**LONG ISLAND PRESERVATION NEWS**

[PlaneLoverA380]

I have an insane idea. You know Train Sim World, the LIRR sim? Put a screen running TSW in the M7 sim. Load it with the LIRR DLC and a way to select a route or scenario. Program the cab controls to match the sim controls. And finally, make a way to walk around, because the sim requires that you walk to the cab. Then get a view that looks forward without seeing the cab, and boom! There is a fully functioning M7 simulator. Easier on paper, but I think it may be possible. Otherwise, I’ll just have to build my own cab.

[MADDOG]

From the Oyster Bay RR Museum-
Another update.
We are working through the winter and have 3 projects going on simultaneously.
The Ping Pong Coach/#35's tender and #35's cab.
Last Saturday, our master fabricator/Fred, created a new floor beam for installation. During this week, our other master fabricator/John P, took the previously installed side wall off of the fireman's side of #35's cab in order to clean up the welds on the frame and to weld in this newly fabbed piece.
With the years having taken its toll on the cab, like other steam locomotives that have to sit in the elements, adding back steel parts like this strengthen and stiffen up the entire assembly.
During a visit to the RR Museum of Pa in Strasburg, John found that the cabs on the G5s, L1s. M1s and K4s are identical. Imagine that! This will help us to fabricate components that were previously "cast" and allow us to continue the project.
You can see the progress photos on our Facebook page.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

From the Oyster Bay RR Museum-
Another update.
We are working through the winter and have 3 projects going on simultaneously.
The Ping Pong Coach/#35's tender and #35's cab.
Last Saturday, our master fabricator/Fred, created a new floor beam for installation. During this week, our other master fabricator/John P, took the previously installed side wall off of the fireman's side of #35's cab in order to clean up the welds on the frame and to weld in this newly fabbed piece.
With the years having taken its toll on the cab, like other steam locomotives that have to sit in the elements, adding back steel parts like this strengthen and stiffen up the entire assembly.
During a visit to the RR Museum of Pa in Strasburg, John found that the cabs on the G5s, L1s. M1s and K4s are identical. Imagine that! This will help us to fabricate components that were previously "cast" and allow us to continue the project.
You can see the progress photos on our Facebook page.
MADDOG

And this past Saturday,
As John was cleaning up his welding from the previous weeks work, Fred was again fabricating another floor beam that will be added onto the engineer's side angle bracket to make it a channel like the fireman's side. And just for good measure, before the day was through, Fred also fabricated the last piece that will be added along the back wall to create the channel there. Due to a wiring issue on our compressor, we weren't able to needle scale the inside of the cab. It seems that it is coated in some sort of thick weatherproofing which needs to be removed so we can weld without setting it on fire. Is it possible this is just residue from the coal??
Meanwhile, George was busy cutting out the rest of the diamond plate on the Ping Pong Coach's East vestibule. By opening up this area of the floor, we can plan on removing the damaged steel and ordering up new steel angles and channels for replacement. Luckily, it isn't as bad as we thought. When the air compressor comes back from repairs, we can complete the job of cleaning out the delaminated steel at the underside.
Photos can be viewed on our Facebook site.

From all of us at the Oyster Bay RR Museum, We wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Greetings from the Oyster Bay RR Museum!
Our first volunteer session of the new year was a wash out for Saturday, so what do you do?
Change it to Sunday!!
A huge day for us as we (Fred/John P/Bernard and I) were able to get the Engineers side floor brace and the rear cab brace fitted and welded into place.
At the same time, the last piece of the fireman's side wall was welded up which in effect now completes almost all of the fireman's side wall work.
Our focus is now on adding in a length of "C "channel from one side to the other to allow for fore and aft braces to be welded in. after that, we can then raise up the entire cab and begin the addition of the steel flooring and the repairs to the cabs outer steel shell. Trust me when U say that there will be a lot of steel repair's/replacement!
And while that was going on, George was able to remove the entire floor inside the West end vestibule. This flooring is diamond plate which after all of the years had patches and shims and who knows what was done to keep the car going. Some new angle pieces and a couple of steel patch panels will bring us to the point of being able to cut and fit new diamond plate to both the East and West floors.
After this, we will work on repairing the cars shell.
For the Tender, we are going to create a few new patch panels and get them welded into place to create a more weather/water tight tank.
This coming Saturday, we expect many more hands which will give us a few folks to go over to the train station to get some work done there.
To view photos from our progress, go to the Oyster Bay RR Museums Facebook page.
Thank you
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Our weekly update from the Oyster Bay RR Museum.
On a cold wintry day in the yard, our master fabricator Fred, cut and welded in the last 2 parts of the sub floor assembly for the cab of #35.
We can now install the diamond plate floor.
Also, one of the 2 pieces of steel for the back wall will be ready to go back in next session and the other can be cut and fitted into place.
While that was going on, George and Gary were busy getting the north east staircase riser of the Ping Pong Coach cut out and a new one crafted by Fred, installed. George was also busy cutting off brackets from the old vestibule floors of the Ping Pong Coach coach to get them ready to bolt into the new steel floor plates to be created in a couple of weeks.
Steve T, not to be outdone. Hooked up an electrical line into our little yard office. By installing a 40 watt bulb into the fridge, we were able to create enough warmth to keep the primer and coffee machine warm enough not to freeze, therefore allowing us fresh coffee at our volunteer work sessions. This has proven to be a huge hit!
Next week, our electrician should be back so we can get up into the collector box to wire up power from PSE&G to the motor.
It was a long 8 hour day, but with just the 4 of us, it got done!!
MADDOG

