Submitted by Steve Winicker.
LAST WEEKENDS SHOP ACTIVITY
First thanks to all who worked on the engine over the winter and made the Chicago trips possible. Thanks, and congratulations to those who went along and carried them off without a hitch as well. All reports on the crew and engine I have heard are quite positive and complementary.
Friday started off with a school tour. John and Carl provided a train ride for the group which appeared popular. I gave a tour inside the shop which was less popular until I started giving away coal.
Saturday was devoted to cleaning up the shop and getting things put away (a project still underway) I gave Gordon a rundown on Joliet and he gave me a rundown on what was running with pictures. Dave and I spent some time clearing the west field for overflow parking. In the few hours, we worked we more than doubled the potential parking area north of the track and west of the north south windbreak. Anyone who has a brush saw and some time; could open a lot of potential parking area. Let me know if you are interested.
Sunday was just broken up enough with visitors and phone calls I did not get any major projects accomplished, just puttered around the shop found a place for a few more items and finished off this newsletter.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Next Saturday we are tentatively scheduled to move coal and load the tender. Hope to clean out the firebox and get the engine ready for the next event coming in August. We also need to add packing to the hot water pump and top of the water glasses. One washout plug was leaking and needs to be cleaned inspected and tightened. Any time left can be used to get the property ready for the Open House.
SAFETY SENSE
Frequently we have a need to use knives and other cutting tools in our daily activities. We cut bindings off boxes of paper. We cut seafood, meat or poultry. We open containers of all sorts. We cut ropes, cloth and other various materials. But we don’t always do this safely.
There are two golden rules in knife safety…
- Always cut away from yourself
- A sharp knife is safer than a dull knife
Watch someone use a knife sometime and notice how often they risk being injured by cutting toward their body. Sometimes when cutting a rope, we bend the rope into a loop and insert the knife into the loop facing upward. When the knife is drawn up through the rope, the force of the cutting action can bring it to the face or other body parts. This is not a good idea!
An unwise but common use of box knives is to reach across the box and draw the knife toward you. This too is dangerous and breaks golden rule number one of knife safety.
It takes less force to cut through an object with a sharp knife. This gives you greater control of the blade. When heavy force is applied, the blade often cuts deeper than intended and, sometimes, into your flesh. When someone tells you their knife is so dull it wouldn’t cut butter, don’t you wonder why they are still using it? Ensure your knife is sharp and keep it sharp.
