Friends COS calendar

A subset of the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the mission of preservation, restoration, and interpretation of CTSRR historic assets. The Springs group is primarily involved in restoration. See below for blog archive of older postings.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Windows and steel - January 18, 2014

 Craig, Bob, and I fitted window frames that Craig had made in his shop.  The windows are in  two pieces, a fixed upper pane and a lower one that can be raised and lowered for ventilation.
The upper frame rests on a molding that is fastened to the frame of the car.  The lower pane rests against this molding as well, and can slide up and over the upper pane.
There was some trimming that had to be done, and we broke out the table saw for the first time.  In the lower right of this photo a pressure clip can be seen in another piece that is fastened to the framing that holds the lower pane in an open position.
This photo shows an original upper frame with a peg in place that fits into a groove in the wood above.  The upper frames are put in place by inserting the peg in the groove, then pushing the lower part in over the shelf in the molding along the side of the window.  They can be removed if needed to replace glass by reversing the process.






Meanwhile Tom is preparing for adding steel to the ends of the car by cutting out notches in the framing with an oscillating tool.  Each end will have a steel "cage" that will be welded to the steel below for added stability.  More details on this later.







Lenny was using the magnetic drill to drill steel plates that will go under the car at the pivot points of the trucks, and will be welded to the angle steel that is fastened to the inner sills.  The large hole is for the pivot bolt, and smaller ones for bolts to secure the plate.  We are hoping to complete the welding soon, weather permitting.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Last session of 2013 - 12-21-13

On this chilly December day we removed the cross pieces of steel from the ends of the car and welded the other side of the joints, that is, the side toward the car.  The ends of the steel have been beveled in preparation for the welding.









Mike, on the left, has agreed to help us with the welding, thanks to Lenny and Sarah for being in touch with him.  He is a professional welder, and here he and Tom are getting started.







Mike works quickly and does an excellent job.  He did all of the joints of the steel cross pieces at both ends of the car.











I got to bat clean-up, grinding the welds smooth so the steel would fit snugly against the framing.  Thanks to Tom for taking this photo.









 After the welding was completed the steel was raised up and slid into place under the overhang.
Meanwhile, Craig was working on the letterboards.  He had to replace part of the board on the end of the car because it was badly deteriorated.  Note how the end and side boards are dovetailed.

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