprebon, along with Scott Kritzky and John Pelletier have been working tirelessly on the car in order to get it ready for Rails to the Darkside. The motors are back in its trucks and they have been tested and all appear to be working correctly. Once the motors were tested, the trucks were pushed back under the car and wired up. Inside the car, Kelly has been working on pieces for the heating loop system. We were able to find the proper door motor seals and John has been able to repair the door motors.
Brooklyn Rapid Transit car 169 - Scott Kritzky has taken on the project of the cosmetic restoration of car 169. In the past week, he has made some great headway removing the paint from the exterior clerestory of the car. When the car has been completed, we will be able to move the car out of the shop and put it on display in the Visitor Center.
Boston Elevated Railway PCC 3100 - Chris Perry has been working on car 3100 just outside the shop. Over the years, many of the window posts have deteriorated around the bases. One by one, he has been removing the old window posts and welding in newly fabricated ones. A new front step well has been fabricated as well, but has yet to be installed. In the rear of the car, a new left rear fender support has been fabricated and welded in place as the original support was in pieces. Although Chris only is able to work on the car one week a year, each year he makes considerable progress on the car. In a few years, we should have a display-worthy car.
Illinois Terminal PCC 451 - Kevin Mitchell and the Boy Scouts have just about completed the repainting of car 451. There is some minor detail work to finish but overall the car looks much better than it did when the project commenced.
Visitor Center Train Shed - Thanks to Louis, the walkway along the edge of the building in the Train Shed area is progressing nicely. The framing has been installed and the walkway planks are being cut to fit. This will be an excellent alternative display area for the 2013 season.
Showing posts with label Illinois Termial 451. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illinois Termial 451. Show all posts
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Progress
It is amazing to see the progress that has been continuing at a fantastic rate. Work has been accomplished in a number of places by a range of volunteers.
In Kelly Barn, Illinois Terminal car 451 received its first coat of paint. This project has been a long time coming. On Saturday, the primer coat was finished. First thing Sunday morning, those helping Kevin Mitchell on his Eagle Scout Project began to apply the green base coat. By the end of the day, I was told that the whole car should have the green finished.
Up on the hill, almost half of the roof was replaced on The New York New Haven & Hartford coach (also known as the "Dining Car") by John Pelletier. This has allowed us to remove some of the tarps from the car, thus making it look much more aesthetically pleasing. Once the roof on the car is completed, we should be able to re-purpose those tarps to replace the failed tarps on Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee car 162.
Under the Train Shed, The Bangor & Aroostook Caboose wood is getting primed. Most of the wood has already been completed thanks to the hard work of a group of volunteers in the evening. In addition, a couple of our "Community Service volunteers" have been working on priming the wood as well. It shouldn't be long before we can start to pull the wood off of the roof.
Inside the Lusa Car Shop, one truck set has been fully tested for the Boston Elevated Railway car 5645. We have had our resident machinists hard at work manufacturing some of the missing parts for the car (clips, covers, etc). Next weekend that truck should be pushed under the car and the car lowered back down on it. Then we can slide the car down the track and do the same with the other end.
For the past couple of weeks, Fair Haven & Westville Railroad car 355 has been sitting over the Maintenance Pit. Work was completed over the weekend on the brake rigging of car 355. Bits of the underside of the car had to be "re-engineered" because of a problem where the brake rigging was chafing one of the motor leads.
In Kelly Barn, Illinois Terminal car 451 received its first coat of paint. This project has been a long time coming. On Saturday, the primer coat was finished. First thing Sunday morning, those helping Kevin Mitchell on his Eagle Scout Project began to apply the green base coat. By the end of the day, I was told that the whole car should have the green finished.
Up on the hill, almost half of the roof was replaced on The New York New Haven & Hartford coach (also known as the "Dining Car") by John Pelletier. This has allowed us to remove some of the tarps from the car, thus making it look much more aesthetically pleasing. Once the roof on the car is completed, we should be able to re-purpose those tarps to replace the failed tarps on Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee car 162.
Under the Train Shed, The Bangor & Aroostook Caboose wood is getting primed. Most of the wood has already been completed thanks to the hard work of a group of volunteers in the evening. In addition, a couple of our "Community Service volunteers" have been working on priming the wood as well. It shouldn't be long before we can start to pull the wood off of the roof.
Inside the Lusa Car Shop, one truck set has been fully tested for the Boston Elevated Railway car 5645. We have had our resident machinists hard at work manufacturing some of the missing parts for the car (clips, covers, etc). Next weekend that truck should be pushed under the car and the car lowered back down on it. Then we can slide the car down the track and do the same with the other end.
For the past couple of weeks, Fair Haven & Westville Railroad car 355 has been sitting over the Maintenance Pit. Work was completed over the weekend on the brake rigging of car 355. Bits of the underside of the car had to be "re-engineered" because of a problem where the brake rigging was chafing one of the motor leads.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Many Projects
It was amazing to see the many projects that were occurring on Saturday.
