The car will be restored to the approximate condition /
appearance after the 1950 major shopping. No attempt will be made to rebuild the
clerestory windows removed for the addition of air conditioning. All of the
1950’s modifications will remain in place. The car will be painted Pullman green
with a silver roof. Every attempt will be made to have all systems on board
fully functional including the water in the kitchen and bathroom as well as the
toilet in the bathroom. The current air conditioning will be repaired as
required. We will not reinstalled the toilets in the bedrooms or porters room.
These were removed in the shopping and the holes in the floor patched and filled
with concrete type material.
Many aspects of the restoration will take place in parallel depending on the
available labor poor.
The electrical system will be restored to the 3 phase 240 volt system used by
the railroads. The current 240 volt single phase household system does not meet
the museum standards.
Work will begin with a general clean up of the car interior.
Inspection of all systems for damage
Repair of damaged systems
Interior priorities
Kitchen
Bedroom A
Lounge
Hallway
Dining room
Bedroom B
Porters room
Kitchen end hallway.
Exterior priorities
Side sheets
Sandblasting car body
Cleaning trucks
Painting
Windows
Lettering
March 12, 2011 Project Photos 3-2011
Photo update of the car.
August 22 2010 Project Photos 8-2010
The work over the past year has slowed while other museum projects were being assisted with. However a number of smaller though needed tasks have been completed.
The 120 volt outlet next to the typewriter desk has been wired and is working. Completed checking all switches, outlets and light sockets for proper neutral – hot connections; Found we needed to rewire 14 out of a possible 52. Work in the kitchen progresses. The gas fired water heater has been removed. This enabled us to find the water leak. It turned out to be a feed pipe that had been disconnected and not capped. The hot water storage tank was removed as it had rusted through in a number of places on the bottom. Major plumbing repairs have been completed on the hot water pipes. There are leaking faucets in bathroom and bedroom “A” that will need to gaskets when we find them. Found a home for a glass tube that was discovered in the car during the early cleanup process. It is the sight glass for the over head water tank in the kitchen. We sourced new compression fittings and gaskets and have re-installed the site glass and it works. Have repaired the small clerestory glass windows in the porter room and left side of dining room. While repairing the glass we also installed the new ventilator, built by Phoenix Metalcraft. These ventilators will be installed at all of the original locations.
As we progressed all of the clerestory ventilators have been installed. All the HVAC filters have been changed. Time delay circuitry has been added to each of the air conditioning units to prevent short cycling. The broken glass has been replaced in the lounge clerestory. A six gallon water heater has been installed and plumbed. The car now has hot water. Next step was to wire the water heater to be on its own circuit. We also added wiring to split the circuits for the chill box and refrigerator. Jane updated the circuit list on the electrical locker door.
The Bleeding Blue china is now on the car. We sold enough china to put 8 place settings on the car. Kenny Rhoads purchased 4 place settings for personal use but at this time he has them on the car. The china rack was rebuilt and placed in the bottom of the cabinet. Craig Shields will build the cup storage drawers as his schedule permits. Obtained a cutting board for the kitchen. Brackets to hold the cutting board were still in place allowing us to get the original size. Cleaned out the generator locker of miscellaneous parts we had stored inside. These parts were moved to the appropriate storage car for future use. Following the clean up Kenny Rhoads started preparing the locker for painting. We have sold another 8 place settings of china. Bart ordered them from Great Overland at our discounted price. When received he will ship to our customers. In the end we will net close to $500.00 on the deal.
Kenny Rhoads removed the exterior end door and transported to Tom Clark. Tom has fabricated a new door, installed the locksets and hinges. When it was completed Kenny Rhoads picked it up and transported to the museum. Craig Shields mixed up a sealer and applied it. Kenny then primer painted the door. The door will be finish painted and reinstalled. The car to car curtain and holder have been removed. The curtain was cleaned and re-stitched. The clam shell holder was paint stripped and repainted by Kenny Rhoads. The assembly will be painted Santa Fe coach green and reinstalled.
