Hello all,
We're currently planning on putting the tires on the railcar wheelsets on Saturday, February 7, probably in the afternoon.
This will be preceded by the assembly of the wheelsets on Friday, and fire ring set up on Saturday morning.
Anyone interested in seeing this process is invited. If the wheelset assembly drags out- some of Saturday may be chewed up finishing that process. Sunday is our backup plan to finish tires if necessary, though this is unexpected.
We won't be putting tires on No 11's lead wheelset as we have not made an axle for it yet. This will be secondary to some substantial progress on No 9.
After this, the railcar will need bearing housings, a new drive shaft and a torque tube. While still important and involved, this work is minor enough that we'll feel comfortable starting the No 9 project again.
We have full intentions of putting the railcar in service by (or during) May.
Jason