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I remember 236 being in Union Bridge with a
crowd of WMRHS volunteers hovering around the prime mover and the electrical
system. There was a lot of work performed both by B&O museum and WMRHS
volunteers.
Lee
In regard to the WM F7A 236 project, to
the best of my knowledge, the
locomotive is nearing completion and in
fact may be in primer as I write.
Several of the body panels were badly
corroded and had to be replaced along
with sections of the supporting
frame. There was, I believe, a great deal of
welding necessary in
addition to countless hours of needle-gunning, scraping
and sanding to
prepare the body for painting. As an example of the work done,
many
hours were spent removing the paint from the intake grills to restore
them to their original condition. I understand there was some mechanical
work
done also but I do not know what kind and to what extent (I think
to the
brake system, but that's only a guess).
As for the WMRHS
restoration, anything done to the 236 was bare minimum to
get her
running. If I recall correctly, while the Society did contribute
funds
and help, the majority of the work was done by B&O Museum staff and
volunteers.
Of course if I'm wrong about this, I'll eat a big
plate of crow…!
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