# Huber Breaker Preservation society Mine cars



## Don F

It appears that I'll be working on another restoration project for the Huber Breaker Preservation Society in Ashley PA. Several years ago, the society acquired two mine cars from Paselo Logistics during the demolition of the breaker. Mr. Ray Clarke, the society founder, called me the other day and asked if I would be interested in restoring one. He is searching for a suitable indoor location somewhere in the Ashley area. I am excited about this project, as it is something completely mining related. The shanty and signal are indirectly related, as the railroad moved the coal from the breaker to markets near and far. Hopefully, a suitable work space can be found. Once I find out all the details, I will be enlisting volunteers to assist with the work.


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## Don F

Ashley Borough Council voted to provide a stall in the maintenance garage section of the borough building to use for restoration work on one of the two mine cars we have. Our preservation society CEO and I will be meeting with the borough manager on Monday to make arrangements to have after hours and weekend access to the stall. A real train to work on, Yay!


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## Magic

Good news Don.
With your excellent job skills it should turn out great.

Magic


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## Don F

That was a short lived work space; because the police department uses part of the space to store evidence, and there are no partitions, we were declined use of the stall. We are looking at a storage garage at St Leo's Church for an alternate space.


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## Don F

The mine car was delivered this week, and I took several photos to document its current condition. I'll be taking measurements, and making some drawings so I have a reference for the repair work. This car is in much better condition then the other car, but it will still be a time consuming project. I met with a fellow preservationist from the Scranton Pa area who restored a car just like this. He gave me some pointers, and has photo documentation of his work.


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## Magic

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you.
Good luck with this project. 

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Looks like you've got your work cut out for you.
> Good luck with this project.
> 
> Magic


Thanks Magic, I'm looking forward to this one. This is the first real project that is exclusively mining related.


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## Don F

We had a little setback, I thought we were going to have to move the car to another space for restoration. Our board was concerned about liability issues, but I just received word from our fearless leader that the insurance company gave us the green light to proceed. Our society was named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a girl who was injured while TRESPASSING on Blue Coal property, and since our society is called The Huber Breaker Preservation Society, we were held liable just because of the use of the name! Sever board members had reservations about using the church garage for fear of potential legal issues. All is good now, and I can start.


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## Don F

This is a link to an article written by a friend who is retired from one of the local papers. He contributes articles from time to time.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/restoration-work-on-former-huber-mine-cars-set-to-begin-1.2264488


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## Don F

Not much new to report on the mine car project. My son and I picked up the oxygen and acetylene tanks last week, but no work has begun yet, I want to compare the blue prints to the actual car, and mark down the bolts for the wood sides before removal. I may get started this coming week.


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## Big Ed

Hi Don, do you know the approximate age of the cars?

The chain looks in good shape for the age (whatever that is), they don't make them like that anymore.:thumbsup:
All new wood or is some salvageable?


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## teledoc

Don, After the work on the shanty, and your welding experience, this should be a great project to complete. It looks in pretty sad shape now, but with your other work, we all know you can get this job done in fine fashion. Keep everyone posted on the progress, and lots of photos, throughout the whole project. Good luck!!:thumbsup::smilie_daumenpos::smilie_daumenpos:


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## cole226

hard to imagine the history around that little car. 

Don, be careful and good luck with it.


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## Don F

Big Ed said:


> Hi Don, do you know the approximate age of the cars?
> 
> The chain looks in good shape for the age (whatever that is), they don't make them like that anymore.:thumbsup:
> All new wood or is some salvageable?


Big Ed, I can possibly find out the age? The blue prints I have date to 1897, but that does not indicate the true build time of this car. These cars were built by the American Car and Foundry of Berwick PA. Breakers are mammoth facilities for separating and crushing the raw coal. This car and its sister were used in the Franklin Mine in Wanamie, a companion processing plant of the Blue Coal co. near Nanticoke PA. The other car we have is allegedly being restored at a vocational school as I mentioned in the first post. 
There may be many parts on this car that may have been replaced over time, jus a s with rolling stock and locomotives. Currently it is attached with several common nails driven through the wood and bent over on the inside. Not quite what one would consider structurally sound, but the car was used in a parade many years ago, and may have been cobbled together for that purpose.


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## Don F

teledoc said:


> Don, After the work on the shanty, and your welding experience, this should be a great project to complete. It looks in pretty sad shape now, but with your other work, we all know you can get this job done in fine fashion. Keep everyone posted on the progress, and lots of photos, throughout the whole project. Good luck!!:thumbsup::smilie_daumenpos::smilie_daumenpos:


Thanks for the vote of confidence Teledoc. The wood frame structure and steel bottom are the two worst deficiencies. If the torches can loosen the nuts and bolts, it should be a fairly easy but time consuming project. I am hoping to have a new bottom fabricated at a local sheet metal shop. One of the employees is a volunteer who is working on the signals for the mast signal that was restored this past summer.


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## Don F

cole226 said:


> hard to imagine the history around that little car.
> 
> Don, be careful and good luck with it.


I will do my best to work safely, as some of the help will be supplied by high school students. These cars certainly did their fair share of work, that's for sure. We are hoping to get a steam lokie that drug these cars around. It is currently in a private collection in Oregon. It is fully restored with the exception that it is not operable under steam, but nonetheless very a very desirable piece to include at our memorial park. Only time will tell if we are successful in acquiring it.


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## Don F

I had hoped to get some measurements and the begin some demo work on the wood sides, but here in NEPA, it's bone chilling single digits at night, and day time temps in the low to mid teens. There is no heat in the garage where the car is, and this old guy has had more then my share of cold outdoor workdays as a former mason. I have been off all week, and all I managed was to get the measurements for new side boards. Temps are forecast to continue through next week.


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## Big Ed

Went out to Millhall, Pa on Wednesday, my trucks outdoor temperature reading hit a low of 2*. Brrrr!

I have a 2 car over sized garage with a loft, loft only for storage only.
I use a little space heater that runs off propane and it gets it nice and toasty in a little while.

The number 100?
That must have been the 100th one they made?


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## Don F

Big Ed said:


> Went out to Millhall, Pa on Wednesday, my trucks outdoor temperature reading hit a low of 2*. Brrrr!
> 
> I have a 2 car over sized garage with a loft, loft only for storage only.
> I use a little space heater that runs off propane and it gets it nice and toasty in a little while.
> 
> The number 100?
> That must have been the 100th one they made?


Ed, it's a very large garage, and would have to be partitioned to make a heater effective. I would imagine that the car number was for the particular mine it was used in. These thing were made by the thousands. I goota say, it's a nice job welding the number!


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## Don F

I took advantage of some gorgeous weather today, and did some demo work on the car. I removed all the wood planking on the sides ands ends. I also started removal of some the bolts. so far, the torch is working great! I took some detailed measurements, and compared them to the blueprint, and our car is a larger version, so the measurements on the prints are of no use. I have a ton of photos to upload, and the weather is supposed to drop back into the single digits by Sunday, so I'm hoping to work on the bolts again tomorrow. I will post the photos sometime over the weekend.


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## Eilif

You're moving right along!
Glad to see those nuts came loose. That's going to save some work later.
Nice work.


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## Don F

Eilif, thanks. I am hoping to save as much as possible. I am going to work on some of the larger bolts tomorrow.


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## Don F

Saturday was a progress filled day; the weather was tolerable, it reached near 40 degrees, and I was able to loosen nearly all the remaining nuts and bolts. There are several that have tack welds that will need to be ground before loosening. I attacked on bolt that attaches the wheel to the car bottom, but was not up for laying on the cold concrete floor long enough to complete the mission. I am almost to the point of removing the car body, or what's left of it from the wheel assembly. Since this was all nuts and bolts, I didn't take any new and redundant photos. I am hoping for similar temps next weekend, and a helper or two to tackle the body removal.


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## Don F

I got my backside whooped today; I'm in pain from the ankles up! It was a very productive session though, as I loosened all four nuts that hold the draft gear to each end of the car. These are held by two 1 inch rods the run the length of the car. These took quite some time to heat, and I used both a two foot and four foot pipe wrench to break loos the nuts. I removed on of the bumpers, there are four, and have almost all the remaining nuts loosened, but by 1:30, I was done, even though I still had several more nuts to go. Some of the nuts and bolts were tack welded, so a grinder was necessary.
I cut a section of the bottom out to access the bolts holding the bumpers to the frame work, and cut the straps someone welded to separate the hopper from the trucks. This was done because the wood sills were nearly all rotted. Now the hopper bottom is sitting on top of the wheels.


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## Magic

It's amazing you were able to get all those nuts loose after all these years.
Very good work indeed.

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> It's amazing you were able to get all those nuts loose after all these years.
> Very good work indeed.
> 
> Magic


I only broke one, and there are several missing. Some will have to be replaced, as they are rusted very badly.


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## J.C.

lot of work on your part. there as another way to take old nuts off bolts , it is to weld a new nut to the old one , I always used the next size up of nut . this has nothing to do with your project and you might already know of it but good photos of the breaker. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa2251/


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## Don F

J.C.,
I plan to re use the nuts and bolts, and up to this point with only a few bolts remaining, I only broke one bolt. Thank you for the photos and plans, those will be a big help when I build a model of the breaker complex.


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## Don F

Today I had some much needed and appreciated help from a young fellow who is a mining buff. He had expressed an interest in helping in previous sessions, but due to work and volunteer fire dept. calls, was unable to make it. We accomplished a lot of work today, including removal of the remaining nuts and bolts. It was so much easier and quicker having two people!
We removed the wheel carriers, the coupling ends, the remaining three bumpers, and hoisted the car and positioned it on four steel horses. Removal of the rotted steel bottom is the last task to complete before assembly gets under way. 
To lift the car, I spanned the two bar joists that are spaced at about fifteen feet apart with a heavy duty ties down strap, and attached a come- along to the strap and car. Slowly cranking the ratcheting come-along, we lifted one end at a time, and positioned steel horses that were previously used to support the CNJ mast signal, under each corner of the car.


