Very wonderful day at the shop began with Dick Glueck and James Noblini reoving the interior ladder from the original tender. This will be cleaned, primed and painted for eventual installation in the new tender. Bob DeWachter, Ed Clark, and Hanna Brooks returned to reassembly of the cab. Today this crew cut out the left cab window and hot riveted the cabside diamond plate step boards, with twenty perfectly formed rivets bringing the steel together; the first new parts of the locomotive reassembled in the "old style". Dick, Jim Armstrong, and Alex Fogg, otherwise known as "Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, and Dr. Howard", removed an additional 80 flexible staybolt caps today. James Noblini was successful in opening one of the locomotive's brake cylinders, although further examination of the condition is still required. Peter Violette made his first trip up to Maine following Covid safety protocol, and was able to clean 470's Detroit Mechanical lubricator. The unit appears to be in excellent condition, still retaining about a pint of oil from 1954!
Another long-time MIA, Kerri Davis joined us today, bringing her usual elegant cookies and fixings for PB&J sandwiches. Great to have Kerri back in the fold!
We hosted a special guest volunteer worker today as well. Mr. Richard "Dick" Otto, a member from Connecticut, vacationing in New Hampshire, and generous financial contributor, joined us around 9AM, and stayed the entire day, taking the grand tour, meeting the many workers, and learning about the engine's progress. Dick then joined in and began to lay out rivet hole locations on one side of the tender tank. We were very glad to have a member "from away" join in and get his hands dirty in the visit.
A great turn out of workers today, and plenty of excellent accomplishments to take pride in!