In the Track Department, Larry Lunden assisted me in preparing ties for installation on the mainline. Our ties are relay ties that still have the old plates and spikes on them.
After we were finished, I went to the Fire Museum building to collect the battery that I had on a trickle-charge for the Tie Handler. The once-dead battery once again held a charge so I brought it over to the Tie Handler TH-2, and installed it. I also drained the fuel from the fuel tank and cleaned the rust and other debris out of it. Then, I filled it back up with new fuel. The machine started right up and ran great for a while. With Xian Clere, I took the machine out on the mainline and loaded ties on the Tie Handler's flat car. Unfortunately, there must still be something in the tank because after around a half hour of running, the machine started to sputter and I had difficulty keeping it running. Once I got in the clear in the siding, we got it running well again. However, I did not want to chance it starving for fuel again on the mainline in front of passenger service again, so we left it in the siding and planned to continue working after operations ended. However, we never had the chance to do so because of so many other things going on.
Xian Clere, Aaron Mangan, and John Gasper worked on the Tie Inserter. They re-installed the newly repaired fuel tank. In addition, they installed a new fuel bowl and inline fuel filter on the machine. Unfortunately, they could not get it started. An hour or so later after everyone else had given up, I heard the familiar putt-putt of the motor after John finally got the machine started.
In the shop, John Pelletier and Scott (Unfortunately I do not know his last name) were hard at work on various projects with Rio de Janiero car 1850. The car is in the shop for routine maintenance. With the help of Pat McCann, a workbench was brought into the shop and brought into the woodworking area.
In the back corner of the shop, Galen Semprebon was working on the newly impregnated field coils for the Boston Elevated Type-5 5645. He was peeling back some of the taping around the fields and replacing it. In doing so, it appears that the vacuum impregnation of the field coils was successful. We now have the ability to vacuum impregnate in our shop!
In front of the shop, Camilo Santiago completed the work on one end of sanding the Reading Caboose, and began to work on the other end of the interior. The exterior of the caboose was completed by an Eagle Scout a few years ago.
Inside Kelly Barn, our current Eagle Scout project is underway. Kevin Mitchell and his crew did some more preparatory work to get ready for the painting of the Illinois Terminal PCC Car 451.
The doors of the barn got some attention too. One of our community service volunteers spent the day painting the interior of the doors to the barn. Hopefully in a few weekends, he will have this project completed.
In the section house, George Contrada, Dillon Worth, and another volunteer were working on the speeder. They flushed the radiator and did preventative maintenance.
The one project that I had hoped to work on, I ran out of time. I had hoped to work on the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose beginning to prime the new tongue and groove side panels.
In the Fire Museum, members were hard at work on preparing a Motor Coach for a head gasket replacement.
Finally, the big event for the day was the filming inside and outside of our Chicago North Shore cars, 162 and 710 respectively. A student from New York University brought an entire film crew to the museum from the city to do filming for a senior film project.
In the Track Department, Larry Lunden assisted me in preparing ties for installation on the mainline. Our ties are relay ties that still have the old plates and spikes on them.
After we were finished, I went to the Fire Museum building to collect the battery that I had on a trickle-charge for the Tie Handler. The once-dead battery once again held a charge so I brought it over to the Tie Handler TH-2, and installed it. I also drained the fuel from the fuel tank and cleaned the rust and other debris out of it. Then, I filled it back up with new fuel. The machine started right up and ran great for a while. With Xian Clere, I took the machine out on the mainline and loaded ties on the Tie Handler's flat car. Unfortunately, there must still be something in the tank because after around a half hour of running, the machine started to sputter and I had difficulty keeping it running. Once I got in the clear in the siding, we got it running well again. However, I did not want to chance it starving for fuel again on the mainline in front of passenger service again, so we left it in the siding and planned to continue working after operations ended. However, we never had the chance to do so because of so many other things going on.
Xian Clere, Aaron Mangan, and John Gasper worked on the Tie Inserter. They re-installed the newly repaired fuel tank. In addition, they installed a new fuel bowl and inline fuel filter on the machine. Unfortunately, they could not get it started. An hour or so later after everyone else had given up, I heard the familiar putt-putt of the motor after John finally got the machine started.
In the shop, John Pelletier and Scott (Unfortunately I do not know his last name) were hard at work on various projects with Rio de Janiero car 1850. The car is in the shop for routine maintenance. With the help of Pat McCann, a workbench was brought into the shop and brought into the woodworking area.
In the back corner of the shop, Galen Semprebon was working on the newly impregnated field coils for the Boston Elevated Type-5 5645. He was peeling back some of the taping around the fields and replacing it. In doing so, it appears that the vacuum impregnation of the field coils was successful. We now have the ability to vacuum impregnate in our shop!
