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!

Truck Work and Maintenance

 During the week a lot of work was done on 3001. The main focus was on the trucks. One of the trucks for 3001 has been disassembled and the parts are being worked on so the truck can be reassembled.

3001's disassembled truck

With this, the armature's for the trucks are being shipped out to be rebuilt similar to how 1326's armature was.

 

3001's armature's

John also worked on the journal boxes for this truck. Since they have been sitting for so long, there were some holes in them. John welded them shut to keep oil inside of the journals and during future operation.

Welded section of one of the journal boxes

It was discovered that diesel 1 has a small oil leak in one of the oil hoses, and a new hose in on order to replace the one currently inside the locomotive.

Car 4 also saw some work done this week. Wil, Jayden, and Sully put more oil in the journal boxes on Saturday.

Shop Work Continues

To start, we'd like to specially thank Kelly and Galen for all the hard work they have put in over the years to keep the trolley cars rolling! 

During the week, the top of car 4's pole had a minor problem and had to be taken out of service for a short period of time. John quickly replaced the head of 4's pole and got it back into service. 

The new head of 4's pole

There has been continuing progress on 3001, and this week's focus was on the springs and suspension of the car. John has been working on restoring the springs to be able to put back onto the trucks of the car.

3001's temporary west end truck

There has also been an effort to reorganize the shop and prioritize where parts are stored so they are more readily available for use.

Scott removing grease from bearings

 Finally, last week car 836's west end window needed to be replaced. Roger from operations removed the window from the car and had it replaced with Plexiglas. It was reinstalled on Saturday by Roger with the help of Jayden and Sully.

Roger and Jayden installing the new window

Ready to Open

A variety of last minute items came into place on the last work day before the museum opens on the 20th. Galen started the day by servicing 5645 which was then handed over to Tad who completed painting the seats.

Tad paints the last flip seat to be recoated in 5645

Scott completed the final coat of polyurethane on 4's seats while Galen and Kelly serviced the car. Aiden was in during the week and did a complete paint job on the floors, which are looking great.

4's new floor paint (Aiden Nies photos)

Varnish prep work continues on 836 with thanks to Tad, Scott, Wil, and Jayden. Lou continued work on the controllers, finding the west end to be in worse condition than the east.

The crew at work sanding

West end controller refurbishment in progress

Kelly took advantage of a furlough day from work yesterday to disassemble one of 1's controllers and document the segments for reverse engineering work. Today, she performed maintenance on both controllers, fixing several minor issues on the west end one. A few more tweaks are required with that unit to get it fully back into shape. From the condition, it appears it was no longer in use when the car left service at Trolleyville. Galen completed the cars roof wiring and hooked up the motor leads. In the late afternoon, they were able to connect a bug to one of the pole bases and see the car's lights go on! They also took the opportunity to back the car up about a foot, just to see if it would move. Keep your eyes open for a new little orange car on the line soon as we're closing in on being able to take a test trip.

One of the issues with 1's west end controller, reverser fingers not making contact

Galen works on the roof wiring

The lights are on!

Mike added some black paint to S193. Little car is looking sharp!

S193 progress (Mike Luzzi photos)

Progress Despite the Weather

The work crew faced a miserably humid day yesterday, but still managed to move projects along. We welcomed Scott Whittlesey to his first day in the shop (Scott is a member of the Development Committee). He worked on adding another coat of polyurethane to 4's seats.

Scott pauses in his work on 4 to wave to the camera

Tad and Rob worked on preparing 836's woodwork for fresh varnish. Tad got the first coat on all the window sills. There is much more to do for this car, so if you're interested in helping, please reach out to us. Lou spent the day refurbishing the east end controller by adding fresh insulating varnish.

836's arc shoot set disassembled and receiving fresh varnish

Galen and Kelly continued working on 1. Galen replaced the main circuit breaker and good thing as the old one crumbled to pieces as he was trying to remove it. He also made up new wiring to run from the roof to the breaker and the breaker to the interior lighting. Kelly oiled the journal boxes and motors, reinstalled the motor brushes, and began working on reconnecting the motor wiring. They then installed the pole bases they'd lifted onto the car Tuesday night after finishing the roof boards.

