Education Through Demonstration

1. Jeff Bennett is spraying body filler on a section of the west side of 4451 to make the surface more uniform before sanding it and applying more primer and green paint.

2. The south end of 4451 is masked in preparation for spraying the cream color.  It takes planning and skill to mask and paint the different colors inside and out.

3. Sheets of plywood stand at the ready to be installed as sub flooring in 4451.  Two layers of the plywood go down to be followed by tongue and groove lumber to make up the finished floor.

4. Cliff Blanck has put the first layer of plywood down over the metal subfloor during the week of July 19th.

5. Throughout the car the first layer is installed except over the two truck bolster areas which get covered by the second layer.  All this has had to be replaced because of rot caused by water leaks into the car before restoration was started.

6. This is the southeast door in the #2 end vestibule of 4451 in white primer waiting for the brown interior paint.  The amount of priming and painting necessary is impressive.   

7. Out back behind the barn Jeff is priming wood spacers needed to install the sides windows in 4451 so the next interior and exterior colors can be applied.        

 8.  On 4288 we have been fortunate that the side sliding doors have limited rust damage that only require spot repairs.

9. Here two patches have been laid out and await careful welding in place on the northwest door of 4288.  Care must be taken so that the heat of the welding process does not warp the door surface.

10. This is the steel subfloor at the north or #2 end of 4288.  If you look carefully you can see the layers of wood flooring in the bulkhead doorway to the main seating compartment.

11.  Ralph Taylor has removed the air brake and sleet cutter piping from the south cab of 316 as he makes progress in his task to rebuild the floor and end of the car.

12. Chris Nelson is using the Case tractor to pick up the remaining ballast in the pile in the parking lot.

13. Here he is coming up the driveway to unload the stone into the EZDumper.

14. Once all the stone is loaded it will be taken to finish ballasting Track 0 which then can be used to store cars currently parked on the car barn leads.

15 A rain barrel has been installed by Jeff Bennett under the downspout of the maintenance of way building rain gutter.  This water is used to keep the freshly planted ornamental grass healthy as it takes root and propagates to cover the area between the mainline and Track 0.

First we take a look at photos of the progress on CTA 4288.  It is June 28^th and work has started on replacing the #2 end body panels.

All the corner and door posts need replacement and was easier to replace the whole lower end panel than trying to patch the rusted out bottom panel.

On July 5^th the new panel is in place.

Here we see the inside with the handbrake staff back in place as well as a new sub floor which required replacement of some underlying frame members as well.

The motorman’s side is off on July 19^th as efforts move along.

The side door was taken down and it only needed a little repair along the bottom edge, a welcomed relief, especially compared with 4451’s side doors.

Later on the 19^th the panel was cut and fitted but now needs permanent fastening to the car’s frame work, a job for another work session.

A change of pace.  A neighbor’s phone call to the depot on Saturday July 11^th reported a tree limb down on the feeder cable just north of the IC bridge.  Damin Keenan photo

Jeff Bennett and Mike Gillis along with Damin Keenan took the motorcar train down to the site with the necessary tools.  Damin Keenan photo

First they haul the large step ladder into the downed foliage.  Damin Keenan photo

Next Mike grabs the chain saw off the push cart.  Damin Keenan photo

Carefully Jeff cuts the offending limb from the still standing tree.  Damin Keenan photo

Finally the limb is free of the tree but more work is necessary to clear the track zone.  Damin Keenan photo

Now the limb and its branches have to be cut in manageable pieces.  Damin Keenan photo

Then the pieces have to be dragged out of the way.  Damin Keenan photo

The track and feeder are finally clear but some more clean up needs to be done before the crew can return to Castlemuir and the line reopened for operation.  Damin Keenan photo

CTA 4451’s #2 end gets it first coat of green paint.  Jeff Bennett photo

Here Jeff is masking the inside of 4451 so another color can be sprayed.

