**LONG ISLAND PRESERVATION NEWS**

[MADDOG]

From OBRM
Folks, for those of you who seem confused as to why all the steelwork on #398 is being repaired when we received these "overhauled" units years ago, here is the reason.
The batteries were removed from insde the cab but the interior walls were mostly removed as scrap except the back wall which will need to be removed .
All of the wall "studs" were rotted off at the bottom where they meet the floor and only the exterior steel was holding the cab together.
So, the decision was made to replace all of the rotted stell with new and to re-hab the interior/exterior of the cab. When we finish, we plan on watering the unit to find any and all leaks which will be repaired so no more water intrusion into the cab.
Then a brand new BICENTENNIAL paint job like 105!!
Only kidding.
Yellow-as delivered
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

OBRM update-
As of yesterday, Saturday August 11th, the insurance underwriters inspection for the electrical service was completed and we were given the approval to proceed with the PSE&G hookup. PSE&G visited the site on Thursday and will come back to hook us up within the next couple of weeks.
Our meter pan was given the pan plug in preparation for the meter install.
This is excellent news as after this is hooked up, we now have full yard power to test the turntable's motor.

Asplundh will return to tighten up the guy wires which hold the collector box steady on top of the turntable's bridge so it doesn't move.
Then the wiring will move forward to electrify the control stand, resistor bank and motor.
Railroad Construction corporation, a LIRR contractor, will install track on top of the turntable bridge an adjust the ring rail for proper operation.
If all continues to move forward with no hiccups, we cold see the turntables operation by the Oyster Festival in October.

As for GE 25 ton #398, John has been continuing the re-welding of the cab walls and installation of new steel wall studs along the bottom of the walls where they meet the floor. These had all but rotted away. The Fireman's side wall has been completed along with the front door and engineers side. He is just finishing up the back wall and will finish up the job by cutting out and installing a new threshold to the cab under the engineers door.

Since yesterdays volunteer work session was called off due to the very heavy rain which actually flooded the yard somewhat, we weren't able to tune up our welder/generator or continue to repair the tender.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Another OBRM Update-
Well, at the last notice we were ready to work on our generator and a couple of weeks ago finally got the tune-up kits and went to town on our 10+year old Lincoln Ranger 8 generator/welder. When finished almost an hour later, we had changed the oil, plugs gas/oil/air filters and cleaned out the carburetor. Now it works like it did when brand new. Maintenance is the key for everything.
At the same time, we spent more time on the electrical service to get it ready for inspection before PSE&G came in to power us up and after a couple of weeks, I am very Happy to report that we now have both 240 and 120 service in the yard for our tools and welder.
We used this service to power up our tools so we could add security railings around the back of both the DE/DM and M7 simulators so we could keep our guests safer.
It also helps us to not have parts lying around, having put them to good use!
We were also able to lay out our trench templates for the 3 new conduits which will need to be buried underground.
1 will allow us to send 200 amp service to our engine house while another will allow us to send 60 amps to the front gate for future power needs.
The third conduit will allow us to pull a 120/20amp and a 240/50amp circuit (for welding and tool use) out to the Ping Pong Coach and Tender which is undergoing major steel replacement.
Once Asplundh returns to lift and re-set the guide wires for the Turntable collector box, we can start hooking up the wiring on top of the collector box and finally, to the resistor bank and motor. We have hired Railroad Construction Corp to lower and tie together all of the ring rail as well as lay rails on top of the turntable deck. We are waiting on a quote for a piece of panel track approximately 40 feet long. With over 100 foot of track with the panel track , we will finally be able to move the GE 25 ton Dinky on top of the turntable and be able to spin her around.
Go to our Facebook page to see the progress at the display yard and also at the Historic Presidential RR Station of President Theodore Roosevelt.
There has been a ton of woodwork and brickwork being done on the west end and we also had all 6 windows restored and installed, so, after almost 75 years, the lower 3 windows are able to be seen and seen through!!
MADDOG

[hondajohn]

Members of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum have made further progress on the rust repairs in LIRR 398's cab. The bottom 6 inches of the cab had suffered severe rust damage, and the worst was the back wall. At some point, the LIRR had attempted to repair the structural integrity by welding a piece of replacement steel on top of the damage, but neglected to remove the rusty metal underneath. This trapped moisture and caused further rust in the replacement piece.

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We started by removing panels of original sheetmetal, exposing the LIRR repair beneath. (Light gray is original GE metal, dark gray is LIRR patch panel). Then, we welded the original structural ribs to the replacement metal, properly bonding the two layers together and removing the empty space between.

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[hondajohn]

In addition to the vertical ribs, we discovered that the patch panel had never been welded to the floor of the cab. We completed the weld and replaced the missing lower portions of several ribs.

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With the left side of the back wall stable, we turned our attention to repairs on the fireman's side wall. It was necessary to replace the strut at the rear left corner, as well as 18 inches of lower sheetmetal.

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[hondajohn]

Work continues at Oyster Bay! With the completion of the fireman's side of the rear wall, we're now moving to the engineer's side. Repairs on that portion will include replacement of the bottom of the door frame. Here are comparison shots of the two halves:

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[RGlueck]

Quite commendable work. Getting ahead of the corrosion is 90% or the battle.

