November-December 2019

Work on the interior of 470 was accelerating as plans are to move it to Antonito in early spring.

Assembly of the seats was completed and considerable progress was made on the partitions between the seats.  Flashing on the clerestory windows progressed nicely and installation of hardware on the lower windows was begun.  Also wind damage to the protective structure was repaired.

 Dean is working on seat assembly near the end of the car.  It seemed to be easier to put one of the frames on the floor, fit the cross braces, then place the second frame on top.

 Bill L. and Don are attaching hinges to the seat and seat back.

Tom was able to take some aerial views when he was working on the clerestory windows.  (A peeping Tom?)  Don and Bill L. are assembling a seat.

Arm rests were screwed on to the frames.

The arm rests next to the walls had to be cut slightly narrower since there was no room for an overhang.

We started work at the west end of the car and this photo shows several seat assemblies in place, as well as some of the partitions between the seats partially constructed.  The photos on the seats are used for guides in the rebuild along with plans that are available, the Carbuilder's Cyclopedia, sister cars, and other sources.  The photos are also used as displays on tours that come through the Trolley Museum.

This is a closeup of the photo on the right above showing the details of the dividers between seats, the posts to support the upper bunks, the raised upper bunks, and the sliding doors in the partitions between seats.  This photo was taken of a sister car after construction and prior to delivery.

This is a view of the ladies restroom and heater areas in the southwest corner of the car.  The heater area is behind the curved wall next to the door.  In front of the curved wall will be a toilet and wash basin.

This photo shows a detail of the base of the curved wall with a grooved strip of wood that has been curved to hold the boards.  In the photo above curved pieces of wood are placed on the convex side of the wall for reinforcement.

In this photo we have moved to the other end of the car, to the area of the men's "saloon" in the northeast corner.  The partition between the hand washing area and the seat is being built.  Craig, Dean, John E. and Don are planning the next move.

This is a better view of the same partition.  There will be a seat backing up to it on this side and the men's wash station on the other side.

Another sky view showing Craig fitting the end cap on the partition.

In this photo the partition separating the men's wash station and toilet is being started.  The grooved pieces for the boards are being installed.

We began assembling the posts between the seats.  Brass castings were made on which the bunks rest when in the down or sleeping position.  Some burrs were present on the insides and needed to be filed down, which is what Bill K. is doing here.

This photo shows an assembled post.  The bottom (to the right) is screwed into the top cross frame of the seat and the top of the post is inserted into the bottom of the arch casting which is fastened to the side of the clerestory.

A close up view of the casting.  The top part of the post is square and the bottom is round.

This is a top view of the casting.  The bunks rest on the flanges on either side.  A rubber bumper goes in the smaller square hole.

This photo shows the lower part of a post installed adjacent to the ladies' lavatory.

This is the upper part of the same post.  The bunk lengths will be limited by the distance between posts.

The window hardware installation was begun.  On the window sill on the left is a latch that goes on the side of the window to hold it open.  There are several stops to have them open different amounts for ventilation.  On the right is a hook shaped handle to lift the window up which goes on the tab in the center on the bottom of the window frame.

Larry is installing the stops on the window opening.

Scott is installing a latch on the window frame.

Meanwhile Tom continues work on the clerestory windows.

When new these cars had a cord running the length hanging from the ceiling to be used to stop the train in an emergency.  Air is released from the brake lines and the train comes to a sudden stop.  The cord was suspended by leather straps with brass hardware on each end.  In this photo there are three straps between the chandeliers.

This photo shows a reproduction of one of the leather straps that will be used in 470.

A better look at the strap hardware is seen here.  The upper piece is fastened into the ceiling of the car and the pull cord passes through the ring in the lower piece.

Craig tapered the ends of the platform end sill on the east end of 470 to match photos of similar cars.  The west end was done earlier.

Now John can secure the railing on the east end.

Meanwhile, the couplers were being assembled by Russ and Patricia Hanscom in their shop in New Mexico.  I wasn't there, but this looks like a drill press on steroids, drilling holes in a 1" piece of steel.

The steel pieces with wood spacers were attached  to the coupler.

Rivets were seated with a hydraulic press.

Everything fits together nicely.

Lastly, the west end of the structure has been repaired and is being replaced in this photo.  John E. is on his way up to put the end material in place.

Here the end piece is being secured with clamps on the piping, then the top and sides will be brought over the end and tightened.




Thanks again to those who contributed photos, John E., Tom S., Don A. and the Hanscoms.