The porters room and kitchen hallway were stripped, sanded and painted. All fixtures were removed, cleaned and painted when required. Craig Shields has started fabricating the window sills and has made a new clerestory window for bedroom B. A new 32 volt D.C. power supply was built and installed by Bart and Rudy. New brass handles for the trap latching mechanism were cast and have been installed. The side door was removed for replacement with a new door. Weather stripping has been installed on the platform end door and the side door. Bart obtained more parts for the car while on an east coast trip. The brass shelf over the window and the dental shelf in the porters room; a door lock assembly for the interior kitchen end door and a lock for the side door; a marked brass Santa Fe fire extinguisher for the kitchen end hallway. Fred & Dale Springer donated a marked Santa Fe silver sugar bowl and Bart & Jane Barton donated the matching silver creamer. The drawers in the china cabinet have been repaired and new felt installed. Mike Harding of the BNSF supplied us with a sledge and hammer for the tool box. All the tools have been cleaned, painted and installed in the car. Plastic door guards have been installed in the bedrooms and bathroom in addition to a chain across the dining room so this car can be opened for display. Paul Mickel worked on the refrigerator freezer unit and it is running.
In early April the side loading door was removed from the car
for repair. The divots in the wood were filled and sanded. The metal center
plate was removed and paint stripped. The entire door was primer painted and
reinstalled. The same process will be done to the kitchen end exterior door. The
platform railing was removed from the car and all brass pieces stripped off. All
of the brass was polished individually and the iron railing and gate pieces
taken to the sand blaster for cleaning.
With the sandblasting and primer painting of the car body completed Kenny Rhoads
started on the body work phase. This is a slow and tedious process. Apply and
sand, apply and sand. Although much has been completed he is still not pleased
with the result. Craig Shields is trying to get a real body and fender guy to
come by and give us some tips or help. After moving the car back to track 4 the
truck frames and under car appliances were primer painted. On Monday May 27 the
first shot of finish paint was applied to the platform end of the car. Rudy
Morgenfruh worked on the electrical system and has the razor outlets working in
the porters room and the bathroom. The wires have been located for the 2
bedrooms also but we need to find the missing parts to make them work. We
discussed the thermostat system in the car and are going to install a modern
digital unit to control both the heat and A/C. The original 1957 air
conditioning modifications were removed some time in private ownership and
replaced with the current system. The units work well but the control circuitry
was not working when we received the car. Our modifications to make it work are
not the final answer. The platform railing has been removed and the brass
separated from the steel. All of the steel parts have been sandblasted and
primer painted. Ken has cleaned and polished the brass. We had new brass pieces
cast for the trap holder release rods and a piece to replace what was missing in
the railing top. After final paint the the railing will be re-assembled on the
car. New exterior windows frames have been built and glass purchased. These will
replace the current ones that had been fiberglassed. The platform end window
frames have been removed, cleaned, sanded and primer painted. The new glass was
temporarily installed for Train Day.
In June Daren Dolezal, Craig's neighbor, from Auto Image, a local Chandler
company, did the finish body work. Kenny Rhoads had done the biggest part but
decided he needed a pro to complete the work. Daren also did the painting on the
body of the car. Two coats of Santa Fe green as close as we can determine. After
an input from John McCall, Santa Fe historian, Kenny Rhoads researched the
proper color for the trucks and found they should be the same color as the car
body. This being the case Kenny painted the trucks the proper color and the rest
of the under car appliances black. New exterior frames for all of the windows
have been installed with the proper solex green glass. Craig Shields is making
new interior frames out of mahogany. The air conditioning compressor on the
dining room unit is suspect. When running it is drawing considerably more
current than the similar unit in the lounge. Paul is watching it and is looking
for a replacement. Kenny is doing paint touch up work on the roof line and drip
rails. Auto Image has been asked to quote the lettering for the car.
Craig Shields fabricated new mahogany interior frames for all of the windows.
New double pane solex green glass was purchase for all windows. Kenny Rhoads
helped Craig with the installation and they look great. Work has started on
bedroom B. Everything has been removed from the room to sand, repair and clean
the walls. Paul Mickel replaced the A/C compressor for the dining room unit. It
is working well. The lettering “SANTA FE” has been painted on the west side of
the car. It looks wonderful. There were some issues with the stencils or the
entire car would be complete. Craig will stay in contact with Daren to complete
the lettering while Kenny Rhoads is traveling.