The east side is in dark primer waiting the spraying of the green.  Jeff Bennett photo

Here the #2 end is getting sanded down for another coat of green as Jeff is pretty particular about how the finished surface should look.

Inside the window trim has been sprayed after the ceiling was covered with plastic.  Jeff Bennett photo

The lower west-side and #1 end are now in green.  Jeff Bennett photo

The interior is masked in preparation so the next interior and exterior colors can be sprayed.

A week later the #2 end and side door are in their final green colors.

Ralph Taylor is starting to disassemble the south end of CA&E 316 so that the floor timbers can be replaced just as he did the north end many years ago.

With the help of others Jeff got the engine cover back on CTA S-314.  Here he is installing the air filter for the diesel.  Several controls had to also be reconnected during this process as well.

Its boom fully extended and fully raised; it is easy to see that S-314 will be handy in setting line poles.

AE&FR 5’s #2 engine has been troublesome so Jeff with Mike’s help are attending to the problem.

Jeff is removing the fuel pump/governor for repair.  It loses its prime from the fuel tank and starves the injectors of fuel which in turn shuts down the prime mover.

And here is the device.  While they were plentiful and common in the 1980’s it now takes someone with special skill and experience to repair and rebuild them and Jeff hopes he has found that person.  5 deserves to be healthy and up to full strength once again.

CNS&M 715 running as an extra on July 19^th as train operation is returning to a more regular pattern.  Face masks for all and cleaning of the cars after every trip continue to be requirements for the foreseeable future.  New rule qualified operators are starting their practical training.

This is a sign printed and placed on the building:

This is the WAYNE station of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban and originally was located on the west side of the right-of-way, which is now the Illinois Prairie Path, at its crossing of Army Trail Road in the Village of Wayne.  It went into service on May 26^th, 1903 when the Elgin branch of the original Aurora Elgin & Chicago high speed, third rail powered interurban from Wheaton was placed into service.  While the CA&E called all is passenger structures “stations” this building was actually a waiting shelter as there was no agent on duty as one would purchase their ticket at a station with an agent or from the conductor on the train.  This structure is a little more elaborate than most CA&E waiting shelters with its unique roof line and finished interior.  After the CA&E freight operations were shut down in 1961 and the railroad salvaged, the shelter was moved to a residential back yard for use as a shed.  Fortunately, it was only slightly modified in this capacity.  A member tracked down this building and found that it was destined to be destroyed as the new owners of the property no longer wanted it.  Arrangements were made to purchase it and move the building to the museum to beat a removal deadline.  The museum is currently researching how to best interpret this historic gem and raising funds for its stabilization and restoration.  Photos and recollections of the shelter when it was on the CA&E are appreciated.

1- This photo shows the WAYNE station about 1903 when it first went into service on Aurora, Elgin & Chicago with a car headed to Wheaton and eventually Chicago.  Alfred W. Johnson photo

2-      Here car 401 heads towards Elgin around World War II.  The passenger semaphore and platform light are visible in this view by an unknown photographer.

3-      Here is the repurposed shelter early in 2020 in a backyard as member James Slattery found it.

4-      Our neighbor Leo Metz took this photo the day of its arrival at the museum.

5-      Unfortunately, the depot was set down facing the wrong direction in relation to our trackage.  Leo Metz photo

6-      A head on view of the side which faced the CA&E Elgin branch the first time I saw the building.

7-      It was set on timbers awaiting its final placement.

8-      An end view when the decorative “shutters”, placed there by the last owner, have been removed along with the flower box, another post CA&E add on.

9-      Here Cliff and Jeff are working on jacking the shelter up so it can be temporarily placed on a trailer to rotate it 180 degrees.  Mike Gilles photo

10-   Jeff is carefully turning the shelter around in the parking lot as it is perched on his company trailer.  Mike Gilles photo

11-   WAYNE sat on the trailer for a week while a deck was constructed to accept it.

