Greetings one and all!
After frigid weather (below zero at times) this week and more in the forecast for the upcoming week, old Mother Nature gave us a break today at Hoosier Valley with temps approaching 40 degrees! Thank you...thank you....thank you! There was no museum report from last week as, right after the Board meeting, everyone hit the road. There were white out conditions on the way home, and a number of accidents, but fortunately none involving HVRM folks.
Arrived at the museum today a bit after 9:00 a.m. and talked to Doug and Loretta Kosloske in the depot. Then over to the Shop, where things were humming! Fred Boyer was on the green manlift, grinding rust off of the car sides of C&EI tool car # A-1054. John DeGan was "relaxing" by laying on the cold concrete floor, where he was wire brushing and using the grinding wheel on one of the cars trucks (see photo #1 below). Fred eventually determined that some steel patches needed to be welded to cover holes in the car side of A-1054. Fred found a suitable piece of steel so enlisted Bob Albert to start cutting (second photo below). John was called to do the welding job and I took over cleaning the cars truck. Unfortunately, John found a bad part on the welder and had to run out to the local farm store in Knox for a replacement only to find out after returning that something blew in the welder, and repairs need to be made. Next week!
We seem to always have visitors to the museum, even in the winter. Shown below is a photo of Bob Jachim finishing up a talk on C&O 2-8-4 # 2789 and HVRM with a mother and her interested son. Always glad to take the time to do these and Bob especially, is an expert.
Lunch at the museum is often mentioned in these reports, but I thought that today I'd include a couple of photos of our lunch car before the guys came in to eat. NKP # X58538 started out as a box car and was converted by the Nickel Plate into a camp car. As you can see, it's a bit crowded, which is the reason why we are restoring our C&EI tool car, which will be used for table space after it is finished. Members are encouraged to spend a Saturday or two with us, and help us in our efforts. Margrett Cook provided todays lunch.
After lunch, Steve Newland cut out one of the window inserts that the C&EI put on the A-1054 when it was in work train service. We needed to cut out these old inserts as we prepare to put in new moveable windows. Unfortunately, the photo of Steve's work didn't turn out. Will try to get one next time.
Joe Kingsbury and Rich Warner continued their efforts in restoring the cut up wiring in our ND&W Porter diesel # 5332. Hard to get a photo in the tight confines of the Porter's cab, but here is one of Rich doing his thing. There was some hope that today, the wiring for the reverser on the unit had been figured out, and it was decided to test it. John LaOrange brought up the 55 gallon drum of fuel and pumped some into the 5332's fuel tank, but although the diesel power plants then fired up, the unit just wouldn't move. Back to the drawing board!
John and Mark Knebel then opened the back door of the West Annex of the Shop and replenished the inside pile for the wood stove.
Also at the museum today were Dave Cook, Randall Downs, and others I probably missed.
Have a great week everyone. And....STAY WARM!
Les
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