Copia Specialty Contractors began sandblasting the 470's tender frame on Tuesday, May 5th. During an interlude in work, NESCo president Dick Glueck was permitted to inspect what had been accomplished. What you are seeing here is the coupler end completed, including the organic accumulation, glass, stones, inside frame pockets removed.
The metal that has been completed, including the underside, is gray, and only has a reddish tinge because of the particulates that have settled. The blasting has revealed a few tiny bubbles in the original steel casting, but nothing larger than a pencil point. As you can see, the blast tent is enclosed, including the floor. Tomorrow the technician is going to clean and tape over the truck pins and supports, then blast around them. Thursday should see the drawbar end completely cleaned. As soon as the dust is gone, they will be priming the whole frame.
