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April 22, 2011

A very good Friday

The back of the Plymouth before painting

It was a very good Friday out at the shop.? Despite a small 4 man work party, a significant amount of work was done.? William and Eric worked on cleaning more debris out from some of the corners and from under racks, and by the end of the day, it was looking pretty good.? Ken Sr. was working on sealing up the office window panels, and did a bit more painting on the shop walls.? Ken Jr. spent the day working on the Plymouth and E-7.

Half of the back of the Plymouth cab was worked on,with the rust bubbles being removed and rough paint smoothed out. By the end of the day, a coat of grey primer was applied.

Primer applied

A set of ditch lights off an Ontario Northland F unit have been acquired and will become the new headlights for the Plymouth.? The?Plymouth will also have a bell from a VIA F40PH added in the spring.? If all goes well the

rest of the back wall of the cab will be done by the May open house, showing good progress on the locomotive.? E-7 got a bit of attention, just testing out the paint remover.

A small section of the cab was taken down to bare metal and a coat of primer applied.

E-7 with the new dock plate and paint test.

We also cut a dock plate to allow safe passage between the work platform and the locomotive. This needs to be a bit wider for safety, but will be good for the volunteers to get over the 10″ gap between platform and locomotive.? The final thing was the donation of a large set of steel steps from Paletta International.? They are tearing down the old Chef Boy R Dee plant in Niagara Falls, and these steps were once used to cross over a conveyor system. They’ve been outside the plant for a while, and were donated this week.? While not suitable for public use, they will be good for members to use to work on equipment.

Our new work stairs.

CN SD70M 8927 at Fort Erie, April 22, 2011

April 1, 2011

Recent happenings

With the snow finally starting to disappear, NRM Members are back out at the site on a regular basis. Projects are starting to be worked on again, and the site is being cleaned up, to be ready for our May Open House. The Plymouth diesel is recieving quite a bit of attention right now with the cab interior being worked on, replacing the rotten wood floor, and damaged air piping. One of our members has also had the seat recovered, to go along with the work he’s been doing inside the cab. We are hoping that the engine will at least be able to be “fired” up for May, to show the progress being made. Track work is scheduled to begin shortly too, as soon as the ground thaws enough to allow more of the roadbed to be removed. The first plan of attack is to continue the south track into the #8 turnout, that will be connnected with the middle track of the shop. There will be a lead stretching towards the CN Fort Erie South spur, which we hope will eventually connect back up with that line. For now it will give us a much needed switching lead to move equipment between the 2 tracks.

Other events/projects include the 1st Annual Niagara Railway Museum Golf? Tournament.? This event will be held on May 29th, 2011 at ICC?in Stevensville Ont.? Information and an entry form for a foursome can be found on our website.?? Come on out for a great day of golf, OR, come on out afterwards for the steak dinner.? The NRM gets a portion of each meal and golf foursome.? For other events the NRM is taking part in, please see our events page on the NRM site.? Still lots going on including the Crazy About Trains weekend at Puddicomb Farms April 31/May 1, 2011.
Interior work will include painting, and finishing off the architectural plans for the office/display room. There are lots of things going on out there in the spring, and if you’d like to become involved, please drop us a line. We’ll tell you who to contact, and when the work days are.? We are currently seeking out funding for these projects, and are always looking for any financial contributions to make this plan a reality. All donations are eligible for a Charitabel Tax Reciept, and donations can be made safely and securely by following the link on our main site (www.nfrm.ca).