Shop Building & Machinery Improvements - Official Work Thread

[Wayne Laepple]

If there is a chance for concrete in the "old" half of Bay 1, perhaps a pit should be included, since Bay 1 is the preferred stall for the operational steam locomotive.

[Benjamin Richards]

"Dual-gauge crane rail" <---- Love it!

[Brendan Barry]

Is there any budget/priority to finish putting a concrete floor in Bay 1 this year?

There is no present plan or labor hours available to concrete bay 1 right now. Bay 1 is mostly used for parking the steam engine and really isn't used for maintenance. Putting a concrete floor in would also involve taking out all the posts between bays 1 and 2 and putting steel beams up and a center post to support the second floor . Bay 1 is supported on mudsills on all four sides right now that would need to be removed and replaced with concrete footers.

Remember we have to lengthen and widen the car barn this summer. The car barn is a priority project to get the coaches from Portland  undercover and provide us with museum dispaly space. We also have a 30' x 80' pavilion to put up at Alna Center and 2000' of track to put down this year.

OK the obvious question...why the wall work?
And the finished Car 34 woodwork looks gorgeous, Zack!

The bottom of the wall was removed last year when we put the concrete floor in. The upper portion was serving no purpose other than blocking the light in the shop.

[Wayne Laepple]

Note my comment about Bay 1 began with the word "If." What you say makes total sense to me under the current circumstances.

[Mike Fox]

Seems like a lot of insulating has gotten done in the last few weeks. But in reality it has been a very steady progress all winter. Glad to see it done. Way to go guys.

[Bob Holmes]

Thinking longer term, a new and better pit in the roundhouse would be a preferred way to go...

[Bill Reidy]

Seems like a lot of insulating has gotten done in the last few weeks. But in reality it has been a very steady progress all winter. Glad to see it done. Way to go guys.

I was thinking last Saturday when I saw the insulation work completed how many volunteer had that work taken over the winter?  Yup -- way to go guys.  Terrific job done.

[Bob Holmes]

It was largely Randy and Steve doing the high rise balancing act, and Jay doing the carpentry.  Others as well contributed.  It has been a steady weekday project for some time now...

[Paul Uhland]

Congrats on completing wall insulation. Sharp-looking sheathing/wall trim is progressing.
And you have your red wallboard lift ready for coming ceiling finish work.
Brighter ceilings will make the shop lighter, help make work easier. 

Monumental!

 

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

Well done you guys! I guess it has  been  more itchy than sexy  to insulate  such a large shop but all due to you and the potbellies it will become a nice and warm place to work all along winter. Things will come along still faster that way. 

[Keith Taylor]

I'm looking forward to seeing Wilmar on the rails at Sheepscot.

Jeff S.

What I m looking forward to seeing...is the new (at least to us!) Lodge and Shipley lathe.
Now all we need is a nice Monarch 10EE lathe for smaller work......
Keith

[John Kokas]

There's a bunch of Monarch 10EE for sale on EBay right now.  Prices vary widely based on condition and attachments.

[Alan Downey]

Keith,

I'll have some pictures of the new lathe next week, and more once it comes over to the shop. It's an incredibly nice machine. To give a sense of scale, it's a 40" swing x75" capacity machine, 15' long end-to-end, and about 13,000 lbs. Factory scraping marks are still visible on the cross feed ways.



As for 10EE's- I ran a couple while I worked at the machine shop at UT Dallas- they are fantastic machines. But I struggled to justify us bringing in a lathe that has such (relatively) limited z-capacity. They also fetch a premium if they are in good condition, and while their constant torque drive system is one of their selling points, it can be a costly repair in the event of failure. In the end a donor purchased a Monarch 12CK for us which came out of Lie-Nielsen's tool and die shop. It is in fantastic shape and will make for a nice improvement over the current "small lathe" (less wear, cam-lock spindle nose, quick change gearbox, quieter, higher top-end speed) while matching it's capacity.

[Keith Taylor]

Keith,

I'll have some pictures of the new lathe next week, and more once it comes over to the shop. It's an incredibly nice machine. To give a sense of scale, it's a 40" swing x75" capacity machine, 15' long end-to-end, and about 13,000 lbs. Factory scraping marks are still visible on the cross feed ways.

As for 10EE's- I ran a couple while I worked at the machine shop at UT Dallas- they are fantastic machines. But I struggled to justify us bringing in a lathe that has such (relatively) limited z-capacity. They also fetch a premium if they are in good condition, and while their constant torque drive system is one of their selling points, it can be a costly repair in the event of failure. In the end a donor purchased a Monarch 12CK for us which came out of Lie-Nielsen's tool and die shop. It is in fantastic shape and will make for a nice improvement over the current "small lathe" (less wear, cam-lock spindle nose, quick change gearbox, quieter, higher top-end speed) while matching it's capacity.

Alan.....this is the first I’ve heard of the Monarch 12CK coming to the museum. It sounds like a fine machine!
Hopefully the virus situation will improve and I will again be able to visit the railroad in person.
Keith

[Ted Miles]

Folks,
         Regarding the new lathe; there appears to be a second guarded motor up on top. What is the function(s) of this second motor?  I assume the regular motor is down in the base.

Ted Miles, WW&F Member