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Welcome to the BLRHS Online Newsletter: The HIGHBALL
BLRHS Schedule Board
February 19, 2012 Frosty Rails train show from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at
the Shenango Township Volunteer Fire Department in
New Castle, PA.
April 14, 2012 Our first business meeting of the new year. If the
weather is favorable, the meeting will be at the station. Otherwise, it
will be at a location that will be announced prior to April 14.
BLRHS Bulletin Board
Long-time member Bruce Kelly passed away on
Nov. 4, 2011. The society made a monetary donation in Bruce's memory to
the Lawrence County Humane Society. Mary Kay Downing,
wife of Tom Downing, passed away on December 1, 2011. The society made a
monetary donation in Mary Kay's memory to Uplift International.
Nick D'Amore's father passed away on December
25, 2011. The society will make a memorial donation when further
information is received from the family.
Don Harper was elected vice president of the society during the business
meeting portion of our annual banquet on November 14, 2011.
Its dues renewal time. The primary membership is $30.00 and each
additional family member is $5.00. Please note we have not increased the
amount for this year. If none of your information (email, phone number,
and address) has changed, simply make your check payable to BLRHS and mail
it to BLRHS, West Pittsburg Station, 2114 RT.168, Box 429, West Pittsburg,
PA 16160-0405. Please put any changes to your information (address, phone
number, e-mail) on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your
check. Membership cards will be sent upon receipt of dues.
The next Highball will be published on or about March 1, 2012.
The editor must receive all information, articles, and pictures for
that issue by February 15, 2012.
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Highball
A publication of the
Beaver-Lawrence Railway
Historical Society
PO Box 429
West Pittsburg, PA 16160
Officers:
Wes Maycock President
Don Harper Vice President
Regis Kuntz Treasurer
Sharon DeVite Recording Secretary
Directors:
George Alberti
Don Gee
Clark McKim
Editor:
Barry Householder
Assistant Editor:
Laurie Mailki
Website:
www.blrhs.org
E-mail Address
contact@blrhs.org
The Highball is published six times each year and serves as the newsletter
of the Beaver-Lawrence Railway Historical Society (BLRHS). All submissions
regarding BLRHS activities and regional railroad operations are gladly
accepted.
Those who wish to submit material must do so no later than 15 days prior
to publication. All submissions are subject to editing for length and
clarity.
The BLRHS is a non-profit historical
organization under Section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code.
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Joe Jack and John Fishovitz saw some
ex-BLRHS rolling stock in Hamburg, NY on August 22, 2011.
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Brookville Project Report by Nick D'Amore
The Brookville crew generally takes December off due to the demands of the
holiday and hunting seasons. It's also a nice break at the end of each year. The
Brookville was first moved into the shop on Veteran's Day.
This year, we are also at a natural break point... the drive systems are now
complete and we were able to move it to the rear of the shop under it's own
power. The remaining mechanical work needed is to re-plumb the vacuum brake
lines. Originally they were a mixture of copper pipe and hose; we attempted to
use exclusively hose but found that the suction of the vacuum would pull the
hose in and block it. Therefore, we're going back-to-the-future and running
copper piping with hose used only to make connections between pipes, to allow
for flexibility and avoid breaking a solid pipe from constant vibration. The
other remaining mechanical item is to have a small leak in the upper part of the
radiator repaired; this will probably require the radiator to be at least
drained, but more probably removed and taken to a shop. I could use
recommendations on a shop; Bruce had earlier taken it to a shop for testing but
I can't locate any invoice with the shop name on it.
When these last under-the-floor items are complete, we can build the new floor
and upwards from there. The frame extensions and 'knee knocker' walkway brackets
are ready to install, after which will follow the walkways and then floor. The
floor will be screwed into the joists, which themselves are bolted to the main
steel frame in about 10 locations. The joints are all mortised to hold together
and provide strength.
