So today I called the Indiana Railroad to ask about their freight pickup procedures. They referred me to the container yard and gave me their number. So I called the number and the guy answered CN which is the Canadian Railroad. He told me that my driver needs to stop at the gate and give them the container number he’s there to pickup. Then stop at the gate on the way out so they can record the chassis (container trailer) number and that’s it. So much less work than what CSX was talking about.
So, I thought we’re back to Plan A or whatever it was where I’d just rent a semi tractor and pick the container up myself. So I called Penske Truck Rental and asked their documentation requirements. A little overwhelmed again. First, they don’t do personal rentals so I’d have to do it as a company and they want a physical business address. Like not the house! Okay I can figure that out. Then a $5,000 cashier’s check as a deposit for the truck. Okay, that’s also feasible. Now for insurance. Ummmm, I’d need a policy through the company. Well that’s a lot of work and may take longer and more money than I have… so the $200/day and $0.25/mile is the least of my worries. So not going to be able to do the truck myself.
I got to thinking about who might have a truck to go pick this up for me at a reasonable price. I remembered that Robert Bangle of Bangle Farms does hauling on the side. It’s common for farmers to own semi tractors and trailers and use them in the off season to make extra money. So I asked around to get ahold of his number and we were able to discuss the possibility of him doing the job. He’s familiar with the yard and said his standard rate was $115/hour starting when he leaves his shop and ending when he returns. Since the rail yard is on the near Southside it isn’t far from his shop or the workshop so as long as the yard doesn’t create so unreasonable delay or we have a delay in unloading the container should take 3 hours or less. Pretty sure that’s gonna be a lot less than getting insurance to rent a truck.
I ordered an in-line panel mount 30 amp 3 phase breaker for the phase converter control panel. This will provide protection on the circuit as well as a disconnect for the 3 phase power. The way the box is wired even with the converter turned off there would still be electricity in some of the wires to the machine. This will kill all the electricity from the box to the machine. In addition to providing a disconnect for safety the converter shouldn’t be started while feeding power to the machine so this will allow me to switch power off until the converter is ready to feed the machine..
Today I received a portable combination Air Conditioner / Heater for the workshop. I bought a used one from Amazon so I’m hoping it’s functional and complete. Should really improve the comfort in the workshop year round.
I also did a lot of work on the generator enclosure design yesterday. I think I should be able to get that mostly completed this weekend. Gotta hurry because the machine could arrive in as little as 4 days now…