Thursday, April 16, 2009

Trying to find a 21st century solution to a 19th century problem… and adventures in goat herding…

In between running camps for 25, 6-12 year olds, running a house museum, and holding home and family together, I am trying to rebuild a 1895 caboose, and maintain a 19th century horse drawn railroad.

Just today I had to herd goats… I mean living, breathing, breeding goats, some with horns… we have lots of them at work… 5 got away, into a neighborhood. The goats aren’t my responsibility, but I was the one the public found, about 5:30 pm after the park staff had left, and no one else was answering the phone… We (myself and a crowd of citizens living over the back fence) were able to get four of five wandering fire control goats back into the park. One didn’t want to cooperate. The goat herder, his two dogs arrived just in time to capture the last errant goat before a car or the police intervened… I then repaired the fence with found twine, wire and a rotten fence post, and left the Sheppard, and dogs, to care for his flock

Currently I am trying to find a good solution to holding square head bolts within a timber frame. Its the caboose, rebuilt about 1970 by shipyard workers in San Francisco by men who had (apparently) never seen a wooden railroad car before… The end platforms, with couplers and such are loose, and can’t be tightened because the (square) bolt heads turn in their (round) holes. On a box car with thick floor boards they used a bolt socket… as casting which held the head and grabbed the flooring. I made a pattern for that part some years ago in epoxy, bondo, and silicone rubber… But this is a new problem, and my regular 19th century sources are silent on solutions… To them this was so obvious that anyone knew how to deal with it… unfortunately over the last 110 years we have forgotten the solution… Given a week or so I may come up with something… a 19th century solution for a 21st century problem.

Next I have to figure out how to make a canvas and paint roof, and forged spiral springs… I think I have those covered.

Of course, I still have a couple of days with the 25 kids… it’s a budget thing. And I have to let the kids pet a goat tomorrow..

I could say all is good, but it would be a lie.

Randy

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