Progress on the Fairgrounds Canopy

Down at the Museum we have had a trickle of visitors and some very dedicated volunteers operating the cars and giving tours.  The Museum is open Thursday---Sunday.

Kevin and Michael with some help from Laura have been hard at work on the Fairgrounds platform canopy Monday---Wednesday as illustrated with the photos below.  In the shop I have been busy building shelves for the parts from 8042, which is scheduled to have work resume on Monday 7/13.  We have one Operator for an hour person scheduled that day.  The beat goes on...

Michael manned the crane car and the forklift

Kevin welding beams in place.  7/8/2020

Kevin smiling for the camera.

On Wednesday (7/8) Ominous clouds foretell the deluge hit us yesterday.

The other big thing in my sights is Grampa's pet Playtrolley, currently being refurbished by volunteer Tom Pawlesh.

Volunteers return-June 2020

June 20-Tom Pawlesh, Dave Buechler and Scott Becker worked to clean up the excessive bird droppings at the Wexford Station in preparation for the season opening July 2.  In this photo Tom and Dave use scrub brushes to clean the walls of the building.

Tom brought a pressure washer from home and did a great job scrubbing the Track 32 and 35 doors and floor.  Scott used screen to cover holes in the station where birds were getting in and nesting.  Birds nesting in the TDB and Wexford has been an annual problem made worse this year by the lack of human activity.

Prior to cleaning the station was looking pretty sad...

Kevin and his Dad Doug worked on June 7 to pick out and prep beams for the Fairgrounds Station canopy.

Kevin Zebley came down June 1 and started the work on the roof of the shelter at Fairgrounds.

The Fair donated metal to use for the stringers

The new insulation in the old carbarn has come loose in the back of track 35.  There is a leak in the roof there and we need to get someone in there to fix it.  So far I haven't had any luck with the contractor.

The museum was not able to be a polling place but the elections people did contact to inform us that it was moved to the Chartiers Community Center.  They neglected to post a sign at PTM and those who didn't get the message were still coming by.  Cindy made this sign and posted it on the door.  I stopped by and found that it was helping.

M551 out-shopped and Acquisition in March 1984

 

Port Authority Transit Differential Dump car M551 emerges from the PTM Shop

  

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January 22 was the date of the big switch-aroo that brought M551 to the Founders building track 11 far rear and moved the Rio open car 1758 to the shop for installation of the 2 GE 247D motors, rebuilt by Artie Ellis and the removal of the other 2 motors.  Dave Moffett did the hosteling work using GE 25 tonner 89.

 M551 is currently inoperable, hope that changes before we start the Founders’ Barn insulation project, which the board approved on the 22nd.  The car has 2 motors that aren’t working and Fred is currently puzzling over it.  I was there taking photos because Denny had come to town for the meeting and wanted to discuss the work by the electrician before he arrived to review things with us.  

I will be there for the work to get equipment moved for the work and hope that there isn’t a dead car that requires towing.  The contractor will be using our scissor lift, hopefully avoiding driving in the grease and oil.

 The goal of the work is to mitigate or eliminate wide swings in building temperature that cause heavy condensation with the cars dripping several times a year.  This has been amplified since the concrete slab floor was added in 2013 along with the changes to our weather over the past few years.  These include temperature swings, lots more rain and humidity in the winter. I will be there for work on the project to represent the museum and to get equipment moved for the work.  I hope that inoperable M551 there isn’t a dead car that requires towing.  The contractor will be using our scissor lift, hopefully avoiding driving in the grease and oil.  After the switching 4004 was moved to the shop.  4004 got a quick once over and was back out yesterday (1/25) and replaced by 4398.

Work in the shop is going in many directions.  In between other things Bernie is making a new headlight to replace the badly rusted one from Loco B73.  Art R. is training himself to rebuild a variety of air system devices.  Art E. of course is rebuilding open car motors and also yesterday the motor support bearings incorrectly machined back in 2008.  John H. has been busy helping insulate a controller cover built by Port Authority shop guys in 1989 for line car M210.  They signed and dated it but I’m not sure anyone took a photo.  Wish I had, John covered it up.  On 8042 we are expecting a visit from Keith Bray in February.
 

