Now we come to the Odd Part - 2005 to 2013

So far on this blog I've shown you how I tore down the motorcar in 2005. Between 2005 and 2013 - there was absolutely no progress made. I did do some work on the motorcar sometime in 2007 - but I don't have any pictures of it and it wasn't significant.
I had Dad bring it down to a Railroad Museum I was volunteering at - then after a bit - I had Dad bring it back to his house. It moved a few times at Dad's place - and eventually the parts were separated for storage.
      Many things happened in my life, personal, professional and the motorcar still sat. I photographed multiple motorcar runs in Maine and after each one I would say (often to other motorcar operators) I gotta get mine on the rail. It just didn't happen.
      It took a rather interesting conversation between my Dad and I to really get things rolling again. My Dad collects antique engines - commonly known as One Lungers. He has been the President of the Maine Antique Power Association for many years. It isn't often that one of his phone calls or e-mails about a new addition to the collection or a trade surprises me anymore - but this one did. The conversation went something like this: "I am trading two of my engines for a pair of motorcars. They're in Vermont and I need a hand going to get them. Wanna come?" It took a few minutes for my brain to catch up to my ears - Dad had never shown much interest in my Motorcar and here he was making a deal to swap two of his engines for two of them.

     There they are - Dad's A car and his ex Bangor and Aroostook M14. Overnight we went from a one motorcar family to a three motorcar family. 

      Dad's cars proved to be the catalyst for kicking us into getting my M19 restored. On the next post, we'll start with the restoration effort.

Identifying parts - 8-13-05

About six weeks after my last work session - I found myself trying to figure out what a piece of my speeder is. In the process of trying to figure out how to mount a generator onto the engine, I determined that my engine seemed to have an additional accessory that I couldn't identify. 

Here is the top of the engine - we're going on the left in this picture

Here is the first of a detail shot - those familiar with Fairmont engines will note that the casting just to the right of the firewall is not on most Fairmont engines

Here is a true Detail shot - it was obviously either original or very close to original equipment.

From this angle its very difficult to see - but I still couldn't identify it.

It would take another two years - June 21st 2007 to be exact - to find someone to identify it. A post on the Speeders e-mail list netted a response from Dick Forde of New Hampshire - who identified this as an external bearing, designed to help take the additional stress of the belt side of the engine. 

This was the first indication that I might have an actual Bangor and Aroostook car - most of them owned by the B&A had this option. 

Recruiting a friend - 7-4-05

I celebrated Independence Day 2005 by dragging a friend in on my project. Matt was at the time a recent graduate of Maine Maritime Academy and well versed in the nature of mechanical things. Although, shipboard diesels are a bit bigger than the entire motorcar. 

At this point we've already removed one piece of aluminum - freeing up the passenger side floorboard.

This floorboard was remarkably intact compared to the other side - both sheathing pieces and the plywood have stood up very well compared to the other side

Another short day - we packed up and went elsewhere!

A pile of parts is formed - 6-5-05

With worksessions on the car getting further and further apart - it would seem that my interest was starting to wane. 

This day I really started to go through the removal of parts

This is what was left of the operator's side floorboard

This is a selection of the various parts, brake rigging included that were removed in the process of tearing the last part of the floorboard out

Here we are without a floorboard

Yes, it is starting to look a bit stripped at this point

Next - I recruit a friend!

Tearing into the operator's side floorboard - 5-14-05

This was a short day of work - primarily all I did was tear the operator's side fenders and running board off. The front and rear ends of the floor boards came off as well

As you can see in this view, the floorboard on this side really is bad and this is the source of the restoration effort

One side down - one to go

At this point it really looked like I was going to get away with only changing out the one side's running board. Well......

The Day Dad got involved in tear down

For a while I was on a two week rotation - give or take - on motorcar work sessions - May 1st, 2005 found me working again. 

Not entirely sure why I started with the roof - but as anyone who has had one of these apart knows, their kind of like a puzzle - each piece relies on other pieces to form a picture. 

In my opinion - it doesn't look nearly as good without the roof

Don't worry - the Tree won't hurt it. 

Here it is - the first shot I have of Dad actually tearing something apart on it. Now he was heavily involved in the process of getting it home, I just don't have any pictures of it. 

With the front and roof off - the tree started to do double duty. 

With the front and roof off - you can get a better feeling for the level of stripping that needed to be done. 

It looks much weirder with only the back roof supports - so those came off as well.

Back under a tarp- trying to keep the inside out of the elements.

The Teardown continues in the next Post!

The Next Spring - or 'What did I get myself into?'

After my newly purchased Fairmont spent the winter outside with tarp over it - I went outside one spring morning and sat down on the operators seat. My foot promptly went through the floor board on the operators side. It was time for a tear down. I've been told that it is possible to change out the floor boards on one of these cars without disassembling it - but with almost every piece of wood on the car showing some sort of rot or other deterioration - I made the call to completely disassemble the car and restore it. The previous owner had been in the midst of a replacement of some bolts anyway so knowing what was tight and what was loose would require some work. I knew early on that if I was going to operate this car, I would need to add lighting to it in order to pass NARCOA safety regulations. All things were pointing towards a complete tear down, including finding some aluminum frame pieces corroded to the point of almost non existence.
The date was April 17th, 2005:

This is how she sat over the winter - pretty much the way I bought it. 

Not much has disappeared yet in this shot.

There we go - the reliable Craftsman toolbox standing guard over various parts that have been removed.

This is the operator's side 'Box' covering the lift handles

These are the remains of the crank side 'Box' covering the handle - and the handle itself. As you can see, there are some seriously deteriorated spots.

Here is the part that started the whole tear down - a floor that wouldn't hold up anymore. 

Penetrating oil and parts boxes became the order of the day. 

The teardown continues in the next post! -Joey

A bit of History

I realize that a lot of people who will be reading this don't have a frame of reference for my interest in motorcars. I've been interested in trains for essentially my entire life. My exposure to Fairmonts took a different turn than many however.

That is me - in 1992. The Fairmont engine was transplanted onto a GE ElecTrac garden tractor chassis by a friend of my Father. Dad was able to acquire the tractor and I have fond memories of operating it. 

Fast forward to 2004 and I got my first ride in an actual motorcar. I was qualified to operate motorcars on the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad. It only took one ride for me to decide to get my own motorcar - and I bought mine in November of 2004. My work schedule changed and then ownership changed on the B&ML but in 2006 I had a great second job running the water wagon.

The water wagon job was simple - take one of the B&ML's A4 motorcars and tow a pushcart with a pump and water tank on it. If the steam locomotive ever set any fires - I was to attempt to put them out.
Although many things would come and go, including the steam locomotive I used to follow on the B&ML, I still had my motorcar. The rest of this Blog is dedicated to its restoration.
Enjoy!
-Joey

The Beginning - Bringing my new Purchase home

On November 3rd, 2004, I went to investigate an ad for a Fairmont motorcar near Sebago Lake in Maine. Advertised as a Bangor and Aroostook car and being a Bangor and Aroostook nut, I thought the combination was ideal. Although I didn't know it at the time - I was looking at a future purchase.

Eight days later - on November 11th, 2004, the car rolled into the backyard of my parents house - courtesy of my Dad's trailer.

That was how she looked at the time of delivery. On my next post - you'll see how the restoration began.

-Joey Kelley