12-   The deck stands ready to accept the shelter as the Case tractor stands by.

13-   It was pulled off the trailer in steps as cribbing was built up for it to side on.

14-   The backhoe was used to slowly pull the false frame constructed around the base.  In this photo the shelter is finally on the deck.  The tractor had to be reset several times to get it on all the way.

15-   Part of the all-day project to get the shelter on the base was cleaning up all the blocking and false work so the trailer could be removed.

16-   As WAYNE stands in its new home at the museum where it is being studied to determine how to best restore the shelter accurately and use it as an educational tool.

17-   This is a little taste of the inside which was finished with interior walls and a ceiling, a rarity for CA&E stop shelters.

18-   The door is original and if it could talk, the stories it could tell, having outlasted the interurban line it was built to serve.  All our CA&E cars passed this shelter countless times and once again they will have that opportunity.

Trainmaster Damin Keenan motoring CTA 43 southbound in the Coleman Yard on Sunday June 21^st.

43 heading south towards Blackhawk in Coleman Yard which will be the site of tie replacement during the week of June 22^nd.

Northbound under the Stearns Road Bridge, this time with no stop for “whistle testing” due to social distancing requirements under current pandemic conditions.

On June 16^th Barbara Bennett led a crew from Roberto Landscaping in planting dwarf ornamental grass plants between the mainline and Track 0.  Jeff Bennett photo

This grass hopefully will propagate and act to keep erosion in check on this slopping bank between the tracks and at the same time not needing mowing or whacking.

In this view there could be a photogenic angle to capture our cars returning to Castlemuir on the mainline.

Some work has been underway on diesel W&SR 73.  The old batteries have been removed and heavy duty 12 volt units in series have been installed.  The Sterling prime mover has been started and some repairs made but on Friday June 26^th it was determined that cooling system will need major repairs before work the locomotive can operate.  Jeff Bennett photo

CTA crane S-314’s boom has received black stripes and the engine housing has been repainted as this useful unit is made more presentable.

Work continues in the car barn on the #2 end of CTA 4288 with one panel removed.

The corner posts and door posts at this end of 4288 have been stabilized with temporary braces so that the rusted out bottoms can be replaced and the end made solid again.

Jeff has sprayed layers of the ceiling finish coat on CTA 4451 finishing one of the hundreds of tasks that need to be completed to get this car back in service.

A worker is sanding down body filler being used to mask the seams between new and old metal on the side plates.  Once this is done some more primer goes on before the final color paint can be applied.

A retaining wall has been installed where the bank along Track 2 collapsed and slid towards the car barn wall.

On my inspection hike on Sunday June 21^st I was amazed at how much repair work was done to the abutments of Ward’s Bridge.  This work was ordered after an annual FRA mandated bridge inspection turned up issues that needed attention.  All of our bridges are now good.

Volkmann Railroad Builders’ combination self-propelled tie crane/inserter and a tie cart at rest on the recently completed Track 0, awaiting tie replacement project on the mainline.

Here the tie crane/inserter is at work installing relay switch ties in Switch 21 on Monday June 22^nd.  Doug Rundell photo

The Volkmann front end loader picks up a bundle of ties in the parking lot on Wednesday.  Their supply of 500 standard ties arrived late so museum owned ties were installed to keep on schedule to get 400 ties replaced called for in the contract.  Mike Gilles photo

At the driveway the bundles were loaded on the tie cart for transport where they are needed to be installed.  Mike Gilles photo

Spike pulling out of old ties was still done the old fashioned way by the Volkmann crew.  Mike Gilles photo

This is one of a number of photos Jeff took of our local coyote inspecting the property on June 16^th.

On Sunday June 21^st  just as I was leaving the coyote came out from behind the car barn and sauntered across the old ball field on his way to the river bank probably looking for something to eat.  We have to remember that we share our museum with more than human visitors.

