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August 21, 2011

Sunday shop report

In addition to work that was done at the shop on Saturday (see previous post), I spent another 4 hours out there today. My goal for today was to set up and get operating, a set of crossing signals.? This set does have to be semi portable, so I went with a PVC pipe? instead of the standard railway grade pole (that will be for the permanent set inside the shop!).

The display crossing lights, about 60% complete.

The bracket the lights are mounted to has a hole to allow for wires to be run down the inside the pole and into the ground to relays and such.? So, one must first cut a small oval in the pole, which a hole saw works nicely for. After that, I filed it down, made sure it was smooth, and mounted the lights.? They fit quite well, so that part is done.? I managed to stand the whole thing up, which is a pain, as it is quite heavy.? The pole was secured to the railing so I could work on it upright.? With a 12v battery ready, I managed to scrounge some wire from around the shop.? The lights I was using have been sitting outside for

almost 15yrs, so I didn’t know if they’d even work.? Well, I figured out what wires and terminals were for what lights, and to my amazement, all 4 lights lit up.? Before starting all of this, the shields and hoods were cleaned and painted.? So, 2 of the lights got thier shields and hoods back, the other 2 will be next weekend.? The post, which was white, was painted silver to look like an actual post.? Right now all 4 lights are wired on, as I hope to have the actual flasher relay this week.? When complete, this post will be displayed at certain events throughout the year.? The first one will be the Steam Era show in Milton on the Labour Day Weekend, September 2-5.

Despite a very heavy downpour of rain, which created a waterfall in the heavy repair bay, it was a good working day inside the shop.? Once the sun came out and started to dry things off, I managed to get a bit of? primer on the bare metal that was cleaned off on Saturday.? Not likely to get a coat of paint on it by the September 10/11 open house, but at least something has been done.

HEPC E-7 gets a bit of primer

Still lots of work to be done out there.? If you’re interested in helping out the NRM, please email us or give us a call.

August 20, 2011

E-7 cosmetic restoration

While the weather is still great, I felt it was time to start making some progress on equipment restoration.? The Plymouth is a fairly easy project, but is currently undergoing restoration to operating condition.? HEPC 46, our steam locomotive, needs some extensive cab work before the cosmetic can begin on that.? So, the only piece remaining is HEPC E-7, our electric locomotive.? It’s a very slow process, using an angle grinder with a wire wheel to remove in some spots 7 layers of paint! The good thing about this is that there is no actual rust, only surface rust, which cleans up fairly well with the wire wheel.

Stripping the paint, the slow way!

The body is being taken down to the bare metal, and will be primed and painted a coat of black, which is what it wore when in service in Niagara Falls back in the 1920’s.

Down to the bare metal, waiting for primer.

Track work is also progressing at the site, with more ties laid for track 2.? Rail has been placed, but is not yet gauged and spiked.? Just waiting for the rest of the roadbed to be cleared, and we’ll be into the turnout.? Site cleanup is also moving along.? The old storage trailers along the south side of the building have been moved.? The grass has been cut around the turntable, and soon a section will be cleared out so we can see what condition the pit was left in when it was filled in.

Lots going on at the Niagara Railway Museum Inc.? If you have some spare time, and want to come out and help, we have lots of tasks that can be taken care of.? No skills necessary.? Just drop us an email to set up a time.? Weekends are the normal work days, but some members do head out there during the week.