518 Report

Now we're waiting for the trucks from the 36 and 319 to arrive sometime soon, but I'm not sure when. Tim Peters was working as usual on the 1268, but there was no one else from the Car Dept. around.

So I did some more work on the 518. I had completed two windows a couple of months ago, but they had not yet been installed. The outer storm windows are generally in good shape, so I just put them down while the inner windows are being repaired. Here's (L) the double window sector with everything removed. And after the new windows were installed and all screws installed, it looks (R) like this:

Then I removed the next two inner windows and took them to my workshop in the baggage compartment of the 277. Both windows were stripped and sanded. Here's one of them. The space heater doesn't get the compartment really warm, but it's certainly comfortable enough for working.

And here's one of the windows after a first coat of brown primer on the outside. I only have room to do one at a time.

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277 Update

After all the excitement during the Museum Showcase weekend last week, today seemed rather quiet by comparison. Sort of a calm before the storm.

I installed the last ventilator on the south side of the 277, as seen here. Later, I got the rest of the ventilators from storage and started painting them with brown primer. I also put some spare window glass that had been in the 277 into storage, and did some other sorting.

And I painted two windows from the 277 and varnished two from the 518.

Finally, I started fixing the roof of the 518.

The roof is generally in very good condition, but it had one hole for some reason, as seen here. Also, the top grab iron was loose, which isn't good. There's also one missing, which I'll need to replace. I can use the ladder at the other end to get on top of the car, fortunately. The roof is entirely canvas (with some small spot patches) and no tar paper, so it's much better than the 277.




I cut away the canvas to check the condition of the wood. The wood that needs to be replaced is limited, as I had hoped, so this should go pretty fast. I have some tongue and groove boards and canvas left over from the 277 project, which I can use here.

And I showed Wally and Les the inside of the 277, which they hadn't seen for at least 20 years.

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Ventilators, Windows, Visitors

Today I decided to start on the 277's ventilators. Bob Bruneau had painted four of them with primer many years ago, and they were stored in the 306. So I brought them over to Barn 8. Two I lifted onto the roof, but the other two were partly rusted out and needed to be fixed, as seen here. This is just what Bondo was made for! The clamps are holding the wood backing prior to application. The paint sticks which Diamond hands out like candy are just right for this purpose.

After the filler has set and has been sanded, another coat of primer is applied and they look like this:

I might point out that these ventilators no longer function, due to the installation of air conditioning. But they may eventually keep rain from running into the car through the holes in the tar paper!

Then I cleaned up two windows for the 518 and installed them. I also loosened up a seat frame which was stuck in the middle, and got it to move, so I could install the seat cushion. Seating in the 518 is now complete.

Next, some more windows. This is one of the 277's storm windows, which I had epoxied last time. (L) After stripping the first layer of interior paint, we see the light green with which it was first painted. (It is light green, you'll just have to trust me.) And by the way, that light green looks strangely familiar -- where have I seen that before?

After complete stripping, (R) a first coat of white primer. Since this window will always be stored in the up position, I decided to leave the original paint on part of it, in case anybody in the vast future is interested.

And after some more body work, a coat of brown primer on the exterior.


I was pleased to note that the Museum was quite busy for a weekday. The diner was crowded when I went over there, and we were running a two-car North Shore train. Some sort of blue tank engine arrived on a trailer, but it had a mask over its face so I couldn't see who it was....

Finally, I met some visitors from the Kentucky Railway Museum, Ned Brown and Willy Ward, old acquaintances of our own David Wilkins. Ned is the Safety Director there. I showed them the interior of the 277, and we talked about L&N steam engines, FRA inspections, David Wilkins, and other topics of interest. It was all good, though. We're always happy to see visitors from other museums!

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518 Report

I spent most of the time working on windows, since I had some fans going in the 321 to make it more comfortable. Mostly these were windows from the 518; a couple needed varnish (on both sides), a couple needed paint, and one from the277 needed some woodwork and expoxy. Not a lot to take pictures of.

In the 518 itself, there was an extra walkover seat frame, so I managed to remove it and take it over to the 253 for storage. And another one was loose, so I fastened it in. And I repositioned a seat frame in the 277 securely.

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New Arrivals

Perhaps the biggest news today was the arrival on the property of two steam locomotives from the Thompson Winery in Monee, a 2-6-2T and a 2-6-0.

Here's the 2-6-2T.

And this is the 2-6-0 with its tender. Unfortunately, I'm told the pilot truck is missing.








Scroll down through the steam page for more info.

But to back up, I started today by going back to Ameriglass in Woodstock to pick up the new windows they made for us. The three end windows for the 205 have been glazed, and one of the frames was fixed also. They really look nice. The 205 windows I just loaded into the car; Frank will see to installing them. One for the 518 I took home to putty and install new quarter-round window sticks. I don't want to apply oil paints or varnish in my basement workshop, but glazing should be fine.

(This picture is an interesting lesson in optical distortion. The sides of the window are straight, even if they don't look it.)

I did a little more clean-up on the roof of the 277; now I just need to start buying wood. After applying some penetrating oil and more torque, I managed to loosen all four bolts holding the trolley poles to the bases on the 308; this was a relief. I can't get the poles down by myself, of course, so that will come later. Then I worked some more on rearranging parts in the 321, varnished a 518 window, and cleaned some others. Next time I should be able to install two new ones in the car and remove two others.


In other news, Dave Diamond continues to make good progress on installing the new sides on the diner, but that's subject to the weather, of course. All the trim pieces have to fit just right. Let's see, insert tab C into slot D....




And the contractors continue to work on Barn 11. By the end of the day they had finished the west end, seen here earlier (R).

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Neither Snow Nor Sleet....

Today I first picked up three end window frames from the 205, and a window from the 518, and drove to Woodstock to have new pieces of glass cut for them. The company we use as our usual supplier, Ameriglass, is not open on Saturday or Sunday, which is rather inconvenient for us, but that's the way it is. Now I just need to figure out how to get the new glass when it's ready.

Since no one else was around, I chose to work on 518 windows rather than the 277's roof. I started making a frame for holding windows while the paint or varnish dries (patent pending). I want to add some more arms. When it's done, the idea is that the arms will support only the glass. Then I can store windows with the wet side down, so they don't collect dust while I'm not looking. And I painted two more frames with brown primer.

I also put filler as needed on the patch piece on the 321's letterboard and sanded it down. I decided not to paint it, though, as snow was falling. Unusual weather we've been having, ain't it?

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