16's New Roof

 This week in the shop, 16 went up for a usual inspection. During this time, John found that the roof of the car was in need of work and possibly even replaced. Car 16 is currently still in the shop being worked on.

Also during this week, 5645 is getting some final touch ups and work done before its return to service by roughly the end of the month. 

Car 1326's paint work is 90% complete with the rest of the work being touch ups on the red paint. Special thanks to Roger P. and his crew for being so dedicated to repainting that car!

In other news this week, for the first time in many months, our two Connecticut Company Cars are finally next to each other in Kelly Barn! These cars really turn some eyes while on display.

Keep an eye out, there are a lot more projects coming soon that you're sure to want to see!

355 Returns to Service

 Last Monday, during the final run of the day it was discovered that car 355 had developed a brake issue. This issue was causing axle 3's brake shoes to drag on the wheel, rendering the car very difficult to move. John attempted to resolve the issue by using 355's hand brake wrench to manually release the handbrake, but was unable to fully release the handbrake. Roger P. from operations then brought the car up to the shop to receive a further inspection. 

Thanks to John's hard work, the car was released into service on Saturday and ran without issue. 

Sully M. and Brian O. bringing 355 down from the shop

At the end of the day on Saturday, 16 was brought into the shop to receive some much needed work on the roof of the car.

Roger P. continues to work on repainting the sides of 1326 and hopes to be done within the next week or so. Most of the remaining paint needed on the car is the red striping down either side of the car. 

Summer 2021 Update

 Hi everyone! First I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates. We at the Shop Blog are definitely now trying harder to update this blog somewhat weekly. Anyways, onto the updates!

After Winterfest of 2020, 5645 went out of service for some major overhaul work. This work mainly consisted of the bearings and trucks. We hope to have 5645 back in service by August. 

All the cars in the operating fleet have had their standard maintenance with cleaning controllers and bearings.

Earlier in the month car 355 experienced a problem where the breaker to the controller would open and so the controller would not operate the car unless reset. The problem part in the breaker was replaced. Once the new part was installed, it was discovered that the locking arm for the breaker arm itself needed to be replaced. After the new locking arms were built, the breaker operated like new.

Car 3001's progress is coming along nicely. The bearings have been completed on the car and John is currently working on the motor cases.

In track news, Camillo has been making amazing progress on the mainline. 6 new ties have been installed at Station 8 and trolley service is now extended past Station 7 out to that point. Hartman's siding is also being renovated to facilitate the easier movement of cars in and out of the Visitor's Center.

November 2020 Update

 A lot has happened at the museum since we last posted. 

As of 11/21/2020 the 4, 355, 836, 16, 1326, and 303 (for special service) have been serviced and are ready for operations.

John continues to work on Line Car 1 and 3001. Line car 1 should have functioning controllers on both ends of the car soon as well as design ideas and prep for the safety platform and diving board system for service in 2021 (Date TBA). 

Minor work continues on 5645 including doors, controllers, and getting the car prepared for overhaul work in 2021.

Dennis Pacelli has been instrumental in assisting John and taking on projects of his own to maintain and keep our fleet in excellent operating order.

303 needed 2 extra days of work to repair, service, and bring the car to operational standards because of Dennis's outstanding effort. 

101 and 18 will also be getting work done in 2021. In 2021 we will continue to rebuild the track and overhead infustructure on the museum property and having good service cars and locomotives at the ready.

Thanks to our new Track Department head Camilo Santiago, a section of North Road Track 2 has been dug out and new ties put underneath it to support the track. 

Camilio replacing a rail on North Road Track 2

We'd also like to extend a huge thank you to Roger Pierson and his crew for their dedication to decorating the inside of the Visitor Center for Winterfest this year!

Replacement Switch Timbers

 Due to last weeks rain, the tar for 303's roof was not all put in place. During the week when the weather is more promising the rest of the coat will be applied to the car. 

Line car 1's controllers continue to get worked on as well as fixing the fuse box inside the car.

The shop will be returning to work very soon on car 3001 once the shop cleanup is completed and some smaller projects are finished.

On Saturday, Camilo and his crew replaced multiple switch timbers within Kelly Yard to improve the trackage going into the barn on tracks 2 and 3.

Kelly 2/3 Switch being dug out

Special thanks this week to Chief Motorman Roger Pierson and his crew for completing the Christmas decorations on cars 355 and 4 in preparation for the Winterfest Season!

