Good number of dedicated workers attending to, moving us towards getting the tender back in configuration.
Bill Alexander has shaped and located all the planks for the tender deck. Clayton has almost completed all aspects of the brake lines under the frame. Today, Hanna started out by priming the angle bars which run alongside the tender deck. Jim Armstrong rejoined us for the season and got the equalizer bars completely primed. To our great surprise, the tender brake cylinder is perfect inside, even after standing for 70 years without attention. It has been opened and Dick and Kerri removed the old paint from the barrel and ends using "Lead Out" paint stripper. It later went outdoors to get the rough granules off under the care of Timm Steele.
Dick and Jim further removed residual paint from the original tender doors. Kerri provided a delicious lunch for the crew, complete with strawberry shortcakes, oatmeal cookies, and a chocolate pie. CMO Leverett Fernald worked on building up the worn area of the #1 tender truck pedestals using braze and a torch. Mechanic Ron Jenkins worked with Timm Steele to begin the jacking up of the tender tank body.
Bob DeWachter and Hanna cut, drilled, and bolted some more of the cab together. Hanna discovered a steam tube in the mechanical lubricator has a split from freezing with water in it, probably decades ago. Tender doors now need primer.
