Plus, presumably HVRM let someone interested in the car do the paint work on his own. All of us at some point have volunteered somewhere and taken an interest in a particular project, only to be told "it is down the list on our timetable- why don't you organize the shelves here if you are looking for something to do?" Being able to imagine the work plan it and then complete it on one's own really helps the motivation to volunteer.

PMC -

The "someone" you mention as working on NKP 344 is Mark Knebel. Mark is a long time member of Hoosier Valley and served on the Board for many years, including the museum's Secretary position. He decided to take a break from that activity and instead now concentrates his energies on painting equipment and other museum items.

Mark spent July 3rd painting the second side of the baggage car (first photo) and stated he had about 1 and 3/4 gallons of Pullman Green paint left. He hoped that that would be enough to do the two ends. Today (Independence Day, July 4th), he got the one end with the automobile doors painted (second photo).

Although HVRM misses Mark's hard work as museum Secretary, his work on our equipment is greatly appreciated!


Les

Looks good, Les, Mark should be proud of a job well done. What do you suppose the square holes are in the piece above the coupler on the end with the auto door, something to bridge the gap go in there?

PMC,

I may be wrong on the exact terminology, but the holes were where the buffer plate would extend out over the coupler. The buffer plate's main function was to abut the buffer plate an an adjacent car, which would then produce a movable floor that would allow for safe passage from one car to another while the train was in motion. The buffer plates had to be able to flex and turn with the movement of the train.

Many passenger car makers would also add a canvas diaphragm to the buffer plate. The two (when used in combination) would provide a complete weather resistant enclosure that would keep passengers and crew safe and dry while they passed from one car to the next while the train was in motion.

Today, many commuter rail cars have a regular buffer plate immediately above the coupler, and then a tubular rubber diaphragm to shield passengers from the elements. I believe Amtrak still has quite a few cars which utilize a true integrated buffer plate/ diaphragm system. They also utilize the newer buffer plate / rubber tube design too....

Mark has painted the other end of the 344, completing the body painting. On 7/12, he addressed the rust holes below the cars belt rail by applying aluminum tape over the holes, then applying ProFlex Sealer over the tape, as per his photos 1 and 2 below. The first photo shows the finished end of the car and the tape applied and the second shows a close up of the tape. Mark stated that the ProFlex would allow Pullman Green paint to be applied over the tape, a method he used on the roof of C&NW boxcar #284 and which seems to be holding up well thus far. On July 13th, Mark applied the first coat of Pullman Green paint over the tape, as seen in the third photo taken earlier today. A second coat of paint is still to be applied.

Bolt holes in the side of the car, put in when the car was reassigned to maintenance-of-way service, are still to be addressed.

Mark also points out that the wood floor on the cars interior is weak in spots due to the heavy weight of certain stored museum parts.

Les

Very nice!

Any thought to the lettering yet? In looking at the earlier photos it looks like you have versions of the original lettering available, is it possible to make masks off of those?

PMC -

It's my understanding that we received a CD from the NKPHTS with the proper Nickel Plate lettering.


Les

I cannot agree with this sentiment enough! We've had a handful of people show up over the years, only to be told by the one guy who is always on site to go sweep the floors because "somebody has to do it". Those volunteers never stayed involved.

This has been one of my favorite threads lately - actually seeing how people work on projects. I think we need more of this! If you look on YouTube the DIY crowd has a huge following, and maybe showing people how to work on old equipment would help get people involved. If nothing else it would document what different organizations are doing and help crowd share information.

Emmo213 -

Thanks for the comments. Mark has started the lettering process as can be seen his tracings in his attached photo. Gotta start somewhere! I think it looks pretty darn good. In addition to rain being in the forecast, Mark is a rural route mail carrier and subs are hard to come by in the summer, so he'll probably have to work this coming Saturday.


Les

Last week, Mark hand lettered both the car number and star onto both sides of the car, as per his photo attached.




Les

Lettering done by Mark earlier this week shown in photo below. RAILWAY EXPRESS outline done, but can't be seen in this shot.

Les

Very sharp!

A mid-90 degree day didn't stop Mark from working on #344 today, as his photo will attest.

Les

Sure looks a lot better than it did when I was there in 2016.

Congratulations to Mark.