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.
never heard of this car before
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