Progress report for the Saturday June 18, 2022 GGRM workday at Schellville

 The Saturday June 18, 2022 workday was focused on the GGRM passenger cars located at our museum’s storage sites at Schellville Junction.

 

The primary emphasis was on the tasks required to get two of the 145 seat bi-level gallery cars ready for operation, but additional work was completed on the #141 Oakland business car and steam locomotive #2472.

 

Thanks go out to the GGRM volunteers listed below who helped make the June 18th Schellville workday productive:

 

Steve Coon, Nico Dacong, David Waterman, Seth Adams, and Jay King.

 

Below is the progress report for the Saturday June 18, 2022 workday.

 

At the Victory Station Yard worksite:

1.            The GGRM EIC is required to send a text to NWPCo General Manager Ryan Martin when flag and derail protection has been set at the Victory Station Yard and the north leg of the Schellville wye.  Done, Jim Prettyleaf.

2.            Put all Detroit Diesel manuals in Jim Prettyleaf’s truck so that hydraulic governor seals can be ordered mid-week.  Done, Jim Prettyleaf.

3.            Weather permitting continue stripping, repairing, and painting the roof of the #141 Oakland Business Car.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

4.            Fix any remaining water damage and prepare the dining room ceiling of the #141 Oakland Business Car for painting.  No action taken during the June 4, 2022 workday.

5.            If skilled volunteer resources are available continue drilling the hole required to install new air conditioning plumbing.  Completed by Jay King and Steve Coon.

6.            Start and static load test both GGRM diesel-electric locomotives.  Done by Steve Coon.

7.            Install the new copper pipes required for the #141 Oakland Business Car’s new Northwest Rail Electric air conditioning system.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

8.            Continue the electrical wiring installations that are needed to get the #141 Oakland Business Car running again.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

9.            Continue sorting out and reorganizing the contents of the #6752 Diesel Shop Car and the #5131 Steam Shop Car prior to the start of operations.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

10.       The GGRM EIC is required to send a text to NWPCo General Manager Ryan Martin when flag and derail protection has been taken down at the Victory Station Yard and the north leg of the Schellville wye.  Done, Jim Prettyleaf.

 

At the Sonoma Rail worksite in Schellville:

1.           At the start of the workday measure the battery voltage of the #3720 gallery car to determine the charge status.  Done by Jim Prettyleaf and Nico Dacong.  Discovered that #3720’s battery was at 95% of full charge.

2.           At the start of the day disassemble the thermostat housing of the Detroit Diesel engine of the #3722 gallery car gen-set to determine if the engine’s coolant thermostat is faulty.  In progress, when David Waterman disassembled the thermostat housing no thermostat was found, so this engine overheating problem is being caused by some other issue.  Need to run a test to check for exhaust gas in the coolant to determine if the diesel engine’s head gasket is leaking.  If we confirm the head gasket is not leaking the radiator will need to be removed and cleaned out or re-cored.

3.           If a faulty engine coolant thermostat is found remove it and then load test the gen-set on the #3722 gallery car by running with the electric heaters turned on and the gen-set door closed.  No thermostat found in the diesel engine for the #3720 gallery car gen-set so this test could not be completed.

4.           Stop oil leaks by replacing the rocker cover gasket and the top cover gasket of the hydraulic governor for the Detroit Diesel engine that powers the #3722 gallery car’s gen-set.  Done by David Waterman.

5.           Continue trouble shooting to find and eliminate electrical problems with #3720 gallery car’s built-in battery charger’s low output voltage.  Jim Prettyleaf and Nico Dacong discovered that the input voltage applied to the #3720 gallery car’s built-in battery charger was too low, measured 219 Vac rms at the input to the battery charger.  Adjusted the Automatic Digital Voltage Regulator so that the gen-set of the #3720 gallery car is supplying 235 Vac rms to the battery charger and measured that 16-Amps of current is available to charge the battery when all systems in the car are powered up.

6.           Reassemble the covers for the end door motors and controls for the #3722 and #3720 gallery cars.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

7.           Install the missing end door rubber boot trim pieces.  Done by David Waterman.

8.           Continue working on the air conditioning system of the #3722 gallery-car per the written plan submitted by Seth Adams.  Seth Adams worked on the #3722 gallery car’s air conditioning system but discovered a problem.  The Carrier refrigeration compressor refused to make lubrication oil pressure.

9.           Complete additional troubleshooting to determine why the engine stop pushbuttons for the #3722 and #3720 gallery car gen-sets are not working correctly.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

10.       Continue the investigations and fabrication needed to make the #3722 gallery car handicap access compliant.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

11.       Continue working to select the gallery car with the least number of problems and concentrate on bringing #3720 or #3722 up to operational status as quickly as possible.  The #3722 gallery car is still the best candidate for initial operation.

12.       Inspect #3720 and #3722 and make a list of any parts that are missing, broken or inoperable.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

13.       Continue vacuuming and washing seats and mopping the floors of the #3720 and the #3722 cars.  No action taken during the June 18, 2022 workday.

 

Ongoing Offsite Projects that Support Schellville Workday Objectives

1.     Locate a supplier for 3-71 series Detroit Diesel engine rocker cover gaskets and hydraulic governor gaskets and seals to eliminate oil leaks on the #3722 gallery car’s gen - set.  New rocker cover gaskets and hydraulic governor gaskets were ordered by Jim Prettyleaf and are scheduled to be delivered by June 9th.  Jim Prettyleaf still owns the task to find a supplier for the manual rack control plunger seals.

2.     Find and purchase a currently available functionally equivalent power contactor to replace the three-phase contactor that was cannibalized from #3714’s north end low range electric resistance heater.  In progress Seth Adams, and Jim Prettyleaf.

3.     Manufacture and install of replacements for the arm rests that have been cannibalized from #3714.  In progress by Jay King. 

4.     Repair the broken sink that was removed from #3722.  Owner Steve Rusconi.

 

Objectives that have been deferred until a future time.

1.     The restoration of the #3714 gallery car

2.     Creation of a written record of the repairs needed for the #3720 and 3722 gallery car’s CO2 fire systems prior to a visit from AAA Fire Suppression Services. 

 

If anyone has questions about upcoming workdays, you should contact the GGRM’s Schellville Site Manager using the information provided below.

 

The next regularly scheduled Schellville workday will be held on Saturday June 25, 2022.

 

Regards,

 

Jim Prettyleaf

GGRM Schellville Site Manager

 

Email:         jim.prettyleaf@ggrm.org

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