319 Report

Come earthquake, come pestilence or flood, we will not be dismayed. Well, maybe a little. I admit I was worried after the earthquake this morning at 4AM when I heard that it was centered near Virgil, which isn't far from Union. But nothing seems to have been damaged, so all is well.

I was eager to try out the locking device that Mike Alterio made for us. The prototype I gave him was made with thin plywood, so it was perhaps a little too loose. Mike's first block wouldn't fit onto the 319, but with some trimming it works fine on the 36, which has a thinner flap sticking out under the door. Here it is in place on that car. This replaces locking the car with a chain on one of the train doors, which is difficult to get at. And would really annoy our regular motormen!

The CA&E wood cars didn't have locking mechanisms of any sort, and I wanted to avoid having to modify our new cars if possible. (The 308 and 309 each have one door modified to take a North Shore coach key.) Here's a view of my locking device without the door in place; it's based on a standard latch from the hardware store. This might give you a better idea of how it works. (Patent pending) And by the way, thanks again, Mike!

I finished installing the brake rigging on the 319, and did some more sanding. Also looked at floor paint and miscellaneous things.

Frank did a great job putting primer on the drop sash, so I decided to put it back on the car to close it up. We do not yet have the correct red. I also took another side window to the car shop and started stripping it, but the orange latex paint is hard to remove.

In other news, the 409 is now in Barn 8 on 83, so 3/4 of our CA&E collection is there. That probably won't last long. The 319 should be going over to Barn 2 once the 749 comes out, so we'll have the luxury of a heated shop to work in!

Bob Kutella had a doctor's appointment today, but several of the other Wednesday crowd were out: Gerry, Charlie, Henry, Pete, John, and Mike Alterio in the signal shop. Henry is working on windows for the 409, as well as the 757.