In front of the shop, Camilo Santiago completed the work on one end of sanding the Reading Caboose, and began to work on the other end of the interior. The exterior of the caboose was completed by an Eagle Scout a few years ago.
Inside Kelly Barn, our current Eagle Scout project is underway. Kevin Mitchell and his crew did some more preparatory work to get ready for the painting of the Illinois Terminal PCC Car 451.
The doors of the barn got some attention too. One of our community service volunteers spent the day painting the interior of the doors to the barn. Hopefully in a few weekends, he will have this project completed.
In the section house, George Contrada, Dillon Worth, and another volunteer were working on the speeder. They flushed the radiator and did preventative maintenance.
The one project that I had hoped to work on, I ran out of time. I had hoped to work on the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose beginning to prime the new tongue and groove side panels.
In the Fire Museum, members were hard at work on preparing a Motor Coach for a head gasket replacement.
Finally, the big event for the day was the filming inside and outside of our Chicago North Shore cars, 162 and 710 respectively. A student from New York University brought an entire film crew to the museum from the city to do filming for a senior film project.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Eagle Scout Project
Even with the rain yesterday, the Eagle Scouts were able to accomplish some work on Illinois Terminal car 451. On Saturday, the windows were removed and yesterday the void behind where the windows once were was masked. This will allow the exterior to be sprayed without causing any over-spray on the interior of the car.
Part of a new exhibit was put together and set up in the main display hall. We are currently building an exhibit discussing local trolley history. In it will have information and pictures relating directly to the Hartford & Springfield Street Railway and Piney Ridge Park. The first component of this is the digitally scanned copies of a brochure that was distributed by the H&S explaining how to take a vacation by trolley between New York City, NY and Portland, ME including New Haven & Hartford, CT and Springfield & Worcester & Boston, MA. Inside the brochure, it also gives a bit of information about Piney Ridge Park and Mount Tom. As the year progresses, be on the lookout for additions to this exhibit and more exhibits opening.
Part of a new exhibit was put together and set up in the main display hall. We are currently building an exhibit discussing local trolley history. In it will have information and pictures relating directly to the Hartford & Springfield Street Railway and Piney Ridge Park. The first component of this is the digitally scanned copies of a brochure that was distributed by the H&S explaining how to take a vacation by trolley between New York City, NY and Portland, ME including New Haven & Hartford, CT and Springfield & Worcester & Boston, MA. Inside the brochure, it also gives a bit of information about Piney Ridge Park and Mount Tom. As the year progresses, be on the lookout for additions to this exhibit and more exhibits opening.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Shop Work
Up in the car shop, Galen Semprebon and Brian Semprebon were hard at work getting the dust collector put together. It is now up and running. At this time, the wood working machines can be rearranged and set up for use. Pat McCann and John Pelletier spent the day working on Springfield Terminal Railway car 16 preparing her to be released into service. John was able to sand and revarnish the window trim on the car.
In Kelly Yard, Kevin Mitchell and those helping him with his Eagle Scout Project were working diligently on Illinois Terminal car 451. The windows have been removed in order to prepare the car for painting.
Over by the Dining Car, Marilyn Rodriguez helped me clean up the entrance by removing the old lattice fencing and put up newer picket fencing. This really spruced up the area.
Monday, December 26, 2011
A Year in Review
This year has been quite a busy year with many accomplishments, least important for this blog is my own accomplishments in my personal life. Those are what have been keeping me from having time to post on here. As a new year approaches, I plan to be posting much more often and will try to post at minimum once a week. If I am not posting that often, feel free to let me know; remind me to post.
January: Work began on Springfield Street Railway car 575 (Montreal Tramways car 2056). Paint was scraped from the sides of the car in hopes to repaint it in Springfield, MA colors. Work was also accomplished on Connecticut Company car 65.
February: The northeast was hammered with snow which really slowed down work at the museum. It was difficult to even access the property.
March: The Main Hall was set up for opening day. The fourth motor was repaired and reinstalled in Montreal Tramways car 2600.
April: The front lawn was cleaned up of miscellaneous materials. Track 1 under the Visitor Center Train Shed was built and ties were replaced in Kelly Yard.
May: The museum received approximately 700 relay ties to be used in the Train Shed and on the main line. Work began on the floor and roof of the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose.
June: Work progressed on the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose. Work also began on the interior of the Reading Caboose. Work began on New Orleans car 836 to turn down the wheel set with a thin flange.
July: Work continued on the Reading Caboose and car 836. In addition, Illinois Terminal car 451 had work continued on it as an Eagle Scout Project.
August: Work on many projects slowed due to planning our special events - Rails to the Darkside, Pumpkin Patch, and Winterfest. New Orleans car 836 still had members working on the wheel sets. At the end of the month, Hurricane Irene hit the museum resulting in the museum being closed for a week.
