Kelly,

Took the shop tour yesterday. Seems few other places where a visitor can get a tour quite like that. Strasburg sure has filled up the new space quickly. Looks like you could use another 100 feet or so.

During the tour, there was a set of large drivers on the wheel lath, getting the wheels turned. Question. Once the wheels are turned, and the new tires installed, do the new tires have to be turned/profiled as well?

Thanks in advance.

Bob Bunge

Absolutely fascinating - I could drop both the "History Channel" and the "Discovery Channel" and just follow these threads. Thanks for the effort and the share!

Question, if I might - with the second image featuring the wheel set for FEC No. 148, you state: "The smaller axles (along with a need for improvement in the design of the tire fits) resulted in new cast steel wheel centers needing to be made. Here they are, pressed onto their axle." The spokes look original, though that could just be unpolished casting? What in that shot is new vs original? Or simply - what makes up a "wheel center"?

/Mitch

Mitch -

See the next to last pic in Kelly's 3:42 PM post (four fresh castings on a pallet). The center is the one-piece casting that spans from axle face to tire mounting face. The rims (the outer ring where the tire mounts) and hubs (inner ring where the center mounts to the axle) are shiny because they are freshly machined. The spokes look 'old' just because they are oxidized.

In the wheelset pic, everything you're looking at is brand new.

Saw a lot of potential references to a certain red 4-6-0 in these posts ;)

Thanks for posting. Always awesome to see.

Hi
I have a question for the Strasburg Shop, in the last photo showing the entire shop, I saw a set of drivers by the welding and steel equipment, which locomotive to they belong to? Thank you.

.

Sorry about that - I'd forgot the very first pic where Kelly mentioned the axles were modified. Brain is running out of steam nowadays.

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Kelly,

Watching the switching action last Friday, we noticed this interesting "covered" flat car:



Can you disclose what is hiding beneath? Perhaps the famous alien spacecraft from Area 51 awaiting new interstellar injectors? :-)

Bob

Ever thought about putting up a web cam in the shop so we can follow the work live?

All,
The Passenger Car which is shown on PAGE 1 is it Buffalo and Susquehanna Combine 35, http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2603167 is it a different car?  I would like to have my Historical facts straight.
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Mr. Starr

top notch work as always!

The same question was asked when I did the tour recently. The answer is decidedly unexciting. The car holds "code" stock: pipes, plates, etc... used in the making of boilers. It's stuff that's too big to store in the shop but shouldn't be left out in the elements.

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