A painter contracted by Jeff Bennett is painting CTA crane car S-314.

The boom of S-314 was fully extended so it could be painted as the yellow dries on a Sunday afternoon.

It’s Saturday and Jeff is bringing up another load of ballast in the EZ Dumper for the Track 0 project.  Mike Gilles photo

Mike and Fred Lonnes bar over Switch 20 so Jeff can deliver the ballast.  Jeff Bennett photo

Fred watches as the ballast gets closer to it destination.  Mike Gilles photo

It is Sunday and the switch stand for Switch 20 is in service complete with a switch lock.  For years this switch had been spiked so it could not be moved.

Chris Nelson brought out a track level, an important tool used to make sure the rails are level when tamping the track up.

Here Fred and Mike use a track jack to raise the east rail while Chris watches.

Tamping begins with Fred and Chris manning the electric Jackson tampers while Art Lempke takes a brief restbit, and I mean brief, from shoveling ballast where it is needed.

A view of the tamping crew and their tools at work.  This will be the first pass as after the track settles over time, tamping will have to be done again to get the level surface back.  A couple old ties did not come up with this lift so Chris, Art and another new member, who’s name I can’t recall, replaced those ties and then ballasted and tamped them as well.

It’s the end of the day and Track 0 is completed.  It is now ready to receive the contactor’s equipment which will be used during the week of June 21^st to replace 400 ties in the mainline and Track 2 to keep our trackage safe for operation.  CTA 43 and her sisters 45 and 40 are laid up on Track 1.

Here is the plastic shield in place at the ticket window.  Agent Laura Taylor would only let one customer into the museum store at a time to make a purchase.

A family about to descend the Castlemuir high level platform after completing a round trip on 43.

Another family, with their masks on, waits to board while the car is turned and sanitized.

Conductor Doug Rundell tells the story of the Forest Preserve extension to our visitors while motorman Bruce Kuhnhofer turns the car.  This was a capacity trip with ten total riders, the current CDC/Illinois State limit.

Back at Castlemuir Day Manager Doug wipes down the seats, railings and stanchions for the next trip.  While I have no numbers, ridership was better this last weekend as the museum continues to operate in a restricted mode.

Jeff gives Doug and Damin Keenan a quick tutorial on operating our new motorcar which we decided to call BSA (Boy Scouts of America) 973 which was recently donated to the museum.

Here Mike is looking down at the innards of BSA 973, a Fairmont motorcar originally built for the Union Pacific Railroad and later decorated by troop 973 as a project for the last owner.

Mike was looking down at Jeff who was under the car (that’s his legs sticking out) while he was fixing the electrical system so the lights would work.  Mike passed him tools and parts during this process.

One of our portable toilets was replaced last week.

It has a hand-washing station attached to it, one of the items needed in order to reopen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our Castlemuir depot is set up for covid-19 safe ticketing.

Stanchions mark six-foot spacing points before boarding on the high-level platform.

 The first trip of 2020 returns to Castlemuir with CTA 43 doing the honors.

Our first three paying passengers descend the mainline high-level platform.

 New member George Barreto wipes down the railfan seat in 43 (courtesy of Doug Rundell).

 Doug Rundell and George continue to sanitize the car before the next run.

Member Bud Wilkening with his mask on, awaits to take a ride on our second trip.  Members are on standby as only ten persons are allowed per trip.  On this trip we had only one paying passenger so three of us rode.

Member Bernie Kamenar, motorman Dan Kelly and day manager Doug taking layover time at Blackhawk as trains were running on schedule rather then on demand as we usually do.

Doug explains to potential passengers that they have to board at Castlemuir.

George posts a notice explaining the temporary operating procedures.

The covid-19 notice as posted at the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve platform.  The restrooms were still locked at Blackhawk even though there was heavy use of the grounds by the general public.

The family of three from the Forest Preserve boarding at Castlemuir while the crew checks for tickets.