September: The finishing touches were in the process of being completed on car 836. Repairs were made to the infrastructure after Hurricane Irene. Work was accomplished on the cosmetic restoration of Boston Elevated car 3100. Cars were tarped to protect them from the elements.
October: New Orleans car 836 was returned to service, however, Connecticut Company car 1326 was removed from service due to motor issues. Winter Storm Alfred hit the museum at the end of the month resulting in the museum being closed for its typically two best days of Pumpkin Patch and Rails to the Darkside.
November: Repairs were made to the infrastructure once again. The museum was set up for Winterfest.
December: Work was progressing on the Boston Elevated Railway car 5645 with interior woodwork and motor work. Tarps are going on the Dining Car to protect it from the winter snow. Next year, money will be spent to repair the car.
January: Work began on Springfield Street Railway car 575 (Montreal Tramways car 2056). Paint was scraped from the sides of the car in hopes to repaint it in Springfield, MA colors. Work was also accomplished on Connecticut Company car 65.
February: The northeast was hammered with snow which really slowed down work at the museum. It was difficult to even access the property.
March: The Main Hall was set up for opening day. The fourth motor was repaired and reinstalled in Montreal Tramways car 2600.
April: The front lawn was cleaned up of miscellaneous materials. Track 1 under the Visitor Center Train Shed was built and ties were replaced in Kelly Yard.
May: The museum received approximately 700 relay ties to be used in the Train Shed and on the main line. Work began on the floor and roof of the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose.
June: Work progressed on the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose. Work also began on the interior of the Reading Caboose. Work began on New Orleans car 836 to turn down the wheel set with a thin flange.
July: Work continued on the Reading Caboose and car 836. In addition, Illinois Terminal car 451 had work continued on it as an Eagle Scout Project.
August: Work on many projects slowed due to planning our special events - Rails to the Darkside, Pumpkin Patch, and Winterfest. New Orleans car 836 still had members working on the wheel sets. At the end of the month, Hurricane Irene hit the museum resulting in the museum being closed for a week.
September: The finishing touches were in the process of being completed on car 836. Repairs were made to the infrastructure after Hurricane Irene. Work was accomplished on the cosmetic restoration of Boston Elevated car 3100. Cars were tarped to protect them from the elements.
October: New Orleans car 836 was returned to service, however, Connecticut Company car 1326 was removed from service due to motor issues. Winter Storm Alfred hit the museum at the end of the month resulting in the museum being closed for its typically two best days of Pumpkin Patch and Rails to the Darkside.
November: Repairs were made to the infrastructure once again. The museum was set up for Winterfest.
December: Work was progressing on the Boston Elevated Railway car 5645 with interior woodwork and motor work. Tarps are going on the Dining Car to protect it from the winter snow. Next year, money will be spent to repair the car.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Catching Up
Its hard to imagine how long it has been since I have last posted. Unfortunately, long hours at work have gotten in the way of my ability to post. But enough about me, I know you are all looking for what has happened at the museum over the past two months!
Train Shed
Tracks 1 and 1A have been completed under the Train Shed of the Visitor Center. Galen Semprebon led the effort with the help of a number of other people to get the track built, temporary trackage from the siding to the storage tracks built, and the cars moved under the Train Shed. Connecticut Company car 1739 and Connecticut Company Work Car 0206 have both been moved under cover on those tracks.
New Orleans Public Service car 836
Work has been steadily progressing on car 836. Pat McCann, our resident machinist, has set up the wheel lathe with a tracing tool, and with the help of Chris Chestnut, has been preparing to make the first cut on the wheels. Yesterday, work has started on the turning of the first wheelset for 836.
Connecticut Company car 1326
While the car was in the shop for its yearly inspection and maintenance, the window sills on the car were sanded down and painted by John Pelletier, our shop foreman.
Springfield Terminal Railway car 16
John Pelletier has milled the wood to replace the floor in the operators area of the car. The floor does have a couple of weak spots that are being monitored. As time allows, the car will be moved to the shop to have the floor in that area replaced, before it becomes an issue. Phil Godeck took the time to remove the trolley hook and replace the support board underneath it. The board was detereorating and needed to be replaced. It was interesting to note, that since the car had returned to service, that hook was installed with the open part facing the wrong direction. This problem was corrected when the support board was replaced.
Illinois Terminal PCC 451
Kevin Mitchell has started to work on car 451 as his Eagle Scout Project. So far, him and his father have begun to sand down one side of the car.
Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose
Work has been ongoing on the caboose. George Contrada and Xian Clere have removed the carpet and particle board that was covering the floor. While this was going on, I spent time on the roof, removing the roofing paper. Unfortunately, the roof was in worse shape than we had suspected and the roof boards will need to be replaced as well.