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## Magic

Looks like some good progress today.

4 hands are better than two any day.
Sometimes more than two times better 
for this kind of work.

Magic


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## Big Ed

For the Shanty, tower and now this plus whatever else you should find a spot and sign them.
A lot of artists do. :thumbsup:

Thinking ahead, whats next?
Maybe transport an old CNJ RR station to plant there and fix up?

I think I read about an old one up in Scranton that would be a good candidate?
Just needs a little TLC, no problem for Don.:thumbsup:


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## Don F

My wife said no more projects! Our society is trying to get a steam lokie from a private collection in Oregon. It was used at one of the mines owned by Blue Coal. As far as signing anything. I don't think so, I'm not into that.


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## Don F

I loosened the remainder of the nuts on the mine car, and cut another section of the floor out. I also removed the wheels and tension rods from under the car. I cut a small piece of floor to use as a sample to take to a metal fabrication shop to see if I can get the radius matched. Originally, the floor was one piece, but I don't want to mess with all the rivets that hold the purlin to the floor. The floor sheet bends up the sides about 16" or so, and is riveted to the purlins, side frames, corner posts and angle braces. My plan is to cut the floor just below the purlin, and have two radius angle pieces made, and weld to the remainder of the floor sheet. Then I will have a piece of flat steel with a slight taper from both side to the center to divert any water that gets between the false bottom and the actual floor. I will drill a few holes in the floor to drain the water. 
My next step is tp make leg supports so I can remove the 4 horses that are temporarily supporting the car. My plan is to bolt wo legs to the corner uprights at the rear of the car, and fabricate a stand that will allow for a trailer to back under the car for removal. I will work on these pieces in the comfort of my garage with a fire in the wood burner.


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## Don F

On Saturday, my son Mark helped me bolt legs onto the four corners of the mine car. I used 2" pieces of 3/4" pipe as spacers to keep the posts away from the corners. I used two holes in each corner post that are used to bolt the wood sides to the car. I used my drill press at home to drill the pre-measured holes in each of the posts. These are from some 1 1/2" X 3" steel tubing from a bleacher replacement project at a nearby college. (The benefits of working for a school district!) 
I'm trying to find a facility that can bend a radius in the 1/4" that will become part of the floor. Originally, the floor was one piece, beginning from the point where the wood sheathing begins down about 16" or so, and then the radius bend to the bottom. My plan is to make two pieces bent at the correct radius approximately 7" high X 6" at the bottom. Either a two piece or single piece bottom plate will rest on these angles that will be welded to the sound metal just below the point where the sides are riveted to the purlins and corners. I do not want to disturb the rivets.


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## Don F

Mine Car Restoration Update
I have been checking with local fabricators trying to find a place that can bend a radius on 1/4" steel. I was directed to a company in Hazleton, that can do the job. I will be taking a sample piece of steel from the car to Tonda Fabrication in Hazleton on Monday after work. 
I need to make a comprehensive list of the wood planking for the sides, and the sill beams for the under carriage, and then contact some saw mills to get pricing and availability. If there are any machinists out there, I am looking for a 5/8" coarse thread die, a 3/4" coarse thread tap and die, and a 1" tap and die to dress the threads on the nuts and bolts before assembly. 
I am also looking for a hydraulic cylinder that works horizontally, for straightening some of the upper frame work.


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## Homeless by Choice

Don F said:


> Mine Car Restoration Update
> I have been checking ... assembly.
> I am also looking for a hydraulic cylinder that works horizontally, for straightening some of the upper frame work.


Possible suggestion: Use a hydraulic car/truck bottle jack

Most bottle jacks can be laid over sideways with the pump on the bottom so it can draw in fluid and still work fine.

LeRoy


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## Don F

We do have a bottle jack at work that may work. I don't need that much pressure, as I will be heating the bent section.


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## Don F

Homeless by choice, I took your advice, and tried the small bottle jack we have at work, and it worked as you described. My oldest son Don III applied the heat, and I manned the jack, and we succeeded in straightening a vertical channel brace the connects the top rail with the bottom purlin, and also attaches to the floor sheet and the wood planks. There is an angle iron on the end that is bent in, and will be next on the schedule to be straightened. The top rail directly above the channel that was straightened is bowed outward, and a come along will be used to pull it in.


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## Don F

A few people at work told me there was an article in the paper about the mine car restoration project this morning. I was excited to read that the car at the local vocational school is being worked on again. 

http://citizensvoice.com/news/restored-mine-cars-should-be-ready-for-miners-park-this-year-1.2309824


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## Don F

Mark and I did another round of metal straightening this afternoon on the mine car. Today, it was an end angle iron on the top that needed to be pushed out. I originally fabricated a 1 1/2" steel pipe, and an angle iron with a short section of a larger diameter pipe as a cradle for the 1 1/2" to rest in the jack was supposed to go against the end of the pipe, which was 81 inches long. the cradle end was clamped to a 5/8" thick piece of steel that spans the width about 3/4" of the way down the car. this was to stop the coal from shifting in the car as it was pulled up the slope, and was to be my resistance base for the pipe and jack. It was too long, and the jack would buckle before achieving adequate pressure on the angle iron to be heat straightened. Mark and I moved the steel spacer closer to the work area, which worked well.
The straightened angle iron needs to be hammered back into form, as it distorted as it straightened. I have to weld it back in place, as the one end was barely welded, and broke free during the straightening process.
A co-worker had both a 5/8' and 3/4" NC die that I needed to chase the threads on many of the nuts and bolts. I determined by measurement that the rods that run the length of the car to secure the coupling yokes to be 1 1/8", which he didn't have. I will ask at a local machine shop if they have what I need. 
I located a fabricator who can bend the side sections of the floor for a very reasonable cost. I also found a pile of 1/4" steel plate at a scrap yard that can be used for these parts and the floor. The owner gave mem a good price for the material I would need. The project is progressing nicely.


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## Big Ed

Nice butt shot in the last picture.:laugh:
Good for our female members.

Man, you have a lot of energy!
What color will it be painted?
Looking good Don, you going to fill the car up with the real stuff when done?


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## Don F

Big Ed said:


> Nice butt shot in the last picture.:laugh:
> Good for our female members.
> I was going for the straightened angle iron, and that just happened. Don't think that one will go on the web page!
> 
> Man, you have a lot of energy!
> What color will it be painted?
> Looking good Don, you going to fill the car up with the real stuff when done?


My energy level is not on equal terms with my abilities anymore. By the way, that's my son Mark. I'm in the previous set of photos from the last heat straightening session with my oldest son Don.
The car won't be painted, as it was used as is from its production at American Car and Foundry in Berwick PA to its final days at the franklin Mine in Wilkes-Barre Twp. I did ask to weather the wood and seal it, and to put a chemical treatment on the metal to turn the rust to a protective coating.


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## Don F

A co-worker had two of the three taps and dies that I need for chasing the threads on the nuts and bolts. I did a test this afternoon on one of the 3/4" bolts to make sure the threads match, and everything is good to go.


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## Don F

No work on the mine car this morning due to a funeral for a neighbor, close friend and fellow CCD teacher. Mark and I worked on the car this afternoon, and finished all the heat straightening, on the top rail, and the side channel posts. The come along worked very well, and I am pleased with the top rail. As Mark was heating sections of the channel posts to be straightened, I cleaned up some debris and loaded some tools that are no longer needed into the car. I also put some nuts and bolts in a box to take home to dress the threads. 
Thanks for all comments of support and encouragement. I am hoping to hear from the fabricator this week so we can pick up the steel that was ordered. It is now full reconstruction time!


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## Magic

That's some pretty heavy metal you're bending there.
Good work, it's starting to shape up pretty nice. (pun intended)

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> That's some pretty heavy metal you're bending there.
> Good work, it's starting to shape up pretty nice. (pun intended)
> 
> Magic


Thanks Magic. It would have been a little faster with a rosebud tip, but we got by. I couldn't see buying a tip for a one time use.


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## Magic

I was wondering why you were using that tip.
If you have a lot more bending to do I have a small rosebud 
I'll donate to the cause. Don't know what size it is but will check tomorrow.
If I remember right it should be about right for the work you are doing.
I also have a BIG one that'll melt almost anything. :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:
You can watch the needles drop on the gauges. 

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> I was wondering why you were using that tip.
> If you have a lot more bending to do I have a small rosebud
> I'll donate to the cause. Don't know what size it is but will check tomorrow.
> If I remember right it should be about right for the work you are doing.
> I also have a BIG one that'll melt almost anything. :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:
> You can watch the needles drop on the gauges.
> 
> Magic


Thanks for the offer Magic, but Mark and I finished the heat straightening on Saturday. I had thought about getting a rosebud tip, but there was so little, that the welding tip was adequate for the job. The fabricator called me this morning to confirm the bends I need for the bottom supports, so all the metal for the rebuild may be ready by the end of the week. I placed a spreader bar at one end of the car, just above a rotted angle iron that needs to be replaced. I have to do this at both ends, then I can cut out the remainder of the bottom , and begin welding the new support angles. My oldest son Don III brought my welder to the garage yesterday morning as I was finishing CCD class.


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## Magic

Glad you got it all handled.
You're making some very good progress.

Magic


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## Don F

I finished dressing the threads on a box of nuts and bolts that I brought home on Saturday. I also got a call from Tonda Fabrication in Hazleton letting me know that the metal is ready for pickup. I took a few pics of the thread dressing process, and two photos of a channel iron bracket that supports the cross member beams and anchors them to the sill beams. I have to fabricate 4 of these, so I brought one home to use as a template. I had Tonda cut 4 pieces of 5" channel at 7" long, and I will add the other components to complete the brackets. I also ordered 2 pieces of 3 1/2" X 4" angle iron for the hopper bottom end rails.


