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Original artwork Howard Nourse |
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"Updates" Archive Page 5 1/14/03 - 03/30/03 Update Archives page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7, page 8, page 9 |
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Replica Pacific Electric car 501 is rapidly coming together and will soon begin on-line testing. As seen in the pictures below, car 500 is also progressing nicely. Your next opportunity to view both cars will be at the Wilmington Red Car Works Open House on Saturday January 25, from 11am to 3pm.
Out on the Red Car Line, all of the platform ramps have been installed at the stations, and more site improvements have been completed adjacent to the Ports O' Call station. Car 1058 continues to receive maintenance and equipment upgrades at the Maintenance area at 22nd St.
See you at the Open House!
-John Smatlak photos. Click any image to enlarge- |
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| Carpenter Paul Chen at work on the roof of car 500, November 2002 |
The exterior of Car 501 was largely complete by November, while work continued on the interior. |
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| November 2002 | Painting progresses inside car 501- late September | ||||
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| Carpenter Tim Buxton shows off some of the crew's handiwork- a steam bent section of letterboard |
Installing one of the letterboard layers on the car- the clamps are holding things in place while the glue dries. |
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| Carpenters Jessie Cruz and Paul Chen at work in car 500- late December | Car 500- early January 2003 | ||||
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| Bruce Heath and Bud Renner bending air brake piping for application to car 500 | Installing air brake piping under the car | ||||
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| Early January- the ceiling is now painted and varnishing is complete. Flooring and seats come next. |
Close-up of one of the beautiful bulkheads- the mahogany woodwork is truly breathtaking; a tribute to the Port's talented carpenters. |
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| The same bulkhead area on preserved car 538 at OERM | Carpenters at work on car 500- 1/14/03 | ||||
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Carpenters at work on car 500- 1/14/03 |
Siding sheets being installed on car 500, 1/14/03. Car 501 received the more traditional matchboard siding, though the finished appearance will be the same on both cars.. |
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| -John Smatlak photos. Click any image to enlarge- | |||||
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Replica Pacific Electric car 501 now has its rubber flooring installed, and the seats are scheduled to be installed the week of 2/17. Work continues on completing installation of all the electrical equipment. Car 500 now has most of its exterior woodwork installed, including all of the siding, the letterboard, the window post pillars, and the tack rail. Still to come is the belt rail and the metal plates over the dashers. Underneath the car, work is advancing steadily on installation of the air brake piping and devices. Your next opportunity to view both cars will be at the Wilmington Red Car Works Open House on Saturday February 22, from 11am to 3pm.
-John Smatlak photos. Click any image to enlarge-
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Carpenter Kent Schuman works on one of the tack rail / drip rail corner pieces 1/31/03 |
A total of four curved pieces were required per car, each one fit to one of the corners. |
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| Here's one of the curved tack rail pieces installed on car 500. |
A comparison between an original section from PE 538 (left) and the new section made for the project. This molding provides a place for the edge of the roofing canvas to be "tacked" to, and it also beads the water away from the car side. |
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| close up showing installation on the side of car 500 | Installing the final side piece on car 500 1/31/03 | ||||
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The window post with letterboard in place but prior to installing the pillars. 1/31/03 |
The pillars have now been glued to the window posts, and the clamps will hold things in place until the glue dries. |
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| The varnish room |
Here are some of the decorative elements for the interior window post panels |
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| This view shows an original panel (right) placed next to one of the reproductions (left) |
Window post panel detail, original on the right, reproduction on the left. |
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| This view shows an original upper window sash (right) placed next to one of the reproductions (left) |
An original window bar placed in front of one of the reproductions installed on the bulkhead of car 501. |
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An original curved corner window frame on the left, reproduction at right. |
The original frame laid on top of the replica. The window opening on the replica is slightly smaller due to the fact that the steel frame required wider window posts. |
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Carpenter Paul Chen lays out the rubber flooring material to fit around the bulkhead. |
Flooring installation in progress, the mastic has been laid out (left) and is setting up. One half of each strip was glued down at a time. 2/7/03 |
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After the mastic had set up, the flooring was rolled out across some wood strips to check the alignment |
The wood strips were then pulled out one at a time and the flooring set into the mastic. Carpenter Jessie Cruz is about to pull out the first strip. |
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Car 500 on February 13, 2003. The siding has been installed and has received a primer coat. |
Another view of car 500, February 13, 2003 | ||||
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| Pre-assembled seats. | The first two seats are placed in the car to check the spacing 2/13/03 | ||||
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| Interior of car 501, February 13, 2003 |
Henry and Omar from Henry's Upholstery in San Pedro pose with one of the doorway curtains they provided for the project under contract to the Port. |
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-John Smatlak photos. Click any image to enlarge- |
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Replica Pacific Electric car 501 now has all of its seats installed and has been receiving final fitting out prior to being placed on the rails to begin testing. Car 500 now has all of its exterior woodwork installed along with the sheet metal wrappers over each dash. The roof covering has also been installed, and the trolley boards and various roof-top trim pieces are being placed. The pictures below detail the latest progress. -John Smatlak photos. Click any image to enlarge-
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| Test fitting the sheet metal end wrapper on car 500 3/4/03 | Installing the seats in car 501 3/4/03 | ||||
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Electrician Mike DeLang and mechanical consultant Bruce Heath at work on car 501 3/21/03 |
Rubber roofing being installed on car 500, 3/10/03 | ||||
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| Car 500 rests inside the Red Car Works 3/22/03 | Car 501 3/22/03 | ||||
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| Car 501 3/22/03 | Car 501 interior 3/22/03 | ||||
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| Car 501 platform 3/22/03 |
Carpenters Kent Schuman and Tim Buxton gluing up some mahogany to create one of the large bulkhead components 3/27/03 |
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| Carpenters Jessie Cruz and Paul Chen lay in one of the molding components on the roof edge | Car 500 3/27/03 | ||||
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| Car 500, end bulkhead framing 3/27/03 | Car 500, middle bulkhead framing 3/27/03 | ||||
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-John Smatlak photos. Click any image to enlarge- Go to Updates Page 6
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