July 24, 2011

Hello Everyone

Sorry I haven't updated this in a few weeks, it has been a very busy time.

A lot has been going on despite the weather being so hot lately.

Work on 65 has begun again.  On July 9, a few of us removed a lot of the parts that were stored inside the car and then removed seats etc. to make more room inside the car for working.  The car was also leveled, and further investigations made to determine the level of work that is planned on the car.  At this point, the expectation is to disassemble one end to address issues with settlement, doing at least some wire work on the ends along with restoring the interior wood work, and roof repairs and a new canvas.  I will be setting up another work session soon.

By the way, sorry for the black and white photos.  New camera.

Work has begun on the Mansfield caboose.  George, Xian and Tim have worked to remove the interior flooring, and roofing materials. 

Work has also begun on 451.  The car is now stored in Kelly barn, and will be painted.  This is an Eagle Scout project, and once I get a schedule we hope to get some more people involved to do some body repair work that is needed.  More to come soon. 

1326 received some much needed attention over the last few weeks with work done on the steps to better reinforce them, additional work on the bumper to provide a cleaner repair, and work on the window sill including scraping and painting, along with regular maintenance work.

You may wonder why one of the trolley buses is in such an unusual position.  We worked out a trade for shipping of trolley wheels in exchange for one of the trolley buses.  The bus will be leaving the property for another museum, and work is underway to get it moved to the parking lot for transport. 

Perhaps the most exciting news is that we have finally started the turning work on the wheels on 836 that will allow it to return to service.  In this picture is a summary of the work that needed to be done to allow this project to occur.  the gantry crane over the lathe was altered to allow it to fit, then set up over the lathe.  The tracing attachment was set up on the lathe including machining and welding the support for this attachment.  Work was also done to get the lathe running again including installation of a motor, and repair to the operating equipment.  On Saturday July 16, the first few cuts were made, and Pat was busy this past Saturday working on the project.  Thanks to Chris, Pat and John for all their hard efforts to get this project to the point it is at.

Work has continued on the restoration of the compressor for 355, and 355 was moved into the shop on July 23 to allow the compressor to be re-installed.  The expectation is to see the compressor installed this coming Saturday, so anyone interested in helping out on that project, we could use a few extra hands.  Once the compressor is installed, the running boards will need to be reinstalled on that portion of the car (the running boards are removed to remove the compressor).
Planning work is well underway for Rails to the Darkside, and some work is expected to be completed on the outside walk this coming Saturday.  We need to grade the walk, then install the posts and guide rope for the walk.  Anyone interested in helping out, please come on by.  We will probably spend a few hours working on getting the trolley bus ready to move also this coming Saturday also.

As you can see, it has been a busy period at the museum.  We can certainly use help now that we are starting to get into the fall and winter special events.  Hope to see you soon.

Galen

July 5, 2011

Hello Everyone

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday weekend. 

We were able to accomplish a few things this past weekend. 

Work continued on the compressor for 355.  Over the past two weeks, the armature and field coils for the compressor were baked to thoroughly dry them out.  Once dry, the tested out well, and work has been done on the banding for both.  Also, the fields had new leads installed. The case is  being worked on with much cleaning being done.  Thanks to John Pelletier and Chris Chestnut for working on this project.

Work is continuing on the setup of the lathe for 836's wheels.  A lot of machining of parts has been completed, and it is hoped that testing will begin this coming weekend.  Pat McCann has been very busy making up the parts with the help of Chris Chestnut.  Pat has also been taking the opportunity to help teach some of our younger members, so many thanks to Pat for his efforts. 

A number of months back, we made a deal to trade one of the electric buses to the Baltimore trolley museum for shipping of trolley wheels from the west coast.  We had two sets (16 wheels) on the west coast for many years that we purchased.  Now the wheels are at the museum and available for use.  We have begun the task of getting the bus moved.  The first step is to load it onto the tag along trailer to move to the parking lot where it will be loaded onto a trailer for shipment.  At this time, the front of the bus has been jacked up and the tag along trailer moved under the front axle.  The next step will be to jack up the rear of the bus to finish loading.  Thanks to Jim Miller and Brian for helping me get it that far.  Also, thanks to Bill Wall from Branford and Bill Pollman from Seashore for their help in trying to get tires on the bus.  Unfortunately, that idea didn't work out the way we had hoped.