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## Nikola

LS it.


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## Nikola

OP, the metal /rust preventive conditioner will turn the metal black. Not sue if you want that.

You can achieve very good protection without losing the natural color of the rust patina using Penetrol. It can go over metal and wood; it protects wood the same way.

An application lasts a long time and is easily wiped, brushed or sprayed to renew.

It also can be applied over and protects old paint. The antique engine crowd relies heavily on Penetrol to prevent additional rust o degradation while preserving appearance.

Ty some on a piece of the old rusted metal to see if you like it.


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## Don F

Nikola said:


> OP, the metal /rust preventive conditioner will turn the metal black. Not sue if you want that.
> 
> You can achieve very good protection without losing the natural color of the rust patina using Penetrol. It can go over metal and wood; it protects wood the same way.
> 
> An application lasts a long time and is easily wiped, brushed or sprayed to renew.
> 
> It also can be applied over and protects old paint. The antique engine crowd relies heavily on Penetrol to prevent additional rust o degradation while preserving appearance.
> 
> Ty some on a piece of the old rusted metal to see if you like it.


Thanks for the tip, I will look into it. I have used the Ospho many times, and it didn't turn the metal black; it darkened a bit though.


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## Nikola

Don F said:


> Thanks for the tip, I will look into it. I have used the Ospho many times, and it didn't turn the metal black; it darkened a bit though.


You might be pleasantly surprised.


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## Don F

Bill Best, a fellow preservationist, and I made a trip to Hazleton today to pick up the steel for the mine car. Apparently, there was a misunderstanding on the order, and there was only one piece of metal bent for the bottom. The other material, the end bottom angles, and the channel for the cross member supports were correct. Tonda will have to order more steel, re set the die in the press brake, and bend another bottom piece. This will add an additional cost to the project. I'm not sure on which end the miscommunication was, but it doesn't matter, we need the second piece. I ran out of battery before I could take a photo of the bottom angle.
While I was there, I took a few pics of the shop. Note the track on the floor, and the circle barely visible. This was a turntable to direct the mine cars to what ever station it needed to go to for specific repairs. The overhead crane was original to the building, but was manually operated by a drive wheel with a chain drive to turn the wheel, which would drive the trolley along the track through the building. The hoist mechanism was also hand operated. The operator could move the hoist from side to side, and raise and lower the load by another chain. 
I can now remove the end angles and replace them one at a time. Then once the bottom is rigid, the remainder of the floor can be cut out. The angles will be welded, but I will fabricate some rivet heads and tack them on the inside of the angle irons where the original rivets rotted away. Unless of course, there is someone out there with a rivet gun, a rivet heater, and some rivets!


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## Nikola

Is the diamond plate for your project? (I hope not - no offense.)


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## Don F

Nikola said:


> Is the diamond plate for your project? (I hope not - no offense.)


No, that was just in the shot of the track running down the center of the shop


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## Don F

Today was the first of many week day work sessions on the mine car. I brought another box of nuts and bolts home to dress the threads. I also cut the rotted angle iron bottom cross member from one end of the car in order to replace it with new steel. I used the drill press In my work shop to drill the bolt holes for attaching the wood end planks. I now have to grind the areas on the car where the new angles will be welded, as well as some grinding the angles. The exterior half of the rivets are secure, so I will just have to take some measurements, and locate some dummy rivets on the new angles. These I will fabricate from some steel round stock using a bench grinder to shape the rivet profile.


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## Don F

Today, I finished welding one cross member hangers, and made one faux rivet head. The rivet head really isn't necessary, but it doesn't require a lot of work to fabricate. I used a piece of 1" round stock steel, and ground a rounded head to match the profile of the rivets on the mine car. Then the rod was placed in the horizontal band saw to separate the rivet profile from the stock. I drilled an appropriately sized hole in the back center, and threaded it with a 1/4 20 tap. I threaded a bolt in and tightened it, then cut the head of the bolt. Once I locate the rivets on the angle iron, I will drill a 1/4" hole in the angle iron for each of the 4 rivets, and then back weld the stud. This will hold the rivet head in place. Since I only have to make 8 rivet heads, it is worth it, in order to maintain the authenticity of the restoration. These won't be seen, unless the false bottom and coal load are removed. 
I have to drill the holes in the completed cross member hanger, and for the remaining 3, will locate and drill the holes prior to welding the one inch studs on the back side of the hanger. I had the first one marked, but never center punched the hole locations, and lost all the marks during the welding process.


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## Don F

The rebuild has begun! Today during lunch, I made 4 rivet heads, and plug welded them to the bottom angle iron cross member. Yesterday, my son and I used the drill press to drill 4 1/2" holes in the angle iron where the rivets go. Tomorrow, I'll make the remaining 4 rivets, and weld them to the other angle iron so it can be welded on Saturday. I welded the first angle iron this afternoon after dinner, and cut the opposite end angle iron off the car. It is ground and ready for the new angle iron. 
I did find another bent top angle iron that will have to be straightened, possibly on Saturday as well. Adam Zwolinski stopped by to drop off a laminated copy of the article from the Citizens' Voice, and said he would come by Saturday morning to help out.


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## Nikola

Nice to see full-size steel work here. Change of pace. Nice work you are doing.

In 200 years someone will restore it again and think 'those guys did not understand how rivets work'. Just kidding.


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## Don F

Thanks Nikola. Tomorrow, (Saturday), I plan to weld the other angle iron in place, and cut out the remainder of the bottom. The replacement pieces are angles that run the length of the car. The new floor will lay on the angle bottoms, and get tack welded. The original bottom is one piece that rolls up the sides, and is riveted. I will cut just below the center purlin, leaving the rivets in tact. The angles will be welded to what is left. Once the steel work is done, The car can be moved to the park, as the wood can be done on site. My plan is to construct the wood base on the tracks that we have for the car. Then, we can lift the hopper and set it on the completed base, and bolt it in place.


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## Don F

Much was accomplished today, despite having a meeting next door at the church. I got an early start, and welded the other base angle iron in place. What was left of the floor has been cut out, and the upper angle iron cross member that was separated from the upright is welded back in place. That was one of the toughest projects so far. This angle iron is most likely a replacement, as it doesn't match the cross member on the opposite end. That cross member has to be straightened at the corner post, and one end cap has to be bent back and welded, The opposite side needs a new one fabricated. 
I can now cut the sides to the proper height to accept the new bottom angle irons. The second angle is being fabricated by Tonda, and should be ready next week.


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## Big Ed

I was just looking at the first picture of it.
Might have been a whole lot easier if you had just cleaned out what was left of the inside and added dirt and planted flowers in it. And parked it outside in a nice sunny spot.

What a lot of work !

I guess the wheels have some kind of bearings right?
Do the wheels still roll?
Do you know what gauge track they used to roll on?


Looking good Don, :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## Don F

Big Ed said:


> I was just looking at the first picture of it.
> Might have been a whole lot easier if you had just cleaned out what was left of the inside and added dirt and planted flowers in it. And parked it outside in a nice sunny spot.
> Believe it or not, but this is the better of the two cars we have! The other one is at the local Vo Tech school for the last almost four years. I am curious to see what that is going to look like?
> What a lot of work !
> It is a lot of bull work, especially loosening the nuts and bolts, and the heat straightening. I worked in Mt Top at a locomotive remanufacturing facility, so this is really small potatoes compared to what we did there, but I was in my 30's then!
> 
> 
> I guess the wheels have some kind of bearings right?
> Do the wheels still roll?
> The wheels have bearings on the axle, and roll very freely. The carriers are also greased, and the wheels roll in the carriers as well.
> Do you know what gauge track they used to roll on?
> It is three foot gauge. I found the correct track in the woods behind my house, and my son and I drug it out with his truck, but before our organization could get it, someone stole it.
> 
> Looking good Don,
> Thanks.


----------



## Nikola

Don F said:


> It is three foot gauge. I found the correct track in the woods behind my house, and my son and I drug it out with his truck, but before our organization could get it, someone stole it.


Tweakers!


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## Don F

[QUOTE=Nikola;Tweakers!   

Yah, a lot of druggies here. We have standard rail that was made in Scranton, so it's at least native, if not the correct size. If we ever acquire the land beyond the slope opening, there is probably track and more mine cars still under ground. Part of the land is owned by earth Conservancy, a government concern started by a former Congressman to rehab Blue Coal mine land for sale and development. Earth Conservancy donated the land for our park where the switchman shanty, mast signal and soon mine cars are. The slope entrance is partially on our property, but we buried the entrance until we can get the land.


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## Don F

One new bottom angle iron is in place. My son Mark and I used a floor jack and block to raise and position the angle iron for the bottom of the mine car. I added 4 more faux rivet heads to the ends of the angle to align with the existing rivets on the outside corner angle iron. After the angle iron was temporarily in position and shimmed, I used a demo saw with a metal cutting blade to ride along the top of the new angle, and cut away the old rotted side piece just below the purlin. Next, the new angle iron was lowered out of the way to complete the removal of the old metal, and to grind and prep for welding. The new angle was then raised back into place, and clamped. I tack welded the ends to the bottom cross members that were installed during the last work session. I then went along the side and tacked the angle to the existing side metal. Several areas had to be heated and bent back into alignment with the new steel. The new angle is aligned and tack welded along the entire length, ready for finish welding next week.


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## Don F

Got quite a bit of work done on the car yesterday and today. Yesterday, the other side/floor angle was tack welded in place. Today, I used a 3/4" rod to pull the two channel irons on each side back into place. I cut the 4 original rivets out with the torch, and replaced them with 5/8" carriage bolts built up with weld, and ground to match the original rivets. I had to carefully square the hole in the channel to accept the square shank at the head end of the bolt. With the channels held in place with the 3/4" rod, I tightened the nuts on the carriage bolts to hold the channels in place, and removed the rod. I did quite a bit more welding along the new side/bottom angle, and the both outsides are nearly done.


