Projects
We have two big restoration projects underway at the museum!
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South Shore Car 6
Car 6 came to the museum in 2010 via the National Park Service at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (now Indiana Dunes National Park). When the South Shore Line’s original 1920s-era cars were replaced by new equipment in 1982 and 1983, a Congressman serving northern Indiana worked to pass a bill to transfer the retired cars to the Park Service. The goal was to establish a museum at Indiana Dunes. Four of the stops on the South Shore Line are at stations in or near the dunes. When the planned museum failed to gain funding, the retired cars were transferred to several other museums. The East Troy Railroad received five of the cars, including Car 33, which was restored to service in 2016.
Car 6 needs to have its wheels and trucks refurbished, needs two traction motors rebuilt, needs its seats reupholstered, needs new flooring, some rewiring, and much cosmetic work to restore its appearance. The pantographs above the car must be removed and replaced by trolley poles, so the car can run on the East Troy Railway. A new canvas roof will also be installed. A GoFundMe page has been set up for people who would like to support the restoration efforts. Please click on the link below to make a donation to help speed these projects along. March 1 Update: As of March 1 2020, the seats have been removed from Car 6, the old canvas roof and the humps for the Pantographs have been removed, the lighting wiring has been replaced, and work is beginning inside the car to strip the floor and walls to prepare for new finishes and new flooring. One historical truth that may be a surprise: when this car was new in 1926 it did not have the humps. These were added later as a "cosmetic improvement." March 25, 2020 Update: At our recent Board meeting we learned that one of our board members made a donation to help complete the refurbishment of the wheels and trucks on Car 6! September 25, 2020 Update: Work has slowed on Car 6 during the pandemic, but volunteers continue to work on repairing the interior of the car, repairing the floor, and getting the roof ready for new canvas. We have discovered that refurbishing the wheels on the car will be more costly than we had expected. We also pursued the idea of trading a set of wheels with those from another museum, but that turned out to be more costly than expected too. After getting a good look at the trucks and traction motors after the car was moved to the maintenance facility, we discovered that two of the traction motors need to be rebuilt or replaced. We are working on solutions to these challenges, but it may take more time to complete this restoration than we expected. Stay tuned! |
North Shore 761
The East Troy Museum acquired Car 761 from a Michigan museum in 2001 and started initial work to restore the car soon afterward. Volunteers replaced the roof, had new doors made, and purchased fabric to reupholster the seats. Efforts ground to a halt when volunteers discovered structural deterioration on the north end of the car. When a qualified welder joined the volunteer team in East Troy, the Board agreed that it was time to restart the restoration work.
In addition to the structural work, Car 761 needed body work, needed to be repainted inside and out, needed new flooring, needed the seats reupholstered, needed brake lines reinstalled to both controls stands, needed new doors, and needed stairways to be reinstalled on both ends. All this work has been completed or is underway as of November 2020, but we still need to clean and repair the electrical cabinets, install the new flooring, reinstall the seats and the doors. A GoFundMe page has been set up for people who would like to support the restoration efforts. Please click on the link below to make a donation to help speed these projects along. March 1 Update: As of March 1, 2020 the structural repairs to the east end of Car 761 are largely complete. The brake lines have been reinstalled and tested, the air compressor is in excellent condition, the trolley poles have been reinstalled on top of the car with new wiring, three of the stairways into the car have been reinstalled, the interior has been stripped and repaired, the ceiling is repainted, the sub-flooring has been replaced where necessary and leveled, the new doors are ready for mounting in the car, and work has begun on the electrical system cleaning and repairs. March 25, 2020 Update: On March 24th we learned that we will receive a $20,500 Grant from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust to help finish the restoration of Car 761. In addition, we received a donation from one of our board members to repaint the car in the Silverliner paint scheme! September 25, 2020 Update: Several of our volunteers continue to make excellent progress on Car 761, though the pandemic has had an impact on the number of folks willing to come out on a regular basis. Work on the interior continues, with new window shades being manufactured, all the windows and window frames are being repaired, and all the luggage racks being replated in nickel and reinstalled. The frame and plate steel on the west end of the car had to be repaired or replaced, similar to what has been completed on the east end. The new doors have been refinished and cut to size. We are removing the seat frames from storage and will have them stripped and refinished soon. New upholstery work has been started. On the exterior of the car, all the old paint was removed, all the body work has been completed, and a coat of red paint applied to the top of the car at the window level. A coat of silver-gray paint has also been applied below the windows and the team is preparing the car for masking that will allow us to add the stripes that imitate the stainless steel fluting for which the Silverliner cars were known. November 30, 2020 Update: the Silverliner paint scheme has been applied and work continues on the seat frames and reupholstery project. Click the photo above for more details. We still hope to have this car in operating condition before the end of the year! |