March 2020

We were able to accomplish a few things in early March before the shutdown of operations of the Friends due to COVID-19.  The sliding doors between seats were installed, the interior woodwork was sprayed with a clear sealer and there was progress on installing the clerestory windows.

For spraying the seats and hardware, etc., were taped off and covered.

The wood was wiped with tack cloths.

Craig did the spraying with Mike helping mix and pour.

It was a water based sealer but Craig wore a protective respirator.

Here is some of the door installation crew.  Dean is seen through the opening, John C. is removing tape from the masking, Craig is next to the right, Larry in the background, and John W. to the right.  The wood is more reflective after the sealer was applied.

Craig made the doors in his shop.

John E. is installing the brass hand-holds.

Dean is fastening down the upper track.

This photo shows the door in place, partially open, with the brass hand-hold.  The hand-holds all face in the same direction on both sides of the car according to photos that we have.

This photo shows one of the doors in the closed position, providing privacy between the berth areas.

We made good headway on the clerestory windows.  Some of the hardware is mounted, most of the pulls and some of the ratchet hardware for holding the window open is installed.

We had an assembly line going for the hardware mounting.  Mike on the left, Don and John E.

I was marking and drilling holes.

Mike and Don are applying the moisture barrier to the pillar between clerestory windows.

This photo shows the window opening from the inside of the car.  The moisture barrier (gray and black) is wrapped around the framing of the window and a wood block fastened over it.  See previous post for a view of the outside.

Dean and John C. are fitting a window.  Each one had to be custom fit.

This photo shows a window in place with hardware installed from the outside of the car.

A closeup of the hardware.  Originally the window could be tilted open toward the inside of the car and the notches in the fan-shaped piece would hold it open to various degrees.  It has been decided that these windows will not be opened but will retain the original look.

This is a view from the inside of the car.  The brass pull is on the upper part of the frame.

Craig was also able to get the clerestory window screen frames primed.

We had a "mini" work session in Craig's shop to make the berth platforms.  He had a piece of plywood cut to the size and shape of the platforms with a panel saw.  There was some slight variation in sizes of the different platforms so each was labelled.  We first laid out the three frame pieces, one at each end and one in the middle.  Craig and Dean are starting a new platform.

The edge piece was clamped in place, then the first board nailed to the cross members.

More boards were added and nailed.

When all the decking was in place the platform was turned over and additional framing nailed in  place along the edge.  The initial edge piece, now on the underside, was secured with nails.

Craig, with Maggie's help, continued on subsequent days to finish the berths.







Now we are "paused."  What happens going forward I don't know.  I will not be able to go to Antonito so this blog may or may not continue.  If I can get photos and updates I will be happy to post them.  Stay tuned.

ADDENDUM:   The weather has been good and while maintaining social distancing/staying home guidelines, Craig has kept busy.  He sprayed the upper berths with clear sealer.  This photo shows them drying.

He also obtained some bronze screen material and mounted it in  the clerestory screen frames.

January-February 2020

The start of the New Year saw an increase in the number of work sessions in order to ready 470 for the move to Antonito in the spring.  Plans are in place during 50th anniversary celebration of the C&TS to run 470 on special trains, so not only must we finish the interior but trucks, brakes, couplers, etc. must be installed, the latter being done in Antonito.

Work continued on installing the ceiling.  Here Mike (nailing) and Don are at work.  It helps to be tall for this.

 Subsequently Don worked on the ceilings in the lavatories.  The holes for the vents had to be made so the vents were vertical.

Then the ceiling boards fitted around the holes.

Looks good from below.

Continuing with the lavatories, this is a view of the partitions in the men's area.  The toilet will be located in the far area on the right and the hand washing area is on the left behind the seat.

Craig is finishing up the toilet area.  The door is hung, and he is closing off the area over the door.

They are not very roomy, but no worse than an airline lavatory.

A view of the area over the door.

Men's toilet in place.   Looks good, but non-functioning.

This is the hand washing area next to the toilet.  There will be water tanks for washing and drinking on each side wall.  A sink will be located in the middle of the platform.