Sprucing Up

355 received its maintenance last weekend. The car has been placed in reserve status due to increasing damages on the underside from the heaving of the barn floor. We've decided to take advantage of having the car out of service and Scott W has started varnishing the seats. Boy does the car look better already! And he's just getting started.

Varnish work in progress on 355

Tad completed primer work on 169's east end, giving the car its first big visual progress jump in far too long. He's planning on tackling the work around the clerestory next and we're delighted to see the project moving ahead once again.

169's east end is looking sharper

Elsewhere, Adam continued paint work on 18's roof. John is finishing up work on the journal boxes for 3001's east end truck. Galen cleaned out the pit, a needed job so we can roll our nice new pump cart around while working on 1326. Kelly finished up the wiring work under 1.

We were happy to have Scott Kritzky stop by to visit with his son William who's gotten a lot bigger since the last time we saw him. Hopefully we'll be seeing them again soon.

Oh and take a look at the final product of 836's seat refurbishment! We caught the car out in the sun to really show off the great work Scott and Galen did. And, by the way, they did all this in the dark back of the barn working with only drop lights to see by.

Change of Fleet

We're saddened to report that 5645 has been removed from service. The car developed a hot box with bearing melting last week. Inspection revealed that the journal boxes are skewed in the frame indicating box and/or slider plate failing. The car will require extensive truck work, similar to what John has been doing for 3001. At this point, with both of our small shop trucks under 3001, we've decided to place 5645 in storage and prioritize repairing 1326 which will be a shorter repair time-wise. We're ordering a cart to aid in safely dropping 1326's armatures into the pit and hope to start work by fall.

On a happier note, we welcomed Steve Giarrusso to the shop yesterday. He replaced the failed compressor switch on 355. He then joined Kelly in performing routing maintenance on 16. Galen completed temporary truck repairs for the car and it has been released for limited service. We hope to see 16 running one trip a week for the public. It has also be designated as the official training car for new motormen.

Scott completed varnish work in 836 and it will be running regular service, replacing 5645 as the main closed car. We've also released 65 to limited service, allowing it to complete one trip a week. Both 16 and 65 have old rattan seating which cannot stand up to the rigors of coronavirus cleaning, so the cars must quarantine after meeting with the public as their method of disinfecting. The Operations Department will schedule the cars to ensure adequate time for the virus to die off between passenger trips.

Tad has completed removal of the paint from the undersides of clerestory sides on 169. He also completed primer work on the east end wall.

169's clerestory sides are now paint free

Primer work is complete on east wall of 169

Lou completed a window repair on 836 and made a new gasket for 18's brake stand.

Lou works on cutting a new gasket for 18

Fleet is Ready for Cabin Fever Guests

Today we performed inspections on cars 4 and 355 and they are now ready to run for our Cabin Fever guests next weekend. 355's air governor got an adjustment as it had drifted out of range. We also did some switching in front of Northern Barn which will allow us to treat our guests to a very special car if the weather allows. Jayden got to run the diesel for the first time as part of the maneuvers.

Lou spots the box car trucks as they're moved down the hill. Galen Semprebon photo

Jayden remodeled and drafted the segment Westfield Technical Academy reverse engineered for us last year. Wil 3D printed it and it was successfully test fitted in 1326 today.

Prototype segment. Wil Gambardella photo

Fall Maintenance Complete Thanks to Troop 818

The shop would like to thank the 9 members of Scout Troop 818 who came out last weekend to help finish fall fleet maintenance. Cars 355, 4, and 16 were cared for. You were awesome and we hope to see you again.

Repairs to car 1326 are completed and it returned to service yesterday afternoon. Car 4 has come to the shop to have some preventative work done. We're applying fresh lacquer to the motor windings. Car 4 will be out of service for several weeks while the repairs happen.

We are happy to report that car 355 has been released to operations for service for the year. Car 4 should be released next weekend. A minor issue was discovered with an armature and was repaired yesterday by Galen. The repair will cure this week and be tested next Saturday. Thanks to Katy, Adam, Anthony, Larry, John, and Galen for helping me out with finishing off maintenance and dealing with the typical opening hiccups. Katy learned how to rebuild trolley catchers. We now have car 16 in the shop so we can locate the source of its air system issues.

Diesel 1 is all back together and running. It remains in the shop for its protection until it gets a new coat of paint. With this work done, John is finally able to return to working on car 3001.

