Initially, we replaced the pivot blocks on both ends of the car that Craig had made previously. We then pulled the angle steel pieces together against the inner sills in preparation for beginning to install the long bolts through the steel, sills and pipes. That involved alignment of several holes drilled in wood and steel, and I might just say that we have a little more drilling to do.
Some of the bolts were passed through without difficulty (in the far lower right and upper center of this picture), but others need re-aligning of the holes. Once these are in place the angle steel pieces can be drawn tight against each other with the pipes acting as spacers through the sills.
Meanwhile John and Glenn were making a pattern of the piece of wood that was over the doors at each end of the car in preparation for fabricating pieces of steel that will be inserted over the doors as part of the reinforcing at the car ends. Note that the curve at the top is a complex one, with a cutout in the center for the top of the door. This is being done on a piece of Masonite.
During the last two weeks Lenny has located a company that can do steel fabrication, and has offered to do the brackets for the inter-sill blocks (see previous post for photos) at a reasonable price. They seem interested in our project and hopefully can be helpful as we continue to reinforce the car to be up to current standards for rail use.
We were pleased to have Craig join us for lunch today, and thank Maggie for bringing him to the work site.
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