Winter isn’t over for another ten days but you couldn’t tell that by the fine weather we experienced at RMLI this Saturday, March 12! Riverhead RMLI opens for the season on Saturday, April 9, 2011 with the Grand Opening of the Historic LIONEL Visitor’s Center train layout from Chesterfield, Michigan. All manner of tune-up projects were underway this weekend. Volunteers continued to labor on the 14’ x 40’ LIONEL train layout with the installation of a live fire, exploding LIONEL boxcar and missile range! Dick Horn and Joe Saullo continued work on BEDT 16, preparing the last set of journals for installation before her wheels are rolled under her.
With the advent of our 2011 season opening, maintenance work on the LIRR 1964 – 1965, G-16 World’s Fair park train began under fair skies and warm temperatures. Greg Kruszeski, Steve Sucic, Dick Horn and Don Fisher performed maintenance and made repairs to trucks on the observation car PATCHOGUE. Next weekend the G-16 locomotive will be serviced, track will be inspected, fences repaired from winter storm damage and a team of volunteers will be recovering the passenger seats of the train set.
A long term TRUCK REBUILD PROGRAM has been undertaken by the committee. Beginning next month, two spare trucks will be rebuilt and prepared for swap-out with active passenger car trucks. As each truck is taken out of service and replaced with a rebuilt unit, it will be taken into the shop where it will be rebuilt and cycled out to another car. In all, ten trucks are scheduled for rebuild over the coming years. Here we see Greg Kruszeski and Steve Sucic finalizing maintenance duties on an observation car truck.
From Fall 2009 through winter 2010, RMLI member Lou Caruso near single handedly scraped, primed, painted and repaired the exterior of the RMLI BACKSHOP. From time to time, Lou was assisted by Scott McCarthy, Anthony DeBellis and Greg Kruszeski. This Saturday, March 12, the final touch was placed on the building. A new, heavy duty, insulated steel garage overhead door was installed by Steve Hall and son of the Twin Forks Overhead Door Company. This new door replaces a 30+ year old wood garage door that had seen better days and owed us nothing. The new door and recent paint job will extend the life and increase the security of this building many years. Here we see Lou Caruso standing before the new door and his fine handiwork. Thank you Lou for a project well done!
