Title
Weekly News October 9, 2017Description
Cyber Gremlins at Work
Halloween’s gremlins paid an early visit to the Marshall house and wreaked havoc with this week’s story. An exorcism will be performed, so things should return to normal with next week’s edition.
Work Report: On Tuesday, October 3, the Evening at the Museum program was attended by 39 people, many new to us. Our speaker was Dave Lincoln, who gave a fully illustrated talk on Delaware License plates of the past. His presentation was very well received. A total of 12 volunteers attended the work session, as follows: Ted Kamen (in charge), Dave Leon, Tom Marshall, Mike Ciosek, Brent McDougall, John Bacino, Bob Stransky, Mark Bodenstab, Dennis Dragon, Bob Jordan, Bob Koury, and Tim Ward.
The boiler plumbing continued on the Model 725. The summer air conditioning units were carried to the museum’s attic for winter storage. The ‘37 Packard was started, run a few minutes, and one quart of oil added to bring the level to the proper point (10 quarts total). An attempt was made to look inside the fuel tank for sediment build-up, but the probe could not reach the bottom. Locomotive 402 was cleaned from its runs on 10/1.
On Wednesday, October 4, four volunteers attended: Larry Tennity (in charge), Jerry Lucas, Bob Jordan, and Tom Marshall. The ‘37 Packard was driven about 7 miles, and 5 plus gallons of fuel was added. The car ran well, and should improve as it is used more. At first, the ammeter did not show “charge,” but this corrected itself after a few miles. The gas gauge doesn’t work and it is believed the problem is with the float in the tank. The tail lights remained on (which turned out to be the brake lights, not the tail lights). The car was returned to the museum.
The burner was installed on the Model 76, and it was “mudded up.” The boiler was filled on the Mountain Wagon, as it didn’t siphon following its runs on October 1. Plumbing work continued on the Model 725.
On Thursday, October 5, 6 volunteers attended: Tom Marshall (in charge), Steve Bryce, Jim Personti, Bob Jordan, Ted Kamen, and Geoff Fallows.
An attempt was made to fire up the Model 76, but the burner backfired badly due to a vapor leak at the branch forks. The burner was lowered slightly so the branch fork nut could be removed, and it appeared that the copper washers were not pulled up properly. Hopefully, this was corrected, the burner pulled up in place again, and the car is ready for further testing. The 76 windshield is presently at a shop for replacement of the cracked glass.
The brake light switch on the ‘37 Packard was determined to be defective, so a new one will be installed. Plumbing is nearly complete on the boiler for the Model 725. The water tank for the Model 607, complete with its new plastic liner, was installed, and all lines were connected.
During the week, the following progress was reported by Bob Koury on the new railroad shed: 95% of the track installation is in place, and building materials were picked up and delivered. The cinder block retaining wall for the ballast bin was brought to its final height. In addition to Bob, the following volunteers worked on this project: Mike Ciosek, Mark Russell, Dave Leon, and John Bacino. On Saturday, October 7, the boiler on Locomotive 402 was washed.