[hondajohn]

#35's cab had suffered severe structural corrosion throughout, but the floor, lower frame, and lower walls were in the worst condition. In some sections, the material had disintegrated completely, and the cab was in danger of literally falling apart. Several years ago, museum volunteers fabricated a temporary lower frame to stabilize the cab in preparation for heavy repairs.

This past December, our volunteers traveled to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to take reference measurements and photographs from PRR G5s #5741. That information was then used to draft a brand-new set of blueprints for an improved lower frame, utilizing modern materials and construction methods. We finished fabricating the basic structure this past weekend, and will soon complete the lower wall sheetmetal before tackling the upper walls and roof.

[RGlueck]

I'm very glad to see an effort made to stabilize and saved some of #35's original fabric. Likewise, I'm glad to see you guys working through the winter. The two LIRR G5's need a solid "push" to get them moved back into the limelight of active restorations. I do hope OBRM makes their G5s a highlighted priority in 2019.
Thank you for the photos and notification.

[hondajohn]

Our goal is to save as much of the original cab metal as possible, and reproduce the original design where practical. We decided to do a "clean sheet" redesign of the lower frame and floor supports because the originals had completely rotted away, leaving nothing to rebuild or copy. Externally, the cab will appear visually unchanged, and it will ultimately bolt back onto the locomotive using the same brackets. I've attached some hand sketches below of the new lower frame and the planned floor.

[hondajohn]

Here is a detail shot of the new lower frame on the engineer's side of the cab.

[RGlueck]

Replacing bad steel with good makes sense. When the work is completed, store it off the ground, out of water, and under a roof!

[MADDOG]

Our weekly update from the Oyster Bay RR Museum.
The weathermen all said that it would be very cold, however, NOT!
6 hardy souls converged at the yard and began to set up the compressor, welder and oxy/acetylene torch and began to cut and weld new steel onto the rear side of #35's cab. We opened up the 2 parts storage trailers and removed the diamond plate steel floor for the cab that was made for us by one of the NC department workers when we were in Mitchel Field (MF). Also taken out was the hinged apron that will get bolted to the rear of the cab to go on top of the tenders coal deck and the cab walkways. These last 2 units will be installed on the sides of the cab under the frame after the cab is raised far enough off the ground.
We put a few men to needle scaling and grinding the paint off of the steel. The cab exterior had the paint removed by me way back in the late 90's in MF and so, any exterior paint came off with ease.
Our fabricator/welding masters came up with a detailed plan to reinforce the front wall (which goes over the boiler backhead) and to straighten all of the bent steel.
Once this has been completed and all of the new steel welded in, we will start from the roof hatch and replace all rotted metal on the roof.
Then we will raise the unit high enough to get the walkways installed.
We will then need to design and price out a simple lean-to to go over the cab.
As this was going on, a new riser was fabricated and installed on a portion of the south/east staircase, like last week when we did the same on the North/east staircase.
This one , however was only a partial piece as the existing riser was in much better shape. Also cut out and newly installed was a section of 2+1/2 in steel angle to form a lip at the top where the new diamond plate flooring will sit on.
Next week, more work on #35's cab and the Ping Pong Coach.
Not to be forgotten, we located a piece of the tender water tank that will go onto the front tank area which we had custom cut & rolled and Fred welded into a piece to be fitted up and welded in.
As is always going on, our electrician came up to go over a parts plan for the turntables collector box which sits at the top of the TT's bridge.
When he has assembled all of the parts needed, we will go up to install the wiring harnesses. This will be an all day affair but will then allow us to work on the ground moving forward.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Another fantastic weekend at the Oyster Bay RR Museum!!
This past Saturday found us cutting and laying in the 2 new floor sheets. Our master craftsmen, Fred and John skillfully cut and installed these 2 pieces of 1/4" thick diamond plate steel to match the center section. The other 2 pieces of flooring are just a friction fit and will be held in by its own weight and the interference fit with the 2 new pieces.
Also completed were the installation of the 2 lower rear pieces on the back of the cab. Previously, Fred fabricated what was once a custom forged piece by the PRR, which is installed around the sharp edges of the cab rear entry, which was cut to size and welded onto the existing forging. After cleaning up the weld, I DARE YOU to tell me it doesn't match!!
All the while, Bernard continued to remove rust/scale/paint from the roof of the cab so we have a clean surface to begin the replacement of the drip rails and roof steel.
At the same time, George continued to do repairs to the vestibule steps of the Ping Pong Coach and Paul began to needle scale the interior of the GE 25 ton dinky #398.