I announced a few weeks back the desire to start working regularly on car #65.  This Saturday (July 9) will be the first day of work.  Anyone interested in helping out, please stop on in.  Work will be starting by 9:00 A.M., with the first steps being to get the car cleaned out and the seats removed to allow work on the interior woodwork to commence.  Anyone with experience with woodwork, we also need to work on the roof of the car. 

I expect a lot to be happening at the museum this coming weekend.  Come on down and we can get you helping out in the shop, or on 65.

Galen

June 21, 2011

Hello Everyone

We had a good weekend this past weekend with work getting accomplished throughout the museum.  In the shop on Saturday, it was a mixed bag.  Work was interupted to fix motor leads on both 4 and 1850.  Both cars were repaired and returned to service.  2 different compressors were brought in to the shop for servicing.  One of the two will be used for 355. 

Work continued on the lathe setup with most of the tracing attachment now mounted on the lathe.  Welding was done on the mounting base.  We are now so close to finally starting to turn the wheels for 836. 

A while back we agreed to give one of the electric trolley buses to another museum in exchange for shipping trolley car wheels (16 new wheels) from the west coast to us.  Work started on getting the bus raised up to mount the tires on which will allow the bus to be loaded on a trailer and moved out of the museum.  We still have two other trolley buses, with one presently in the collection and the second for parts.

65 has been sitting in the visitor center for some time with very intermittent work occuring on her.  In order to help expedite this project, and at the same time get our restoration program back on track, I am taking on 65 as a project.  My hope is to get as many people involved in the project that I can.  While 65 will not be a complete restoration project, we will be restoring the interior of the car to look as good as we can reasonably accomplish.  The remaining interior woodwork that has not been refinished will be, the seats bases cleaned up and painted, seats recovered in new rattan, etc.   
I am going to be scheduling work days for this project (roughly once every 3-4 weeks), with the first day being Saturday July 9, 2011.  I will be at the museum by 8:00 A.M., and plan a number of projects for that day.  We have woodwork to do on the roof still, along with the removal of the interior seats, which will allow us room to work on the interior woodwork.  While we certainly want this car in service for our 75th anniversary in 2015, I am optimistic we will have the car in service well before then.  I will be going through my email lists to contact people who have expressed interest in working on the car previously, but please, if you are interested  contact the museum office and let us know, or email me.  I will be compiling an email list of people to help keep everyone up to date on work. 

Also, planning has begun on Rails to the Darkside.  We can always use more help, particularly more adults in the visitor center.  If you are interested in helping out, please contact either myself or the office. 

Take care and enjoy the warm weather.

Galen

June 12, 2011

Hello Everyone

Well we have had a very productive week this past week, with a lot being accomplished at the museum

1850 was switched out of Woods barn and brought up to the shop, gone over and is now back in Kelly barn and in service.  To make room for 451 back in Kelly barn, the Type 5 was switched to Woods barn.  We have one motor over at the motor shop for the Type 5, with the expectation of going through and having all the motors shopped so that the car will be 100%.

We also moved a couple of air compressors into the shop.  One of the compressors will be for 355, which developed additional problems after we had the armature shopped for her. 

4 was moved into the shop in order to go through her completely, and also to remove her line switch for repair.  We should see 4 back in service soon.

Work is progressing on the mount for the tracing tool attachment for the lathe. 

The temporary track was completed this week, and 0206 was moved under cover of the train shed next to 1739. 

Work is progressing on making the compromise joint bars for the Kelly yard track.

All in all, a very productive week at the museum.

This coming week, we will be doing work in the shop on 4 including routine maintenance, and work on the line switch.  Also, work will be done on 355 compressor.  I'm sure other projects will be underway this coming Saturday also.

