Sunday, February 25, 2018

Caring for an Oft Neglected Car

The car shop was happy to welcome Nick Green to the crew yesterday. He was quickly put to work with Kelly and Rex as they got a jump start on spring maintenance in the unseasonably warm weather. They began with the SC&ET Department's long ignored line car, S193. Unfortunately, no one could remember when the little red car last saw a complete maintenance routine and the consequences were quickly apparent. Journal bearing covers were found to be exceedingly difficult to open, partially due to the excessive weight the car has been carrying for decades. The SC&ET Department hopes to have their shop area ready soon which will give the excess equipment a new home and alleviate stress on the car. The controller was given a thorough cleaning and lubrication, the motor was oiled, and a new trolley shoe was installed. The car is now ready to face another year of work and has been permanently added to the spring maintenance schedule so it won't become neglected again. We also hope to get line car 1 running for the SC&ET Department this year which will help them in their endeavors.

The maintenance crew then moved on to 1326 and were joined by Wil. After giving the car its complete maintenance, it was taken out down the line. This served the purpose of completing a line check before opening day on March 23. It also gave Nick and Rex a chance to run a car, which they did between Winkler and Wells Roads. Both did a great job and will get more operating experience later in the year. The shop aims to have all interested crew members capable of moving cars around in the yard and into and out of the shop. Currently, half of the crew is either a fully qualified member of the Operations Department (motorman or junior motorman) or yard qualified (able to run as long as no visitors are aboard the car).

If you are interested in learning about the cars and how they work, we encourage you to consider attending the upcoming Trolley Care Program. If you cannot make the scheduled date(s), we still welcome you to stop by and see us on a Saturday (please let us know of your visit in advance, if possible). The Operations and SC&ET (Signals, Communication and Electrical Transmission) Departments are also looking for new volunteers. Please reach out to the museum office if you are interested in helping out in these or other departments.

John and Fred continued work on components for 3001 and Bruce worked on 1500 while Galen got back to work on the much needed drainage project which will alleviate flooding of the front lawn.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Winterfest 2018

Each February, the northeast region's trolley museums gather together for a weekend of operating and discussion. This year, Halton County Radial Railway in Milton Ontario hosted. Galen, Kelly, Tim, and Christine made the journey north for the long weekend.

Festivities began Friday night with pizza and trips on their beautiful suburban car, London and Port Stanley 8, Toronto Transit sweeper S-37, and their small Peter Witt car, Toronto Transit 2894. Rides continued on Saturday with the addition of guest operations. Large Peter Witt car, Toronto Transit 2424, Toronto Transit rail grinder PCC W-30, and Toronto Transit plow TP-11 were added to the car rotation. The day closed with a fantastic buffet dinner at the Canadian Legion and a slide show on the PCCs of Toronto.

The event ended with a visit to Toronto Transit's Leslie Car House on Sunday morning. A tour was given of the LRV maintenance and repair facility. Several guests used the LRV training simulator and the tour closed with a trip around the facility in one of the operating cars.

We'd like to thank Halton County for being wonderful hosts. We all enjoyed our visit.

Plow TP-11 at Rockwood Station followed by Peter Witt 2424

Plow S-37 in carbarn before operations began

Rail grinder W-30 approaches the station

Suburban 8 waits outside the carbarn

LRVs inside Leslie Car House in Toronto

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Old Comics and News

Work continued in the Northern this weekend. Kelly, Larry, and Brian continued to remove old varnish and paint from the bedroom. Galen worked in the bathroom and kitchen, measuring out where the sinks and stove may have been given outlines found on the wood flooring which were exposed then the linoleum was removed. Meanwhile, Fred and John keep 3001's restoration moving ahead by cleaning component parts.

Carpet remnant from 1500's hallway. We think it may have been original

Comics found under the linoleum in the kitchen date from WWII

News from 1943 found under the kitchen floor

Current status of the bedroom. Varnish is off the lower walls and paint removal has begun

Another image of the bedoom