Rich,
I haven't tried the whistle yet due to a brush spring that is MIA. I need to check if I have one. Aside from light dust on the whistle, it looks to be in great shape. After some time with a ball peen hammer and a small dowel rod, I have the dents almost out and the base back into shape. Unfortunately, the paint cracked and fell off in the process, so I will be doing a restoration now. I'll post photos as I go.
stebby,
The reason that I am trying to avoid removing the rivets is that I am not sure if they are available. I think I can mask things off as I go.
I am really curious how the damage to the base and panel occured. It seems like it would have taken something big to do that based on the gauge of the steel.
If it were mine, it would be on the workbench right now. I'm sure that you can drill out the rivits without doing serious damage to the rest of it. And pop-rivit tools are avaiable at any big-box hardware store.
But the real question is: does it work?
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Jim,
I think the first question that I would have is, does the whistle work?
If it does, you are half-way home.
The busted base at the front end is a real bummer. How do you go about restoring it? Being a metal base, I suppose you attack the problem as you would on an automobile.
There is a small dilemma here because a good part of the base is in nice shape and the green paint looks pretty good, as does the sign itself. But the white frame looks pretty shabby. So, since you would need to repair the metal base and repaint the white frame, I would go all the way and repaint the green base as well. In other words, a complete restoration. If you do, post some photos so we can see the results.
I hope that whistle works.
Rich
Alton Junction
I just got this 577 in the mail today. Aside from the rust and slight bend in the top of the sign panel, it doesn't look that bad. Even the sign is clean and bright.
However, when I looked closer, something just didn't look right...
No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. The base is severely bent, and the sign panel is also bent and a bit loose.
I am not sure what to do right now. If it wasn't for the eight rivets holding everything together and the green paint being in nice shape, I wouldn't hesitate to tear it down completely and do a full restoration. Any thoughts?
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