Also, on June 18th, Larry will be holding a meeting regarding the day of caring.  Anyone interested in helping out that day, it is a great way to get a lot of labor to get a project done.  Last year, we did a lot of landscape work around the visitor center including the front paver section along with a number of other projects.  If you are interested, please come on down for the meeting. 

I will be working to organize the work efforts on 65.  My hope is to have 1-2 Saturday's a month work party on the car.  Initially I will need the help of wood workers/carpenters who have some experience.  There is still work to do on the roof fitting in wood for repairs.  We are still working out the extents of the project, but there will be a lot of other work to do with refinishing of wood on the inside of the car, paint touch up, seat repairs and recovering of the seats, seat frame scraping and repainting etc.  Anyone interested in helping out perhaps one Saturday a month, please contact me and I will put you on an email contact list for letting you know when work will occur.  Work will continue to occur within the visitor center, and while we need to make certain concessions in order to accomodate the public when we are open, I plan on using the project as an educational tool for the public. 

Thanks to everyone who came down to the museum this past Saturday on such a wet day and especially to those who worked in the mud and rain to get so much accomplished.

Galen

June 5, 2011

Hello Everyone.

Well we were able to accomplish a few things yesterday at the museum

1739 is now under the train shed, and the track was moved over to allow completion of the track to moved 0206 under next.

451 is now back in service, with the brakes working much better then before.  Some body work has been completed and some work on the doors has also been done. 

Pat is progressing on the  machining work for the mount for the tracing tool for the big lathe that will allow us to complete 836's wheels.  It looks like possibly as early as next weekend, the mount for the lathe will be ready to weld togeather and install.  We are all anxiously waiting for that first cut on the wheels. 

355 unfortunately has developed additional problems with her compressor.  It appears that there are additional issues with the armature.  The plans now are to service one of the spare compressors and install it until such time that we can fully rebuild the origonal style of compressor for 355.

This coming weekend, it is hoped to finish the track and move 0206 under cover.  Once this is done, we will be putting even more emphasis on work on the trolley cars that are presently in operation.  Work this coming weekend on trolleys will include work on 355 and her compressor.  We also hope to move 1850 back to Kelly Barn and switch it with the Type 5.  Once 1850 is serviced, she can also be put back into active service

We also had our first Rails to the Darkside meeting this Saturday.  We have some good discussions, and have some really imaginative new ideas that we hope to have for this years event. 

Anyone who is interested in helping out, please contact either myself or the museum office.  We have accomplished much already this year, but have a lot more to get done.

Galen 

June 3,2011

Hello Everyone

We made great progress last weekend both on the temporary trackage to the visitor center and in the shop.  As you can see, the wheels for 836 are now in the lathe.  The work is progressing on fabricating the support structure for the tracing attachment, so we should see work on the wheels progressing soon.  Getting this far involved a lot of work including modifying and setting up the gantry crane (yellow), getting the lathe running and moving the chuck over from the lower to upper position.  thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to keep this project moving forward.

Hopefully this Saturday, we will be moving 1739 under cover and then moving the track over to put 0206 under cover in the train shed.

Other work this weekend will include shop work on probably 355 to check the compressor.

As always, anyone who has a few hours, we can always use help.

Galen

May 23, 2011

Hello Everyone

Well the flea market is now behind us, and we can concentrate on proceeding with some of the projects on our plate.  Thanks to everyone who came out to help with the flea market.  While we had a few hickups, the event went well with everyone pitching in and doing what was needed to make it work.

George Contrada and Xian Clere have begun work on the Mansfield Caboose.  Anyone interested in helping him, please contact either George or Xian.  This should be an interesting project, especially for those who enjoy woodwork.

Out in the shop, work is progressing on body work on 451, and on the mounting of the new tracing attachment to the lathe in the shop.  Anyone interested in work in the shop, please contact either myself or John Pelletier.

I plan on getting back to track work this coming Saturday down in front of the visitor center.  Most of the ties have been laid out, and rail layed out.  Now we need to put it togeather so that we can move 1739 and 0206 under cover.  Anyone interested in helping out, please come on down this Saturday.

Looking forward to better weather and seeing what we can get done in the coming weeks.  Take care and hope to see you at the museum.

Galen