Track
Last weekend, I led a work crew to replace ties east of Winkler Road. In total, nine ties were replaced. We were able to use car 16 to transport people and tools, and the Tie Handler with a push car to move ties. Throughout the summer, we hope to be able to replace more ties as the time allows.
Library
Peg Hoffman has begun to work in the library cateloging the many books that we have. Meanwhile, a community service volunteer has been organizing the magazines that we have. We were surprised to find that we have quite a few complete sets of different railroad magazines.
Train Shed
Tracks 1 and 1A have been completed under the Train Shed of the Visitor Center. Galen Semprebon led the effort with the help of a number of other people to get the track built, temporary trackage from the siding to the storage tracks built, and the cars moved under the Train Shed. Connecticut Company car 1739 and Connecticut Company Work Car 0206 have both been moved under cover on those tracks.
New Orleans Public Service car 836
Work has been steadily progressing on car 836. Pat McCann, our resident machinist, has set up the wheel lathe with a tracing tool, and with the help of Chris Chestnut, has been preparing to make the first cut on the wheels. Yesterday, work has started on the turning of the first wheelset for 836.
Connecticut Company car 1326
While the car was in the shop for its yearly inspection and maintenance, the window sills on the car were sanded down and painted by John Pelletier, our shop foreman.
Springfield Terminal Railway car 16
John Pelletier has milled the wood to replace the floor in the operators area of the car. The floor does have a couple of weak spots that are being monitored. As time allows, the car will be moved to the shop to have the floor in that area replaced, before it becomes an issue. Phil Godeck took the time to remove the trolley hook and replace the support board underneath it. The board was detereorating and needed to be replaced. It was interesting to note, that since the car had returned to service, that hook was installed with the open part facing the wrong direction. This problem was corrected when the support board was replaced.
Illinois Terminal PCC 451
Kevin Mitchell has started to work on car 451 as his Eagle Scout Project. So far, him and his father have begun to sand down one side of the car.
Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose
Work has been ongoing on the caboose. George Contrada and Xian Clere have removed the carpet and particle board that was covering the floor. While this was going on, I spent time on the roof, removing the roofing paper. Unfortunately, the roof was in worse shape than we had suspected and the roof boards will need to be replaced as well.
Track
Last weekend, I led a work crew to replace ties east of Winkler Road. In total, nine ties were replaced. We were able to use car 16 to transport people and tools, and the Tie Handler with a push car to move ties. Throughout the summer, we hope to be able to replace more ties as the time allows.
Library
Peg Hoffman has begun to work in the library cateloging the many books that we have. Meanwhile, a community service volunteer has been organizing the magazines that we have. We were surprised to find that we have quite a few complete sets of different railroad magazines.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Rail Bonds
Throughout the day Saturday, Ben Wallace and I had to look for the tools to replace rail bonds. Once we were able to find what we needed (some tools being in the car shop), we proceeded out on the line and replaced two rail bonds. The rail bonds are necessary to allow for the signal system to function properly.
Up in the car shop, John Pelletier and Galen Semprebon were working with a crew of people to set up a gantry over the wheel lathe. This will be used to hoist the wheel set (wheels and axle) up onto the lathe for turning the wheels down. The wheel sets on New Orleans Car 836 are set to be turned down to eliminate the thin flanges that are on the wheels. Also, work was progressing on Illinois Terminal PCC 451. The "rain gutters" on the side of the car were sanded down and primed and work was ongoing on fixing a rot hole on the side of the car.
In Kelly Yard, Xian Clere has worked with Rob Levesque and Brandon Clark to replace the broken rail. The old rail was removed and the new rail was installed over the week. After borrowing a drill from the fire museum, holes for the guard rail bolts were drilled in the new rail and the guard rail was installed. There is still more work to be accomplished in Kelly Yard, but it is much better than it was at the end of last season.
Work is also progressing on the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose. George Contrada stripped the carpet from the interior of the caboose. Soon, the siding will be stripped and replaced.
Be sure to stop down for the Flea Market at the museum on this coming Saturday, May 21st! There will be over 100 vendors!
Up in the car shop, John Pelletier and Galen Semprebon were working with a crew of people to set up a gantry over the wheel lathe. This will be used to hoist the wheel set (wheels and axle) up onto the lathe for turning the wheels down. The wheel sets on New Orleans Car 836 are set to be turned down to eliminate the thin flanges that are on the wheels. Also, work was progressing on Illinois Terminal PCC 451. The "rain gutters" on the side of the car were sanded down and primed and work was ongoing on fixing a rot hole on the side of the car.
In Kelly Yard, Xian Clere has worked with Rob Levesque and Brandon Clark to replace the broken rail. The old rail was removed and the new rail was installed over the week. After borrowing a drill from the fire museum, holes for the guard rail bolts were drilled in the new rail and the guard rail was installed. There is still more work to be accomplished in Kelly Yard, but it is much better than it was at the end of last season.
