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Volunteer Railroaders
1. Glen A.
2. Wimbley V.
3. Ben S.
4. Nick P.
5. Joseph S.
6. David H. Sr.
7. Mike M.
8. Tucker B.
Accomplishments
1. M4 interior finished - panels stained, trim & corners painted, seats
returned, seats cleaned, and windows cleaned
2. Machine Shop line shafts lubricated
3. Temporary air blower installed for blacksmith forge
4. New battery terminals poured for M22 locomotive
5. Engine house cleaned and organized for upcoming Fall Festival
Thank you to all our volunteers who
came out to finish some important festival prep and finish some
long-sought projects.
Saturday
A small crew of volunteers worked on various festival preparation tasks
on Saturday and Sunday. Mike worked with the museum staff and the pole
saw to trim limbs near 106 and the Car Knocker Shed. He and Robin also
installed a temporary air blower (shop vac) for the blacksmith forge for
the festival. The original shop blower bearings had seized up. With the
old blower removed, the long-term goal is to install new bearings,
repair the blower, and reinstall it in the shop. Mike lit the forge
briefly to have it ready for blacksmith demonstrations on Saturday of
the festival.
David assembled supplies for pouring new battery terminals on the M22
locomotive. He spent the morning collecting a supply list and testing
the torch kit before heading into town on the supply run.
Glen, Wimbley, Ben, and Tucker met to stain and paint the interior of
M4. Glen and Wimbley had recently installed ⅛ inch birch plywood in M4.
Glen had fabricated the windows with wood trim so that interior panels,
such as the plywood, could be easily installed. The plan worked out
quite well!
The crew went right into work after the overview briefing. Wimbley, Ben,
and Tucker gave the plywood a light sanding with a very fine sandpaper
and then brushed off the dust. They then applied a stain & polyurethane
combination to the panels with brushes and rollers. A light color of
pecan was selected to compliment the grain and light color of the birch
plywood. Glen painted the corners and crevices with a metal paint
similar to the pecan color. He then painted the wood seat supports the
same color. To help bring together everything into the color pattern,
Glen and Tucker decided to use the flat black paint from Mike’s 106 work
on the various wood trim near the doors. After applying the first coat
in the morning and allowing it to dry, a second coat was applied in the
afternoon. Ben then touched up various spots in the interior to ensure a
uniform stain. Wimbley and Ben did fine work!
Glen and Wimbley donned hard hats and oil cans and went aloft in the
Machine Shop to lubricate the various line shafts and counter shafts.
This was very precise work up in the “chicken walk” in the Machine Shop.
After oiling, they ran the shop for half an hour to ensure the machines
were in good order for festival demonstrations. Glen also used a leaf
blower to clean the Machine Shop.
Joseph used the big Hyster forklift to organize and clean up the Saw
Mill pad in anticipation of an upcoming crosstie delivery. The museum
received a Union Pacific Foundation Community Ties grant to purchase
ties for the railroad and they’ll be arriving at the museum soon. During
the course of cleanup, the forklift became stuck in mud right off the
pad. Everyone lent a hand to pull out the forklift. Through the
afternoon, Joseph, David, and Tucker worked with the all-terrain
forklift, the museum tractor, chains, shovels, and wood blocks to work
the forklift back to the sawmill pad. Fortunately, the forklift was
worked out and returned to the finished lumber shed. It will need some
attention and repair during the winter to have it back in order and
we’ll be working on it after the festival.
With the forklift freed up, David and Joseph returned to the engine
house to finish the work on the M22 locomotive batteries. Two new
terminals were poured. Wood blocks placed to space the batteries to
where they would not inadvertently contact the metal battery cover.
Sunday
Glen, Wimbley, Nick, and Tucker met Sunday to return the seats to M4,
give the Doodlebug a cleaning, and to spruce up the Engine House for the
festival. The crew made good time returning the seats and ensuring
proper spacing between them all. With Wimbley and Nick putting in the
seats, Glen and Tucker strategized on the Model T ride plan for the
festival. Not only will there be M4 train rides but Glen is bringing his
1926 Model T for rides with the ticket proceeds benefiting the museum.
This will be a festival to remember and we thank Glen heartily!
With the seats returned, the crew moved to cleaning M4 and the Engine
House. Zep window cleaner was used on all the windows, Armorall was
applied to all the seats, and even the engine cover was cleaned. Glen
took all the Engine House garbage cans and dumped them in the museum
dumpster. The Engine House was spruced up with some organization and
cleanup as well. Before leaving the Engine House, celebratory photos
were taken in the new M4 interior.
After giving the lodge kitchen a clean, the volunteers hit the road for
home. The 3rd Annual Long Leaf Fall Festival and Steam Up will be Friday
October 20 and Saturday October 21. We hope to see you there!
-Tucker "Who Dat" Baker
RR&G Road Master
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