LIRR 60 has been under restoration for the past 4 years. Shes nearly done now. We lettered it this week. Owned by the Twin Forks Chapter, NRHS.



Heres how its done... Vinyl stencils. Spray the lettering, and its done. We have the Dans and they will be on soon, if not by tonight. Window masking comes off Saturday. I split early..



An interior shot:


Paul

Interesting. TechShop has a CNC vinyl cutter; draw up your design in Corel Draw, and it slices them for you. Even works with Truetype fonts...

You know you're getting old when a museum is restoring something that wasn't built yet when you went off to college and left Long Island for good. TVRM has a similar car, but in blue and yellow. Which came first?

This is the original LIRR. The Blue came later (MTA).

Very nice job. And I particularly like the painted-on lettering. Has the proper look.

Howard P.
Demp-Nock, CT

I think that the Techshop that was linked to is an amazing idea! I wish we had such a place around these parts!

That is a very nice restoration on the #60 caboose.

TVRM's car is pictured below. While reasonably well kept, it does not really "fit" with the collection and TVRM would be willing to consider finding a more appropriate home for the car.

Alan Maples

So how did a caboose from the Isle of Long come to roost in southeastern Tenn.? Must be good story about that one...

Howard P.

Howard,

I don't recall the story, other than I believe it was one of several pieces of equipment that came from a collection in Virginia. Tim Andrews would know the details.

Alan Maples

It looks like the caboose is displayed at the Riverhead site of the Long Island Railroad Museum.

In the background of one of the pictures is the only surviving example of that bi-level commuter car that they Long Island designed. The museum has the only one left; they were scrapped as they were aluminum and i guess had a high scrap value.

I like the story of another Long Island caboose at the museum. It ended up at the Essex Connecticut Railroad and it traveled back to the Island by way of the Cross Sound Ferry from New London to Orient.

How many rail cars get to travel by ferry boat?

Ted Miles

The double-decker Ted refers to is the first all aluminum passenger in the USA. #200 has been painted, but as you can see in the photo, vandals spray painted it almost as soon as it was finished. Another N52 wooden caboose belongs to the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum, as second LIRR preservation organization, with another G5s steam locomotive and a host of historic equipment. Both operations are making progress towards bringing their collections up to snuff, although both have major infrastructure issues to solve. The caboose in the original posting belongs to the Twin Forks NRHS chapter. Twin Forks displays and stores much of its equipment at the Riverhead site. An abundant supply of LIRR hacks of varying varieties existed at the time of retirement, so they are well represented around the country.
Every Pennsy and LIRR fan in the country should get behind one or both of these organizations. Several pieces of equipment at RMPA also saw service time on the Long Island.

thanks for the additional comments.

another thing that is worth noting is that both the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum and the Long Island Railroad Museum have plans to include turntables at their sites.

The Oyster Bay group is further along as the pit still exists and a turntable bridge has been located in it.

The Riverhead group has a bridge but the site for the turntable was filled in some years ago. They plan to open it back up and install the bridge that they obtained from Upstate New York short line a few years ago.

At their Greenport site there was a turntable also, but the last time I visited a couple of years ago I did not find it; I may have missed it as there has been a lot of development in Greenport during the last ten years.

As a Long Island native and future retiree planning to return there, it is fun watching the development of these two museums. I am especially pleased to see the restoration of the two two surviving LIRR locomotives #35 and #39 progressing in recent years.

It has been a long slow haul since they left the park displays many years ago.

Ted Miles

The LIRR moved caboose 60 to the NYC Transit Authority yards on Sunday night. The caboose will get a few minor details and then go to the NYC Transit Museum for 1 year, to recognize the LIRR's 175th Birthday. Thanks to the guys at Twin Forks NRHS for their time, skill, and patience in bringing the renovated hack up to railroad standards. THis was a special move, as the caboose does not have roller bearings.

A detailed account can be seen here: http://lirr.thermomods.com/index.php/topic,2279.0.html

Some questions on the vinyl lettering paint masks.

First what is kept is the outside profile, what normally is thrown away if a vinyl shop was letterin a car or truck.

Any special grade vinyl that is used with these masks, low tack? so that it can be removed.

The Reason I am asking is we are going to be painting our two Milwaukee Road PS built boxcars and I would rather have painted lettering than Vinyl lettering on the cars.

Thanks

Mike Slater
Western Union Junction Railroad Club & Museum
Sturtevant Wisconsin

caboose@wi.rr.com