Friends Colorado Springs

In June of last year (2022) baggage car 163 was moved from the Antonito CRF to the Trolley Museum in Colorado Springs. The outer sills all around were badly decomposed to the point where moving risked damaging the car severely. A steel cradle was constructed and installed to support the car during the moving process.

This photo shows 163 in Antonito prior to moving. The siding and outer sill are covered with sheet metal at the bottom apparently to protect the wood from baggage carts. Part of the sill can be seen in the doorway and is in very poor condition. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Close up view of the outer sill at the doorway.

This photo shows a cradle being placed under the car for support during transport.

The doorways were covered with plywood.

The entire car was covered with a large tarp.

A crane placed the car on a flat bed truck for transport.

Unloading the car the next day at the COS worksite at the Trolley Museum.

We are next to the old Rock Island roundhouse as guests of the Museum. There is a pit under the car which allows access to the underside of the car (hard hat recommended).

When 470 left Colorado Springs the only steel under the car were the truss rods. Brakes, couplers, and trucks had to be installed. Our dedicated team spent much of the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021 in the CRF in Antonito preparing it to ride the rails safely. Don Atkinson was part of the team and kindly provided the photographs that I am using for this blog. We are continuing where we left off in September 2020.

There was one more work session the first week of November, 2020.

Randy Q. and Bill K. did most of the work on the air brakes. Here they have mounted the brake cylinder under the center of the car.

Air lines needed to be plumbed.

The trucks have been built and need to be attached to the car. Ian on the right was the go-to person on the trucks. Randy Q. is on the left and Dean in the middle.

This required fabrication of plates, spacers, etc. to achieve proper height of the car and for the trucks to rotate during turns.

The trucks attach to the car with a kingpin at each end. Ian is using a special tool to access the top of the pin.

Craig built a toolbox that will be attached to the underside of the car.

The crew took a break over the winter and resumed work sessions in March 2021. Several sessions were scheduled through May in order to have 470 serviceable by early summer. The following photographs summarize the finishing process but cannot detail the amount of work that was required to make 470 reliable and safe.

First some photos of the air brake installation.

Air lines were plumbed.

Hangers fabricated.

Tristan (on the left) did much of the welding.

One of the hangers.

The air cylinder works!

Valves were rebuilt.

Finally, the leak testing.

Dean is drilling up into the floor for a pipe for the emergency air brake relief valve. Releasing the air pressure will apply the brakes.

Manual brakes were also installed.

Parts for the rachet mechanism had to be cleaned and painted.

Here Leon is bending steel to make a lever.

A few bends later....

Ian is fitting the brake wheel to the shaft.

Bill L. is painting a brake wheel.

The trucks were built prior to the car moving to Antonito but some fitting and adapting were required.

Here Craig is sanding a support piece.

Ian is using the magnetic drill to drill into the bolster to attach a plate which will allow the truck to rotate in relation to the car.

The core of the truck crew, Ian, Randy, Dean and Craig.

Dean has a talent for drilling upside-down.

Ian is routing out a plate for the trucks.

The car is resting on the plates of the truck being supported by the bolster seen over the top of Ian's head.

The check chains were installed to keep the trucks from over rotating.

Craig is helping to assemble one of the chains.

The axles of the trucks use Babbitt bearings as roller bearings were not available prior to WWII. These are soft metal bearings that are lubricated with packing to allow the axles to turn easily.

Here Ian is packing one of the wheel boxes.

There were some issues with "hot boxes" initially when the car was moved out of the shop. Note the ballast around the rail outside of Antonito. Eventually these were mitigated and the car ran smoothly.

Installing the Janney coupler

The coupler pockets, where the inner end of the coupler is attached, were installed at the COS site. This one is painted red.

Some modifications had to be made to clear the truck. I believe this is Randy with the grinder.

The couplers are heavy. The knuckle that couples to another car is at the far end and the near end goes into the coupler pocket.

Dean and Randy are positioning the coupler while it is being attached in the pocket.

A view of the "business end" of the coupler. The knuckle is open.

Supports were fabricated to hold the coupler in position.

In this photo the coupler on 470 is slightly higher than the one on the locomotive and adjustments had to be made. See the spacer on the photo above this one. Click on photo to enlarge.