Katy Dickinson

WP668 Caboose Update

John and I are in a phase of caboose restoration where there are many fiddly not-very-photogenic projects. He has been installing the insulation and wood facing for the new wood window frame in the bay window cut out by the prior owner. We found leaks caused by that prior owner having drilled hard-to-find holes in the steel. It is a good thing we are doing this work during the rainy season. It would have been a pain to find out about these little holes after the wood facing was installed! We had enough original wood to replace the damaged facing above the intact bay window but we are using new wood for the other side.

Stained glass artist Vince Taylor brought by the new window frame. Vince is working on the design for the 3 windows he will install in WP668. See my December 17, 2007 blog entry for more.

I have been filling little holes in the walls with wooden pegs. Once the glue dries, I cut the excess peg flush with the wall then fill cracks with wood filler paste. Some holes are too small for pegs and just need the paste. 91 years of bolts, screws, and nails have left many dozen little holes. If it do it right, none of these will be visible once the walls are painted. Bigger holes are covered with round tin patches. About a dozen old patches were in place when we bought WP668 two years ago. Our cat Valentino is contributing the bottoms of his special treat cat food tins to the caboose restoration. Tino is happy to accept a treat whenever we need a patch.

Valentino

Bay Window Leak

Vince's window frame

Reused boards above old window

Pegs filling wall holes

Cat food tin wall patch

Images Copyright 2007-2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 11:09AM Jan 31, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |