With work resuming on our Erie bay window caboose No. C330, Tri-State volunteers have set course to finish the heavy-duty repairs. To accomplish this, the organization made the decision to purchase new tools for the job.
Under direction of Equipment Committee member, experienced welder, and former-Bell Labs Engineer Steve Falco, the organization purchased the following:
- A Lincoln POWER MIG® 210 MP Multi-Process Welder. This welder can perform both stick (SMAW) and MIG (GMAW) processes on steel. The welder can run on both 120 volt and 240 volt AC power. However, the Boonton Yard site does not have easy access to sufficient AC power, which lead to the next purchase.
- A 13 H.P. Predator Generator. This generator can produce 5500 Watts of 240 volt power continuously, with short term delivery of 6500 Watts. The generator also produces 120 volt power, which can be used to run grinders, cut-off tools, etc.
- A Victor cutting and welding oxy-acetylene rig. The Victor torch is capable of cutting through six or more inches of solid steel, and has already been used to cut a damaged padlock from the caboose.
Steve Falco test drives the new torch on a broken lock.
A number of associated items have been purchased, such as protective gloves, welding
helmets and goggles, Oxygen, Acetylene, and Argon/CO2 tanks, etc.
With this purchase, Tri-State becomes further independent in doing heavy restoration work, which is quickly becoming a more predominant part of what the organization does. Having these tools on-hand also gives Tri-State members the opportunity to try their hand at new skills and helps Tri-State to attract skilled labor to the volunteer team.
To learn more about volunteering visit http://www.tristaterail.org/volunteer/