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Friday, January 10, 2014

An Electroliner/Liberty Liner Comes Back To Life One Step at a Time

Dear Volunteers, Friends, and Visitors:

I am pleased to report that Rockhill Trolley Museum continues to make progress on getting the Electroliner/Liberty Liner 803-804 closer to operating status again.  A crew of volunteers displayed a high level of commitment and volunteer dedication by braving the winter cold last Saturday, January 4, to move this project (and others) forward. 

While the train is kept indoors, the building is not heated.  But work continued and considerable progress was made.

Sufficient help was available to enable work to continue both on the replacement of the resistor grids at the 804A1 end of the train (outbound on the museum's demonstration railway) as well as a general interior cleanup to make the train more pleasant to riders. 

Underneath, Nicholas Brightbill, Budd Blair, Stephen Lane, and Matt Nawn devised a method to raise the new grids into position under the train so that new mounting holes could be marked and drilled.  After a few layouts were proposed, it was found that the grids could be hung using the existing framework, which saves considerable hours that would have been needed if new framework was constructed.  The previous arrangement used 4 grid banks; the new arrangement uses three (with elements sized accordingly to provided the same levels of electrical resistance). 

Thus, by lunchtime (12:02PM to be exact), the first of the three new grid boxes was mounted in place.  By the end of the work session, the second set was laid out and all holes drilled making it ready for installation at the next session. 

The first of the new grid boxes are mounted.
 
The work underneath the train was by no means all that got accomplished, however.  Since last fall, Fred Wagner (who traveled from Rochester, NY to volunteer at this work session) has been patiently and methodically cleaning the train of all of all loose paint chips starting at the cab in the 803A (inbound) end of the train.  He continued his work this past Saturday, with Lisa Maloy assisting him as they completed the A section and worked through the B (tavern lounge) section as well.  This is dirty and tedious work but the results are impressive.  
 
Fred's dedication has a personal connection.  In his youth, he saw the trains on the day of their return to operation by the Red Arrow Lines.  Many other volunteers have a personal connection to these trains as well, myself included.  My father rode the train on the North Shore and my brother rode them in Upper Darby as we grew up a few blocks from the 72nd Street Shops where they were maintained.  There are many other volunteers with similar connections, and others who do not but simply have the dedication and desire to see it operate again.  Together, teamwork gets the mission accomplished.
 
Frank Shoop took a break from facilities projects to check on the work crew during the afternoon and offered some helpful suggestions with the difficult mounting of the second grid set. 
 
Much work remains but the train continues to get closer to operating status once again.  It will be 50 years since the Red Arrow Lines put the trains into operation on January 26.  The train will likely not be ready for operation by then, however, it might not be long after that when the world can once again ride an operating Electroliner/Liberty Liner at special events and on special occasions.  We're optimistic we can make this happen soon, barring any new unforeseen issues.
 
The work crew pauses for a photo.  From left to right: Stephen Lane, Fred Wagner, Nicholas Brightbill, Matt Nawn, Lisa Maloy, Budd Blair.  Frank Shoop took the photo.
 
More work sessions are planned for the next month; including at least a few weekday sessions.  Announcements will be posted here as well as via the RTY Maintenance Volunteer email list.
 
In the foreground is a "Strafford" car, #402, and a Liner; all types vehicles preserved and brought back to life by the volunteers of the Rockhill Trolley Museum.
 
Thank you to all volunteers, supporters, friends, and visitors who make things like this possible!
 
- Matt Nawn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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