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!

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

Painting Starts on S193

First, the car shop will be closed for at least the next two weeks to comply with the State of Connecticut's closure of all non-essential businesses. So, don't worry about not hearing from us. We'll be back when it's safe for us to do so. We hope you are all staying healthy.

Now, on to better news. Mike and Jeremy began the repaint of S193 last week and it's looking much better already. Mike has completed the prep work on the areas needing black paint and once we're back to work that'll be done along with another coat of red.

S193 boldly sports its new red paint (Mike Luzzi photos)

Mike paints the west end (Mike Luzzi photo)

Jeremy works on painting the side of the car (Mike Luzzi photo)

Today, Lou put the first coat of insulating varnish on the arc shoot set we're rebuilding for line car 1. Jayden, Wil, and Adam did some measuring of controller segments for K10s and K35Gs and Jayden will work on models and drawings at home. This will help us with our parts inventorying. Galen, Kelly, and Tim did some outside cleanup. A initial candidate compressor for rebuild for 836 has been identified and initial inspections on car 65 were completed with no issues found.

We're saddened to report that car 16 has been placed out of service. While running a special trip last weekend, smoke was reported from the underside. Inspection today revealed charring on the wiring harness, coming from the inside, indicating a short.

Cabin Fever 2020

This weekend we were delighted to host the annual NEATO (North Eastern Alliance of Trolley Organizations) Cabin Fever winter get together. The shop came in early Friday, hoping to get our CA&E interurban 303 out, however, the bitter cold thwarted us, preventing the locomotive's batteries from charging up. By the time we finally got the little engine that could started, it was too late in the day to begin the intense inspections 303 needed after a 20+ month stint in dead storage. We also feared the locomotive wouldn't start a second time, which would prevent us from putting the car away later on. The diesel has developed a new leak in the fuel pump and a leaking oil line since last weekend. John was able to patch the oil line, but more work is needed. The necessity for a battery rehab was reinforced.

Our initial plans foiled, we opted to provide more trips than originally planned on Conn Co car 65 instead. 65 remained under shop supervision throughout the event, which proved it's worth as it popped a breaker for unknown reasons coming home on its last trip of the event. The car will be inspected before further operating. We were able to get 5 of our motormen behind the controls for the first time and let our Operations Manger take his first trip on the car since he was the last one to run it in 1997. Our 3 junior motormen/shop team members also had the opportunity to run the car. We were happy to have all 4 of our age 18 and under crew members present for at least part of the festivities on Saturday.

Our guests enjoy a trip on 65 Friday night

Sadly, we had to place 836 out of service early Saturday morning. It blew a fuse while being pulled out for operations and inspection of the car found a high bar in the air compressor. We'll need to remove and rebuild the compressor before the car can return to service.

Thank you to everyone who came for being wonderful guests (and good sports about not being able to run 65). We'll see you next year in Baltimore!

65 Makes its Debut

We're excited to report that Car 65 made its first public service trip since 1997 Friday night. Galen and Kelly would like to thank the crew who worked so hard with them this past month to make this Holiday miracle happen- Wil, Jayden, Justin, Roger, Mike, Jeremy, and Adam. The car was upgraded in status from emergency replacement for 1326 to desperately needed to keep Winterfest running smoothly as 5645 had to be placed out of service this past week due to truck damage, leaving 836 the only operational high passenger capacity closed car.

65 came out a wonderful success, taking 2 trips Friday night and another 5 or 6 on Saturday without any major issues. The car remains under shop supervision at this time and will only run in limited service. 5645 will be switched up to the shop after the ice melts so the truck can be reviewed to determine the extent of the damage.

65 on North Road curve before its first passenger trip Friday night

65 waits for its second night in service Saturday afternoon

On another happy note, progress continues on reverse engineering full series/parallel segments for car 836. Kelly 3D modeled a second approximation for what an unworn segment would look like and Wil got it 3D printed thanks to his school. They and Jayden test fitted it into the car yesterday and it is looking good. It needs a bit more tweaking to replace lost material and match a factory scale sketch, but is a marked improvement over prototype #1.

Segment prototype. Wil Gambardella photo

Test fitting the prototype into 836

65 is Back in the Shop

Minor repairs have been completed on 836 and 5645 and now all 5 regular service trolleys are ready for Winterfest. That work complete, Adam, Kelly, and Galen performed the necessary switching work to bring car 65 into the shop. 65 will be prepared as a reserve status car for Winterfest, substituting for car 1326.