----------



## Don F

The welding is nearly complete. Both side/bottom angles are welded inside and out. The top rail at the back end of the car needs some heat straightening, and some welding, and the floor sections need to be purchased and welded. The car will then be ready to be transferred to the park for completion.
The car at Vo Tech is apparently being worked on, as Mr Clarke gave me a list of hardware and steel needed for that project.


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## Magic

Don What kind of rod are you using on that old steel?
Looking good and some great progress.
You do fine work.

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Don What kind of rod are you using on that old steel?
> Looking good and some great progress.
> You do fine work.
> 
> Magic


Thanks Magic, 6010 and 7014. I wish I had access to a 100% duty cycle MIG welder, I would have been done a long time ago!


----------



## Magic

6010 "Mud rod" we called it, burnt up several hundred pounds of that stuff doing tunnels 
for the California Water Project many years ago.
Three welders would go through a hundred pounds a shift.
Even used the stuff under water. Passed inspection.

Magic

Edit I meant four welders, forgot to count myself.


----------



## Don F

Magic said:


> 6010 "Mud rod" we called it, burnt up several hundred pounds of that stuff doing tunnels
> for the California Water Project many years ago.
> Three welders would go through a hundred pounds a shift.
> Even used the stuff under water. Passed inspection.
> 
> I was stationed at a SAC Minuteman Missile Base in MO. for three years, and on several occasions, we had to weld the intake and exhaust tubes for the launch facilities. We would use a piece of pipe threaded on one end, and weld it around leaks in the steel tubing, then screw on the cap. There were times when the water was coming in so fast, we had to weld under water. It was also shocking at times!


----------



## Don F

The floor sheets are in, and the welding nearly complete. My youngest son Mark was welding the final filler piece, and ran out of rods. I picked up the steel this morning from Tabit's Scrap Yard with my trailer. Two of the sheets were the right width, 42" X 61", but came up 5" short in the center, so I had to cut a 5" filler. The car is 1/2" out of square, so the filler had to be cut to compensate for the difference. 
We also straightened the rear top channel, and bent the cap pieces back into place. I started to bend the center purlin before we called it a day. There is probably another hour or two to complete the welding and straightening, then the car is off to the park for the wood ends and sides.
Mr Ray Clarke stopped by to see the progress, as did Father Vinnie, who was gracious enough to allow us to use the garage at St Leo's.


----------



## Magic

Given the shape this thing was in you guys are making some impressive progress.
I've had to work with some old junk steel and it's not easy.

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Given the shape this thing was in you guys are making some impressive progress.
> I've had to work with some old junk steel and it's not easy.
> 
> Magic


It takes me back to my time working at a locomotive re-manufacturing facility, and some of the interesting challenges we had, especially wrecks.


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## Big Ed

The big pipe wrench looks as old as the car.


----------



## Don F

Big Ed said:


> The big pipe wrench looks as old as the car.


It's a Rigid, I got it at a flea market at our church along with a bunch of train stuff. The lady asked for $6 for everything. I told her the stuff was worth a lot more, but she insisted on just $6! The adjusting ring needs to be replaced, but other then that, it works fine.


----------



## Don F

On Saturday, I finished the welding, or so I thought. I noticed one spot on a corner cap where the vertical corner angle intersects with the top rail. I had to jack the corner of the car and support it on one of the steel horses, and unbolt and move the steel leg to reveal the area that needed to be welded. 
I used one quart of Penetrol sealant and covered one side on the exterior, and most of the inside, except for the bottom. I want to get as much of the sealant done while the car is inside, so the weather isn't a factor. 
I plan to move the car some time early next week, and am in the process of getting the materials and equipment needed to raise and support the car. My plan is to back a trailer under the car, lower it into the bed, and secure it for transport to the park.


----------



## Big Ed

Don F said:


> It's a Rigid, I got it at a flea market at our church along with a bunch of train stuff. The lady asked for $6 for everything. I told her the stuff was worth a lot more, but she insisted on just $6! The adjusting ring needs to be replaced, but other then that, it works fine.


That pipe wrench just might be from the early 1900,s.
I saw some from that time period but it is hard to tell just what year it is made. 
Would have been nice if they stamped a date on it back then.

Looks like soon the wood will be laid. :smokin::thumbsup:


----------



## Don F

Looks like soon the wood will be laid. :smokin::thumbsup:[/QUOTE]

Thanks Ed. I hope to get started on the wood soon.


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## Wood

I just discovered your thread and read it through. Don, you do a great job telling a story...  Not to mention a great job restoring an artifact. Now that I have posted I'll get notifications of restoring the wood siding.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> I just discovered your thread and read it through. Don, you do a great job telling a story...  Not to mention a great job restoring an artifact. Now that I have posted I'll get notifications of restoring the wood siding.


Thanks Wood. I am working on a two sets of wheels from a stage the band used to use for football games. It is no longer used, so I dismantled it, and saved all the steel components. The wheels were mounted on thick wall square tubing, but were about a 1/2" too wide for the trailer I plan to use to move the car to the park for completion. I have to shorten the axles, but to do that, I had to cut everything apart and start fresh. I may not get to move the car until Saturday.


----------



## Don F

Years ago, the Hanover band used a stage that was towed to the middle of the field for home games. The stage hasn't been used for quite some time, and after conferring with the band director, it was decided that the stage was no longer needed. I cut the stage apart, and realized I could probably use the two sets of wheels to move the mine car. After measuring, I found that the wheel sets were 1/2" too wide for the trailer I plan to use, so I had to separate the wheels from the axles, and cut shorter axles. The parts are all set to be welded together, which I will do tomorrow during lunch. 
I will bolt the axles to the bottom of the mine car, and use a come along to winch the car onto the trailer. It will be secured with tie down straps, and taken to the park where it can be unloaded along side the rails for completion. The car can then be jacked up, and the wheels removed, to prevent vandals or curious children from trying to move the car.


----------



## Nikola

Penetrol is also good for preserving bare or rusty metal.


----------



## Wood

Don F said:


> After measuring, I found that the wheel sets were 1/2" too wide for the trailer I plan to use, so I had to separate the wheels from the axles, and cut shorter axles. The parts are all set to be welded together, which I will do tomorrow during lunch.


Nothing stops a man with a torch. All for 1/2"...


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Nothing stops a man with a torch. All for 1/2"...


The end result will be a one time lowering of the car to the ground, as opposed to jacking, backing the trailer under, lowering, jacking at the sight, pulling the trailer out from under, and lowering again. To me, it's worth the extra cutting fitting and welding. I finished one of the wheel sets at lunch today.


----------



## Don F

Nikola said:


> Penetrol is also good for preserving bare or rusty metal.


That's what I'm using it for! A quart went quite far.


----------



## Wood

Don F said:


> The end result will be a one time lowering of the car to the ground, as opposed to jacking, backing the trailer under, lowering, jacking at the sight, pulling the trailer out from under, and lowering again. To me, it's worth the extra cutting fitting and welding. I finished one of the wheel sets at lunch today.


I didn't doubt you had a good plan. So now I'll just say "nothing stops a man with a plan"... Believe me, you have great visions for your work and you get it done!


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## Don F

I had forgotten about the wheels, as I dismantled the stage during a stretch of good weather in the winter. I took our trailer, the one I will be using to move the car, to pick up the wheel sets, only to find that they wouldn't roll onto the trailer because of the notorious 1/2". I was disappointed, but steadfast in my resolve to use them! My plan is to move the car on Saturday morning, if it doesn't rain.


----------



## Don F

The wheel sets are ready for the mine car move tomorrow, but it doesn't look like the weather is going to cooperate.


----------



## Don F

The mine car is at the park!
My son Don and I picked up the wheel sets and the trailer at 7:30 this morning, and installed the wheels under the car. We used two floor jacks to lift them to the under side of the car. I had pre-drilled holes in the axles, and used a pilot bot to drill a 1/4" starter hole in the car bottom, then finished the holes from the top, and bolted the wheel sets to the car bottom. Then, one end of the car was jacked up enough to free the legs from the floor, and the car was lowered onto blocks. This was repeated on the opposite end, and then the car was lowered one block at a time until it was resting on the wheels. The trailer was backed into position, and the car pushed to the ramp. The rain wasn't too much of a factor, although, it was heaviest when we were loading the car onto the trailer. A come along was attached to the jack rest at the tongue end of the trailer, and the car was ratcheted into the trailer, secured, and moved to Miners' Memorial Park, less then a mile from St Leo's Church. After backing the trailer into position, we lowered the ramp, and released the come along and gravity did the rest. We had to push the car from its resting place to locate along side the track that it will sit on when complete. I had to use one of the legs to square it up along side the tracks. We're ready for round two!


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## Wood

Awe. Now I see where that 1/2" came into play. 

I'll bet your grateful for that collection of jacks, come alongs and tools. Your photos tell the whole story. Nice job.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Awe. Now I see where that 1/2" came into play.
> 
> I'll bet your grateful for that collection of jacks, come alongs and tools. Your photos tell the whole story. Nice job.


Yep, that half inch added 3 days to the project! It was worth it though. Now it's all wood work.


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## Magic

Don, your project is looking very good, hard to believe it's the same car.
Going to look cool next to your shanty and signal tower.

Magic


----------



## Don F

Magic said:


> Don, your project is looking very good, hard to believe it's the same car.
> Going to look cool next to your shanty and signal tower.
> 
> Magic


Thanks Magic. It looks so much smaller outside, and lowered from the temporary supports. It will be a bit higher then it is now once the sill structure is added, (8" timbers, with the wheel carriers mounted at the base), and I also noticed a bow in the top side rail that I'm not sure I can straighten.