Work is also progressing on the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose. George Contrada stripped the carpet from the interior of the caboose. Soon, the siding will be stripped and replaced.
Be sure to stop down for the Flea Market at the museum on this coming Saturday, May 21st! There will be over 100 vendors!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
More Car Shifting
Most of the progress during the day on Saturday included shifting of various cars in preparation for the Annual Meeting.
First thing in the morning, Bill Wall and Bill Pollman stopped by the museum with tires and rims for the trolley bus that is scheduled to be shipped down to Baltimore. They have a similar trolley bus, but they need one of ours (we have three) for parts. The one big hurdle in getting the bus shipped is that it had no tires on it.
George Contrada, Galen Semprebon, Ted Coppola, John Cummins, Dave Coppola and I worked to move the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose under the Train Shed. In order to do this, we needed to pull the caboose down to the Powerhouse Crossing on the Visitor Center lead tracks so that the access track could be shifted over 2 bays. Then the caboose was pulled back up and pushed under the Train Shed.
Xian Clere and Camilo Santiago worked with Northern Tree Service of Palmer, MA to move around 700 relay ties that have been donated to the museum. The ties are now sitting on the back road to the loop.
Up in the shop, John Pelletier was working with another volunteer to service additional cars. They were able to finish working on Fair Haven & Westville Railroad Car 355 and Illinois Terminal PCC 451. Later in the day, Springfield Terminal Car 16 was brought up to the shop and minor repairs were continued on the car.
After operations was finished for the day, Camilo Santiago, Xian Clere, George Contrada, and John Cummins completed a switching operation which included moving the Reading Caboose to the North Road Lay-Up Track and clearing the Northern Barn Lead so that Aurora Elgin & Chicago Interurban 303 can be moved out for the Annual Meeting next weekend.
Morgan von Eisengrein spent the day working diligently in the office with the planning of our new fund raising event for this year, BBQ on the Line. More information on the event will be forthcoming.
First thing in the morning, Bill Wall and Bill Pollman stopped by the museum with tires and rims for the trolley bus that is scheduled to be shipped down to Baltimore. They have a similar trolley bus, but they need one of ours (we have three) for parts. The one big hurdle in getting the bus shipped is that it had no tires on it.
George Contrada, Galen Semprebon, Ted Coppola, John Cummins, Dave Coppola and I worked to move the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Caboose under the Train Shed. In order to do this, we needed to pull the caboose down to the Powerhouse Crossing on the Visitor Center lead tracks so that the access track could be shifted over 2 bays. Then the caboose was pulled back up and pushed under the Train Shed.
Xian Clere and Camilo Santiago worked with Northern Tree Service of Palmer, MA to move around 700 relay ties that have been donated to the museum. The ties are now sitting on the back road to the loop.
Up in the shop, John Pelletier was working with another volunteer to service additional cars. They were able to finish working on Fair Haven & Westville Railroad Car 355 and Illinois Terminal PCC 451. Later in the day, Springfield Terminal Car 16 was brought up to the shop and minor repairs were continued on the car.
After operations was finished for the day, Camilo Santiago, Xian Clere, George Contrada, and John Cummins completed a switching operation which included moving the Reading Caboose to the North Road Lay-Up Track and clearing the Northern Barn Lead so that Aurora Elgin & Chicago Interurban 303 can be moved out for the Annual Meeting next weekend.
Morgan von Eisengrein spent the day working diligently in the office with the planning of our new fund raising event for this year, BBQ on the Line. More information on the event will be forthcoming.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Car 451 Repaired
Yes, Sunday was Easter Sunday. Where was Tim Baisley? At the museum for a couple of hours working on the braking system of 451. Now that's dedication! In the time he was there, he was able to adjust the brakes. Now the drum brakes actuate when the dynamic brakes are depleted like they are supposed to. Only one more adjustment on one end of the car and it should be ready to return to Public Service!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Kelly Yard Track Work
Kelly Yard is finally getting the rebuilding that it has needed for a long time. And doing this, we are able to teach some of the younger volunteers how to do track work. On Saturday morning, Camilo Santiago and I got together with Henry Kutash and some of the younger guys - Brian Semprebon, Alex Aberdale, David Coppola, and David Lesniak - to show them how to properly do track work. These guys learned a lot and we were all able to replace 7 switch timbers in the Kelly 1-3 Switch. They got a chance at learning to properly tamp and spike ties as well. They all did remarkably well. We will be attempting to finish the timber replacement next Saturday morning beginning at 9am. All are welcome.
Under the Visitor Center Train Shed, Galen Semprebon led a crew grading the fill to build the track for Connecticut Company Cars 0206 and 1739. Todd Chicoine and his father Paul were busy using the front end loader and bulldozer grading the path for the temporary access tracks.
