Weekend Report - Another Prosperous Working Weekend!

Click on each image for a closer look!
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Saturday
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It was another great Saturday effort by our intrepid volunteers as we:

• Almost completed the east wall of the TH&B caboose; We expect to install its tongue and groove planking next week.
• Continued restoration of the F7 progressed steadily
• Were able to “bar over” (turn over manually) the big V-16 two-stroke diesel engine in our GP7 #4803.
• Installed the new radiator, bolted it down and added the necessary hose connections.
• Used the forklift to push the crane outside so that we could ask the engine if it wanted to start. Only slightly to anyone's surprise this old Detroit 6V53 fired and ran on the first turn of the crankshaft! Typically of a cold two-stroke motor it was a little smoky at first but once warm ran with a clean, clear and loud exhaust. A very minor amount of remedial work on the air system gave us working brakes so we motored it out of stall 16 and on to the turntable under its own power. All hydraulic motions seemed to work except for the boom up winch so a little investigation into the cause will be needed next week.
• Applied Primer paint to the lower five feet of the roof support columns. These will be finished in gloss black paint to cover the remains of the tar CP applied years ago.

There was a vast crowd watching after the ball game ended as we pulled 4803 out of stall 15 near the end of the afternoon so we grandstanded a little by taking the turntable for a spin. Everyone seemed to enjoy that.
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Sunday
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On Sunday work continued to refine the operation of the miniature railway. As seen in the attached pictures, we had both steam locomotives fired up and operational, another milestone.
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Posting by Michael Guy; Pictures by Allan Bradshaw & Lance Gleich
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