With the arrival of summer, we have completed some major work on #475, and our parlor car, Marian.


Photo by Mark Andrews

#475 entered the shop last fall for a thorough running gear overhaul. She had one crankpin replaced, quarter corrected, six of the driving axle journals turned, seven of the crown brasses replaced, The hubliners replaced, corrections made to tram, the equalizing overhauled, etc. This was in addition to the usual run of annual work that the engines see every year.





The Marian entered the shop in January to have the siding (installed in 1988) replaced with new material. While in the shop, her trucks were rebuilt, as well as general renovations and maintenance. With the new siding in place, painting and pin striping commenced to return the car to its status as the Rail Road’s premier accommodation.



#475 and the Marian were stopped at Groff’s Grove a few weeks back, while breaking in new bearings.





In the New Car Shop, the new tender tank for the Colorado Railroad Museum’s #346 is coming together. The new wooden frame for the tender is complete, and ready for the tank.

Wonderful news and photos Kelly, thank you. I was down last week and Marian looked wonderful, striping on the trucks to boot- wow! She sure looked sharp. I saw another car that had been stored in the yard and the protective siding was being removed inside the car shop. Siding being renewed or has restoration begun on another car?

Thanks!

Joshua

Kelly,

what type of spray process did you use on the 'Marian' ?

Thanks

Dave

Do you know how many miles you got out of the last running gear overhaul on 475? Do you expect to get about the same mileage out of this job?

Nice work as always.

Thanks in advance.

John Bohon

If I recall correctly, Strasburg does not spray it's equipment, but rather uses brush painting. They may use incidental spraying for things like the decorative artwork on the cars, but they do manage to get a great looking finish. Looks great!

Best,
Mike

Sorry to say, we’ll have to wait a while longer on that one. It is just having its cocoon siding replaced to protect it from further deterioration.



It’s a 2-1/2" synthetic bristle type of spray process. We were informed by a certain government official a number of years ago that we were not allowed to do any spray painting other than in a state of the art spray booth. Regardless, we found out years before that a brushed paint job was much more durable on wooden cars.



She has run up 77,359 miles since her initial restoration. I would hope to get more miles out of her this time, since a lot of the journal/crown brass wear can be traced to trying to get block grease to work, prior to converting the driving boxes to oil lubrication. Also, the first time around, we didn’t turn the tires. They had a nearly new profile left over from the N&W, and it wasn’t until the engine was in operation that we discovered that new profile or not, they weren’t round, which didn’t make for the smoothest ride, not to mention more wear and tear. Oh well, you live and learn.