October 11th Work Progress Photos Page

Plans for the ships Grand Opening have finally been announced.  On Sunday, October 14th there will be a by invitation only Grand Opening Celebration held onboard the ship starting at 1:30.  Then she will officially open to the public for tours on Monday morning October 15th.  For information about tour hours Click Here.  With this in mind I took a day off from the regular grind and came onboard to help put the final touches on before the opening ceremonies.  I was also motivated by the fact that there was a party scheduled for tonight at a local restaurant for all volunteers, that was something I didn't want to miss.  I arrived onboard at the usual time and went in search of work at the Brass Shop.  In preparation for the tours I was again assigned to Mount 55 where I have spent a number of days previously.  The goal was to finish polishing and cleaning inside the Mount itself, inside the Upper Handling Room and along the Tour Route leading up to the Mount.  To accomplish this I first polished about a half dozen portholes along the Tour Route and adjacent to Mount 55.  Then I moved inside the Mount itself and then finished off in the Upper Handling Room cleaning grease off the deck and doing some final cleanup.  We even installed red light tubes in the fixtures so they can be turned on giving the inside of the Handing Room a nice red glow.  I spent most of my day working in the area of Mount 55, then at the end of the day I roamed around and snapped some photos.  Today she looks so great, the transition that has occurred over the last 9 months is unbelievable!  Take a few minutes to look back at the work progress photos from back in April and compare them to those below and you'll see what I mean.  For those of us that were there on a regular basis and took part in the effort, it is certainly a dream come true, I can't wait until Sunday.  But, for now it's off to the volunteers party, hope to see you onboard this weekend for the Grand Opening, you won't want to miss it that's for sure!

 

October 11th Photo #1
Work on the ships pier will continue to go on for some time

October 11th Photo #2

Brass on O5 Level control station, finally all shined up and back in place
October 11th Photo #3
Look, the Ships Wheel is in it's place in the Conning Tower!
October 11th Photo #4
Starboard Side Shore Power Station
October 11th Photo #5
Crew pouring asphalt in the parking lot next to the Ships Visitors Center
October 11th Photo #6
Security at the ships new location is highly visible and ever present
 

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Line Drawing of Big J

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Last updated on August 06, 2003.