Seasons Greetings!
Managed to make it down to Hoosier Valley just after the Board meeting started. Interesting meeting with various discussions including
train shows, next years passenger train schedules, antique bottles, and a number of other things.
Light member turnout, understandable with it being the Saturday before Christmas. Still, interesting things got done.
Showed up in the West Annex of the Shop, warm from the new wood stove. Found Fred Boyer applying additional Bondo to the car sides
of our ex-United States Army kitchen car # 325. This car has an interesting history being sold to the Chicago & Eastern Illinois where it
was first numbered A-1054 and then later renumbered as 88125. The C&EI assigned it as the tool car for the wreck train stationed at Yard
Center in Dolton, Illinois. After the C&EI was merged into the MP (line to St. Louis and the L&N (line to Evansville), the car ended up as
Missouri Pacific number X15096 before the MoPac decided to break up the work train and the car was sold to a company that performed
wreck train cleanups for the railroad. Eventually that company donated the car to HVRM. After a stint as the Diesel Locomotive Department
work car, the museum eventually decided to use the car in conjunction with our Nickel Plate Road lunch car, but a fire in the car has set this
project back as the interior has been destroyed. There are still plans to use this car as intended, but the interior needs to be completely rebuilt
including a new floor. I helped Fred today ratcheting the nuts off of old bolts, or on the tougher ones Fred cut them with his grinder. The
photo accompanying this report is of Fred working on one end of the car cutting a bolt. Just before we quit for the day, Fred sanded down
the now dry Bondo he had applied in the morning. So progress has been made, but there's still a heck of a lot to do!
Progress also made on ND&W #5332, our Porter center cab diesel. Joe Kingsbury and Rich Warner worked on the Cummins diesels and
tried to get them fired up this afternoon for the first time since Notre Dame donated the unit to the museum. Well, believe it or not, the one
diesel fired right up! And eventually the diesel in the other hood, started too! The unit sounded great! The confirms the museums opinion
that, although the Porter looks very rough on the outside, it is in very good shape mechanically.
A number of folks dropped by the museum today including Bill Dauber, Chuck Ness, Elmer Mannen and Randall Downs. Others on hand all
day included Bob Barcus, Dave Cook, Margrett Cook, Mark Knebel, Cory Bennett, Judy Boyer and John LaOrange.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, or whatever you might be celebrating.
Les
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