Thank you to EVERYONE who turned out on
September 15, our rain date, for our baggage car painting
blitz at Dover Park. After a few nervous moments, when
at 8:10 am the clouds opened up and sprinkled
everything with a misty morning rain, it cleared up and
turned out to be a fantastic day. About 25 energetic
volunteers put brushes and rollers to work and were able
to finish the exterior painting of the two baggage cars
that didn’t get painted last year. We have now painted all
three of the cars and they are looking great! Although
the baggage cars don’t go anywhere, they are critical
support resources which provide work areas and storage
for the equipment and supplies that are used to keep our
three Amtrak-certified rail cars on the road.
The baggage cars are long and it took a lot of paint to
cover the approximately 2,600 square feet of exterior
railcar surface and several thousand rivets. We ended up
applying 11 gallons of paint while using about 20 paint
brushes, 12 paint rollers and pans, 10 ladders, and
scaffolding! The paint party started about 7 am when the
first volunteers arrived and ended just after 6 pm when
we locked the gates. While the painting was going on, the Library Committee
held a book sale and swap meet and quite a few people
were observed browsing and selecting items to take
home. As a result, we were able to raise some new funds
for DCNRHS. Special recognition goes to Wayne Poates and UPS.
Wayne (who works for UPS) was instrumental in
obtaining UPS participation and the $15,000 grant which
funded the supplies we needed for the preparation and
repainting of the baggage cars over the last two years.
The grant also funded the new water service which we
needed to get the cars clean. Wayne has driven up from
Richmond numerous times and stayed the weekend at
his own expense to help with the painting project. Chief Mechanical Officer Jim Lilly expresses special
thanks to the members of the Operations and Equipment
Committee who have spent several hundred hours over the past two years, cleaning, scraping, and priming the
baggage cars and doing major body and sheet metal
work. Preparation is the key to a successful paint job and
their work made the paint party the success that it was. Photo by Mary Ries |
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