This winter has been outstanding! With no snow and mild temperatures, volunteers have been able to make steady progress working on numerous projects three days a week at the Museum.
BEDT 16 has new interior woodwork in her cab and new doors and windows nearing completion. Engine 399, baggage car 7723 and Engine 1556 have been primed and await their final coats of finish paint. Organization of the RMLI Library continues on track. The World’s Fair park train passenger car trucks are coming back together in time for our 2012 opening. Major upgrades to our telephone service at Riverhead have been accomplished and work has begun to run electricity to the LIRR GP-38 simulator. At Greenport the HO train layout is being extended and a new visiting exhibit is soon to be installed from the New York Transit Museum.
A tremendous amount of work has been done in the Freeman North Exhibit Hall this winter. In January, master painter, Rich Walker gave the hall its final two coats of finish paint and dressed out all the woodwork in green trim paint. The lighting system over the Historic Lionel Layout was improved with brighter halogen bulbs and track lights. The electric closet received its remaining insulation and sheetrock wall covering.
Work on the Historic Lionel Layout is winding down in anticipation of opening day, Saturday, April 14, 2012. All of our motive power has been assessed, repaired, maintained and ready to run. All of the layout accessories have been maintained and repairs, replacements and rewiring have been accomplished where necessary. Over half the new heavy duty accessory buttons have been installed and the remaining units will be installed and hooked up over the next few weeks. A new girder bridge has replaced one of two lift bridges on the layout. Track work has wrapped up for this winter with the wiring of two insulated blocks made up of track 4 and track 6. Tracks 1 and 2 will be tackled next winter to allow train movement between routes.
Finally, the Historic Lionel Layout control tower platform has received a complete makeover. Keeping with the original Lionel design from Chesterfield, Michigan – the platform holding the ZW transformers can once again be raised and locked in place for system wiring, modification and maintenance. These improvements will enhance the overall operability and reliability of the Lionel train control systems.
The all new control tower platform awaiting the reinstallation of the Lionel ZW
transformers.
Aide de Camp, Anthony DeBellis puts a final coat of sealing finish on the platform.
The business end of the TOWER, five classic Lionel ZWs to power our eleven operating tracks.
Here is what the ZWs look like when the platform is in the “up” position for maintenance.
The track wiring is being reinstalled on the left. Center is switches and right is for Lionel TMCC
Close-up of track wiring going in. A common buss (white) keeps all the ZW’s in proper polarity.