Misc. March 19,2011

There are steel arch braces spaced periodically in the roof between wood arches as shown in the photo on the left, above, taken from within the car looking up.  They have a vertical component within the framing between clerestory windows, then follow the curve of the roof below the windows and are fastened to the sill plate at the roof edge.  The photo on the right shows the vertical portion with the exterior siding removed.  (Single click on the photos to enlarge, back arrow in the browser to return to blog.)

This series of photos shows the arches with wood removed.  On the left, above, the arch and vertical portion can be seen, and on the right part of the lower arch sandwiched between framing members extends out to the left in the photo.

The view on the right shows the lower arch from above.   The steel is bolted in place at each end of the arch.  Some remaining roof decking can be seen in the upper part of the photo. 

Activities this day included stripping paint from the end panelling by Craig on the left, above.  Some of the surface wood is usable, including the corner pieces which would be difficult to duplicate.  We welcomed Tom back for the first time in a while, and he is removing fascia on the left, above.

Meanwhile, Bob and I continued threading truss rods to replace rusted ones.  This machine makes it a pleasure compared to turning a die by hand.  We are making extras to be used on another project as long as we are at it.

A final note:  From photos John has pointed out that originally there was an emergency cord that went the length of the car, and was led through these openings at each end.  There were brass rings in each opening, and a remaining one can be seen in the photo on the right, above.  I don't believe it is known at this point just what function this cord had, i.e. an alarm of some sort or an actual emergency brake.  Nevertheless, it probably wouldn't survive kids playing with it these days.