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  • Work Train - Gondola Repaint

  • Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.
Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.

Moderators: sery2831, CRail

 #1600605  by JacobKoppel
 
MBTX 13385 has been repainted in the cut yard.
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In the picture, the non-repainted gondola on the left is 13360 and it has already been prepped for painting. New brake card and primer.
 #1600941  by Bluebird
 
Wow! Now all we need is a repainted 3247 or 904 to lead the train of gondolas. I hope they are taken out of Rochester at some point and brought back to operation.

Bluebird
 #1601444  by JacobKoppel
 
Bluebird wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 11:41 am we need is a repainted 3247 or 904 to lead the train of gondolas.
3247 will be sent out of MPI fro rebuild with the last F40PH2Cs to go.

904 can be rebuilt and Rochester shops want to do it so they can have a dedicated shop switcher there. Unfortunately there is no money from the state to rebuild it yet. Of course, that could change in the future.

Ever since they repainted all the Work Train equipment, they have barely even used it. Only a few of the flat cars on 1 work train in the spring of this year!!. Non of the painted Gondolas have moved out of the terminal district or the Saugus Branch and are there for tagger to partake in their vandalism.

I can only dream about seeing the repainted Work Train cars on the Southside!
 #1612324  by JacobKoppel
 
Here is my end of year update.

MBTX 13360 has been painted in the cut yard. That is 6 out of 13 gondolas painted so far. Here are some authorized close ups of the fresh paint
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MBTX 53 has been put back into service after its repaint. (I posted a photo to this thread on March 25) Of interesting note, 53 is the only one of the ex-DODX flat cars to have new wood beams put on top as part of the painting process. Given the age of these cars, the wood on top has been splintering and rotting away for years. As these flat cars are cycled through this recent work train painting process, the ones with the wood in the worst condition will also receive new wooden cross beams. Only downside to this is, before the car is safe to move, the wood will need to go through an extensive settling process throughout one Winter and Summer season with excessive weight applied on top. 53 finished the settling process in the Cut Yard this September and was cut into the work train flat consist soon after.

Here is 53 with the fresh new wood
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MBTX 56, 57, & 58 are next to be painted. They are spotted in the cut yard spaced out. These are all Ex-DODX flats. Of note, 57 still has the old DODX green on it but that will soon be a memory. These 3 flats will be painted in the spring, and given the wood condition on all 3 of them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they get new wood beams like 53. Provided are pictures of all 3 cars in preparation for paint as well as a drone shot that gives a glimpse of the wood deck condition.
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Have a safe new year and please remember not to attempt to get close up to these cars without expressed permission and supervision. I share these photos for documentation purposes and hope that those viewing are able to understand that. Work train cars especially are unpredictable in terms of movement and integrity.