The women's lavatory is nearing completion.  It is less "luxurious" than the men's, i.e. the toilet and hand washing facilities are in the same small space.  A heater is located in the corner behind the entrance door to the car.

Here is a detailed view of the area over the door.

Craig made doors for the lavatories and is hanging the one on the ladies' in this photo.

The toilet is installed.

The hand washing facility on the opposite wall to the toilet.

The door hardware looks authentic and was available online.

Now on to the partitions between the seats.  First the posts were installed.  A double ended screw was placed in the top cross member of the seat.  Here Craig is using a needle nosed vise grip to turn it in.

Then a brass cap was placed over the screw.

A hole was drilled in the bottom of the post and it was rotated over the screw until it was seated in the brass cup.  Here Bill L., Craig and John E. are doing the turning.

The cast iron arch was then screwed to the wall.

Bill L. is checking the plumb, Craig the stability, I guess.

The partitions between seats are mostly in place, but incomplete and supported temporarily by boards cut to length.  The posts will provide permanent support for the inner part of the partition.

Trim pieces were nailed to the posts above and below the brass fitting.  The upper one will help support the partition while both will help close the opening when the sliding doors are in place.  Don is doing the fitting an nailing.

This photo shows how the post is supporting the upper boards of the partition with a piece of wood extending from the post to the underside of the boards.

The space under the arch is filled with boards cut to the form of the arch and routed to fit in the groove of the arch.  These were pre-made and glued together.

The arches were loosened and the panels inserted, then the arches replaced.

Here is a closeup of the upper post and partition.

The sliding doors in the partitions between the seats were made by Craig in his shop.

There is a routed out hand hold to slide the doors open and closed.   A brass fitting will be placed in it to finish it off.

Metal track will hold the doors in place.  The lower track is a squared off "U" shape and the upper track is "Z" shaped.

Here Dean is screwing the lower track in place.

In this photo a door is in the open position.  The upper track has not yet been fastened in.

This is the closed position.  The gap along the post will be filled with a trim piece.

This photo shows the door partially closed with the brass hand hold installed.

The arm rests were installed on the seats.  Here John C. is using a right angle drill in a tight spot.

The arm rests against the outer wall had to be trimmed slightly since there was no room for an overhang.

Those on the aisle are a bit wider.  They all  have an interesting grain pattern.

The curtain rods to hold the curtains covering the berths were made from pipe fittings.  A coupling with the threads removed on one end was place over the protrusion on the base of the arch and the pipe screwed into the other end.

The installation process was a coordinated effort by tall people.  John E. and Larry are at work here.

Getting the geometry right for the upper berths was a bit of a challenge.  They had to rest on the brass fixture on the posts when down as well as clear the curtain rods above and meet the edge of the clerestory where they will be fastened when raised.  Craig made a partial pattern to check the dimensions, here in the down position with the hinge held in approximate location on the wall.

This photo shows the pattern in the up position.  It looks like it will work.

Next a full sized prototype was made.  The outer framing is in place here.

Platform boards were added and the completed berth looks like this in the down position.

This photo shows the up position and it looks like it fits.

The berths rest on pads which have been inserted into the cavities in the brass casting.

The pads were cut from mounting material (think motor mounts) and inserted over spacers to get the correct depth.

Drawings of the hardware are available and this photo shows the hook catch that holds the berths in the up position.  There will be a ring fitting on the berth to fit the hook.

The catches have been cast, thanks to Ron S.  In this photo the hook is in the up position to  release the berth.

Tom has the flashing on the clerestory windows completed.

Next is installation of  water and ice dam material around the pillars and into the window openings.  Wood blocks are then placed over the dam material as shown here.

The window frames had to be individually fitted into the openings.

This was mostly a two person job, here Tom is on the outside and John E. inside.

Finally, John E. assembled a couple of the pull cord straps.

This fitting on one end is screwed into the ceiling of the clerestory.

On the other end is a ring with a roller on it for the pull cord to be passed through.  There will be several of these along the length of the car.





Thanks again to John E., Tom and Don for contributing photos.