New Photos of CNW 7700 on Passenger Car Blog

This last month has just whizzed right on by and many thing are happening as spring finally finds it's way into the Midwest.

Chuck and I have been back to the Illinois Railway Museum twice now. He has been refinishing windows for the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railway 84 all winter in our basement and we went to IRM on 4/5/08 to get frame measurements so he can shave off enough of the window wood to keep them from sticking when the weather turns hot and humid.

On 4/19/08 we went out again and Chuck worked on removing all the broken screws from the six window frames he is working on. I got some photos of the CNW 7700 lightweight coach/baggage car's newly hung baggage compartment door. And then got a surprise when the Yard 5 move started happening. Everyone had understood the move would be delayed until after the board of directors meeting scheduled for the evening of 4/19/08 but 'the powers that be' went ahead with the plan. I got a little bit of video from moving the Turbine but I haven't yet edited the clips or uploaded them to YouTube. I'll get that done soon.

More details about the move can be found on the IRMPassengerCars.com blog as well as upcoming plans for the Passenger Car Department at the IRM. We plan to head back to the museum this coming Saturday if possible.

Also coming up is a trip to Hancock Michigan for Chuck and I with our friends from Dixon Illinois who are restoring an old steam locomotive that used to be in service at the Quincy Mine. There are two of the original locomotives and tenders on the property behind the only remaining intact hoist house. They are in need of a lot of attention to preserve them as restoration is pretty much out of the question. They are remnant of the old Quincy & Torch Lake Railroad.

Things will be happening a little faster now that spring is finally here. We have several railfan trips planned and the Milwaukee Road Historical Association Annual Convention is coming up in late June. Expect to see a little more action here for the summer.

RailfanInfo Update

Well March has gone by in a hurry! I've been meaning to get back here and post a couple of new videos taken earlier in the month but there hasn't been time so far.

One of the things I've been working on in addition to the update to RailfanInfo.com is a new blog for the IRM Passenger Car Department. It's been fun to setup the new blog and make some plans on what should be there to enhance the museum experience. But it's also been time consuming.

What I want to tell you about in this post in particular is the new page at RailfanInfo.com that asks you for advice. I want to add value to the site based on what you want to find there. I have my own interests in railroad collectibles, excursions, museums and historic places around the world but what is it that you want to find?

I'll be back soon with those new videos. We visited the Mitchell Park Domes to see their annual model train layout. Then we made a short stop at the Burnham Yards in Milwaukee to film a bit of switching action. And we visited Train Time at Milwaukee School of Engineering where there were many vendors, displays, and the layout created by students at MSOE.

Chuck and I are looking forward to warmer and less white weather soon. We're getting antsy to get back to the Illinois Railway Museum and get some work done there.