Ottawa 696 restoration progress

Thanks to Bill Wall of Branford and Gerry Gaugl of the OTC 696 Restoration Group, which is currently working on a full restoration of Ottawa Transportation Commission 696. The car was built by Ottawa in 1917 and is the oldest double-truck car from the city in preservation. It's currently owned by the local transit agency, OC Transpo, and a group of volunteers have been making steady progress on a major rebuild of the deteriorated car that has been going on for some 15 years now. They've sent along some recent progress photos. Caption info is generally from Gerry with a few asides from yours truly. Enjoy!

This was the car on December 8th. Project worker Rhéaume painted the carbody “poppy red” and window band its first coat of “sunflower yellow”. [The car in the background is OTC 905, the newest Ottawa streetcar preserved, built in 1933 and acquired as a body in 2004 - FH]

Project volunteers Zen (not pictured), Komie, and Ted have been working on windows for the past year and are ready to install them once the glass arrives.

The upper windows being fitted to the car. It was more work than meets the eye redoing these windows, the outboard side had to be primed, then painted brown, the insides, stained and varnished along with adding to the bottoms a quarter inch felt strip, held in position with a steel strap. [Note that these cars had upper sash nearly as tall as the lower sash, a bit unusual -FH]

The bottom window ready to be fitted, like the upper windows, the lowers had to be painted (outside) and stained(inside). Next the brass hardware (cleaned & polished by Zen & Komie) had to be installed. They sure look great!

Project worker Bernd was busy fitting the clerestory windows and vents on the car.

Vents and windows are fitted. The molding is temporary, just being used as a guide, new molding will be made from a sample that salvaged from the old 696 interior.

Bernd has also been helping Rhéaume with the doors and the housing for the motors. Earlier in the project Gerry checked out the motors and replaced the diaphragms, happy to report that they were in good working order.

The removed side panel shows where the window side of the seat frame is to be mounted. After seat brackets are installed, project worker Paul will cut the panel to fit around the bracket.

The seat brackets have been installed, the panels cut and fitted.  The conduit and junction box are to carry the wiring for the car's heaters(non-functioning) and will be painted green to match the panels.  The pile of seat parts have been primed and will be assembled and painted after the windows, sills, bell cord are installed and the floor's finish completed.

One cross seat has been installed; every other row has a heater under it, with the wire connected to the "T" and conduit.

The bench seat frames seemed to fair better than the row seats frames; on those Gerry had to replace 80% of the steel.  Under the two front bench seats are the sand boxes which have to be fit before installation of the bench seat frame.  The seat cushions will have to be made "easily removable" in order to access the hoppers.

The sand boxes are in very sad shape and need much work.

Rhéaume has been working very hard on the front doors and step mechanisms.  Again everything is snug but not tightened because once the door motors are connected to the air, adjustments will have to be made.  

Doors closed...

...and doors open! Yahoo, they work!

Thanks again to Gerry for all of the great photos and information!