Hello All,
It has been pointed out that there are many individuals that do not follow our progress via Facebook, so I thought I would post a few photos of our recent progress here.
This project has been a long, drawn out endeavor, and it is still on-going. We never anticipated being involved in this restoration for over five years, but so it goes with a wood car that has been outdoors for almost 80 years after 30 years of hard service, using volunteer labor, and having to acquire/borrow all the required tooling. This restoration is focused on bringing Caboose 1006 back to the condition where it COULD operate. Even if it never does turn a wheel on an active railroad, rebuilding the car to the level of operational standards will ensure it's survival past our lifetimes, which is what we want. We are committed to seeing this project through to its completion! I must express our gratitude to the organizations that have supported us and been patient with our slow progress. This includes the Town of Silver Plume, the Georgetown Loop Railroad, the Colorado Railroad Museum, Hi-Strength Bolt Company of Denver, and many individuals.
The following photographs show the progress of the past year.
Regards,
Shane Schabow
Secretary
Colorado & Southern Railway
All of the White Oak we have purchased for the caboose has been reclaimed timbers (reclaimed has been our only viable source for the required dimensions). Because of this, the wood is not perfect and has checking, cracks, and pre-existing holes and voids. We have utilized an Epoxy to fill these areas and keep out moisture and insects in the future. This photo shows Will Gant filling cracks in the new end beams. This same process will be employed on our new Draft Gear Beams.
Product used for filling cracks/voids
End Beams after epoxy has cured and been sanded. It was a shame we had to paint these - they were beautiful as oiled oak!
End Beams after epoxy has cured and been sanded. It was a shame we had to paint these - they were beautiful as oiled oak!