Pole bases installed on 1

Record Project Day

Today we set a new record for number of vehicles worked on: 7! Crew members worked separately or with those they arrived at the museum with to comply with social distancing requirements.

We're delighted to welcome new volunteer Tad Adams to the shop. He worked on removing paint from the underside of 169's east end roof (this is the one project I never made it back to get photos of. Sorry, Tad!).

Progress is zipping along on car 1. Galen and Kelly have installed roof cleats and three roof boards are attached. Lou rebuilt the second arc shoot set for the car. He also applied fresh insulating varnish to the interiors of both controllers.

Roof cleats on 1

1's new roof boards

Lou works on applying insulating varnish in 1's controller

Mike added another coat of red and yellow paint to S193, which is looking much better for all the attention.

Mike at work on S193

S193's new paint (Mike Luzzi photos)

During the week, Larry added a coat of polyurethane to 4's seats and today Wil and Jayden added another coat. The seats are looking better. 

4's seats after the second coat of poly

Once they were finished with 4, Wil and Jayden moved on to 5645 and painted half of the seats. This is a major and long overdue improvement for the car.

Wil and Jayden at work

5645's newly painted seats

Adam worked on locomotive 18, prepping the roof for paint.

Adam at work on 18's roof

Close up views of the prep work on 18 (Adam Krause photos)

John has sandblasted, primed, and mostly painted 3001's truck.

John at work painting

Truck progress so far (John ran out of paint and needs to get more!)

Jeremy was in during the week. He disassembled and cleaned 16's air governor so it no longer leaks. He and Kelly also finished repairs to the wiring harness and performed a minor repair to the brake rigging.

The air governor received fresh paint on the cover as part of its refurbishment (Jeremy Stager photo)

The armature and field coils for the spare air compressor received a coat of insulating varnish.

Fresh varnish on the compressor armature

We're Back - 2 Cars Repaired and Many Projects A-go

The shop is back to work with limited crew to comply to social distancing and other CT requirements. We're excited to see our crew and have lots of good news to share with you.

First and most exciting, both 836 and 16 have been repaired. Galen undercut 836's compressor armature, solving the arching problem. Kelly repaired 16's wiring harness where a connector had been shorting out to the brake beam. The harness was opened, the connector re-taped and moved to the top, and the harness re-wrapped. The harness will be snugged up to keep it further away from the brakes. The car also got its west end brake stand cleaned.

Char marks on the brake beam show 16's problem

Using the time we've been given where no cars are running, we set about building something we've not had the luxury of having, a spare DH-16 compressor. Two high quality candidates were removed from the remains of Conn Co 2022, which was scrapped several years ago. Galen and Kelly disassembled one unit and cleaned the internals. The unit is now mostly reassembled and is awaiting its field coils and an armature from another unit to bake. Assembly will be completed once the electrical components are ready.

Compressor set removed from 2022

Inside a DH-16 compressor

DH-16 piston after cleaning, ready to go back in the compressor

Thanks to Lou, Line Car 1 is sporting a freshly refurbished arc shoot set in its west end. He began the work of repairing the east end set today. Adam prepped and primed a pole hook and helped Kelly with cleaning up components for a catcher that will be used for the car. Catcher reassembly is complete and it is ready to go on the car.

Parts for 1 dry on the outside workbench

Refurbished arc shoot set in place in 1's west end

Galen began applying some much needed polyurethane to 4's seats. The coating will also have the benefit of protecting the seats when they are disinfected once the museum opens. Car 4 will be one of the first cars to return to operation.

4's seats are starting to look better, they have many coats of polyurethane to go

John has completed the majority of the part work for 3001's trucks. He also straightened the first truck's frame. He plans to begin sandblasting work on the car next week.

Brake shoe holder on the mill

Parts ready to go for 3001, notice how the ones at the front have nice round holes while the older pieces at the rear have been worn out to an egg shape