Tuesday, July 12, 2016

July, 2016 Work Weekend

I'll save some time and copy the leading paragraph from June: "Flaming hot! The afternoon temperatures hovered in the low 90s...nobody wanted to do track work. Imagine that!" Only this month, doing or not doing track work was not an option. We HAD to do track work!

But track work wasn't the only thing happening at the MCRR. For example, the "green" coach which has been in the shop undergoing an overhaul had some attention. Joan M., Dylan D., Jerry C. and Joan's two sons continued to pick away at the repair list.



Joan's son (why did I forget his name!) and Micah M. removed nearly all of the metal shavings from the various machine tools.





Matt C. was forging forward on the Vulcan gasoline switcher (the "Squirt"). Most of the wiring is complete and as the picture shows, the engine and transmission are in the frame, the cab is in place (even the original lettering is in place), and the hood supports and radiator is in place. It is almost time to hear the replacement engine run.



The electric pickup truck had sat unused all winter. It is going to get more use this year but needs to run under its own power (that is, not be pushed by three or four volunteers). The batteries were low on electrolyte and nearly or completely discharged. A quick cleanup of the cables, addition of water, and time on the charger likely will resolve the no-go issues.




The South Station pallet shelve project was completed. There is a portion of the June 2016 shop blog describing the first phase of the shelve installation. The next few pictures show the last phase. David M., Roger R., Ryan F., Rex F., Matt W., Brian B. and Elliot H. were climbing all over the shelves to finish the wall anchors and wooden shelve surface.







...and there was track work.

The professional track crew had started the South Station east side renovation. The goal is to have the South Station's center track be a through track, switched off of the mainline track. At the present time, only the south track is a through track.

The installation of the mainline switch freed a large section of track to be moved west toward the South Station. The professional track crew built the switch but has not installed it.

The MCRR gang replaced and relocated numerous ties on the track plus made some gauge changes to the switch. Depending on the picture, Paul C., Jim B., Evan P., Kendall O., Micah M., and Randy can be seen doing various tasks on the panel track or the switch.

















-Photos courtesy Joan M and Elliot H.
-Steam.airman

Sunday, July 3, 2016

June, 2016 Work Weekend

Flaming hot! The afternoon temperatures hovered in the low 90s...nobody wanted to do track work. Imagine that!

Kendall O. was searching for some usable cardboard. The blogster isn't sure of the reason, but Kendall was pleased to be discovered looking for it.



There was some activity in and around the South Station. The south track needed to be cleared to access the south west corner of the station.



This is the Vulcan gasoline switcher (aka "The Squirt" and "MW101") as of mid June. Matt C. reports further progress and has additional pictures to prove it.



At the shop, John W., John K., Dillon D. and at times Matt W. removed the seats from the green coach. The seat removal is one of the many phases of the coach's refurbishment. We expect it to match the rest of the fleet by the Reunion.




Paul K. was leading numerous grounds tours in conjunction with an event taking place at the Midwest Electric Railway.



In the south station, Matt W., Rex F., Ryan F. and Elliot H. constructed a set of pallet shelves. Besides building the system in place some custom wall anchors needed cobbling. Elliot H. hid in the cool shop doing the cobbling while the others did the hard work at the South Station.






-Pictures courtesy steam.airman and John K. 
-Steam.airman