The two timers mentioned much earlier in this thread have been installed by Fred Boyer (see first photo). We could still use a couple of additional timers, but that's for a future search. Also, Fred helped Steve Newland manhandle the "short" radiator into place (second photo) on the wall. Because of the door on this short wall, Steve and Fred were able to get this "shorty" cast iron radiator up themselves. The rest of the radiators are all longer and will require three or four members to get them mounted. But, progress continues to be made!

Les

I guess it's been a while since I posted any progress reports on Grasselli, so here are a couple of photos. The first one shows Fred Boyer sanding a windowsill up on the second floor. Also shown is a photo of Steve Newland trying to knock out a rotten windowsill on one of the first floor windows. This is the very first work we have done on the first floor!

Also, I mentioned in a previous post that we had reinstalled one of the old steam radiators. Those have now all been installed.

Les

I visited Ebay just now and noticed a US&S timer for sale. Unfortunately there are just 40 minutes left on this auction. Bids are over $100 now. Since Grasselli's timers are GRS, are you strictly looking for a GRS-made unit?

If I see one again, I'll send you a note via the back channel next time. Maybe other members of this RyPN community can help too.

Quick update. One of the things in Grasselli Tower that was taken out during the move from East Chicago to the museum, was the bathroom stall that was located in a corner of the second floor. The original wall was saved, and was put up again a while back. There is a shot of this wall in one of the recent photos showing Fred Boyer working on our windows, but I didn't make a point of mentioning it at that time. I've included a photo (below) showing that wall now. And yes, there is a toilet installed in the stall, which will be for cosmetic appearances only. The bathroom stall door has also been restored but has not yet been put up.

On a more sour note, I received the note and photo above from "rock island lines" in December advising of the auction of a US&S timer, but it was too late to contact the museum personnel in order to bid. However, I recently received a PM from r.i.l. advising of a GRS timer also up for auction and alerted the museum. Although we bid on the item, we were not successful in our efforts. A shame, as this appeared to be just the thing we needed to add to the tower. Thanks to rock island lines for advising us of the timers availability. Hopefully we might have better luck next time.

Les

Don't mention it, Les. Another GRS timer will turn up someday, and hopefully it will be donated so the museum can save its money. Thank you for the tower update. It's really starting to look good.

Greetings!

I briefly mentioned Steve Henrichs name a while back in this thread, but I must admit that I have not mentioned him enough. Steve has been doing the bulk of the interior work on Grasselli over the last couple of years. Here are just a couple of photos as examples. The first shows the first of three pipe sections that Steve found down in the first floor of the tower. We moved Grasselli before Steve joined the museum, so he had no idea what the pipes were for, but he figured it out. He cleaned and then painted them. This is the first section and it is shown where it goes in relation to the levers and boxes. The second photo shows the short connections that Steve put on these pipes and then his connecting them to the electrical boxes. No heat in the tower in the winter (February) which explains his heavy coat. Finally, he has most recently been cleaning up the peeling paint off of the towers levers and the third photo shows some of those cleaned and the new paint on a few of them. The operating department at HVRM has trained Steve as conductor and he is now also a student engineer. Don't do it Steve! Grasselli still needs you!


Les

It sure looks like the HVRM is putting my money to extremely good use !!!

One thing I'd like to point out is that when this building was in use, the toilet probably didn't work, either.

A timer up for grabs..

http://railswap.org/osc/classifieds/ind ... em&id=2050

One of the problems we have had with Grasselli is peeling paint, especially on the side of the building facing south. One of the things discussed was putting some type of siding on the building (which was actually done by the IHB when the tower was still in service) but instead, Steve Newland decided to talk to the folks at Sherwin Williams about the problem. Steve was told that our use of latex paint over latex primer was the problem, and it was suggested the oil based primer should be used under the latex finished coat. Here's a photo of Fred Boyer on the left applying the new primer and Steve on the right, applying a new coat of green. We shall see what eventually happens.

Les

I was reminded just recently that I never followed up on this photo from last May, so here are the results of Fred's work on two of Grasselli's windowsills. Sorry for the delay in replying. The sills have now been repainted.

Les

It's amazing that things come up at times when least expected. Recently, a couple of photos were given to HVRM with the intention being to display these photos up in Grasselli. The photos are all of the tower when it was still located at East Chicago on the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Most are color photos and in the years just before the tower was closed down. One however, is a black and white photo and shows a steam locomotive hauled train getting ready to pass the tower. The picture isn't really very sharp and whether an IHB engine or New York Central, can't be determined. The photo, which came from an NRHS Chapter collection, was taken way back in 1928! What is really surprising is that in the space between the second floor door and the corner of the tower are three tall and narrow windows! As you can see from the photo with this entry, that area now has just two windows! We know that the tower once had a fire, not apparently enough to cause a new building to be constructed, but certainly enough for a rather heavy remodeling. With this photo, we now know that the fire probably occurred after this 1928 photo. One day we may have to try to pinpoint when that actually happened. Must be a way to find out!

Thanks for reading!


Les

With respect to the peeling: I don't see proper prep going on there.

Take the exposed or peeling areas down to bare wood - remembering there may be white lead primer used. This is important because white lead is very hard and difficult to remove mechanically -- it comes off easily with one of the heat approaches (gun, radiant element, torch) but then produces dangerous vapors rather than dusts...

Then sand or wire-brush the surface to be sure the grain of the wood is open. If the wood is at all wet, or there is moisture in the wall behind what you're painting, get it thoroughly dry before painting. Moisture in the wood may not be as bad for latex primer as for oil, but it will cause problems when you use the 'right stuff for longevity'. I can't emphasize how important thorough surface prep is ... prepare it once, prepare it right, or be prepared to do it over...

My practice was to use one coat of THINNED oil-base primer, to soak thoroughly in, followed by one coat at regular strength to cover. Reapply to any dull spots where the wood preferentially absorbs more. Let this dry thoroughly, then apply topcoat. (I'd recommend a gloss rather than self-chalking 'house paint', but that's just me).

One of the commercial 'wood-hardening' products (remember that some are just more-expensive repackagings - so do the homework if interested) could be used in areas where there is rot or structural face damage. I love that stuff but it's more expensive for the added benefit.

R.M.E. -

Thanks. I'll pass your ideas along.


Les

Back in June 2014, it was reported in this thread that HVRM member Fred Boyer had installed the two timers that the Indiana Harbor Belt had given us. A photo of the installation in Grasselli at that time is shown in the first photo. Last year when the IHB's Dolton Tower was taken out of service, the railroad donated 5 additional timers. Steve Henrichs, Mike Healy and I, finally installed those additional timers in Grasselli today. The photo of all seven of the installed timers is included in this update.

Les

What are these timers called? "ring-Down" I think was a name told to me once by a former PRR operator.