Meet Tim Green. He’s the current Locomotive Engineer. Tim was a professional Auto Mechanic for many years as were his sons. Tim took it upon himself to make sure that Voiture 410’s Pride and Joy was Street Legal. This past Parade Season was a pretty huge success, which I’ll be talking about in other articles, but this article will focus on Tim and his accomplishments.
The Garage and Tim’s farm were not the only places that the locomotve was worked on. On the way home from the Racine Parade, the brakes failed. Due to Dave Lyons familiarity with driving the vehicle, he was able to goose it back to Post 21’s garage under its own power. Once there, Tim Green and his son Chris were able to effect repairs and make the Somers Parade (pretty much) on time. Chris was heard saying that “the Locomotive is going to be in the parade even if it’s on the back of a trailer!” Thankfully , Tim and his team made all of those problems a thing of the past.
The locomotive is now under a tarp back in Post 21’s garage, and Tim has the battery on a conditioner. He plans on bringing it back to his farm in April to get it ready for the 2024 Parade Season. We are also thinking of ways we can get her on the road for fundraising.
Any Ideas on that?
Current List of Events
- Event #, Date, Event, Driver, Co-Driver
- 1 | Jun 5, 2023 | Shakedown Cruise | Tim Green | Paul Ciarelli
- 2 | Jul 1, 2023 2023 | Twin Lakes Libertyfest Parade | Dave Lyons* | Paul Ciarelli
- 3 | Jul 2, 2023 2023 | Kenosha Civic Veterans Parade | Dave Lyons* | Paul Ciarelli
- 4 | Jul 4, 2023 2023 | Racine’s 87th Annual Parade | Dave Lyons* | Jon Lyons
- 5 | Jul 4, 2023 2023 | Village & Town of Somers, WI | Tim Green | Tom Visintainer
- 6 | Jul 9, 2023 | Bristol Progress Days Parade | Tim Green | Paul Ciarelli
- 7 | Aug 26, 2023 | Moose Lodge Fundraising Mission | Tim Green | Rich Bowker
- 8 | Sep 22, 2023 | Escort George Peter on his 100’th Birthday | Tim Green | Paul Ciarelli
Here’s the short list of Tim’s accomplishments.
List of Improvements by Tim Green and the Green Machine
- Removal of:
- 3 broken air horn / compressors and associated tanks & hoses
- We figured about 150 lbs worth
- 100’s of feet of wiring
- A particularly evil Oil Filter that took over an hour to remove
- Old Speakers an lights that we couldn’t get parts for
- All Blue lights (We were originally told no blue by the police, but that was rescinded)
- Oil tank used for smoke
- Cabin Fans
- Old Radio, CB, 8 Track Player, Cassette Player
- 3 broken air horn / compressors and associated tanks & hoses
- Coolant Fan and Thermostat
- 50’ Feet of Wire Loom
- Welded 3 Lug studs to the back of wheel Front Left and 3 new lug nuts
- Antifreeze flush and New Antifreeze (-30)
- New Headlight
- Spark Plug wire set and plugs.
- Rotor and Distributer Cap
- New Fuel Pump & Filter
- Complete rebuild of carburetor.
- Air Filter
- Oil Change with filter
- Dome Light
- Wash / Wax / Polished Brass (Brasso and Never Dull)
- Fixed air shock line, Front Left (Currently 95 lbs.)
- Cleaned and inspected brakes.
- Grease all lube points.
- Inspected Trunnions (There are spare parts in the box)
- Backup alarm
- Rewired all light switches.
- Added a manual backup alarm
- Battery Tender
- Rear Air Shocks
- Seal leaks in Oil Cover
- Fuel Gage / fuel Inlet mechanism.
- Dig out the old float mechanism and replace parts on it
- Brake system overhaul including new shoes, and cylinders
- Brake Master Cylinder Replacement
- Touch up Paint
- Clean old Seat Pads ( the old faux leather was pretty awful )
Notes from Tim:
- The locomotive is made of 70-year-old wood!!! Treat the locomotive as a piece of wood!
- NO SMOKING
- Do not drive faster than 65MPH
- The Speedometer is not calibrated
- 65MPH on the speedometer is 50MPH Clocked.
- The Speedometer is not calibrated
Still needs to be done.
What’s Next
Tim still has some projects he’s working on
- New Tires (The current tires have tread, but they are pretty dry rotted)
- Tim’s son is making a cow catcher.
- Front suspension, esp. Drivers side.
- Emergency Brakes
- Smoke System to replace the old dripping oil on the manifold trick
Tim is also helping designing and installing the electronic/electrical projects that were donated by my wife Linda and me.
- Fuse box – Tim ran all lights and electronics to individual fuses, which replaced the old bus bars.
- Cabin Fan – Fused and Installed by Tim
- Sound System with Kenwood head unit and custom built MP3 player
- Sound System version 2
- The buttons will be re-located to the dashboard for improved accessibility and safety.
- Public Address System with sirens and whistle sounds
- Purchased but not yet Installed
- Front and rear facing cameras with dashboard 7″ Screen.
- Purchased but not yet Installed
By the way, compiling and typing all of this was exhausting. Tim’s doing of all that in the timeframe he had was an incredible achievement!