The next family keeping a safe distance come up the high-level platform stairs.

Jim Tarbet, Doug and George, all wearing their face masks waiting for their departure time at Blackhawk.

“Make way for ducklings” in the area of Timepoint 53 caused a minor delay to northbound car 43.  It took a little time for mother duck to get her four or five ducklings to leave the track zone and head down towards the river.  Our six passengers got a chance to see the duck family from the train door.

Northbound car 43 passes over the 54 stop cattle run, one of four bridges on the line.  I could see that all three cattle runs have been repaired by Summers Construction and I suspect the Ward’s Bridge abutments have also been repaired but they are pretty hard to see from the train.

Ed Konecki observes Fred Lonnes and Chris Nelson operate our Racine rail saw making the last cut to fit the rail for the completion of Track 0.

Here Fred and Mike Gilles set up an electric rail drill to make the holes in the web so bolt up can be done.

The rails are line up for the last joint on Track 0.

Finally the joint bars are bolted on.  Now the track has to be gauged and spiked down so that ballasting and surfacing can take place.

At the end of the day we see all the rails together on Track 0 while the motorcar and track tools are on the mainline heading for the Maintenance Of Way building for storage.

While all the passenger operations and track work were going on, Jeff Bennett was busy in the car barn laying down layer after layer of epoxy primer inside and out of CTA 4451.

4451 now in all white primer, protecting all the old and new steel from rust, pending continued work to complete the car and its final painting.  Lots of etching and solvent wiping down takes place before the primer can go on, a process that will have to be repeated when the final colors are applied after windows are reinstalled and new wood flooring installed.

FRTM S314 UPDATE

Loco 5 is coupled to CTA S-314 on Track 3 North and a brake test is being performed by Jeff Bennett and Mike Gilles.

The train is ready to depart for its first assignment, in decades, at the Fox River Trolley Museum.  Much work has proceeded this move as the Perkins diesel engine that powers the crane had to be rebuilt and the brake system on the car serviced and tested.

Here the hydraulic diesel-powered crane is rotating out to rail stored along the right-of-way near Timepoint 53.

Mike goes in to set the rail dog onto the center point of the first rail to be picked up while Art Lemke stands ready with the control line as Roadmaster Chis Nelson watches.  It became obvious that rail has to be picked up at the balance point so it can be safely controlled by the guide line.

The second rail picked is being set down on the deck.  Jeff is at the controls of the crane.

 A third shorter length of rail is being moved to the deck with Art steadying its swing with the guide line.  A fourth rail was also loaded from this location.

The crew is now going for a fifth and last rail at one of the rail piles in Coleman Yard for the trip back to Castlemuir.

The last rail loaded is the first to be unloaded at Track 0 at Castlemuir.  The Perkins diesel engine does have a red metal shroud but it was deemed a good idea not to apply it on this first shake down run just in case adjustments were needed.  Fortunately, everything went well.

The first rail is down on the ties.  The sub station was turned off so that the overhead would not be alive.  Jeff was always very careful and never got close to the wire during the whole process but safety first!

All five pieces of rail are now down on the ties and Chris will have start bolting them up and spiking them down.  In this construction process the ends of the rail will have to be cut to size and new holes drilled for the joint bars.  The museum’s rail saw and rail drill have both been serviced and are ready to go.

Jeff and Mike cover the diesel engine with plastic pending installation of its shroud.  It was a successful first outing of CTA S-314 as the day’s goal was accomplished safely.  Like all museum rolling stock it will need some tweaks but we now have some experience with the unit and we are confident that it will be a very useful tool in the future.

FRTM 4288 UPDATE

CTA 4288 has been moved into the barn on Track 4 ahead of 4451 and is undergoing evaluation and exploration necessary to bring it to operating condition.

In this report we will concentrate on efforts on the #1 end which is facing south.  In this photo the class light boxes have been removed.

