MCRM Volunteers and Supporters:

The Mid-Continent Railway Museum Restoration Department recently completed a three-day volunteer work session that was held on August 25th through the 27th. We had a good turnout as we had (21) volunteers helping us over the three-day session.   The next planned Restoration Department volunteer work session is scheduled for September 8, 9 and 10. Plan on joining us and giving us a hand. We’re continuing to make some great progress and we would welcome your help.

Also mark your calendar to attend the upcoming MCRM Vintage Rail Car Tours scheduled for September 30th and October 1st. We’ve got a great lineup of cars on the tour this year as well as tours through the Restoration Shop. More information about the tours is available by clicking on the following link:

https://www.midcontinent.org/train-ride

The MCRM Restoration Department recently completed a three day volunteer work session that was held on August 25th through the 27th. We had a good turnout for the three day session and we averaged over (13) volunteers per day on restoration projects. The (21) volunteers that helped out for this session were Jack, Jerry F, Mike M., David P., Karl, Jeff Ha., Richard P., Peter B., David M., Jerry M., Steve W., Judy G., Darryl G., Gregg, Jane, Peter S., Ben, Sam, John T, Bob R. and myself. Thanks to this great crew we got a lot of work performed and completed. 

Following is a brief summary of the progress made during the session:

LS&I #64:

-Jack delivered four of the recently completed seat back frames that he made in his shop.
-Jack and Jerry cut and fit more of the arched window trim pieces (pork chops) on the east side.
-Mike M. installed the screws in the trim pieces.
-Larry continued to fill and sand the ends of the car and the roof overhangs. To date over 90% of the exterior epoxy repairs have been completed.
-Judy painted the back sides of the pork chops and the balance of the car siding.

DSS&A DULUTH:

-Karl scraped, filled and sanded the shade boxes for the sleeping compartment windows.
-I stained and sealed wood work on the east and west walls in the sleeping compartment
-Karl and I made an exploratory cut into the upper ceiling panel in the sleeping compartment.
-Karl installed the screws in window post trim pieces, shade box lower rails and the shade bearing blocks.
-Mike continued to take dimensions to finalize the drawings for the four interior doors that need to be replicated.
-Judy performed the final sanding on the shade boxes and the wooden dowels for the berth coat hangers
-Richard continued to remove more of the old material, nails and flashing off of the roof.

EJ&S #2 combine:

-Pete continued to work on the canvas roof replacement project.
-Pete installed a few of the clerestory windows and he applied a fourth and final coat of canvas paint.
-Gregg and Jane assisted Pete by installing some of the clerestory screen blocks that get mounted on the exterior of the clerestory area. 

Chicago and Illinois Midland #90:

-Jerry M. and Dean continued working in the observation room
-They completed installing all of the mahogany plywood in the room
-They installed the new window stop for the observation room end window
-They cut, fit and installed the window post column trim pieces
-With the above work completed the woodwork in the observation room is done and they are now moving onto the state room that is adjacent to the observation room.
-Steve W. continued to work on the electrical scope for the car. This included cleaning out the old wires in the electrical closet and creating a space for the wires to be routed through the dining room.

Copper Range #29:

– Darryl painted (cab green) the interior of the new cab windows (engineer’s side) and installed the glass in the two new window frames
-Darryl applied a final coat of black on the exterior side of the window frames.
-Darryl installed the completed windows in the cab.
-This is a nice project to get completed as the locomotive is on display and very visible to the public.

C&NW #613:

-David P. scraped and sanded the lower siding on the west side of the car
-John T and David P. painted the lower siding on the west side. 
-John T. sanded and painted the two ends and scraped the east side (in process)

Various:

-Jeff Ha. sanded and applied the second coat of varnish to the two toilet rooms in the Great Northern #3261 coach
-David M started to needle scale the trucks for the Cazenovia Southern combine.
-Bob and Richard installed the platform trap hardware on the observation end steps of the Badger #2.
-Richard, Peter S, Ben and Sam helped with the following:

1. Removed the stored steam heat and air brake parts from the Car Shop and moved them to the Storage Building #1.
2. Moved the wooden work platforms and composite wood material to Storage Building #2
3. Disassembled and removed the large metal shelving from the west wall of the Car Shop. 
4. Made a trash run to empty all of the Car Shop trash containers that Jeff Ha. moved to the north entrance door.
5.The steam heat pipes and scaffolding that were stored on the west side of the #613 car were moved and placed on the east side of the car. This was done to clean up the area around the car that the public sees.

Goodman Lumber Co. #9 Shay:

Work is progressing on installing the new jacketing on the boiler. The jacket pieces were in the process of being fitted and trimmed. By the end of the weekend all of the jacketing is in place and fastened together. Next up is to have the jacketing bands made and installed. Painting of the entire Shay will follow once all of the jacketing work is completed. This work is made possible thanks to donations from numerous donors and a matching donation by Bobbie Wagner.

That’s the latest. Thank you to all of the volunteers for your time and hard work. It is greatly appreciated!!! The next planned Restoration Department volunteer work session is scheduled for September 8, 9 and 10. Plan on joining us and giving us a hand. We’re continuing to make some great progress and we would welcome your help.

Also mark your calendar to attend the upcoming MCRM Vintage Rail Car Tours scheduled for September 30th and October 1st. We’ve got a great lineup of cars on the tour this year as well as tours through the Restoration Shop. More information about the tours is available by clicking on the following link:

https://www.midcontinent.org/train-ride … car-tours/

I look forward to seeing you at North Freedom.

Bill Buhrmaster
MCRM Restoration Dept.