Diesel 1 is back together

John works on installing a patch panel on 3001's side

Adam was able to complete the organization of the primary machine tooling box. He will be tackling cleanup of of the Bridgeport and Cincinnati milling machines.

The next Trolley Care Day will be June 1st. We will be swapping trucks on car 3001.

2019 Trolley Care Program Begins

We were happy to welcome Lou and Steve to the museum for Trolley Care yesterday. We also had relatively new shop member Jeff and returning participants Adam, Katy, and Wil on hand. Adam and Katy worked on car 16 with Galen while Kelly walked Jeff, Lou, and Steve through basic maintenance with car 355. While we were unable to get either car completed and into service, a good time was had by all and a lot of work was performed. Lou stayed into the afternoon and helped Kelly get S193 ready for the year.

Adam has accepted the challenge of cleaning up the shop's machine tooling and better organizing that work area to improve our efficiency. He will be inventorying and inspecting tooling during the coming months.

John is making progress reassembling Diesel 1 and had Anthony helping him for the day. We hope to have the locomotive back in service soon.

Fall maintenance began, a bit late this year, and good progress was made. Cars 16, 836, and 1326 were completed. 355's trolley catcher was changed out when it became jammed and 65's catcher, which jammed last weekend, was repaired.

TJ watches while Jayden works on a motor in 1326

(Photo Credit: Wil Gambardella)

65 Moves

Today was an eventful day. Car 355 returned to service after having its compressor replaced. 836 is now in the shop for line switch repair. Adam began diesel locomotive operating lessons.

Adam, Kelly, and Harrison Bissonnette, from SC&ET, put polls on car 65. After some interior clean up, and a round of general lubrication maintenance, the car was put under power for the first time in over twenty years. It was quickly discovered that a main power wire was missing to the east end, rendering that controller inoperable, but the car received some light testing using the west end controller. Galen and Kelly were able to move it under its own power from the shop to Kelly Barn, where it will reside while 836 is repaired. Both brake stands exhibit air leaks that need investigation before the car enters service. Once the missing wire is installed, the car will receive full testing. The crew thanks Harrison for taking time away from his home department to help out today.

Poles installed on 65

65 testing

Shimming Slider Plates

Car 355 is back in service after a two week visit to the shop. The car's slider plates (greased metal blocks that allow the body to slide over the trucks when going around corners) were re-shimmed while the car was with us. The car has settled during its time in service and was riding constantly on the slider plates, rather than only during curving. Riders will notice that the car now rocks side to side more while traveling down the line.

355 leaves the shop on its way to rejoin operations. Photo by Wil Gambardella

Work also began on re-shimming 65's slider plates as they are riding too closely to the car body. We took the opportunity of the car being outside while we switched it back into the shop after 355's departure to remove the rest of the dirt from the roof using compressed air. Work also began on cleaning up the car's clerestory windows.

Galen cleans off 65's roof. Photo by Wil Gambardella

John continues work on 3001's west end and Chris Perry is visiting to work on PCC 3100 (seen in the photo above with 355).

2018 Operating Season is Underway

While operations began last weekend, worked continued on maintaining operating fleet. Kelly, Wil, and Rex cared for car 355. Galen helped as well, replacing a defective brush holder in the compressor. Locomotive 18 was placed back in front of the shop where we hope to have time to work on it again soon.

Yesterday, we were happy to see Julia Saari-Franks and Christopher Franks, current participants in the Trolley Care Program. They helped Kelly maintain cars 4 and 16, finishing the spring maintenance for the operating fleet. They then moved on to scraping paint on 169 while Kelly continued cleaning up 3001's east end controller. With spring weather arriving, we're all glad to be back out in the shop.

John has begun planning the year's work for 3001. Fred and Bruce continue to clean up seat bases for the car. John and Kelly also discussed potential other projects for the year, including some much needed floor painting for operating fleet.

Bumper Fit Up and More Maintenance

Bruce has completed the repairs to the wooden portion of 169's east end anti-climber. The bumper is in the process of being test fitted so a slot can be cut in the platform frame for the tow bar.

Fred finished the last of the painting on 2600's floor. He and Paul spent some quality time with paint scrappers working on 169.

John continues steel work on 3001.

Kelly, Adam, Jim, and Wil worked on maintenance, completing cars 1326, 5645, and 355.

