Considering the small crews allowed by the new health rules the Friends were able to accomplish a good deal of work on the 5635 (Bob Tully parlor caboose) and now we have our very own wheel press. Since the parlor car caboose is a recreation of an authentic caboose exterior used by the railroad for charters, there are more creature comforts inside like nice chairs, stained interior, lighting and the all important flush toilet. Quite a bit of upgrades as well as maintenance on the windows was accomplished by Don and his team..
In 2018 the Friends purchased an extra wheel press from Southern Calif RR Museum, (OERM) and brought it Antonito for refurbishment to operational status. A new concrete pad was poured and Chuck Decker and his teams went to the task of reassembly, They not only put it back together but installed a new seal in the ram. Russ Hanskom had fabricated a hydraulic power pack that could be detached and stored when not being used, so when all the leaks they identified are dealt with the unit should greatly speed up changing out wheels and axles on our project cars.
First batch of Antonito work session images
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2020 09:01AM by John Cole.