Today was a busy day, and the spring maintenance has begun!
I got the carbons changed (they wear really badly, and I need to check them midway during the operating season in the future), and the journals were oiled. It's not a huge amount, but its still an important part of the inspection. (A bad carbon or damaged trolley shoe can take down the overhead.) Checking the trolley is the one thing on the inspection list that should never be put off (especially because it takes about 20 minutes to do an entire car, with a bit of practice.)
I had some free time before lunch, so I sandblasted one of the taillight covers and primed it so its ready for installation (#5 on the main to-do list/budget.) Cost : $0. (Had the primer.) I also did two small door parts as well (#1 on the list.)
After lunch the car was going to be used for some shifting, but the plans changed and I was left with some free time, and the can of white paint. Looking inside the car, the end that I primed in the fall was looking a little sad. Time to get the primer topcoated before it gets all dirty. (#3 on the main to-do list.)
The end looks really good now! The white primer looked okay, and sorta streaky, especially going over some of the old gray paint. The topcoat of white covered beautifully, and took away all the streaks and dried quite well. The end vestibule now has a new coat of white paint on the window frames, the dashboard behind the controller, and parts of the ceiling. I'm not painting over any of the original wood and cracked varnish unless the T sloped a coat of gray paint over it. The cracked varnish is a part of the cars 102-year history, and I'm not about to paint over it.
I'll try and take some photos of it in a week or two to post. It's amazing how much cleaner the painted end looks compared to the non-painted end. A few dollars and some elbow grease really paid off, although I did use up the last 3/4 of a quart of paint that I had. On the other hand, I've now got a good working estimate on how much paint I'll need for the other end.
Looking at the pole and roof equipment, I'd like to get the poles touched up sometime soon. (#2 in the budget list.) The snowplows in particular suffer a lot of dewirements (since they often run under the worst wire), and the trolley poles get a little dinged up here and there.
Thats all for now - the yearly maintenance is coming along well, and I got some serious work done on one of the main summer items for the car.
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