On Saturday, May 6th an impromptu workday was put together with John T., Scott, and Norm. The crew split time between working on container #4 and club diesel. John and Norm spent the day working on building a switch and looking at the layout of panels for container #4 tracks. Next step will be to build one more switch and some metal work then final push for the completion of the track work for container #4. The plan is to make a big push in June to complete the track work. Be on the lookout for a couple of workdays to put this project into the completed column which will allow us to focus our efforts on the shop project.

Meanwhile Scott worked on the club diesel. As many of you know we had some issues with the club diesel during our last run day and Scott took time to work through the list of items which included:

1. Electric start issues

2. Air compressor wasn’t always working. Loose connection between locomotive and the sulky

3. Battery not charging after use. Issue with alternator mount.

4. The choke pull ring was damaged while pulling the shell off.

5. Notice the choke also needed a new spring installed.

6. Noticed a rattle sound while operating the locomotive during the run day.

While this seems like a lot most of the items have been fixed leaving one big item that needs to be fixed still. It was discovered that the rattle was related to what I’m told is a drive shaft spider coupler which connects the engine with the hydraulic pump needs to be replaced. Good news is while we have to order a replacement Norm does have a personal spare which will most likely be used for the repair.

At this point the club diesel is not operational, and efforts are being made to repair the alternator and the spider coupler before the next run day. If you have any questions or are available to help please contact Scott and Norm in order to find out when they will be working on the locomotive.