OB Got Steam?!! 09-17-09

We are at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado with Piledriver OB attached to their beautiful old 346 steam locomotive.  This is to be the second time for a successful raising of the mast and smashing of a watermelon.  OB is at the front of a maintenance of way train put together by the Museum, and was planned as a learning oportunity for the crew as well as a demonstration in conjunction with the Narrow Gauge Convention.

On the left, the mast is up and secure.  The weight was initially lowered from the upper portion of the mast to act as a weight to help raise it.  There was some binding of the weight in the track in the upper mast which will need attention, but it eventually was positioned properly.  The watermelon is in place ready for the drop.

Success!  (if you like creosote and gravel with your watermelon.)  As you can see, a couple of ties were sacrificed in the process.  The weight was raised and lowered several times, and the only glitches were the cable coming loose from the weight at one point, and some slight binding in the lower track, not completely corrected with grease.                                                          

    We were able to rotate the upper portion of OB on the base 10-15 degrees without difficulty in both directions.  We left in the late afternoon satisfied that everything worked fairly well, and thankful to the CRRM for supplying steam and experienced help with the event.

OB timeout Thurs. 9-10-09

Time out to install the new truss rod on OB at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.
We picked up the new hardware this morning, and were fortunate to have help from one of the Museum guys with a backhoe to help raise and position the rod.  Right above, inside the cab the pieces came close enough to engage the turnbuckle.  Left middle, we had to do the reciprocating saw thing again to get things to line up with the plate on top of the corner post.  Right middle, after securing the forward plate to the deck (pardon the nautical terms), and tightening the turnbuckles, the rear plate was easily pulled into place and the bolt straightened and the nuts tightened.  The lower two photos show the (straight) rod now in place, before and after painting.  She is structurally sound again, ready for steam.  More cosmetic work to come.

Woodshop

One of us (guess who) scrounged kitchen cabinets from a friend who had remodeled their kitchen, and one of us (guess who) got to take his trailer to pick them up and bring them to the worksite.  The cabinets are mounted over the workbench constructed previously from some (scrounged) doors.  The wood shop is taking shape.  Concurrently we are moving the woodworking tools and equipment from the storage trailer to the shop.

Happy campers, no?

We removed the plywood cocoon for exhibition to show the condition of the exterior.  The kitchen area constructed when it was a maintenance of way car is where the windows have been boarded up.  The remainder looks its 100 year age, although much of the wood is fairly sound.

Open House

We have cleaned house and are ready for the open house.  Access to 0252 has been provided with a platform and steps at this end, and a ramp at the other end.  The venture was a qualified success, with some visitors making it around the corner to tour the car, but publicity needs much improvement, not only to direct people to our exhibit, but to attend the event.  The number "15" is a mystery.  It was hanging on the wall inside the car when we opened it.  Another mystery: 0252 is not the original car number for the D&RG.  We hope to find evidence of that during the restoration process.

Ready for the Open House

On the right, note the etched clerestory windows.

On Sat. Aug. 22 there will be an Open House at the Trolley Museum and new site of the Colorado Springs Friends of the C&TSRR. Yesterday we worked to prepare to show our new project to the visitors, including cleanup of the interior, building steps and ramps, etc. Things are nearly ready, but for some grounds work and last minute detailing.

The interior was very dirty, with broken glass and other trash strewn around. We encountered asbestos which was sealed off until later when it can be professionally removed. Here are before and after photos of the interior, as well as the "observation platform" for visitors.

The big picture. The truck is gone, and we are moving carefully over to the pit. Amazing how two men can push and pull 40,000 pounds so easily.

Setting it down carefully. This will be the new home for the next several(?) years.