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## Don F

After about a two month wait, I got the call this evening from the saw mill; the beams and side boards are ready! We have a meeting tomorrow night, so arrangements will be made to pick up the wood. it will have to come to my house, as it wouldn't last the night at the park. I will be able to do a lot of the drilling in the sills and cross beams with my drill press. The bits are sharpened and patiently waiting.


----------



## Wood

Don, What type of wood will you be using and will it be full dimension? I looked at earlier pictures of the coal car, which probably was not the original wood, however did you order a hardwood or softwood? Typically, these mines tried to save money and used softwoods or whatever was abundant close to the builder. Just curious.


----------



## Don F

Wood said:


> Don, What type of wood will you be using and will it be full dimension? I looked at earlier pictures of the coal car, which probably was not the original wood, however did you order a hardwood or softwood? Typically, these mines tried to save money and used softwoods or whatever was abundant close to the builder. Just curious.


Wood,
The sills and cross beams are 6" X 8" full and 5" X 8" full respectively. The side boards are 1 1/2" full, and the end boards are 2" full. All lumber is white oak because of its durability outside. The wood that was on the car was red oak on the sides and ends, and I think the beams as well, but there wasn't much left of those. Hemlock was also a consideration, but there was just a little over a $100.00 difference between the two. I will be using a mixture of Lamp Black and water to stain the wood. This will give it the aged and weathered look. It will be then sealed with satin urethane finish. If there is any sheen, it will fade in the sun. Occasional resealing will be required from time to time, and the car would probably last longer it would be covered during the winter months. It will have a shallow false bottom, with a load of coal.


----------



## Wood

Good choices Don. The Oak will weather well for many years. You can get a UV protective polyurethane, which will additionally, protect the wood. Thanks for filling me in.


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## Don F

Updated photos on my web site , fab and prep for movement are included. http://don195657.wixsite.com/oandsloads


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## Don F

Wood working has officially begun on the mine car! I cut the sill beams to length, and then laid out the location for the wheel carriers and the mounting bolt holes. There are 4 holes in each carrier, with the two outer holes having raised stubs that are about 1 3/4" in diameter. I will drill 8 1 7/8" X 1" deep locater holes, and finish at 7/8" for the 3/4" mounting bolts. The other 8 holes will be 7/8". There is also a 1" high by 3/4" wide raised lip that will require a notch on the inner edge of the beam where each carrier will be mounted. These bolts will also go through the steel bottom of the car. I am considering drilling a hole in the top of the beam to sink the nut and washer flush with the top, and use another nut and washer on the car floor. This will allow the sill structure to be built on the rails separate from the car.

The layout lines are a little hard to see; after nearly a week of rain, the sun was bright and intense, so it was tough to get good photos.


----------



## Wood

Quite interesting to see how heavy built these cars were. I think a thing or two could be learned from these old mechanics. Thanks for posting Don.


----------



## Don F

Wood said:


> Quite interesting to see how heavy built these cars were. I think a thing or two could be learned from these old mechanics. Thanks for posting Don.


They were definitely built to take a beating, and to last! I brought one of the wheel carriers home a few minutes ago, to make sure all my measurements line up. That must weigh about 80 lbs. I just noticed that it is also made to taken apart. I'm curious as to how it is machined, but I'm not going to mess with it; I've had enough of heating bolts and nuts!


----------



## Don F

Today I drilled two pocket holes for the wheel carriers using a 2" hole saw to a depth of 1 1/4" to receive the node on the carrier. Only 6 more! I have to make a jig with a piece of 1/2" pipe to drill straight pilot holes for the mounting bolts. I will also make a guide for the router to mill the notches for the side tabs. Photo 1 is the carrier, note the nodes on the 2 outer holes and the side tab.


----------



## Wood

Don F said:


> Photo 1 is the carrier, note the nodes on the 2 outer holes and the side tab.



I see the wheel carrier. My first question is are these wheel carriers the trucks and the wheels are carrying the weight of the unit on the track? If so, are the wheel carriers independent carriers or is there an axle that connects the wheels from one side to other side?

Good luck drilling a 7/8' hole in 8" of Red Oak. Heavy duty drill and sharp bits. LOL

PS, I think I answered my own questions by reviewing your first photos on the project.. Thought I would share them again so I can visualize your work.


----------



## Don F

Wood, 
If you go back to page 3, there are several photos of the wheels and axles. The wheels are really well built, with bearings inside where the axles extend through. If a bearing should fail, the axle would still turn inside the carrier.


----------



## Don F

This morning, I finished making the pocket holes for the nubs on the carriers. Several months ago, I made a jig to keep the holes straight. I added a 1/2" insert for drilling a 1/2" pilot hole through the 8" height of the sill beams. I finished one end of the two beams a few minutes ago. After the pilot holes are done at the other end, the next step is to drill 1" holes for the 7/8" bolts. It's coffee time, and then a shower for church.


----------



## Don F

I managed to get a little wood working in this afternoon before the rain started. I worked on routing the rabbets on the sill beams for the carrier tabs. Since these are 1 5/16" deep, I had to make 3 passes. I was able to complete one rabbet and fit the carrier. The other rabbets are 2/3's complete. This is a good example of why it is very important to measure at least twice.


----------



## Wood

Between the nubs, bolts and flange the carrier appears to be pretty secure on that 8x8. I assume the flange will be on the outside of the 8X8 and the wheel itself will be inside of the 8X8 thus using the 8X8 to resist carrier movement while underway. 

Don, You may have answered each of these questions, but, how many tons would each car handle and what is the rail gauge they used at Huber? It is my understanding Huber used a cable system to pull and return the cars. Is that correct? 

There are multiple links available of the history surrounding this mine, but the small details are hard to find.


----------



## Don F

Wood said:


> Between the nubs, bolts and flange the carrier appears to be pretty secure on that 8x8. I assume the flange will be on the outside of the 8X8 and the wheel itself will be inside of the 8X8 thus using the 8X8 to resist carrier movement while underway.
> 
> Don, You may have answered each of these questions, but, how many tons would each car handle and what is the rail gauge they used at Huber? It is my understanding Huber used a cable system to pull and return the cars. Is that correct?
> 
> There are multiple links available of the history surrounding this mine, but the small details are hard to find.


Wood, 
The wheels are to the inside of the 6" X 8' sills. The outer edges of the sills are flush with the outside of the car. As for the capacity, I don't have that info, but I will find out. The gauge is 3 foot, and the cars were hoisted by a cable system in more recent times, but were pulled by mules in earlier times. I just sent an e mail to American Car and Foundry, which had a facility in Berwick PA, about 20 minutes south of here. I asked if they have any blueprints of our car on file, and any other info they may have.


----------



## Don F

All the carrier holes for the mine car sills are complete, as are the rabbets for carrier tabs. This was probably the most difficult and critical part of the project. 
No photos today, as I didn't take the camera out, and the sills are covered already. Spent about 4 hours today, and I'm feeling it! 
Builder's Supply on Main Street in Wilkes-Barre donated the Lamp Black dye for the weathering stain, which I picked up today. Good bunch of guys, Pat Evans and his crew. I've been dealing with Builder's Supply since I was a kid.
I will most likely be taking some more measurements on the car tomorrow for the next phase of the wood working. There are 6 carrier plates with drilled tabs that support the 3 cross beams in the mid section of the car. I can also cut the cross beams to length now that I have a firm measurement between the side sills.


----------



## Don F

A lot was accomplished today: 3 of the cross beams were cut to length, and the other two are awaiting final measurements. The end boards are cut to length, and the bottom 2 have rabbet cuts to fit around the angle iron across the bottom. These can be seen in the last several photos. As mentioned yesterday, I put a piece of stained beam next to the raw wood for a comparison, (photos 4 & 5). I brought the 6 cross beam carriers home so they can be mounted to the sill beams. I wasn't up to maneuvering the beams around to attach the carriers. Holes have to be drilled an inch deep to accept the locater nubs on the backs of the carriers. These will be similar to the recesses for the nubs on the wheel carriers, but a much smaller diameter hole.


----------



## Wood

Moving right along Don. I am trying to visualize the components and we'll see when you assemble if I am getting it right. Without blueprints, I assume you are going by your photographs and measurements taken when you received the car. Considering it's age and rotted timbers the original car was assembled and in reasonable decent shape.


----------



## Magic

Don you are sure moving right along and doing a fine job.
Good wood working skills as well as your metal working skills.
A Jack of all trades.

Magic


----------



## Don F

Wood said:


> Moving right along Don. I am trying to visualize the components and we'll see when you assemble if I am getting it right. Without blueprints, I assume you are going by your photographs and measurements taken when you received the car. Considering it's age and rotted timbers the original car was assembled and in reasonable decent shape.


I emailed American Car and Foundry inquiring about blue prints, but there are none available through them. I have a set for a smaller car, which are helpful, and there is one in Scranton that was restored that I can visit if I need to. I just ordered the carrier mounting bolts, nuts and washers from Fastenall. They are giving us a great discount.


----------



## Don F

Magic said:


> Don you are sure moving right along and doing a fine job.
> Good wood working skills as well as your metal working skills.
> A Jack of all trades.
> 
> Magic


Thank you. I was in construction for most of my younger years, and I work in the maintenance dept at the school district I work for, so I practice most of the construction skills I acquired, but just not as much.


----------



## Don F

Today, I stained the boards for the ends. I ran up to the park to get some measurements for the rods that pass through the center of the cross members. These are 1 1/4" diameter rods that hold the coupling hooks and buffer springs. I also located the centers for the cross member carriers and drilled 6 1" holes to accept the nubs on the backs of the carriers. The carriers on either side of the center cross member will have a 3/4" rod that will tie the sills together. The rods will be threaded on each end for washers and nuts. The round disc in a few of the photos is a template of the wheel. I placed it in position to make sure the cross members don't interfere with the wheels or the wheel carrier bolts. There are numerous holes both vertically and horizontally, so it is critical that everything is checked before drilling.


