4451 Something must be done.

Although designed for car storage, 4451 goes into the barn in 2018 and has her roof removed revealing old insulation.

The two trolley bases were hoisted down and set aside for restoration along with the roof vents.

The interior ceiling was also removed.

The wood sandwiched around the steel carlines was also removed.

De-rusting and priming the carlines came next.

Eight inches of steel was removed from the bottom of the steel side sheets all the way around the car.

This allowed for repairs of the carlines where they attach to the side sill.

The whole floor of the car was removed and at the vestibules extensive work was done repair and replace frame members.

Here the side sheet bottom replacement is being started.

Round headed “huck” bolts were used to replace the original rivets, a technique that CTA employed when they did spot repairs.

By the end of 2019, a new steel sub floor has been installed along with the ceiling.

It was decided to strip the ceiling so new primer and modern paint could be applied while all the windows were removed.

Next came a plywood sub floor over the steel floor.

After some interior and exterior painting was completed and cured, hard wood flooring was installed.

All the wooden flooring is complete.

Now new side walls can be applied.

Next comes the priming and painting of the walls and floors.  This is just a glimpse off the heavy rebuild of CTA 4451.