Oyster Bay and Danbury Railroad Museum Question

[andre]

I am a Trustee of Andover Historical Society in Andover NH. Our chief asset is our Railroad Museum which consists of the station building, a restored caboose, a freight shed and a freight/box car. The rails are still intact. The station was the old Potter Place Station coming up from Concord. My question is this: our project this year is to restore the freight car which is 'parked' at the shed siding. I would like to move it further down the track to make it more accessible to work on. My thought is to get the Town grader to pull it but am concerned the wheels may not turn. Is this likely? If so would they break free easily? Also do you have any advice as to how to proceed with the restoration? We know we have to strip the old paint (lead-based), then power-wash with an auto wash no-wax, then self-etching primer, then a uro primer. Who does this type of work? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

You may need to find a way to release the air brakes on the car to move it or else you might end up dragging it, do you have photos of the trucks and brakes?

[MADDOG]

I am a Trustee of Andover Historical Society in Andover NH. Our chief asset is our Railroad Museum which consists of the station building, a restored caboose, a freight shed and a freight/box car. The rails are still intact. The station was the old Potter Place Station coming up from Concord. My question is this: our project this year is to restore the freight car which is 'parked' at the shed siding. I would like to move it further down the track to make it more accessible to work on. My thought is to get the Town grader to pull it but am concerned the wheels may not turn. Is this likely? If so would they break free easily? Also do you have any advice as to how to proceed with the restoration? We know we have to strip the old paint (lead-based), then power-wash with an auto wash no-wax, then self-etching primer, then a uro primer. Who does this type of work? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

As for moving the boxcar-first, make sure that you lube up the journals liberally for a week or two to make sure that all of the metal has been fully coated. I hope that there is still packing material in the boxes to hold the oil.
Then you have to mkae sure that all of the brake shoes are off the wheels so that the wheels could move. Then its a matter of GENTLY nudging the car to move. Remember that the brakes are not set so you have to attach the boxcar to the town grader via heavy duty strapping or chains.
As far as restoration to the car, dependng on whether its' steel or wood will determine the way to go.
Peel away is a good paint remover that will work on multiple layers of lead based paint and can be applied by volunteers. Safety is of the utmost and lead-based paint must be encapsulated, not just scraped dry or sanded off. You could hire a reputable sandblasting or soda blasting outfit who could also prime and paint the car.
MADDOG