----------



## PatKn

This is an interesting thread to follow. How are you going to get the completed car back to the park? It's going to be very heavy when completed.


----------



## Don F

PatKn said:


> This is an interesting thread to follow. How are you going to get the completed car back to the park? It's going to be very heavy when completed.



Pat,
The metal upper structure is at the park on tires. My son and I placed tires on it and loaded it on a trailer using a come along to winch it onto the trailer. We dropped the tail gate on the trailer, and pushed the car off. We then pushed it into position alongside the section of track that will be its final home. The wood sub frame I am now working on will have as much done in my back yard as is possible, then taken to the park in pieces, and assembled onto the wheels, which will be placed on the track. After the wood sub frame is complete, the car will be lifted onto the subframe. We will most likely have the Ashley borough road department lift it with a backhoe.


----------



## Don F

Today has been very productive. I drilled bolt holes for the cross beam carriers, and bolted 4 carriers in place. 4 of the carriers on either side of center have a 3/4" rod that passes through the lower bolt holes. When I fabricated these carriers, I had 2 originals as patterns, and didn't know about the through rods, so I made all the carriers the same. I have to cut the tabs off of 2 and reverse them, so they match the opposing side. I could leave them as is, but I would have to drill an extra bolt hole. 
This part of the project is on hold until the carriers are corrected, so I went to the park and took apart one of the hitch assemblies to use one of the end plates as a template to lay out the 1 1/4" rods that run laterally down the center of the sub structure. 
All the bolt holes for structural members are 1/8" larger then the bolts. This makes alignment a lot easier. The Forstner bit I am using for these holes is 1 3/8" in diameter. All tolled, ten holes are required, and an additional slot is needed in each of the 2 end cross members to accept the hitch pins. 
The hitch pin assembly can be see in photos 8 and 9.


----------



## Don F

It's just about time to put this puppy on the rails! Yesterday, I reversed the tabs on the last 2 cross beam carriers and drilled the holes and bolted them in place. I went to the park and got the remaining 3 wheel carriers, and one end plate to use for making a template for the bolt holes. Today I made the template, and laid out and drilled 16 holes to mount the end plates. I also cleaned the old grease from inside the axle sockets, removed the old bolts, and dressed the welds where strap hangers were welded to hold the carriers to the sides after the sill beams had rotted away. I have to make the two 3/4" rods that go from side to side. The 7/8" bolts, washers and nuts are ordered from Fastenall, and should be here in a few days. I will have to order some 3/4" bolts, washers and nuts for the ends, but I have to see what I have saved from deconstruction.


----------



## Wood

Looking forward to seeing it come together. A lot accomplished this past week. It might be just the camera angle, but the axle socket appears slightly ovaled. What is your best guess on how old this cart is?


----------



## Don F

Wood said:


> Looking forward to seeing it come together. A lot accomplished this past week. It might be just the camera angle, but the axle socket appears slightly ovaled. What is your best guess on how old this cart is?


Wood,
I noticed the ovoid shape, but I will have compare all 4 to see if this is by design, or wear. The carrier does have nuts to separate the top from the bottom, but I'm not going there! I have a set of prints form another similar but smaller car with a design date of 1896. These were made by American Car & Foundry in Berwick PA. I can only guess at the date, 30's 40's, or it could be older. I contacted ACF to see if they had any prints stored for this car, but no luck.


----------



## Magic

Great work Don, sure gives me a good idea of what it takes to restore old equipment.
One heck of a lot of work.
You're doing a fine job.

Magic


----------



## Don F

Magic said:


> Great work Don, sure gives me a good idea of what it takes to restore old equipment.
> One heck of a lot of work.
> You're doing a fine job.
> 
> Magic


Thanks Magic. Twenty some holes left to drill, and I'm ready to take everything to the park for assembly of the wood sub structure onto the wheels! I have to bring a left and right bumper assembly home to layout the bolts that go through the sill beams.


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## Don F

Today, the 3/4" cross tie rods were cut and threaded. One end cross beam was cut to length, and holes were laid out using the end plate as a template, and drilled. The most time consuming part of that was the 2" X 3 3/4" slot for the coupling yoke. One more to go! 
Tomorrow, I will pick up a left and right bumper to layout the final holes in the sill beams, then it's off to the park for assembly.

View attachment 462312


View attachment 462314


View attachment 462316


View attachment 462318


View attachment 462320


View attachment 462322


View attachment 462324


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## Wood

Impressive work Don!! Lots of saw dust and chips on the floor... Cutting all of those holes must have been a brute of a job.

Perfect hole alignment wasn't a priority back then. Clearly, durability was all that mattered.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Impressive work Don!! Lots of saw dust and chips on the floor... Cutting all of those holes must have been a brute of a job.
> 
> Perfect hole alignment wasn't a priority back then. Clearly, durability was all that mattered.


Thanks Wood. Other then the holes being 1/8" larger then the bolt, I would have to say that the hole alignment was quite precise, especially the pockets and rabbets for the wheel carriers. Obviously in some places the holes don't have to be completely straight from one side to the other, but the bolt patterns are important. One thing I noticed when laying out the holes for the end cross beam, and that is the holes aren't centered in the end plate like the rest of the holes, they are 1/2" lower.


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## Don F

Today, I finished the holes in the sill beams for the bumpers. I used a left and right bumper as templates, lining up the five holes on the end, to locate the hole for the front of the bumper. This bolt goes through the side of the bumper, through the sill beam, and through the other side of the bumper. 
I went back to the park, and dismantled the other coupler yoke and end plate. I brought the plate and the other two bumpers home and removed some hanger plates that were welded onto the bumpers. These were add ons to hold the bumpers up after the wood rotted away. I removed all the bolts, and heated and straightened some bent mounting tabs, and ground the remnants of the welds. I did plan on applying a coat of Penetrol, but I can't find it!


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## Don F

Today, I picked up the wheel mounting bolts from Fastenal, and a gallon of water base urethane satin finish. I finished the second end cross beam, and applied Penetrol to the carriers, end plates and bumpers, and most of the beams are coated with the urethane. I also notched two of the cross beams to fit the narrower carriers I fabricated a few months ago.


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## Don F

Today, the side boards were given a coat of urethane, and the remaining steel hardware got a coat of Penetrol. Tomorrow, the parts will get coated on the surfaces that were face down on the table. Saturday morning, I'll hook up the trailer, and load all the cross beams, bumpers, end plates and wheel carriers and drop them off at the park, and return for the sill beams while I wait for the crew to arrive. I have a few small pieces of hardware to work on tomorrow during lunch, but these are not critical to Saturday's assembly.


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## Wood

Saturday is the day.... I'll look forward to your pictures.


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## Don F

Hooray! The wood frame is assembled. Thanks to Nick Dubinski, and Mark Kane, who both helped on the shanty project, and Matt Stegura, probably the society's youngest members, we pretty much had the assembly completed just after noon today. Also lending a hand and manning the camera, was Paul Golias, who has covered many stories involving the HBPS for the Citizens' Voice
As I supposed, the most difficult part was fishing the two 1 1/4" diameter longitudinal rods through the 5 cross beams, some of which had to be slightly modified to fit properly. Not a difficult task for the original builders, but one of the rods was bent in several places, and had to be delicately massaged back into shape with a sledge hammer! The second rod had some minor bends that were easily straightened by prying up or downward is a few spots as the rod was driven through. Mark insisted on manning the sledge for the entire process. 

The last photo is of Matt Stegura holding a functional pressure gauge for a steam locomotive we are trying to secure. 
















































































































































I
will most likely get a count on the bolts needed to complete the frame 100%. The next phase of the project will be to located the 16 holes in the hopper bottom that will coincide with the wheel carrier bolts. Incidentally, only 8 of these bolts were installed temporarily, and will be removed and reinstalled after the hopper is lowered onto the frame.
Thanks to careful layout and drilling of the holes, very little effort was required to align all the bolts. Some had to be loosened, and a little persuasion with the sledge was needed, but all in all, the project went very smoothly.


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## Wood

Thank goodness for the help. That is one tough and strong little cart. it would have been impossible to move all that alone. 

I was surprised by the narrow axle distance front to back. Had to go back to the original picture and review the forward and rear overhang. 

Love the 4' iron pipe used as leverage. Perfect!!

Don, you have done a nice piece of work disassembly and rebuilding this cart. Good luck on the purchase of the steam engine. That will be great fun to follow.


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## Wood

How long are those 1 1/4" diameter longitudinal rods?

PS Thank you so much for your excellent narrative and photos....


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Thank goodness for the help. That is one tough and strong little cart. it would have been impossible to move all that alone.
> 
> I was surprised by the narrow axle distance front to back. Had to go back to the original picture and review the forward and rear overhang.
> 
> Love the 4' iron pipe used as leverage. Perfect!!
> 
> Don, you have done a nice piece of work disassembly and rebuilding this cart. Good luck on the purchase of the steam engine. That will be great fun to follow.


Thanks Wood. These are the accomplishments that make all the seemingly small and menial tasks worth while. To save on space, the answer to your next post is: the rods are just over 11' long. I can only guess at the amount of energy needed to thread those puppies. I struggled with the 3/4" rods!


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## PatKn

It's exciting to see this finally going together. I was also surprised by the axle spacing. Nice work everyone involved.


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## Don F

PatKn said:


> It's exciting to see this finally going together. I was also surprised by the axle spacing. Nice work everyone involved.


Thanks Pat. I'm not sure why the wheels are so close to center. I do know that my wife's grandfather was pinned and crushed by one. He died at home after his sons went back into the mine to look for him. Tomorrow, our society is having a meeting, so I will get a count on the remaining bolts needed to finish the frame, then its n to the hopper.


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## Don F

https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/...ic-mine-car-moves-forward-in-ashley-1.2375725
Above is a link to an article written by Paul Golias, a retired newsman, friend and railroad and mining enthusiast. He has written articles about the switchman shanty and mast signal, and other articles about the park.


