I must say, the way the photo was shot is excellent. Just pose the car you plan to restore next to a beautiful car that's already been restored. It doesn't have to be identical, just similar. That way, the public gets an idea of what the car will look like, and understands that the organization has already done similar work, and has been successful at it. If you ask me, that just highlights what the organization can do and probably will do again.

This car looks like it's beyond any reasonable expectation of being restored, but it's eminently restorable. Our Museum's Duluth single trucker No. 78 looked worse than No. 41 when we started work on it in the mid-1980s. Of course, when it was finished it had maybe 25% of it's original material. All-wood cars are the devil when you tear them down.

Thanks!

Yup, depending totally on the capabilities of the shop and the skill of the volunteers.
I know of a large number of museums whose volunteers have skill indeterminate, because they are in search of a shop.

Folks,
for those who do not know Seshore trolley Museum is the mother museum of the movement; that have been doing street car and other modes of mass transit since the 1940s.

At present they have a paid staff of 6 in the Townhouse Shop as well as a corps of multi-talented volunteers. They can do just about anything that the original car builders did!

A trip to the Seashore Trolley Museum's web site is quite a mind opened. They have something like six projects in their shop at present.

Their members magazine Dispatch has been going since the 1950s; always a great read!

Ted Miles
Seashore Trolley Museum member

even build trucks from scratch? All joshing aside good luck this looks like it will be a nice car once it is restored.

I do not know if Seashore has built trucks from scratch, but it is possible (depending on what you are trying to make). Frequent RYPN contributor Andy Nold and his North Texas Historic Transportation group has been working to replicate a Brill truck for a Birney car (sorry, don't know the exact model number). They have casted journal boxes and other parts for the trucks. Other museums, such as IRM and the Minnesota Streetcar Museum have joined in on the "casting calls" for the various parts.

Practically nothing on a MCB style truck can't be fabricated from stock. Colorado Railway Museum built some composite narrow gage car trucks about a decade or so ago. Edwards Car Co is building new hydrostatic drive trucks for their export cars - oir at least, had them in the works last I heard a couple years ago, I'm assuming they have been done by now. It isn't rocket science.

dave

Don't forget the newer coaches for the WP&Y. They had modern-built, but very authentic looking MCB style trucks under them.

Amen! Was very impressed when I visited a number of years ago.

Robert Ashton,
FVHRS
BCER 1225 project coordinator

After dismantling the St Louis 23-E trucks on BCER 1225 we found that most of the parts were beyond restoration so we decided to, basically, have the parts made new. We did have the original blue prints and, of course, the old parts so our contracted machine shop owner was able to begin the job. We were able to seek out a foundry, and a retired pattern maker, and have new parts cast (ie brake hangers, pedestals and the side frame spacers) For the journal bearings we contacted a brass foundry to do the job. It is of interest to note that both foundries were very interested in the project and did their job for either a tax receipt or cash and a tax receipt. The pattern maker gave us a super rate for his expert work.
For those museums that have 23-E trucks and need new parts cast like I mentioned above
please let me know. We could talk about an arrangement re the patterns

Link to our truck rebuild, which include the motors and compressor:

http://rides.webshots.com/album/578005235eJNrZE

Robert Ashton
FVHRS
BCER 1225 project coordinator

http://www.fvhrs.com

My wife has cousins who live within 30 miles or so of Seashore, so when we go back east for some "old home week" visits, there's always a day trip or two to what I call the Mother Church of Electric Railway Preservation.