Today, Sunday February 3rd, John was there bright and early, to drill, tap and bolt in the center section and add the bolts to the rear wall to imitate the rivets.
During the early part of the coming eek he will plan the next step of the cab restoration.
We will keep plugging away on he Ping/398/tender and our turntable!

Photos and video are available to view on our LIRR 35 and Oyster Bay RR Museum Facebook pages
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Another weekly update from the Oyster Bay RR Museum:
As we continue our mission, even in the bitter cold, our intrepid volunteers are still getting the jobs done. George was busying himself removing the remaining rivets under the brackets in the Ping Pong Coach #7433. Bernard was removing paint and welding slag from last weeks work and the results were magnificent.
Paul was, once again ,using our needlescaler to remove more of the paint inside the cab of #398. Not much left to go.
Fred, our master fabricator, was working on the final parts for #35's bridge plate installation. Last week John drilled out the lower rear panels for the bracket installation, leaving only to fabricate and properly align drill 3 brackets. These 3 brackets were made using 2 inch x 2 inch 1/4" steel angle that after properly measuring for the bolt holes, were then drilled using specialized drill equipment.
Next week will see the newly installed lower frame wall being drilled to accept the 1/2 inch bolts and the installation of the bridge plate.
All through this work, we are still busy removing the built up rust between the wall sheets to enable us to clean the gaps and prime them before using the BFH to whack the sheets back in place with no gaps.
You can view video and photos on our Facebook pages.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

From OBRM:
although there were only 3 core people working last week, they managed to get much accomplished (as usual).
George continued pounding away on the Ping Pong coach while Fred and Steve worked diligently to remove the remaining rotted steel on the front of #35's cab.
During the week, John P informed us that he stopped by for a night session of cleaning up the welds and slag from the previous Saturdays session.
At this time, it looks like Fred will begin to cut out the 1/8" steel plate to form the replacement front sheets and tack them in place.
After that is done we will then proceed to install the bottom front sheets that were already cut and formed.
One piece of steel that will be taken off is the back air deflector. This piece has 35 stenciled in gold Leaf and will be hung in our museum while a replacement will be bolted in its place. Please go to our Facebook pages for OBRM and Locomotive #35 for photos.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

**UPDATE**
From the Oyster Bay RR Museum-
This past Saturday, sans welders, our volunteers continued their hard work.
The efforts this day were to continue stripping the paint off the interior of GE 25 ton "Dinky" #398. There is still a bit of paint on the ceiling to remove by needle scaling and the entire control stand needs to be chemically stripped to avoid damaging the gauges. On the fireman's side of the lower cab wall, the exterior weld beads were ground clean and then primed. There is still plenty of weld bead to be ground clean and primed.
The piece of the cab that was mentioned last week which had "LI 35" in gold leaf was removed and the entire front (not the LI 35) was needle scaled to removed the old flaking paint. The back will be stripped separately as it is covered in what the RR Museum of PA calls "Insulmat" which is a tar based product used by the PRR.
We also continued to remove scale, paint and welding slag on the front of the cab to facilitate sheet metal replacement on the fireman's side.
And if this weren't enough work, we also continued to remove any lingering rivets on the underside of the Ping Pong Coach.
A cold day but a productive day.
You can see the photos on our LIRR #35 or OBRM Facebook pages.