Up in the Lusa Car Shop, John Pelletier was busy with some new volunteers finishing the servicing of Fair Haven & Westville Railroad 355. The air compressor armature was reinstalled in the car and the car was returned to service. They also cleared the area in front of the lathe. Galen also was able to break free from working under the Train Shed to service Montreal Tramways Observation Car 4. At the end of the day, 355 was released into service and Illinois Terminal PCC 451 was moved to the car shop.Behind the Visitor Center, John Cummins and Morgan von Eisengrein were working to cut and remove overgrown trees.
With all of the things that were going on Saturday, we still had many volunteers running streetcars in Public Operation. It was great to see so many volunteers, and so many visitors at the museum.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Car 451's Christmas Present
Car 451 (Illinois Terminal PCC) received a wonderful Christmas Gift this year, a winter inside. On Thursday evening, Dave Coppola, David Lesniak and I moved car 451 from its home on the North Road Lay-Up to the rear of Track 1 of Kelly Car Barn.
It has been the plan to move car 451 into a barn for a while, however, there was always the question of where to put it. At 50'5", the 1949-built PCC is a very long car. This can create some problems when trying to fit it into the barn with other cars. Over the summer, I cleared the back wall of Kelly Car Barn track 1. By doing this and pairing the car with car 1850 (Rio de Janeiro open), the car will fit in the barn with about 4 feet to spare. This, however, required something else to move. At that point, Xian Clere and Galen Semprebon helped me move car 2600 (Montreal Tramways) up to the shop. Due to the recent snowfall, this proved to be a much more difficult task than originally envisioned. Car 2600 got stuck going up the hill twice: first, climbing the hill paralleling Kelly Car Yard; and second, on Lusa Car Yard track 2 just outside the shop. After digging the car out multiple times and using sand, we were able to finally get 2600 into the shop.
Inside the Visitor Center, John Pelletier was busy working on two projects. On Montreal Tramways Car 2056 (Springfield Street Railway Car 575), John finished scraping one panel of the exterior of the car and primed the panel. It is expected that by the time we open in the Spring, the car will be repainted. On Car 65 (Connecticut Company), John finished fitting a piece of molding along the roof line.
Although work usually slows down in the off season, we will still be working hard as we have a lot of projects that can be done in the Visitor Center.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Car 154 Emptied
In the early days of the museum, the only interior space was inside the trolleys. So, the cars that were not used for service (because they were unfit to operate, missing components, etc) became storehouses for other smaller materials that we acquired. Unfortunately, some of those materials have considerable weight to them which will stress the cars body. Connecticut Company 0309 (Fair Haven & Westville 154) is one of them that was loaded with overhead parts (insulators, bolts, etc). On Saturday, David Coppola helped me unload the materials stored inside the car onto shelf space inside the Visitor Center Relay Room. The only items left in the car now are parts to the car.
Inside the Visitor Center, Galen Semprebon, Brian Semprebon, and Matty Doane were working on scraping the exterior paint on Montreal Tramways 2056 (Springfield Street Railway 575). The car needs a new coat of paint and the plan is to return the car to Springfield, MA colors. While this will not be a complete restoration at the current time, it is a start in the direction to returning the car to its local history. 
In order to complete the restoration of the car, it will need an end reduction, because when the car was sold to Montreal Tramways, they extended the ends of the car and reconfigured the operators compartment.
Outside, John Pelletier, with the help of Matty, Galen, and I, was working on the repairs to the operating fleet. The bent pole on Connecticut Company 1326 was straightened and the car was returned to service. The broken retriever on Illinois Terminal 451 was replaced by a rebuilt one found in the Parts Storage Room. The repairs to Montreal Tramways 2600 took a bit longer. There was a squealing noise coming from the number 3 axle. We checked the packing and oiled the Journal Boxes. The temperature of the number 3 axle journals were slightly elevated. When we took it out for a test, the noise was still there. We finally figured out that it was the cause of the armature bearing. The waste in the bearing was failing and not properly wicking the oil. Once we repacked the bearing, the noise subsided. The armature support bearing for the fourth motor has been freed and should be repaired in the next few weeks. Once that is done, the car will be jacked and the motor will be reinstalled in the trucks.
We had another busy night of Winterfest Operation Saturday night with 5 cars out on the main line at one point. With that many cars, there is a slight bottleneck at Hancock Passing Siding. The track with three cars needs to pass through the siding before the track with two cars on it can proceed because the siding is only two cars long.
Inside the Visitor Center, Galen Semprebon, Brian Semprebon, and Matty Doane were working on scraping the exterior paint on Montreal Tramways 2056 (Springfield Street Railway 575). The car needs a new coat of paint and the plan is to return the car to Springfield, MA colors. While this will not be a complete restoration at the current time, it is a start in the direction to returning the car to its local history. 