Based on the experience with 4451 it was decided to replace all the end wall panels below the windows rather that to try to patch the original skin on the car.  The original pieces are used as patterns so all attachments end up in the correct location.

Here you can see one panel sitting in place before being fitted.

Temporary bracing is tac welded in place to keep the train door frames squarely in place while the rusted-out bottoms are replaced as in the near frame.  Fortunately, 4288’s car body is in better overall shape but there still are challenges.

All the motorman’s cab appliances are still in place with the outer skin off.

While in somewhat better condition than 4451, now is the time to replace all the air pipes and conduit that pass through the floor of 4288.  If they don’t leak now it will only be time before they do.  This is a common malady that all traction operators had to deal with.

The ceiling panels have been striped and all the new woodwork from the window sills up has been installed.

Here you can look through the empty roof vent openings and see some more detail of interior restoration.  The interior and exterior vents and regulators are on hand for when the time comes to install them.

The south end cab equipment has all been installed with new air pipes and the complete rewiring of the controller down to the junction box under the car.

The hand brake which has been fully rehabilitated is now in place and only needs the wooden flooring installed over the metal sub floor to be operational.

A week later Jeff Bennett was able to lay down a couple of coats of epoxy primer from the ceiling to the window sills.

Before the primer went on every surface has to be cleaned with solvent and the metal ceiling etched.  This gives one some understanding of how extensive the scope of the work being done is to produce a car that will be attractive and serviceable for the museum in years to come.

Maintenance and restoration is still ongoing at the museum. Here are some updates for you!! Thank you Joesph Hazinski for the photos and information.

The wood roof on 4451 has been completed with both end bonnets and all has been covered with water and ice shield.  One the weather improves and restrictions are lifted it will be time to put the canvas on the roof. (no photo)

The north end of 4451 in January before heavy restoration work started on this end.

In March Jeff shimmed up the north train door so that the bottom of the rusted out door posts could be replaced by the metal workers.

A week later if you look closely you can see the new metal welded in to complete the bottom of the door post.  Also notice the junction box hanging in air for the wiring for the classification lights which will be reinstalled on the new metal end wall.

The totally rebuilt north train door in place before the cast threshold was attached to the car which is why there appears to be a gap at the bottom.

The north end in early March with the new metal skin installed.  The class light boxes, windows and window guards need to be installed.

The north motorman’s side door in place.  All four of the side doors have undergone heavy rebuilding and now manually move in and out of their respective pockets.  Now the door engines need to be repaired, installed, tested and control circuits rewired along with replacement of all the sensitive door edges.

The south end of the car with new metal end sheets installed.  Some of us recall when sheet aluminum and Bondo made up the bottom of the ends of the car to cover the rust out.  With all the rebuilding the end and train door frame is as solid as new.

Here the south cab has been re-piped for the brake system and installation of the controller, laying on the floor here, has been completed.  All new modern wire has been installed from the controller terminals to the junction box under the car and where needed, new conduit and hardware was used.  As of the writing the north cab is now also almost complete.

The lapped and rebuilt air brake valves and laser cut rubber gaskets for 304 in the box from Pittsburgh Air Brake.

304’s air gauges, rebuilt and calibrated by Gauge It awaiting installation.

One of the “safety car” foot valves for 304 back from Pittsburgh Air Brake.  All these valves and gauges along with the rebuilt door controls valves have been re-installed and are found to be operating correctly.  There still are few system leaks that need to be tracked down but static operation is much better than before.  North end truck inspection and lubrication is still on tap.

Another improvement done earlier this year has been the installation of a new shop air compressor courtesy of Jeff Bennett which included hard wiring it into the AC electrical service.  Not only has the air been piped up to the rafters but he has installed retractable hose reels hanging from the trusses.  Work is almost complete on repairing the southwest step linkage on 304 so that the steps will stay up in order to clear the air compressor once the car returns to its normal berthing location in the barn as it will be a tight fit.