[hondajohn]

Fall weather has finally arrived, and the volunteers at Oyster Bay are pressing forward with rust repairs inside 398's cab. All four corners of the cab have now been completely rebuilt, the remaining details will be sorted before the winter, and bodywork and repainting will occur next Spring. Here are some progress shots of the back corner of the engineer's side:

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[MADDOG]

A short update on the Oyster Bay RR Museum-
This past Saturday was a breakthrough day for the volunteers. After removing so much of the Ping Pong coach, it was finally time to start the reconstruction. Mind you, it will go slowly as our car "was rode hard and put away (very) wet"!!
Our first piece installed tied together the south-west bulkhead wall to the frame which will allow us to install the bathroom cross members. Hopefully, we can get all 4 of these welded in next Saturday. Then the toilet flange will be installed and finally we can start installing the previously fabricated cross beams to tie the entire floor together.
Our future plans are to get the corrugated steel floor installed, then the heater covers and finally the seat frames get bolted in. Finally, we can pour a concrete floor after sealing all of the holes.
Even though the Museum will be closed throughout the winter, many of the volunteers will work through it to push this project along.
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

A brief update from the Oyster Bay RR Museum for Saturday 11/10/18
It was very windy but our volunteers came out to assist our master fabricator/welder, Fred Rubin install steel under the bathroom in our ping pong coach #7433.
These 2 pieces were already fabricated and installation went well allowing us to place the toilet flange that Fred fabricated a few months ago.
With a bit of oversized holes to bolt to the toilet itself, the flange was placed over the newly installed floor braces and the toilet installed (temporarily).
At this time, we placed all of the previously fabbed cross members inside the coach for future installation after we level the car.
Next week, we plan on fabricating 2 more cross members to tie the toilet braces into the floor assembly. Tedious work, but Fred makes it look so easy. The hard part is putting up with us novices.
Photos will be available on our Facebook page for the Museum.
We are planning on working through the winter to keep the momentum going on the Ping restoration.
MADDOG

[hondajohn]

After 10 months of work, the volunteers at Oyster Bay completed the rust repairs of LIRR 398's cab with the replacement of the engineer door bottom sill. The locomotive will be buttoned-up for the winter, and bodywork, repainting, and window sealing will take place this upcoming Spring. Here are some progress pictures to show the extent of the repair work (all painted with brown Rustoleum).

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[hondajohn]

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[MADDOG]

Greetings from OBRM-
An update from the yard.
Taking advantage of a warm day, a few of our volunteers continued work on the Ping Pong Coach to install the previously fabricated cross members into the floor structure.These are only temporarily welded to hold them in place and will tie the entire floor together to give the car much need rigidity.
Last week, our volunteers strategically jacked up the car level which made our mission today, much easier.
Our master welder Fred Rubin, fabricated these cross members, some of which are notched to be welded to all of the channels and cast frame bearers at the 2 truck assemblies. We could see that a couple of areas will need to be trimmed to fit better and maybe boxed for ease of welding, but once we complete removal of the rest of the delaminated steel, we can finally weld all 13 of these members into place.
As we move forward, we plan on working throughout the winter as weather permits to get this car ready to install the corrugated steel and seat assemblies in the spring.

Since I have had nothing but problems post photos here, please take a look at our Facebook page for photos.
Thank you
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Greetings from OBRM--
As we finished up this past Saturday at the yard, #398, our GE 25 ton diesel was "put to rest" for the winter. Over the winter, we will work on getting the leaks on the window glass sealed up and hopefully be able to needle scale the entire cab interior of paint, down to bare metal.
There are a few parts to be found/purchased in order to get the windshield wiper system back up and running front and back and some small "housekeeping" items.
Then in the spring, we can sand down the exterior, do a bit of clean-up on the bodywork and get both the interior and exterior final painted.

While Dinky work was being done,
Fred, George, Bernard and Gary were getting the North Side Frame members welded in. If you recall, last week, we just laid them in place and centered them in preparation for welding.
There are 7 bays on the floor and we did not weld in the outer 4 bays to facilitate more metal removal on the bulkheads.
If possible, during this week, Fred will come up with his son to weld in the 5 members on the South side of the floor.
Next Saturday is our Holiday Express and we will be working at the yard while it is closed.
No photos this week to upload to our Facebook pages. Sorry
MADDOG

[MADDOG]

Greetings from OBRM-
After getting Dinky #398 winterized, we formulated a plan to be implemented over the winter to complete a bit of housekeeping on this unit.
We need to get new windshield wiper blade and run a new air-line from the front windshield wiper motor to the rear motor. Both cheap and easy.
Then we will need to fabricate a couple of small, sheet metal covers to go over holes in the floor which remain from the removal of the original batteries. Again, cheap and easy. And finally, a full needle scaling of the interior paint to get the cab down to bare metal. Labor only.
In the spring, we can then put a coat of oil primer over everything and a coat of interior paint.
As for the exterior, the entire unit will need to be sanded, a bit of body work and finally a new coat of yellow paint.
The above can also be accomplished on the cheap.

As for the Ping Pong Coach, Fred, George, Bernard and Gary worked to weld in 5 of the 6 south floor cross members. We deemed it necessary to keep the outer most floor bays empty of these new cross members in order to continue the removal of the rotted steel.
Believe me when I tell you that there was/is a ton of bad metal. I have gone through 1 full SD card on my camera documenting everything that has come off already.
All of this needs to be done to keep the interior free of water.
Fred also fabricated 2 more angle supports that were welded on the south side under the bathroom. This bathroom has the most stout floor of any P54 that has ever traversed the LIRR/PRR.
At this time we will have 4 cross members to install after all of the steel work has been completed. Then it will be on to the interior window channels and posts so we can install all of the restored windows and make the car as water tight as we can until the outer skin has been restored.

Plenty of work to be done over the winter.
MADDOG