409 Runs!

Lots of exciting news today. I was too busy to take many photos, but you'll get the picture. This will be in chronological order.

I did a few minor repairs to the 319; I installed plugs in the holes in the drip rail mentioned before, and installed the one missing trim piece. Charlie has finished sanding down the south side of the car, and today he was working on the ends. If all goes well, he may be able to start painting the 319 by Thursday!

IRM will be open to visitors starting next weekend, so we needed to clean up Barn 8. We moved the scaffold into the center aisle, and I cleaned up the 308 and 309. They're now ready for the car cleaners next week.

The 409 was moved over to the pit to get it ready for operation. The rest of the day I spent helping Stan, Joe, Joel, Rod, Warren, and Steve.

Frank and I installed the new frame for the sign box that Rich Witt had made. It looks great!

The 409's motors had to be reconnected, the compressor was checked, and we installed trolley poles, hooks, and the roof fuse. One of the line switch contacts had come loose, so this was re-attached with considerable difficulty.

During all this, I had some free time sitting on the roof, so here's a view of the 431 most people don't get to see.

Here we see Joel and Stan installing the second pole. Once this was done, we pumped up the car for the first time at IRM, checked the sequencing, and applied power for the first time. There are a few issues that still need to be addressed, but the 409 is getting close to operation!