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CAR DEPARTMENT WORK ORDERS - 2011
by Rick Henn
| 1/2011 - "The Blue Flag" The coaches have been “put to bed” for the winter after another successful excursion season. These cars continue to impress the people that show up for rides, often not knowing what to expect. There is a wide range of excursion equipment out there. The comments are almost always positive, especially for the smooth ride and the comfortable seats. In fairness, some of the credit for the smooth ride goes to the Falls Road Railroad and to Genesee Valley Transportation. The railroad is very well maintained and the track is in excellent condition. The train crews do an amazing job at providing a good ride time after time. People are amazed when they hear that the cars are over sixty years old. The longevity of the card is due to the quality of their construction by the Budd Company, both in workmanship and materials used. I also must give a lot of credit to the members of the Car Department, from those who are there all of the time to those that get out when they can. The cars would not look as good as they do, nor would they run as well as they do, without the many hours the members of the Car Department put into them. It becomes difficult to work on the cars in the winter mostly because they can not be kept warm, so there can be no painting done and things like floors cannot be replaced, although this would be the ideal time to be able to do those kinds of jobs. It is often hard to plan certain kinds of work between trips during the excursion season because we have to be certain that we have finished so that the car can run. There are no spares currently. That means that every job has to be planned so that it can be started and completed within a day, especially if the job would leave the car exposed to the weather or vandals if it were not secured again. So things like windows cannot be left partially done and finished the next time. They must be finished and reinstalled. Next season will see one major and costly project when a wheel set is replaced. This means hiring Winters Rigging to come out with its big crane to lift the cars so the lead wheel can be removed and the new one rolled into place. We have been able to put this off, but now the wheel must be replaced. This will also be a year in which we do some major window replacements. The polycarbonate windows are virtually unbreakable, which is a big plus when there are little vandals about. However, they decompose with extended exposure to sunlight and eventually reach a point at which they become nearly opaque instead of clear. As we go through the cars and make our list of things that need to be done, I am quite confident that there will be enough to keep the guys busy all summer. We could use some new hands to help with this work. One perk of being part of the Car Department is that it gives you the opportunity to also come out and work the trains as a car attendant or conductor. So, if you have ever dreamed of working on the railroad, this is your chance. |
| 3/2011 - "The Blue Flag" Work on the coaches, while usually slow in the winter, ground to an unexpected stop this year. It was a “good news, bad news” scenario. The Falls Road Railroad needed to use the siding the cars had been stored on because a company there was going to start taking deliveries from the railroad. That is certainly good news for the railroad. Hmmmm….., it just occurred to me that that this is what happened on the last siding where the cars were stored. Maybe there is a fund raising possibility here. We store the cars on a siding and it becomes profitable for the railroad and we get a cut. Maybe I can get some mental health help, even thinking of such ideas. So the cars were moved to the ethanol plant east of Medina. This was very nice on the part of the plant management because they certainly didn’t have to do it. The good news for us was that the cars would be safe. If you recall, they were vandalized to the tune of $1,000.00 last winter. The bad news was that we could not have work parties on the plant property. I am sure this had to do with insurance and liability, and it was perfectly understandable. We are trying to work out an arrangement that will allow at least a couple of us access to the cars a couple of times over the remainder of the off season to run the generators and charge the batteries. Coach 2933 remains in Medina, but in a different place. I drove out to check on 2933 and it looked a bit lonely. It is on a siding that is virtually inaccessible now because there are no roads to it and there is too much snow to get to it easily. Looking to the upcoming work season, it will be more of the same as far as maintenance on the equipment. It never ends. Keeping 64 year old equipment up to acceptable standards for the customers and the FRA means a lot of ongoing work. The largest cost items for the year for the Car Department are the replacement of a wheel set under coach 2918 and the replacement of the polycarbonate in the sliding windows on the south side of the train. The constant exposure to the sun takes a heavy toll on the polycarbonate. There are other things that should be done or could be done, but the biggest reason they do not get done is not money. The biggest reason is manpower. The work sessions are generally fun, and becoming part of the Car Department is a direct route to becoming part of the Safety Crews that staff the various excursion trains. Contact me at rh1027@aol.com if you are interested and I will let you know when things start happening. As I have said before, you don’t have to come with any particular skills or tools. All you have to do is be willing to work. The next newsletter will come out in May and by then, things should be moving along. For one thing, it will be time for Thomas the Tank Engine to make his annual tour of Medina, and I’ll be looking for Safety Crews to man the trains. Let me know if you want to help. This event accounts for 25% to 35% of the income for the cars, so it is very important. Hopefully, the weather will be warmer by the time you read this. I think it was 8 degrees, the last time I checked the thermometer. So, until next time, take care and get ready for another great year. |
| 5/2011 - "The Blue Flag" By the time this goes to press and you are able to read it, the Car Department will already be into a new year of work projects and work sessions. Many projects have already been identified, while some will unfold as the season moves forward. By the time you read this, the coaches will be completing another season of hauling thousands of people for the “Day Out with Thomas” event in Medina. In general terms, this should be a year in which many things previously put “on hold’ can finally be crossed off the ”to do” list. A full slate of excursions has been planned, first clustered around “Thomas” and then in the late summer, fall and early winter. This should leave a lot of free time to take care of projects such as closing up the cars in Lackawanna and cleaning out the Hamburg work site. Over the past years, there has just not been enough time to take care of these things. Now, it would be a big help if the Car Department had a few more members. As I have said before, many projects don’t require a lot of money to be completed. They need people to do them. One completed job was the checking of the wheels on the passenger cars to be sure they were still legal and had not reached any condemn limits. Joe Kocis and I found the cars tucked in between two rows of covered hopper cars at the ethanol plant east of Medina. The wheels are OK, which is good news. In fact, any wear from last season was minimal. Unfortunately, the cars were not safe from vandals, and three of the cars were tagged. Number 2932 was painted on nearly half of one side of the car. |
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