65's New East End Lumber

 For the past two weeks, Car 65 has been getting a facelift in the shop. The front of car was almost completely disassembled and replaced with all new wood planks on the front of the car giving it a fresh look. While inspecting the inner wall behind the outer planks, some decay on the wiring of the car was found. During the replacement, those wires were replaced to prevent the further decay of the wiring on the car. 

65's new front end

Once this project on 65 is completed, the shop will refocus back onto car 3001 to continue work on the restoration. 

For the Halloween Season, car 5645 has been running almost daily to help break in the new components that were installed during the cars time in the shop. This car has been running without issue since its release back into operations.

During November's off season, the entirety of CTM's property has been decorated with thousands of Christmas Lights. On the mainline, crews have been working very hard to complete track repairs to Hartman's Siding as well as restore the overhead power out to Station 9. Both of these projects have been happily completed and Winterfest of 2021 will be a great show!

81st Anniversary and 5645's return

 Thanks to a huge push from the shop department and all the dedicated volunteers, car 5645 returned to service and debuted on September 4th for CTM's 81st Anniversary. 

On that day all of the running cars in the fleet came out for some public love including Line Car 1, S193, and 303. 

For about 2 years now, 5645's controller has been blocked into the series notches due to a shorting issue within the controller. Now with the car's former extended stay in the shop, John is confident he found the issue with the controller and plans to make the required fix.

303 has been moved out of Northern Barn and currently waits on the shop lead so the car's motors can dry out once again after the wet summer season we've had. It is planned for the interurban to make a few special trips for the Winterfest Season.

If you'd like to see photos of CTM's 81st, check out the museum Facebook page for some of the amazing photos!

5645 Nears Return to Service

 Over the last few weeks, we've gone over the work done to car 5645, and finally that hard work is coming to an end. This week in the shop, the door mechanism on the car was getting some much needed service as well as some cleaning. John also installed a new line switch into the controller of the car. Last Wednesday the car went out on a test run and most of the issues were resolved, with only a few remaining fixes needed. This car will be back in service for the 81st anniversary event on September 4th.

Car 16 returned to service this week and began running in public service with a new pole base roof section.

Car 3001 continues being worked on and specifically over these few weeks, work has focused on the field coils, motor cases, and work on the trucks.

Coming next Saturday is the Connecticut Trolley Museums 81st anniversary. This event has been named "Everything That Moves," and as the title implies, everything that CTM has in operating condition will be running in a trolley parade for the public. Be sure to check out the event on the CTM main page at www.ct-trolley.org

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!

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.

1326's Brake Stand Gets Cleaned

 Over the past week, some of the operators who ran car 1326 noticed the west end brake stand becoming stiffer over time. On Saturday, John looked inside the brake stand and saw that dirt and grime has been clogging the brake stand, limiting its ability to move. The cleaning process only takes 10-20 minutes, so the stand will be cleaned out weekly to prevent the brake becoming stiff. 

Inside of 1326's west end brake stand

West end brake stand without the top attached

The shop has also been working on 5645. The bearing problem has been solved, but it has also been discovered that 2 motors are in need of repair. These motors will need to be sent for repairs in late December or early January.

We would like to give another massive thank you to John, our current shop manager for all of the hard work that he and his team have been putting in to keeping the fleet operational. We'd also like to thank Rob, the President of the CTM, Justin, the Operations Manager, and the Operations department for the hours of hard work they have put in to organizing and helping the shop finish projects to keep the cars in working order. Thank you to all!

Moving the Fleet

After a week in the shop for some quick touch ups, Connecticut Company 65 has been returned to the Operations Department for service!

65 departing North Road for a test run

In preparation to move 5645 into the shop for repairs, John and the shop needed to manufacture a new oil block for diesel 1. The old block required special hoses to be ordered if one ever failed. John manufactured the new block to be compatible with any standardized oil hose.

The new oil block (on the right with the hose attached)

169 was also moved up into Northern Barn while the fleet was being shuffled around. This was the first time 169 has seen daylight in over 40 years.

169 waiting to be moved into Northern Barn

5645 was moved into the shop after 169 was moved to complete bearing repairs as well as an annual inspection.

A new air tank has been restored to be put under car 16 within the next year. 

16's new air tank

We'd all like to send out a special thank you to Dennis. Dennis has been extremely helpful during our transition in the shop and has been with us to lend a helping hand. Thanks!

Hello, 1326!

1 was released from the shop after Galen completed repairs to the east end tow point. This will allow us to safely tow the car with the diesel if needed. The car returns to Kelly Barn where it remains out of service until further improvements can be made.

We had a week of air system issues with both 16 and 65 being placed out of service. Jeremy came in and assessed 16, tracing its problems to a hole in one of the pipes. Unfortunately, the pipe was inaccessible in Kelly Barn so repairs had to wait a few days until the car could move up to the shop. Galen and Kelly replaced the rotted pipe and returned the car to limited service. 65 has been diagnosed with a rotted out gasket in the main brake cylinder. We've begun soaking bolts in PB Blaster and hope to complete repairs in the next few weeks.

16's old air pipe clearly shows the source of the leak

New air pipe in 16

Mike has added logos to S193 and completed painting the hand rails. Compared to where this car was last year, it has made a complete transformation, all for the better.

1326 was moved back into the shop so we can being repairs to the motors next week. We expect repairs to take about eight weeks if all goes well. 15 was moved in front of the shop to give the Operations Team better access to power so they can continue exterior cosmetic work. 5645 has been moved to storage while it waits its turn for repair.

1326 waits for repairs

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

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)

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

5645 Ready for Cabin Fever

We're happy to report that car 5645 is repaired and ready for our Cabin Fever visitors who will be coming in a few weeks. Yesterday, Tim, Galen, Rob, Sully, Lou, and Kelly replaced brake shoes, lowered the car back onto its truck, and reconnected the motors and brake rigging. Since the jacks were to hand, the other end of the car was lifted and the center bearing and slider plates lubricated. 5645 was taken around North Road curve to verify smooth operation and returned to its home in Kelly Barn. 355 is now up in the shop for a little TLC. It and 4 will be given checkups next weekend.

5645 Going Back Together

The crew continued work on 5645 today, enjoying the unseasonable warm day. The source of the car's derailment was found, a skewed journal bearing which trapped and seized. When the car fell, the bolster met the inner rail of the switch, causing the spring support piece to pop out.

A new bearing was installed in the car and Galen, Adam, Mike, and Kelly began reassembling the truck. All components are in place for the car to be lowered on to the truck to compress the springs and allow finally assembly. As a bonus, we straightened out a bracket that was interfering with the brake adjustment bar while we had easy access.

Galen heats the troublesome bracket so it can be straightened

Adam tightens bolts during reassembly

5645 Truck Bolster Work Begins

The crew was able to switch 5645 to the shop last weekend, so this week the car was jacked, the damaged truck pulled, and the bolster disassembled. Oddly, nothing appears to have broken beyond the piece that came out. The failed vs. unfailed side will receive further review before reassembly begins. Weather permitting, we hope to have the car back in service for spring operations.

Galen works on disassembling 5645's bolster

Segment prototyping continues. Kelly tweaked the segment for 836 and it now matches the scale drawing. Prototypes for 355 and line car 1's controllers were also printed thanks to Wil and match the originals nicely. The next step is creating drawings from the 3D models and seeking machining resources.

Final prototype for 836

Prototype for 355

Prototype for 1