0 110 in the Shade

"110 in the Shade" is a slight exaggeration, but the weather today certainly made me think of an old musical we did in high school. The 308 and 319 were running in service, and everything seemed to be going well. Dan Buck, Chris Buck, and Henry Vincent were the crew, and they passed on the opportunity for a picture. I went for a ride, along with my old friends Bob Olsen and John Naglich, who were likewise trying to escape the oppressive heat. So that was fun.

We now have nice new 48-star flags for the cars, too. Don't miss the Trolley Pageant this Saturday!

Ray Pieschuk made a sign for the LSE 150, and the only real thing I accomplished today was to make the wood frame to mount the sign on the car. It looks good -- thanks, Ray! I also spent some time sorting parts and cleaning up the car, since I have a fan, but that didn't last long.

Speaking of the pageant, we will have two more cars running for the first time under their own power! Cars 2153 and 2154 were running around the loop for testing and training, using their newly-installed trolley pole.

It sure is hot out here. Let's step into the Art Train display car, where it's nice and cool, and see what they have on display.

On the left, we see a section on RPO's and mail clerks, including a streaming video in the upper left. Have a seat and watch it for a while.

On the other wall, there's a large collection of builder's plates, from many different locomotive manufacturers.




Under development is a section about Chicago railroad stations. Here's a lighted departure board from Union Stattion, showing trains such as the Broadway Limited.

And there's more information about the many stations in the city.

Work on other projects continues, mostly in the air-conditioned shop. Here we have a quilting party: it looks like the guys are making sweaters to keep everybody warm. Actually, they're making up waste bundles for the axle caps and armature bearings on the 1797. You might have thought that the lubrication was provided by just stuffing random handfuls of waste into the available space, but not so! It works much better if the yarn is carefully stretched, cut to length, and tied up into nice neat bundles. Then you don't get waste grabs, and the bearing surfaces are lubricated evenly and reliably. Come on out and join the party!