The crew immediately set to work on the car. Galen and Adam worked on the faulty west end whistle valve, finally locating one in stores that works. This resolves one major issue in putting the car into service. Wil and Jayden began the process of cleaning the windows and vacuuming the flooring. The car has collected a lot of dirt and oddball debris in its decades of rest. Brian re-affixed some loose trim and Kelly began removing deteriorated car cards. The car needs a lot more love before it will be ready for its Winterfest debut. If you'd like to help, please reach out to Kelly.

Wil works on cleaning windows

Jayden painstakingly vacuums out the grooves in the floor

Brain re-attaches trim

Car Beautification and More

The shop would like to thank the Operations Department for all their hard work on beautifying the fleet in September. We're sorry we're so late in doing this. Thank you Justin Chasse, Mike Luzzi, Jeremy Stager, & Roger Pierson! Also thank you to Aiden Nies and his team for painting all the car floors this year!

Painting 16's controllers and handbrakes. Justin Chasse and Mike Luzzi photos

New car signs for 4. Mike Luzzi photo

Newly painted floor on car 4. Mike Luzzi photo

Touching up paint on car 4. Justin Chasse photo

Preparing 836 for paint. Justin Chasse photos

Fresh paint on 836's controller. Justin Chasse photo

In other news, John is working on truck repairs for 3001. The second armature has been repaired and will be picked up this week. Galen repaired thrust collars on car 4. Kelly documented and disassembled a replacement arc shoot set for line car 1. This set will be cleaned up and reinsulated over the winter then installed in the spring to replace the decayed set in the car's west end.

Car 1326 has been placed out of service for the rest of the year due to its reoccurring gear issues. Car 65 will be brought back to the shop for final preparation for running during the Winterfest season. Anyone who would like to help with preparing car 65 is encouraged to reach out to Kelly and Justin.

John works on 3001's trucks

Disassembled replacement arc shoot set for line car 1

Justin and Jeremy have also been at work scrapping out the remains of the boxcar that had been in Newbury siding. The car is mostly gone and will be fully removed this month.

Bringing the boxcar remains in from Newbury Siding. Justin Chasse photo

Scrapping in front of Northern Barn. Justin Chasse photos

Some Seats

Work has continued on car 65. All of the flip seats are now installed along with their heaters thanks to Galen, Kelly, and Brian. Unfortunately, the bench seats are mostly missing, so we will be cutting down 3001's old rattan seats to fit. 3001 will be receiving all new wood seats as part of its return to original configuration.

Seats installed in 65

John continues to work on 3001's steel frame.

Steel beam going in on 3001's west end

65 Takes its First Trip Down the Line in Over 20 Years

65 has seen some important physical touches put in place over the past two weeks. The last grab iron was installed, a door was refitted, tack stripping was installed to hold the roof membrane in place, and the repaired motor hatches were leveled to the floor. All this meant the crew was able to take the car out on a test trip down the line. Galen, Kelly, and Wil were joined on the car by Chief Motorman Roger Pierson and motorman Ryan Trombly photographed the event. This was car 65's first trip down the line in over 20 years. The car performed beautifully with only a few minor issues noted as needing work, such as the west end whistle not functioning. When the car returned to the yard, the crew hauled its seats out of storage and placed them in the car in preparation for them to be installed over the coming weekends. Once the seats are in place, we will be able to test the heaters. The crew is short 3 bench cushions for the car. A temporary solution will be devised.

65 at North Road curve prior to departing for testing

Photo: Ryan Trombly

Test crew at Wells Road after a successful outbound trip

Left to Right: Wil, Roger, Kelly, and Galen

Photo: Ryan Trombly

65 inbound by Skylark Airport

Photo: Ryan Trombly

65 inbound leaving Hancock Siding

Photo: Ryan Trombly

Heading outbound on 65 as the car is brought to full speed for testing

Video: Wil Gambardella

Seats placed in 65

John has been at work on Diesel 1 and one area of the locomotive now has fresh primer. The crew decided the diesel will be painted red, leaving the frame black.

Diesel 1 is being primed

Car 16 has been designated out of service until spring. As the car does not have heat, it is experiencing issues with its air system freezing due to the cold weather.

Roof Complete and Winter Projects a Go

Taking another shot at the rubber roof membrane, Galen was able to complete 65's roof. The material is much more cooperative when it is cold out.

65's roofing is all in place

3001 is being tarped off so it can be heated this winter, allowing John to continue work.

3001 is being prepped for winter

Adam began prepping Diesel 1 for a much needed new paint job.

Adam grinds old paint off of the locomotive