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## Don F

Not much to report on the mine car. The remaining hardware is ordered, and the frame is on hold until it arrives. I finished urethaning the last two side boards, and made 4 spacer blocks to go between the bumpers and the end cross beams. The spacers are stained and will get a urethane treatment tomorrow. Saturday, the spacers will be installed, and the remainder of the metal hopper will be coated with Penetrol. I may lay out and drill the bolt holes in the hopper as well.


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## Don F

Today, the mounting bolt holes were laid out in the hopper bottom. Tomorrow, it will be the drill and me VS the steel floor for 16) 7/8" holes above the wheel carriers, and 6 holes on the ends. To locate the holes, I first checked the width spacing of the wood frame, and compared the measurements against the spacing between the 4 mounting tangs the hang below the hopper bottom. Then I checked the centers of the hopper and frame. I next checked the carrier mount hole spacing, and found one hole to be slightly off center. 
To locate the holes on the hopper floor, I used the bottom bolt in each of the 4 tangs and marked the center on the floor, (photo 1). I then measured to the outer bolt holes, and then the inner holes using a square, and marked these lines. I used a soap stone, so I hope it doesn't rain tonight! I should have taken a center punch and hammer. I measured the distance in from the edge of the sill beam to the center of the bolt hole, and transferred these to the hopper floor. I marked each outer hole for the four mounting points, then used a straight edge to mark all 4 lines. The intersecting points are the locations to drill the holes.
The hardware is due Tuesday or Wednesday, so there isn't much to do until then.


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## Don F

All the mounting holes except for 3 are drilled in the steel bottom of the mine car starting with a 3/16" bit and using successively larger bits. I snapped a 3/4" bit while drilling one of the end holes; there may be enough left to re sharpen, but that will be another day's task. My left thigh took a beating every time the drill bit bound up, as the handle slammed into it. It's going to be sore for at least a week! 
I installed 3 of the 4 spacer blocks between the end cross beams and bumpers. While I gave the drill a rest, I applied Penetrol to most of the untreated metal components of the hopper. The 1 1/4" tension rods were also coated. Once the wheels are removed from the hopper, the remainder can be coated.


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## Don F

I brought two more 3/4" drill bits home to finish the last three holes in the car. Now we have to wait for the remaining hardware, then finish up. I included some pics of the finished holes, and the spacer blocks in place.


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## Wood

Closer and Closer.... 

Don, in the next to last picture, is that a heavy duty coil spring behind the coupling link? I assume only one cart at a time was hauled out. I do not see a coupling link on the rear side of the cart.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Closer and Closer....
> 
> Don, in the next to last picture, is that a heavy duty coil spring behind the coupling link? I assume only one cart at a time was hauled out. I do not see a coupling link on the rear side of the cart.


Wood,
Yes, and believe it or not, it still has compression and expansion. There were multiple cars, but I can't remember, 4 possibly? In the days of mules, I would guess that only one car was pulled at a time considering the slope. In more recent times, the cars were pulled by a cable.


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## Big Ed

All I can say is looking good Don. :smilie_daumenpos:
I have been following, I do have one question.

What do you do in your spare time? LOL 

Soon you will have to find another piece to resurrect for the RR park.:thumbsup:


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## Don F

Big Ed said:


> All I can say is looking good Don. :smilie_daumenpos:
> I have been following, I do have one question.
> 
> What do you do in your spare time? LOL
> 
> Soon you will have to find another piece to resurrect for the RR park.:thumbsup:


Thanks Big Ed.
Believe it or not, I do have time for other things!
We are trying to get a steam locomotive for the park. I applied for two grants, so we're hoping. I won't be heading that project, just an occasion al helper.
I just came back from the park; I tack nailed a guide board to the side of the sill beam. This will help locate the tabs that hang down from the hopper. Hopefully, all the bolt holes will line up. I have to arrange for a machine to lift the hopper. I double checked the measurements, and everything looks good. Hopefully early next week.


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## Don F

I thought I would take advantage of the early morning cooler temp to remove the wheels from the mine car. That part was quick and easy. I filed the damaged bolt and placed the nut and tightened that down. It began to warm up fast, as I was trying to file he damaged threads on the 1 1/4" tension rod. I think the rod will take a nut, but the threads on the nut are pretty bad. I need a 1 1/4" tap and die, so if anyone out there has a set, I would be most grateful if I could borrow them. 
The car is now ready to be placed on the base. Before that, I have to make two wheel locks, which should only take about an hour. I'm done for today though, as the cool temp didn't last very long, and I was soaked by 9 AM!


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## Don F

Today, I fabricated and installed two wheel locks made from 1/4" steel. As the photos show, these locks clamp around the spokes of the wheels on opposing ends, and are lag bolted to the wood frame. These will keep the wheels from moving in either direction. This is the last step before setting the hopper on the frame, which will happen on Thursday or Friday afternoon.


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## Wood

Closer and Closer.... Looking good Don.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Closer and Closer.... Looking good Don.


Thanks Wood. The Ashley Borough Road Dept. head is asking council for permission to use the backhoe to place the hopper on the frame.


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## Wood

Let's hope that works out. It will turn a day long manual job into a few minutes. 

You probably mentioned this before, but what are you going to use for walls inside the cart?


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Let's hope that works out. It will turn a day long manual job into a few minutes.
> 
> You probably mentioned this before, but what are you going to use for walls inside the cart?


1 1/2" X 7 1/2" White Oak planks for the sides, and 2" X 11 1/2" White Oak planks for the ends. The sides and ends each take three boards. On the sides, the top and bottom boards go first, then the center. On the ends, the top goes first, and the other two don't matter.


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## Wood

Thanks, I have really enjoyed following this thread. Make sure I'm notified when the steam engine arrives.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Thanks, I have really enjoyed following this thread. Make sure I'm notified when the steam engine arrives.


The steam engine is contingent on the grant/s applied for.


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## Don F

The hopper and the frame are one! A big thank you to Ashley Borough for allowing Bob Hess, borough road department supervisor to use the backhoe to lower the hopper onto the frame. A big thank you to Bob too. The process took less then a half hour, and Bob returned the backhoe after I was able to get a few bolts through the car bottom to the carriers. Seven of sixteen bolts are installed, with some reaming needed to finish the remaining nine bolts. The clouds began to roll in as I w as putting tools away, and the thunder started as I was pulling out. The rain began shortly after I got home.


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## Wood

Seven out of sixteen bolts is not bad at all, considering the age and a frame structure you banged into shape with a hammer and torch. Love those giant awls. Congrats on this next step. Looks good.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Seven out of sixteen bolts is not bad at all, considering the age and a frame structure you banged into shape with a hammer and torch. Love those giant awls. Congrats on this next step. Looks good.


Thanks Wood. I'll be switching gears, and helping my son with a chimney on Saturday. The mine car can wait a few days.


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## Magic

Wood "Love those giant awls."

The silver one looks like an OTC bar, indispensable tool for me.

The project is really coming along nicely, good work, looking good.

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Wood "Love those giant awls."
> 
> The silver one looks like an OTC bar, indispensable tool for me.
> 
> The project is really coming along nicely, good work, looking good.
> 
> Magic


Thanks Magic,
I made the silver bar, but I guess I didn't weld it enough, as it snapped as I was trying to align the bolt hole! I used a piece of 1" steel rod and welded a 3/4 inch rod to it. I guess I'll be working on the car tomorrow after all, as my son is working. I'll get the rest of the bolts in, and cut the side boards and possibly start those.


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## Magic

You need an OTC bar. Great tool.
It's called a 24" jimmy bar
Good luck with the mine car.

Magic


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## Don F

The mounting bolts for the wheel carriers were installed, except for one; I think it's in the shop. I brought one home to test for fit when I was laying out the carriers. I was able to get six of the twelve side and end boards in before the rain got too steady. According to the weather reports, it wasn't supposed to rain today! I really hoped to have all the boards in place. I only put in a few carriage bolts to hold them in place.


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## Wood

Closer and Closer.... The sides are going up. Nice.

Do you know how much coal these carts would carry? How much the gross weight of the cart was? Rough estimates are good. It certainly looks like they would hold a ton or more and I've got to believe the cart is 1000 to 1500 lbs. I am worried about those poor mules.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Closer and Closer.... The sides are going up. Nice.
> 
> Do you know how much coal these carts would carry? How much the gross weight of the cart was? Rough estimates are good. It certainly looks like they would hold a ton or more and I've got to believe the cart is 1000 to 1500 lbs. I am worried about those poor mules.


I will find out the capacity, I think maybe 3 tons. The weight of the car by my best guess is probably 2 tons. The wheels alone probably go 3 or 4 hundred lbs. each set, and there is over 500 lbs. in the hopper bottom alone bottom alone. Then add the weight of the angle iron and steel sides, the wood planks, and the wood frame, and all the hardware, it could even be more then 2 tons?


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## Don F

http://www.undergroundminers.com/minecar.html
Wood, here is a comparably sized car that holds 3 tons. I hope the link works, as I couldn't copy the Image. This organization will be displaying several pieces of their equipment at our park. They are donating 300' of mine rail, and will have a truck load of raw mined coal chunks for us at the end of the month.


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## PatKn

Boy, Don. The car is coming along nicely.


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## Don F

PatKn said:


> Boy, Don. The car is coming along nicely.


Thank you Pat.


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## Don F

The side and end boards are installed, but I broke another drill bit on the 4th hole, so they are only wedged in place. I forgot to take the camera, so I won't have photos until tomorrow. Several dozen holes to drill and then install the bolts, and put in a false bottom, and this project will be in the history books!


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## Don F

The mine car is basically finished. The carrier bolts need to be tightened, a helper is needed to hold a wrench top side. Eight 4 inch lag bolts are needed for the top of one end and the coal break, (a thick bar that gets bolted across the top about third from the end. This is to prevent the coal from sliding to the end of the car as it is pulled up the slope.