The roof of the car was stripped, sanded, sealed, primer painted and finish painted by Kenny Rhoads. The antenna ground plane was removed and the extraneous conduits taken off the car. The mounting legs for the ground plane were secured with new bolts and after painting all was put back in place. Gerry McGonigle and George Barker installed and welded the remaining patches on the car side and end. All of the rusted areas have now been repaired. Paul Mikel has rebuilt the freezer evaporator and the refrigerator evaporator and reinstalled them in the car. He is now working on the compressor unit that operates them. Rudy Morgenfruh completed the wiring for the 240 volt three phase panel and installed the switch circuit for the generator. We have installed thermostats to operate the 3 air conditioner / heat units. Everything is functional but there is still some tweaking to do for full automatic operation. The biggest part of the electrical rebuild is now complete. Some future updates will include putting the refrigerator wiring in conduit and making the razor plugs in the bedrooms operational. The small clerestory windows in the lounge and the east side of the dining room have been replaced. Kenny Rhoads is currently working on the kitchen loading door. A new threshold has been installed. We have been offered the donation of a generator for the car and Kenny Rhoads is looking into the transportation of the unit.
The dining room was paint stripped, sanded and painted by Ken Rhoads. Rudy Morgenfruh installed the new circuit breaker panel for the 120 volt appliances. New trim pieces were installed at all wall panel joints. Craig Shields rebuilt the platform end door fixing the damaged area as well as stripping and refinishing. Craig also trimmed the lounge area with quarter sawn white oak; made new window trim pieces for bedroom A; and a new footboard, sideboard and headboard. Bedroom B was put together and the upper bunk latch repaired so the bunk will close and operate properly. Platform trap stops were manufactured and installed. The traps can now be closed so that a person can stand on them. The wood work over the door has been replaced. Craig Shields sourced new veneer and did the installation. Rudy also traced out the heat circuit and did some wire swapping so we can have the car heated to work in over the winter. The plan is to have real thermostats installed by summer so that it can switch between heating and cooling automatically. The exterior rust areas have all been cut out and cleaned. Gerry McGonigle fabricated pieces for the end of the car and Kenny Rhoads made the pieces for the side. George Barker completed the welding. Work has started on the roof. The first part is to clean, sand, and primer paint starting at the top and then working down the sides including the clerestory. The plan is to remove the metal blanking panels in the clerestory windows and replace them with proper glass. Also hope to replace the missing Garland vents. Judy Covington and Fred Springer of the Temple Heritage Museum, donors of the car, were in town for the annual meeting. They expressed their thanks that we had followed through on the commitment we made for restoration when the car was offered for donation. The car was also used to carry visitors at the annual meeting. 4 trips were made from the derail to end of track 6. Everything went well and all had a good time.
The inside wall, ceiling and upper portion of the hallway have been stripped, sanded, primered and painted. The lower wall section in the lounge, hall and dining room have been removed. Jerry McGonigle has cut out the rusted panels on the exterior east side. Kenny Rhoads has made and installed the new pieces. Replacement flip up style light fixtures have been found for the lounge. Ken Rhoads cleaned, rewired and installed these fixtures. Additional finds are a new globe for the ceiling light in bedroom A; the correct light fixture for over the mirror in bedroom A; and 3 milk glass light globes for bedroom A and the porters room. Santa Fe style passenger marker lights were donated by Jeff Robertson. Kenny cleaned, painted and wired these markers and they look great on the car. The piping to the air gauge and back up whistle have been cleaned and verified to work. Having the interior panels removed and the insulation pulled out allowed George Barker to weld the new exterior panels. Being able to see the inside kept the fire danger to a minimum. After the panels were welded Gerry McGonigle ground them smooth. A couple more small areas will need to be cut and welded. Bedroom A has been put back together. Jane Barton rebuilt and refinished the dresser; Kenny Rhoads sourced and installed new carpet; Craig Shields picked up a piece of glass for a temporary window. Rudy Morgenfruh is in town working on the installation of the new electrical panels. The car has been cleaned and will be open for the Dinner in the Diner event.
