Lot of ups and now a down in the Steam Department
Oh well. Up until
yesterday I was planning to detail just a series of successes in the Steam
department this Spring. Unfortunately,
as of yesterday, we still have a long series of successes but now a set-back
that we are working on.
On #1630, the completion of the Winter work progressed very
well.
The reassembly of the valve gear went as smoothly as we
could have hoped. A final hydro-test was
carried out successfully and this allowed the completion of all the jobs needed
to get her back into service to be completed in the week leading up to Memorial
Day.
She was steam tested on the Friday before that weekend.
This went well as did test running that day. This demonstrated that the valve overhaul
seemed to have been very successful. We
had been nervous that, despite careful marking of all the parts, we might have
caused some change in the valve timing.
However, she sounded very even and pulled strongly. A few runs were carried out light engine to
run in the new valves and then a run with a train confirmed that everything was
good.
So she was back into service for the three days of the
Memorial weekend and performed very well.
The Sunday of Memorial weekend provided a spectacular
event. The last of the trains of coal
cars that have been stored at the museum over Winter was delayed in departure
due to problems on UP. This could not be
collected by UP until that Sunday so, until that evening, trains had to run only
as far as Johnson Siding. Since she had
been working the service train, it was decided to use #1630 to move the coal
cars from their storage location at Kishwaukee to the UP interchange at Union
to meet the UP locomotives in the evening.
This provided quite a spectacle. We believe it was probably the largest
freight train hauled by a steam engine in the USA for maybe 25 years. There were 137 cars for a total weight of
around 2,900 tons and a length of around 1 ½ miles. She handled the load very well, lifting the
train cleanly, first to Carsten’s crossing, where we had to wait for the UP
locomotives to arrive, then onward to the interchange. The size of the train meant that it needed to
hold short of Carsten’s until the UP diesels were ready to attach as soon as
#1630 brought the cars into position as both the Carsten’s and Olson Road
crossings were blocked when the head of the train was at the interchange. The length also gave some of us watching at
Johnson siding a scare. In the first
move, the train ran thru Seeman road and Johnson siding but ground to a halt
with the last cars only just West of the siding. After initial concern that there had been a
problem, it was realized that the train was so long that #1630 had stopped as
planned just short of Carsten’s and the train stretched the whole length of the
section back to Johnson siding!. (There
is a at least one good video of this move on YouTube).
So a very successful demonstration that the valve job had
been highly successful and she is now probably more powerful than she has been
since he first arrival at IRM in the 1970’s.
She then ran well thru the weekend of June 11/12 with only
minor issues to be corrected and all looked very good. Unfortunately, on Saturday 18th we
had a problem.
On the first trip, a pin broke in the rigging of the spring
loading the front truck. This meant that
the locomotive had to be withdrawn from service. It was not possible to repair the problem in
time to run Sunday. Work during the week
and next weekend will determine if she can be back in service for the July 4th
weekend. The broken pin was removed
(with a great deal of difficult) and we have a spare for the spring retaining shackle
(which broke when the pin holding it broke).
The difficulty lies in the fact that the pin is partially behind the
wheel of the truck and also that we have to unload the spring (which carries a
load of several tons) in order to fit the new pin and shackle. Finding a suitable position at which we can
simultaneously jack the loco or partially drop the truck while taking the load
off the spring will be an interesting game!.
How effectively we can do that will determine if the repair can be
finished in time for July 4th weekend.
Over the same 3-4 week period, Brian Davies and his team
achieved vast progress on Shay #5.
The riveting of the smokebox was completed. The new lower sections still need to be
welded to existing upper smokebox but this requires welding along the sides,
not from underneath. This meant that
great progress could be made;
The leading truck was run back under the locomotive a
reattached. This time it is expected
that it is back permanently;
The lifting beam that has been in place for several years
was removed;
The tender was reattached to the locomotive;
Drive train was reconnected between the three trucks. (Sounds simple but, needless to say, the
large square bars and sockets that form the connection had somehow moved
slightly out of line. I was not around
for this exercise but understand I would have learned some new words if I had
been!!). Anyway, with a deal of effort,
the drive train was reconnected and she is now a complete a moveable 3 truck
locomotive again.
After the riveting and setting of the studs to secure the
new grate system, it was necessary to hydro the boiler to ensure that no flues
of stays had been loosened. A few stays
were re-caulked but all the flues proved good.
This allowed the super heater elements to be re-fitted. This is a major step as it means the steam
circuit is now complete again. (I.E. there
is now a pressure tight path from the boiler thru the throttle to the cylinder
and out to exhaust, albeit the exhaust is currently thru an open pipe until the
blast pipe assembly is refitted to the bottom of the smokebox.
This enabled a test that was very satisfying for the team
who had put in so much work. The boiler
was filled with compressed air and #5 moved a short distance backwards and then
forwards again under her own power for the first time in the 21st
century!!.
With #1630 out of the shop, #938 was brought back in and
good progress has been made on cleaning and repainting.
So a very successful Spring before the recent minor set
back.
HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT WEEKEND AT THE BENEFIT AT SAN
FILIPO. There are still some tickets
available.
https://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=2128
Nigel