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## seayakbill

Looks great nice refurb.

Bill


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## Don F

seayakbill said:


> Looks great nice refurb.
> 
> Bill


Thank you Bill. It's been a blast!


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## Wood

Very cool Don. Great job, very interesting story and thanks for answering all my questions. You are leaving an historical legacy...


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Very cool Don. Great job, very interesting story and thanks for answering all my questions. You are leaving an historical legacy...


Thanks Wood, and you're welcome. It's now up to the next generation to carry on the preservation. I know this project has influenced several young men, including my sons, and the other dedicated guys who helped along the way. The best way to appreciate something is to be a part of it.


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## Wood

*The best way to appreciate something is to be a part of it.*

Couldn't agree more.


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## Magic

Looks great, a little piece of history that future generations can enjoy. :appl: :appl:
A very fine piece of workmanship by all who worked on this project.
WELL DONE :smilie_daumenpos:

Magic

PS go back to page 1 and see what he started with.

Magic


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## PatKn

Nice job, Don. The car turned out real nice. I learned a lot following along with the build. Thanks for sharing.


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## Don F

PatKn said:


> Nice job, Don. The car turned out real nice. I learned a lot following along with the build. Thanks for sharing.


Thanks Pat. Chris Murley, the contact from The Underground Miners, (the group that is providing the coal), sent me an e mail asking about the stain I used on the wood. Apparently, the mine cars they have need new wood.


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## ebtnut

Great restoration job! You are to be commended for all the hard work and expense it took to get this done.


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## Don F

ebtnut said:


> Great restoration job! You are to be commended for all the hard work and expense it took to get this done.




Thank you. I really did enjoy this project.


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## Don F

Today was a four steps forward, and two steps back day. I made a wrench to fit the wheel carrier bolts which worked very well, too well on two bolts, as I snapped one, and stripped a nut on another, hence the two steps back. All the other bolts are tightened. Fortunately, there is enough bolt exposed below the carrier that I can just put two new nuts on. I will use a flashlight and a file to dress any damage to the bolts. I took the one damaged 1 1/4" nuts for the tension rod to Daltech Machine Shop on the Sans Souci Highway, and the owner had one of his men run a tap through it, dressing the threads. I tried to tighten it on the rod, but the threads on the rod need a little more dressing with a file. 
I started on the false bottom, but devoted my lunch breaks for the last two days making the wrench for the carrier bolts. Hopefully, the false bottom will be done by the end of the week when the coal comes.


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## Don F

Today, much of the framework for the false bottom was completed. I have to cut spreaders for the bottoms of the legs. I took two pics of the wrench I made for the carrier bolts; it worked very well.


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## Wood

False bottom, it took me a while to figure that out. You are not going to fill the cart with coal. False bottom - half load... Got it. How about water? Is the real bottom loose enough for rain water to drain out or will you drill some drain holes? It won't take long for that to rust out if it hold too much water. 

Maybe a shanty cover would be good for it.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> False bottom, it took me a while to figure that out. You are not going to fill the cart with coal. False bottom - half load... Got it. How about water? Is the real bottom loose enough for rain water to drain out or will you drill some drain holes? It won't take long for that to rust out if it hold too much water.
> 
> Maybe a shanty cover would be good for it.


Wood,
The false bottom is 8" from the top. It will be 3/4" thick plastic sheathing. The false bottom is pitched from one end to the other, approximately 1" total. There are openings at the two corners of the steel bottom, and these drain the water quite well. I will have a hole in the plastic at the low end to drain any water from the false bottom. We are getting a load of mined coal that will hopefully fill the 8" false bottom. We have discussed the possibility of erecting a roof over the car at some point.


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## Wood

Sounds good Don. When is the steamer coming??? Ha Ha. I know the answer. When the grant comes in...


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## Don F

Wood said:


> Sounds good Don. When is the steamer coming??? Ha Ha. I know the answer. When the grant comes in...
> 
> Some of the grant awards were announced, but these were big ticket road and bridge projects at the southern end of the county. I just got a call from one of our borough councilmen, and he told me that more grant awards will be announced Friday at 11:00 AM, and asked if I could be there. I am working, but I think my supervisor might let me run down. It's less then a mile from the high school.
> I just finished installing the bottom spreader boards for the false bottom, and the plastic sheathing is cut and ready. My son and I will probably pick it up later this afternoon when he gets back from carpenter school in Lebanon.


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## Don F

Except for the coal, the mine car is done! I was able to file the threads on the 1 1/4" truss rod, and tightened the nut on that. I cut the stripped nut on the carrier bolt, and dressed the threads on the snapped carrier bolt. The bottom was coated with Penetrol, as well as any metal that was not previously coated. All the nuts and bolts were coated too. The false bottom in in, and I cut two strips of felt paper to lay on top of the white plastic. This will hide any open spaces between the coal.


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## Don F

The first load of coal was delivered on Tuesday afternoon. It only took a few minutes for two of us to transfer the coal from a pickup truck to the mine car. This was about a half a load, so one more load will do the trick.


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## Wood

What a great project. The load looks good. Is that coal size what you would expect from the local mines?
On second thought the breaker received coal from multiple locations.
Any progress on getting a steamer? How is the fundraising going?


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## Don F

Wood said:


> What a great project. The load looks good. Is that coal size what you would expect from the local mines?
> On second thought the breaker received coal from multiple locations.
> Any progress on getting a steamer? How is the fundraising going?


Wood, that is coal directly from a mine about 20 miles south of Ashley. 
Our young project director for the lokie made a trip to Strasburg yesterday to purchase the blue prints for the lokie. We received a $5,000.00 check from a local business owner towards the restoration. We are trying to make transportation arrangements to move the lokie from Grand Rapids MI to Youngstown OH. Restoration work will be done at no cost, and we will have to provide any necessary parts and materials. Some work will be done locally as well.


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## Wood

Don F said:


> Our young project director for the lokie made a trip to Strasburg yesterday to purchase the blue prints for the lokie. We received a $5,000.00 check from a local business owner towards the restoration. We are trying to make transportation arrangements to move the lokie from Grand Rapids MI to Youngstown OH. Restoration work will be done at no cost, and we will have to provide any necessary parts and materials. Some work will be done locally as well.


That will be a thread to follow. I hope it all works out.


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## Don F

Wood said:


> That will be a thread to follow. I hope it all works out.


 I hope it works out as well. Much of the attention is given to the Scranton area, Steamtown, the Scranton Coal Mine Tour, and The Scranton Trolley Museum. Since the Huber Breaker could not be saved, this lokie, which will be operational, along with the other restored artifacts, will help draw attention to our park. Another mining preservation group, The Underground Miners, wants to display some of their collection at our park. One piece of equipment is an operational electric engine that hauled anthracite laden cars from the mines. 
One fly in the ointment regarding our members' vision for the park, is our board and some officials of Ashley Borough want to use the lion's share of the most valuable and flattest sections of the park for two dog parks, one of which would be located near the entrance of one of the slope openings, which the membership has plans to open and display, and two basketball courts at the western border of the park, which has a concrete road that is ideal for trackage for the lokie. The courts would be located at the western most section of the park, abutting the boundary of the Blue Coal property, and is not visible from Main Street. It would be a haven for drug activity, and possibly lead to vandalism of the shanty, mine car and mast signal, which are on the tier above the land where the courts would be. These plans are contingent on the borough selling the land on Main Street about a quarter mile north of the park, and a substantial grant, which the borough has continually been unsuccessful in obtaining.
As part of this collaboration between the society board and the borough, is that the borough would take over the park, and assume liability and park maintenance. Considering the borough's track record for maintaining its holdings, the members have serious doubts about this arrangement. Even though the society board would have final say in any decisions concerning the park, the membership has no voice. Considering that the members do ALL of the work, this is basically a collective slap in the face. 
There is also an issue with contaminated demolition debris that was pushed onto park property by the owner of the Blue Coal property. Surface samples show asbestos is present, as this material was from the area around the boiler house that was NOT demolished according to PA DEP directives. In fact, there is an ongoing investigation by the PA Attorney General's environmental crimes division initiated several years ago as a result of a council member's and and my contact with the AG's office.
Instead of the borough officials working together to resolve the environmental issues, the Blue Coal owner continues to demolish and scrap buildings and other sources of metals in direct violation of DEP and court orders. Ashley police, by order of the Luzerne County Court, were instructed to patrol the property, but were allegedly told by a borough official not to harass the owner. 
In the meantime, we continue to press on with our plans, and hope that the tide turns in our favor.


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## Wood

What a mess. Thanks for filling me in. I can't be of much help. But, maybe just verbalizing it will give you an insight into how you can find a hole to crawl through. 

My one contribution, I am an avid dog owner and would never take my dog to a dog park because they are filled with infectious bacteria, diseases and malicious dogs. You could blow that idea right out of consideration by doing a little research.

https://www.vin.com/vetzinsight/default.aspx?pid=756&id=5158509

http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dogs/dogs-in-dog-park.aspx

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/5-health-risks-lurking-at-the-dog-park


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## Don F

The mine car is now filled. Nate Novak called me this afternoon to make arrangements to deliver the second and final load. Nate is a miner, and has a history of miners in the family. Thank you Nate, the mine car project is now complete! Nate is the young fellow in the photos. My wife Theresa is also featured in a photo.
Wood, I read the attachments you posted about dog parks, but I don't think it will sway any board or council members. Our only hope is that the borough doesn't get any grants for a new playground, and that several of the current council members get voted out of office.


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## Wood

It looks great Don. Congrats on all of your work.


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## Magic

Don, it's hard to believe that is the same car you started with.
A great job on the restoration.

Magic


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## Don F

Wood, Thank you. 
Magic, thank you. Every time I look at some of the photos from the beginning of the project, I think the same thing. It was a lot of fun doing this.


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