Damin helping organize parts as they are removed from 316’s ceiling  

Jeff at about 8pm on Sunday.  A long weekend of re-wiring all the lighting circuits in 316 comes to an end with all wires pulled into the main cabinet, attached at all points in the wood runners, and leads all hanging where the fixtures will go.  James Tarbet and Mike Gilles were instrumental in helping to get this massive undertaking done in one weekend. It was certainly a three person job.

Andre and Mike are jacking the ceiling back up in this picture and splinting the cracked carlines. It seemed that where the three aisle dome lights were mounted, the weight cracked the very dry wood, which lead to the roof slats cracking, and then the sag. A series of jacking and splinting brought the ceiling structure completely in line once again.

This image gives you a small idea of how the wiring for all the light circuits works it’s way through the car.  It’s all in the ceiling in channels, and must be installed prior to the ceiling panels.

Look carefully down the sides of the ceiling run.  All new shims have been installed by Mike and Andre to accommodate a perfect mounting surface for the new panels. Many hours were also spent by Andre reinforcing the carlines, both in the ceiling and the car card area. 109 years have left many of the wood pieces so dry they have cracked away from their original nails. Hundreds of new fasteners were installed and some new wood, until every piece of this inner structure was rock solid  

Thee and John worked all day Saturday and Sunday on 458. Continuing the interior prep work for paint. The bathroom was worked on extensively, and had the sink, mirror, light fixture, and soap dispenser removed. This was done because all those items are extremely fragile and needed to be away from the work zone. Also with them out a much better prep and paint job will be able to be achieved. 

Fred Lonnes worked with Jeff consulting on several things, then went to his track duties. 

Kyle brought back one of the seat frames for 20 that needed extensive repairs. He spent the day inside 20, installing the one seat frame that he had repaired and removing several others that need repair. They are quite intricate, and have many moving parts that have worn over the last 120 years!  

Fred Biederman just about has all the screw holes in 458 drilled and tapped. Another whole day was dedicated to that by him.