October 16, 2008 Project Photos 10-2008
Bedroom A is being put back together. The room was primer painted, sanded smooth and another coat of primer applied. Two coats of finish paint were next to be applied. With all of the wiring replaced we are able to check the light fixtures for operation as they are installed. All of the fixtures were cleaned and polished or painted by Kenny Rhoads prior to being installed. Craig Shields fabricated new mullions for the mirror frame to match the originals. Craig is now making replacement mahogany trim pieces for the window side of the room. Robert Patock is restoring the doors for the closet and room entry. The lounge was cleaned, sanded and wiped down. The cavity for the 1957 air conditioner modification was filled with insulation and a cover plate installed. Jane Barton stripped the paper covering from the clerestory ceiling and sanded to bare metal. New trim pieces for the seams were applied. The clerestory was primer painted and then the room was finish painted. The ceiling light fixture was polished by Kenny Rhoads and then replaced. The holes for the flip lights in the side walls were covered with a blanking plate. The hallway is currently being cleaned, stripped and sanded. Drawings were sent to Phoenix Metalcraft for the ceiling trim in the lounge and ceiling panels for the hall. The replacement pipe chase parts were fabricated by Phoenix Metalcraft and delivered on October 4. They should be installed later this month.
September 17, 2008 Project Photos 9-2008
Bedroom B was sandblasted on August 13. The was accomplished by switching the car to the end of track 6 for the work and then back to track 4. Kenny Rhoads cleaned the room after the sandblasting and then primer painted the walls. The green paint for the car interior was matched using a small panel from inside a bedroom closet. Two gallons were purchased and painting started in bedroom A. Ken primer painted the bathroom and Jane did the finish painting. Kenny Rhoads cleaned the fixtures and Jane Barton cleaned the floor and shower and the bathroom is pretty much back together. Craig Shields is making a new window sill and wall trim piece. Craig is also making new clerestory windows for the bathroom and bedroom A. Rudy Morgenfruh was able to spend 3 days working on the electrical system. All of the burned wiring in and around bedroom A has been replaced. The hall light at the dining room end has been repaired and installed. The razor plug circuit is also functional. About 75 percent of the wires in the electrical locker have been identified and tagged. The 32 volt D.C. power supply is working. The capacitor was defective. After installing the power supply the fan circuit was checked in all of the rooms and found to be working. The one problem that did come up was the existing power supply is not large enough to handle 5 fans. We are looking for another 32 volt supply with a higher current rating or we may have to build our own. Richard Poyer welded new expanded metal grills on the compressor cabinet under the refrigerator. Paul Mikel has routed the piping inside the cabinet and will be doing the rest of the piping later this month. Re-assembly of Bedroom A has been started. All of the fixturing found on the car was cleaned and repainted prior to installation. Robert Potack is rebuilding the closet door and the door to the hall. Craig Shields is doing the window trim. Ken Rhoads is sourcing a piece of carpet with a close match to the existing for the floor in Bedroom A. The duplex outlets on the vestibule have been replaced with GFI breakers for safety. The lounge area is next on the project list.
Work started on this car shortly after arrival. All the broken glass was cleaned out and the car vacuumed numerous times. All walls and ceilings have been washed by Ken Rhoads, Dave Greenberg and Hal Whitehead. Thanks to Craig Shields the china cabinet has been rebuilt, cleaned and oiled. The broken doors repaired, shelves installed and locks opened. The parts for the typewriter stand have been replaced and the typewriter installed. Jane Barton cleaned the kitchen, the stove and broiler and the cabinets. Tom Klobas cleaned the generator locker, the baker heater locker and replaced the window in the end door. All the electrical circuits have been identified and most are functional. The air conditioners are functional although Freon levels are low. Russ Lassuy has been doing plumbing repairs. He has found quite a number of freeze damaged pipes both inside and outside the car. Ken Rhoads is working on the preparation of the main bathroom for painting. The burned room is being prepared for sandblasting on 8-13-2008. Rudy will be in town 8-26 to 8-28 to work on the repairs to the wiring in the burned room. A plan has been formulated to return the car to its 3 phase electrical system. The current household system works but is not the safest thing on the planet. A replacement compressor / condenser unit for the refrigerator has been found and will be installed. A replacement for the missing ceiling light in the kitchen has been found and installed. Chairs for the dining room have been donated by member Bryan Reese. Ken Rhoads picked them up in California and brought them to the museum. Jane Barton has the chairs in the upholstery shop. They are being stripped, stained, finished and recovered with fabric suitable for the car. Richard Poyer and Jerry McGonigle repaired the under car cabinet housing the on board air compressor. They will next start on the side sheet on the east side of the car body. This area suffered some rust through but repair looks very straight forward. Jerry McGonigle is going to check with Illinois Railway Museum for the spec book on this car. The goal is to have this car painted and lettered prior to the annual meeting. The interior areas will be cleaned and functional but may not be painted by the meeting but we are working that direction.