In order to complete the restoration of the car, it will need an end reduction, because when the car was sold to Montreal Tramways, they extended the ends of the car and reconfigured the operators compartment.
Outside, John Pelletier, with the help of Matty, Galen, and I, was working on the repairs to the operating fleet. The bent pole on Connecticut Company 1326 was straightened and the car was returned to service. The broken retriever on Illinois Terminal 451 was replaced by a rebuilt one found in the Parts Storage Room. The repairs to Montreal Tramways 2600 took a bit longer. There was a squealing noise coming from the number 3 axle. We checked the packing and oiled the Journal Boxes. The temperature of the number 3 axle journals were slightly elevated. When we took it out for a test, the noise was still there. We finally figured out that it was the cause of the armature bearing. The waste in the bearing was failing and not properly wicking the oil. Once we repacked the bearing, the noise subsided. The armature support bearing for the fourth motor has been freed and should be repaired in the next few weeks. Once that is done, the car will be jacked and the motor will be reinstalled in the trucks.We had another busy night of Winterfest Operation Saturday night with 5 cars out on the main line at one point. With that many cars, there is a slight bottleneck at Hancock Passing Siding. The track with three cars needs to pass through the siding before the track with two cars on it can proceed because the siding is only two cars long.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Shop Cleanup
Today a lot of discussion occurred in how best to organize the Lusa Car Shop. After discussing what machines should stay in the shop and what machines should be moved to other storage areas, a plan of action was made to get the shop in order. Pat McCann and Matty Doane kept busy today with the backhoe cleaning out the shop. It seems that trash gets piled up faster than it is taken away. They were able to empty all of the shop barrels into the dumpster and bring a lot of old wood to the wood pile.
I was finally able to replace the trolley pole rope on Montreal 2600 today as we received our order of trolley rope from the manufacturer last week. Eventually Rio 1850, Montreal 4, and Connecticut 1326 will have new rope too, but 2600's was in the worst condition.
John Pelletier was able to finish the roof work on Springfield Terminal 16. While the roof on the car is not the best looking, it should be watertight. The car really needs a new canvas, however, there are other things that need to happen to the car before a new canvas can be put on the car. The Boston Type-5 was switched with 16 to put it in the shop. The roof on the Type-5 is next on the list to be repaired.
Illinois Terminal 451 was brought over the pit today to diagnose and repair the braking problem. The car has been sidelined from service for the past few months because of a delay between the dynamic brakes and the friction brakes. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the crew was finished looking over the car so I do not know if they found the issue.
Just outside the shop, George Contrada was busy turning an old track crane into a flat car for the Track Department. The crane was missing parts and all over not functional. Since the Track Department was in need of a sturdy flat car for moving tools and ties, George took on the task of building them one.
On the front side of the property, Galen Semprebon has been busy leading a crew of volunteers moving the three Connecticut Company cars off of the Hartman Storage Track. When the Visitor Center was built, this section of track was disconnected and the end was buried. In order to get the three cars out, the track was dug out and partially reconnected. ConnCo 1739 is most of the way off of the track. In the coming weeks, ConnCo 771 & 154 will be moved off of the track and the track will be removed.
Overall it was a very productive day. Next weekend calls for the pilot to be installed on CA&E 303, car moves, and more clean up in the shop.
I was finally able to replace the trolley pole rope on Montreal 2600 today as we received our order of trolley rope from the manufacturer last week. Eventually Rio 1850, Montreal 4, and Connecticut 1326 will have new rope too, but 2600's was in the worst condition.
John Pelletier was able to finish the roof work on Springfield Terminal 16. While the roof on the car is not the best looking, it should be watertight. The car really needs a new canvas, however, there are other things that need to happen to the car before a new canvas can be put on the car. The Boston Type-5 was switched with 16 to put it in the shop. The roof on the Type-5 is next on the list to be repaired.
Illinois Terminal 451 was brought over the pit today to diagnose and repair the braking problem. The car has been sidelined from service for the past few months because of a delay between the dynamic brakes and the friction brakes. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the crew was finished looking over the car so I do not know if they found the issue.
Just outside the shop, George Contrada was busy turning an old track crane into a flat car for the Track Department. The crane was missing parts and all over not functional. Since the Track Department was in need of a sturdy flat car for moving tools and ties, George took on the task of building them one.
On the front side of the property, Galen Semprebon has been busy leading a crew of volunteers moving the three Connecticut Company cars off of the Hartman Storage Track. When the Visitor Center was built, this section of track was disconnected and the end was buried. In order to get the three cars out, the track was dug out and partially reconnected. ConnCo 1739 is most of the way off of the track. In the coming weeks, ConnCo 771 & 154 will be moved off of the track and the track will be removed.Overall it was a very productive day. Next weekend calls for the pilot to be installed on CA&E 303, car moves, and more clean up in the shop.
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