Also, we have to make final adjustments to the brake gear. There was a little
softness when I tugged the handle under power, but the brakes did stop it in
time.
Station Project Report by Don Harper
Exterior - Carl Kinkade and several others spent about 2 weeks removing tiles,
patching holes, laying down OSB, and installing roll roofing on the west facing
roof.At the same time, the trim and window frames of the two west facing dormers
were cleaned of old paint, primed and painted P&LE green. All 6 east side knee
braces were finished. To date, the fascia and crown molding and knee braces on
the south end and east side have been painted P&LE green.
Interior - Carl Kinkade, Don Harper and Barry Nelson are working on the
renovation of the women's waiting room. Carl built a temporary wall with doorway
to enclose the entrance to the room. He knocked down all the lath and plaster
from the ceiling and then we installed fiberglass insulation between the joists
and installed drywall on the ceiling.
N5c Project Report by Rege Kuntz
After the arrival of the caboose on September 8th, I spent the next week
covering all the windows with plastic film to keep out the weather, doing some
cleaning inside the car, and planning how best to attack the project. Then began
the process of finding all the leaks where the rain was getting into the car.
There were a number of leaks on the roof and some around the windows. I
addressed the window leaks first since they were the easiest ones to remedy.
Most of this work was caulking and
tightening of screws. The horizontal seams on the outside on both sides have
been welded and primed. The seams on the east side have been coated with Bondo
and sanded. The roof was a bigger challenge. There were three areas were the
water was getting in and I concentrated on these areas first.
Over the years, the railroad, probably Conrail, was patching the roof with what
appeared to be heavy layers of a thick, trowelable type of roofing cement. There
were many cracks in this stuff and the water was finding its way into them,
causing some of it to break loose which was actually trapping the moisture
underneath the cement. This material was very hard to remove! In fact, I had to
actually use a hammer and a heavy duty putty knife which I would sharpen with my
grinder as it
became dull, and chisel the stuff to get it off! I was also using my angle
grinder with a knotted wire cup brush to get down to the original Tuscan Red
roof finish. This was a long and tedious project which took many trips to West
Pittsburg. Fall was in the air and I was now competing with the weather. My plan
was to scrape the roof clean to make sure I would be able to find every crack
and seam where water was getting in the car. I also wanted to expose all the
riveted seams that were made when this car was built in the Pennsylvania
Railroad's Altoona Shops in 1942. This caboose will be 70 years old next year!
This feat took me into the end of October.
My plan was to now seal the roof before the cold weather started. I decided to
coat the complete roof with PittGuard, a product manufactured by PPG Industries.
PittGuard is a two part epoxy product with a DTR (direct to rust) designation.
This stuff loves rust! We actually used this paint on the under frame of the car
when we first started the renovation. PittGuard comes in one gallon cans of part
A and part B. The product is mixed together in equal parts and is applied with a
brush.
I now had to slay a new "dragon", the colder temperatures of late October and
November. PittGuard can only be applied in temperatures above 35 degrees
Fahrenheit and needs to set before the temperature drops below that figure. One
has to also be aware that this product has a 4 hour " pot life " meaning that it
will dry hard right in the mixing bucket if it is not completely used in 4
hours. It seems to actually be able to tell time! Also, you don't clean the
brush, you throw it away. A polyester bristle brush can't be used because the
epoxy dissolves the bristles. Only a natural bristle brush will do the job. I
finally finished this part of the project before taking the week off for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
I am now concentrating on painting the floors in the closets and the bare metal
walls inside the car where the paneling and insulation was removed . The plan is
to install the plywood sub-floor during the winter. The temperature will
determine how much painting with PittGuard can be accomplished since we will
have to heat the car with the propane heater and paint quickly before the car
cools. PittGuard is highly flammable and can't be used where there is open
flame. Ventilation is another
problem because the fumes can be toxic. We will also be addressing the missing
window rings which accept the rubber gaskets that hold the glass in position.
There is much to do but we will keep pressing onward.
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