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The
progress
of
X201's
restoration
continues
to
be
slow.
In
what
little
free
time
I've
had
over
the
past
few
months,
I
have
been
priming
the
exterior
of
the
caboose,
preparing
it
for
a
fresh
coat
of
paint,
hopefully
in
the
Spring
of
'04.
In
the
last
update,
the
photos
showed
the
spot
priming
on
some
of
the
lightly
rusted
parts
of
the
body.
After
the
spot
priming,
I
decided
to
get
one
good
thick
coat
on
the
entire
body.
The
photo
below
shows
where
I
am
so
far.
I
have
also
primed
the
handrails
and
brake
wheel
supports
at
each
end
of
the
caboose.
I
have
not
gotten
to
the
grabirons
or
steps
yet.
I
removed
and
cleaned
the
solar
panels
from
the
roof.
After
some
extensive
research,
I
found
a
contact
at
Hutton
Solar
who
was
involved
in
installing
the
solar
energy
systems
to
the
SR
cabs
back
in
1979.
He
sent
me
some
specific
information
and
technical
data
on
the
charging
system.
The
panels
were
rated
at
20.5
volts
when
they
were
new.
I
tested
X201's
solar
panels
with
a
voltmeter
after
cleaning
them.
One
panel
put
out
18
volts
and
the
other
put
out
13
volts.
According
to
Hutton
Solar,
these
numbers
are
acceptable
and
should
be
sufficient
to
charge
the
batteries
for
the
marker
lights.
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