January-February 2019

The bolster bowls/plates were finally installed during these work sessions and we started on the installation of the flooring.  End railings were fitted and contract roofers began installing the copper roofing.

The flooring is douglas fir and has been stored in a box car belonging to the Trolley Museum.  John and Mike are stacking these boards prior to squaring the ends on the chop saw in the background over Mike's back.

John is cutting while Jim is helping move boards.

The boards were then placed in this jig for notching.

Craig used his router to cut the notches.

Bill L. vacuumed the subfloor.

The next step was placement of tar paper as a moisture barrier.  Dean is working on this while others are wrestling with the bolster bowl.

A string was used to align the first row of boards.  John C. is shown here helping with the placement.

The first row was face-nailed down, here by Dean.

The tongue and grooves were fitted and the splines inserted into the ends of adjacent boards.

After the first row was installed the subsequent rows were nailed in place with a flooring nailer.

While trying to place the bolster bowls on the bolsters it was discovered that the ends of the platforms sills (and covering steel) were not allowing the bowls to seat properly.  So grinders were used to cut away the offending wood and steel, here by Mike.

In this photo the bolster is in the upper right corner and the two platform inner sills extend off to the left with part of the ends removed.  The bowl is resting on the tie or block below.

Now it fits!  The plates are heavy and work space was limited so mechanical assistance with lifting and holding was needed.  Bill K. and Mike are aligning the plate with the bolt holes in the bolster.

It looks like Mike is putting a lock nut on a bolster bolt.  This was a two person job with one above having a wrench on the head of the bolt in the floor to keep it from turning.

Sometimes the bolt holes didn't line up properly and redrilling was required.  In this photo Bill K. is looking cautiously at the magnetic drill that is attached to the bolster to redrill one of the holes.  The rope is to hold the drill from falling if the power were to go off (which it did).

This photo shows the bolster extending from the upper left to the lower right part of the picture.  The plate (or bowl) is attached with bolts extending up through the floor of the car.  Part of the bolster wedge is visible in the extreme upper left of the photo.

The plate clears the end of the platform sill that has had a haircut.

Four bolts hold the plate in place.  Coupler nuts were used because of the carriage-type bolts in the plate.

A view from below showing the four round head bolts that have been ground flush with the surface of the bowl so that the truck can turn on it.  The two bolts on the ends are for the bolster.  The hole in the middle is for the king-bolt or center pin.

This plate covered the hole in the floor of the car through which the center pin was placed, and was recovered during dismantling.  Only one was left in the car and plans are to have a second one made.

The platform end railings were fitted during this time which are secured in place with bolts through the platform end sills.  The sills were marked for drilling.

"Joe The Welder" made the hardware for the railings.  Shown here are posts which are tapered slightly, double threaded bolts, and washers.

The bases of the posts are threaded internally for the bolts, which pass through the sills and are secured with nuts underneath.

Drilling is a two person job with one guiding (Bill L.) and one drilling (Dean).

In this photo the double threaded bolt is being put into one of the posts by John C.  The rail is at the top of the photo with two posts attached to it.

Everything fits.  The railings will be removed for painting and reinstalled later.

The roofers have been at work installing the galvanized copper roof.  They are professional roofers on contract and have been doing a great job.

The material comes in sheets which are locked together.

Vents for the oil lamps will be replaced.

Coming together nicely.

This photo shows the detail of the fitting around the clerestory.

The vents are soldered to the roof panels.

Meanwhile, Craig has been working on the window glass.  The car originally had regular glass but now tempered glass is being installed.  The moulding needed to be adjusted accordingly and this photo shows a floor spline, about the same thickness as tempered glass in the revised moulding.

Craig did two trial windows with the tempered glass which looks like it fits perfectly.

This photo shows a detail of the inside at a corner.  The windows raise up and latch open for ventilation.

Here is a window in the open position.  There are several stops to open the windows various amounts depending on the amount of ventilation desired.

The doors needed to be installed before the interior trim could be completed.  Here from left to right John C., Dean, Craig (on the other side), and Mike are working on the east end door.

Craig is placing the screws in the door frame.

It looks good open and closed.





Thanks to John Engs, Tom Simco and Don Atkinson for contributing photos.