 I am working on the shop office to make space for vinyl cutting machine.  I hope to seal the room up enough to have a clean space (which will be a challenge) to use the machine to make graphics for the cars and other museum uses.  I made the SHAKER HEIGHTS lettering and numbers for 94.  Below is what it looks like after being cut and then 'weeded'.

Although I already had computer files for the heralds they were the effort of Steve Heister from Northern Ohio Ry Museum.  He provided them for a very reasonable price and I thank him profusely…I would have had to get them made by Warren Associates as we did for West Penn 832 and the Laura PTM logos that are on the GE diesel.  Dave H. recently reminded us that Loco 89 still needs numbers.  Once I get the vinyl cutter going that will be priority.

Finally, at the board meeting Chris G. let me know that help was needed on the play trolley.  Tom and John have been working to refurbish the weather damage to the masonite sheathing.  I felt strongly that window sills needed to be capped to cover and prevent deterioration there.   The PT needs an overall paint job and probably lettering from the vinyl cutter.  I think I’ll make stencils and paint them on prevent gizintas (my parents’ term of endearment for us and other kids when we were little … gets into). from picking at the vinyl. 

It looks like I finally figured out how to get video to work.   

Inspecting M551

 and the body of C132

C145 was parked out behind the Junction Admin Building 

South Hills Junction Admin 

M551 loaded and ready to depart for Arden

 
 C132 loaded and ready for the trip south

May 23, 2020

The need for cleaning is much more evident in person.

The wild birds (probably Grackles) are coating the Wexford Station with their Poo... The have also done the job on the floor inside track 35 and the outside of the doors.  Rubber flaps have not worked.

8042 sits in the shop 5/9 anxiously awaiting the return of the restoration team

Saturday (5-16) Dan Bower, Steve Hudspeth, Katie Imler, Bernie Orient and George Greenbaum got out the  crane car M283 and backed it up the Arden Mines Valley to the loop and removed a tree that fell there at some unspecified time.  Dan drove the Case loader from its APB storage location to our plot near the cut at Yanavich so that the cut logs could be dumped away from the track to rot I presume.  I spoke to Dan at the TDB yesterday when I was working to clear out shop equipment we have used there since shortly after the building opened.  There are no photos to share from yesterday.

The first big job we did at the TDB was in 2005 when we cleaned down Philadelphia 8042 and painted the exterior.  The paint job is the one seen in the above photo.  It is the last scheme applied to the car around 1953 when the window guards were moved to the interior.  While at work I worked to rebuild 24 sash with smashed glass inflicted by vandals in Philadelphia when the  car was stored in storage under Interstate 95.  The car was all shined up and took the forefront in May 2005 when the ribbon was cut on the TDB.

Exterior painting of Pittsburgh Railways 1467 and 739 followed roll out of 8042, with the plan to make them more displayable.  West Penn 739 got the full treatment below the window sills but the letterboard never received the lettering.  Now that I have vinyl cutter and tracings from the lettering formerly on West Penn 832 it'll be possible complete this.

This week we recently received a proposal from Keith Bray to complete work originally laid out in three phases but now reduced to two.  The scope has also been expanded and adjusted to exclude the canvas and pole base support boards.  The interior ceiling will be tackled while adding the rebuilding of the rear platform framework, 

This morning I took a spin around property and found there were a couple of cars down by the dumpster at the west campus.  I safely distanced them, rolled down my window and asked if they were there to visit the museum.  They said no they were gathering there for a drive-up surprise graduation party for a young friend being held at the Arden Club.  It was a surprise so they were lining up at PTM.

I stopped to take a couple photos of the motor car 396 which is out and about since its cosmetic overhaul.  Looks Good!  It has been used a couple of times to move the lawn mowing equipment for grooming the loop at Arden Mines.

I was walking through the shop and saw this covered with a shop towel so I snapped a photo.  This is a reverser for 3756 or M283 that has been in the rebuilding process for a long time.  Looks like it is ready to go under a car. 

I got an email from Bill Monaghan regarding signs for the trackless trolley at Branford/Shoreline.  They were looking for roll signs.