1326 is Back, 355 Will Be Soon

1326 returned to service yesterday afternoon, now on all four motors. Operations reports that the installation of the fourth motor has stopped the car from 'hunting' its way down the track between Winkler Road and Station 7, leading to a much smoother ride.

355 was brought up to the shop upon 1326's return to service and repairs were quickly completed by John and Galen with help from Larry and Fred. The car will likely be returning to service tomorrow after it is given one final inspection. 2600 will be brought up to the shop once 355 returns to service and will remain with us for several weeks to undergo extended maintenance.

Work has also begun on cleaning components for 3001. Fred has prepped the auxiliary air tank for sand blasting and repainting. Kelly began disassembling the east end controller, which had been left open for many years and is now full of dust and debris.

One dirty controller

Broken Brakes and Anti-climber Fit-up

The shop started the day with a repair to 355. The car had a derailment Thursday, leading to a broken bolt in the brake system. John and Galen were able to conduct a relatively quick repair with assistance from Adam. Unfortunately, the accident set us back half a day on the 1326's motor installation, although Galen was able to start motor assembly in the afternoon.

Chris is here for his annual visit and is hard at work on 3100.

3100 is out from under its tarp

Paul and Kelly worked on 169's front end yesterday, drilling out a hole to accept a pin when the car needs to be towed. Larry also got his first experience with bondo, filling in the gaps where the wood has split on the car's south side. In the afternoon, the car's original anti-climber was rescued from atop a tall shelving unit and the wooden potion was test fitted. The wood is relatively solid, however it shows signs that the car may have been in an accident. The metal sheathing is also deformed.

Pieces for 169's anti-climber

Anti-climber is test fitted

Cracks being patched on 169's south side

Light Bulbs, Part Marking, and Type 5 on Jacks

Today started with some troubleshooting. 836 and 355 both had defect cards written during the week. Both cars had lighting issues and 355's troublesome west end trolley catcher had fallen off once again. 836 was found to have a mixture of 36, 56, and 75 watt light bulbs inside. We're uncertain quite how that happened. All the rouge bulbs were removed and replaced with the required 36 watt units. 355 was found to have four burnt out light bulbs, all on one side, leaving the car completely dark. A number of 36 watt light bulbs had to be scavenged from 5645 to finish both cars. 5646 will be sporting 56 watt light bulbs when it returns to service. In the afternoon, Paul and Larry replaced both the trolley catcher and its bracket on 355. Now, Operations no longer has to worry about the catcher falling off and potentially landing on someone's foot.

5645 was jacked and the the east end truck pulled out. By evening, motor four was out of the truck and its non-functional armature had been removed.

5645 is jacked and the truck has been pulled out

Larry begins hoisting the truck 

Motor 4 is out, the armature is about to be removed

John has been hard at work tearing up 3001's floor and tracing the piping. Today, the car was cleaned up a little in preparation for Father's Day tours coming through tomorrow. So far, we've found two Connecticut Company tokens and an old matchbook cover advertising matchbooks in the car. John, Kelly, and Galen will all be onsite tomorrow to answer questions and give tours. John will be in the shop, Kelly will be in the Visitors' Center with the shop's winter project, 1500, and Galen will be leading trips from the Visitors' Center out to the shop.

Items found inside 3001: a matchbook cover and 2 tokens

Opposite side of the matchbook cover

3001 has dual air tanks, they are labeled for visitors to see during the tours

Air tank and brake cylinder labeled for the tour

Fresh Paint and a Broken Seat

The shop arrived yesterday to news that one of 355's seat supports had been broken. A passenger had apparently been jumping or bouncing excessively on the seat...

Paul made quick work of the repair, with some help from Kelly.

Elsewhere, work resumed on 18, with Galen removing some more of the old, peeling paint and beginning the application of new, fresh paint. The dull red is primer. The shop hopes to return 18 to work service.

Work continues on 836. Fred is making progress on scraping/sanding the window the window frame in preparation for some touch-up painting, John has removed more of the damaged window sash Paul and Bruce started work on last weekend. Kelly and Paul performed maintenance on the car, so it is ready to go back into service as soon as the repairs are completed.

In other news, 5645's armature is expected to arrive back this week. Once work is complete on 836, 5645 will be brought to the shop where the armature will be installed. This will allow the car to be run on all four motors once again, returning some much needed pep to its trips down the line.

We've also begun removing the old wood pulp insulation from the walls of the shop. This will eliminate a huge fire hazard when we begin welding work on 3001. It also has the added benefit of making the shop look a lot better.