September - October 2017

Fall saw activity increasing at the COS worksite with  work sessions in September and October.  The clerestory ceiling was completed and work progressed on the interior and exterior trim.  Installation of the coupler pocket mountings was begun among other things.

Before starting the clerestory ceiling Craig made a mockup of the corner pieces as shown here.  The top horizontal piece is the tongue-and-groove that will go on the ceiling and the vertical piece on the right will go on first in the corner of the clerestory.  The small piece below will finish off the corner.

This is another view of the mockup looking at it as one would see it on the ceiling.

Before installing the backing piece the carlines needed some trimming so it will fit properly.  Here Ron is busy with a chisel.

In this photo Craig is fitting the backing piece in place.

One more thing had to be done before putting up the ceiling boards, and that was replacing the end cabinets.  These covered a space that extends over the platforms and were removed when the car was dismantled.

This shows one of the two cabinets that has been cleaned up and is ready to be put back in place.

This is a view from the back side of the cabinet.

Craig and Ron are lifting the frame into place.  Note that some insulation had to be removed for the upper edge of the frame to fit properly.

Craig is nailing the frame in place.

The cabinet has been installed, so now the ceiling boards can butt against the upper frame.

The first board is being nailed up by Craig.

 Bill K. did his share as well.

By the end of September we had a pretty good start.

Towards the middle of the car holes had been drilled earlier in the roof by John and Bill L. marking the location of the vents for the chandeliers.

Don is cutting holes in the roof for the vents.  (Seems like a shame to do that?)

The ceiling boards have to be cut as well for the vents.

Here is the crew at work,  Debbie is handing the mallet to Bill K. on the ladder to snug the board in tightly.  Bill L. is in the foreground doing the cutting (saw is behind him), and Don is on the other end of the board.  We were shuffling ladders up and down the length of the car with one person on the ground to cut and hand up the boards.

These are the vents that were removed from the car that will be reused.  Tom has been cleaning them up.

We are getting close to the other side now.  Bill L. is doing the nailing.

By the end of October we finished the clerestory ceiling.

Craig made new windows some time ago, and mounted one in a frame with the correct hardware for demonstration purposes.  This day he wanted to temporarily install one.

This photo shows the end of the molding that goes below the clerestory windows.  Craig milled it from a sample of the original and as can be seen it is quite complex.  It is designed so that the windows can be opened and closed and the roof flashing will partially cover it.

This is the window in place and partially open as seen from inside the car.  Note the hardware on the far side that keeps it in position.  (Click on the image to enlarge.)

This photo shows the window closed as viewed from outside the car.  Note the hardware with the notches to retain the window in various positions.

Work continued on the exterior trim as well.  In this photo I am taking my turn with the nail gun.

The steel has been obtained for the coupler pockets.

The angle pieces will be bolted to the bottom of the inner sills.  John has positioned one of the pieces below the four bolts to mark the holes to be drilled.

This photo shows the marks (crosses) for the drilling.

Finally John punched a small hole at the center of the marks for a drill guide.

Work has also been progressing on the end platform railings.  This photo is of a drawing of  the railings similar to that of the Pullman car, including the coupler mechanism.

Joe, our metal guy, has been busy making the posts for the railings.

Joe and John are discussing the assembly of the railings while Tom is holding a post.

In this photo Tom is holding a post and an end iron in relative positions that they will be in.  The bend in the end post at the bottom provides a hand hold for climbing the steps to enter the car.

Here Joe is rechecking the dimensions of a post.

















Thanks again to Tom for contributing photos.

Summer 2017

We had no formal work sessions in June as many of our crew were attending work sessions in Chama and Antonito.  We resumed with two sessions in July.

It was noted that the inner sill on the north at the west end of the car showed evidence of dry rot with the bolt heads and washers sunk into the wood as shown here on the right side of this photo.

Repair was undertaken by first removing the four bolts in the area affected.  Wood dowels were wrapped in plastic and inserted in the bolt holes as shown in this photo.

Epoxy was poured into the softened wood, first a thin mixture to penetrate, then a thicker mixture to fill in the cracks and holes.

This photo shows the repair after curing.  Some grinding was needed to flatten the surface.

In this photo Bill K. has removed the plugs and is re-drilling the holes before replacing the bolts.

In this photo the bolts have been replaced and Craig is levelling the surface of the sill prior to installing the subfloor plywood.

Also it was noted that several of the cross braces were projecting above the sills.  These would have to be levelled before installing the plywood.

In this photo Craig is using a chisel to remove the protruding part of the brace.

This is after levelling.

Meanwhile Don and Bill are starting to cut plywood.  It is 11/16 thick and installed with the surface grain across the car.

The two sections of the sheet meet on one of the inner sills, alternating sills with each adjacent sheet.  The bolt head locations were marked with chalk powder for drilling.

In this photo Bill K. is putting in deck screws to fasten the plywood to the framing.

This photo shows the completed subfloor.  The plywood at each end was left loose so as to have access to the pivot area of the trucks.
















These two  photos show the pivot plates that were fabricated by John Weiss and will be placed between car body and the trucks allowing the trucks to rotate.  These were delivered recently.

Bolts of the proper length to attach the steps to the end sills were obtained and installed by Craig and Bill K.

We also received the castings for the seats as shown here by Craig.  He has his hand on one of the armrests and the raised part in the center supports the backs for the two seats.  These will be powder coated prior to installation.  The legs are angled toward the outside of the car to allow more room for feet as people move in the aisle.

This photo shows a prototype seat that Craig built.

The seat back drops down and the seat slides out to meet the adjacent seat, making a "bed" for the travellers.  A platform above drops down to make an upper bunk so there is room for 4 people to recline (cozily).  Bedding was not supplied so travellers brought their own.

Craig has also been busy in his shop starting the process of making the seats.  This photo shows some of the lumber (red oak) that was delivered.

Here he has cut grooves in a stack of boards for the seat frames.

This shows tenons cut in the material for the seats and backs.

We are also planning for finishing the roof of the car.  Here Randy is measuring for the metal roofing material that will be installed.