Steam Department

Another good week in which we were able to move a lot forward on 1630.

Various tasks support the overall work plan.  First we must finalize preparation for the inspection of the boiler shell.  Not much remains to be done to enable this so the next focus is on the tasks that will enable us to make the boiler water tight again.  For this, we are preparing all the flues and materials that we need to refit the tubes and also to complete the patching of the firebox.  Finally, whenever possible, we work on ensuring that parts that can be fitted once the boiler is watertight and passes its first hydro test are cleaned and ready to be fitted quickly when required.

·         During the week Jeff and Jerry managed to complete the cleaning and hydro testing of the super heater elements.  The conclusions were good.  24 passed the pressure test at 1000 psi with no issues and are back in the box car ready for refitting when the boiler is ready.  1 passed the pressure test but has some minor damage to the protective shield (a simple sheet metal construction that is wrapped around the element to protect the most exposed areas from erosion by cinders flying thru the flue) and only 2 failed.  The last 2 will require the attention of the boiler welding specialist when he comes in to safe end the flues.

·         Phil and Collin cleaned up the front tube sheet in preparation for re-tubing.

Front tube sheet is now ready

·         Eric did a great job clearing the medium from around the firebox.  This is important so that everything is clear and visible for the upcoming inspection.  The blasting medium is deceptive stuff!.  We knew that there was some still on top of the firebox.  The initial comment in the morning was "don't think there's much there".  Having used an air line to blow it off the firebox crown and the stays at the sides of the firebox so that it settled into the bottom of the firebox water legs, Eric sucked it out with long pipes on the vacuum cleaner.  By end of day we have a clear view along the bottom of all the water legs .......... and probably 80 lbs of medium extracted !.

Eric removing blast medium from the water legs

·         After a lot of adjustment to get the settings right the McCabe was used to bend a test sheet for the firebox patch.  Past experience with the Shay has demonstrated the importance of proving exactly how the patch will be formed using an old piece of steel before we do it "for real" with an expensive piece of new boiler plate.  Considerable progress was made.

The McCabe was used to bend the sheet

Test plate loaded in the jaws of the McCabe

The jaws start to bend the plate

and bend it smoothly to the small radius curve

........... and the radius formed proved to be an excellent match to the critical curve in the mud ring.

The result looks a good match to the old plate

Having been cut to the template, the piece is a pretty good fit to the firebox and can be used to make minor adjustments to the template for the final patch.  The next step is to form the piece to fit the slope of the front tube sheet.

Mike holds the test plate up to the hole in the firebox

·         Ed and Jim identified and measured the pipe work to be replaced along the boiler and this can now be ordered.

·         Phil, Jeff and I started another job that looks like it will be a lot more "fun" than we had hoped!.  A number of the bolts that project from the front ring of the smoke box to secure the smoke box door sheet are wasted and need to be replaced.  In theory they can be driven out by hammering them back (towards the boiler).  In practice the effect of 60+ years of heat and rust on bolts that were a tight push fit to begin with is "interesting".  After 90 minutes of effort with a heating torch and air hammer we have one out.  Only another 15 or so to go !!.

·         Bob Hunter has now finished the computations and supporting documentation for the form #4 submission.  This is the engineering assessment of the boiler which confirms that, having regard both to original design and subsequent wear as now measured, it is suitable for the intended operating pressure.  This is now ready for submission.

Nigel

Despite the heat work progressed well in the steam shop this week. 

A number of important tasks on 1630 were moved forward:

·         During the week, Kevin has made good progress on needle chipping the mountings under the boiler in preparation for painting.

·         Jason worked with Bob Hunter on the form 4 submission which is now well under way.

·         Glenn and Richard (welcome Richard on his first day) reassembled the McCabe which we urgently need to produce the firebox patch.  An extremely awkward set screw fitting was achieved and the piston refitted.  Now we are close to being able to test the machine.

Piston back in place

·         Phil and Bob continued tapering the super heater flues.  A welding contractor is due in next Saturday and we should then be able to start building up the flues ready for refitting.

Flues ready for welding

·         Dennis welded the marks on the front tube sheet that need to be filled ready for tube fitting and also repaired the crack in the smoke box.  We can now finish the front tube sheet ready for the inspection.  That was the good news !!.  The bad news was that Dennis proved that he is too big to reach the rear tube sheet either from the firebox or from inside the boiler.  (Despite all the jokes, it is not your gut but your rib cage that determines this.  I can just barely fit between the arch tubes and usually bruise my ribs when I do so,  Dennis is just that little bit bigger in the chest).  Hopefully the contractor coming in next Saturday is smaller and can do the work on the rear tube sheet.

Dennis welding the tube sheet

·         Collin, Sean and Jason removed flexible stay caps that we need to inspect and Jason refitted a number that we have already done.

Removing a stay cap

Here you can see the inside of a flexible stay after cleaning and inspection.  The slot is in the ball head of the stay surrounded by the hex headed sleeve.  The stay is a long threaded rod with the ball head at one end,  When fitting a new stay it is inserted from the outside thru the sleeve and screwed into the inner firebox.  So far we have not found any bad ones, which is good news as replacing these is a slow job.

Inside a stay

·         The big new task started, which kept a lot of us busy, was the cleaning and testing of the super heater elements.  There are 16 of these and each must be wire brushed clean, the ball ends that fit into the header thoroughly cleaned and polished and then hydro tested to 1000 psi.  While it will be months before we are ready to fit these, we wanted to start early so that we can schedule any repairs if required.  It was a good thing we did.  The first one failed the pressure test and will need to be rebuilt.  Two then passed and the fourth proved to have a good deal of corrosion on one of  the ball ends which will require significant work to reshape or replace.

Paul cleaning super heater elements

This shows the critical ball end of an element.  The two rounded ends fit into rounded recesses in the header.  It is essential that these provide a smooth, polished and rounded surface that mates tightly to the header.

The ball ends of an element

·         We also welcomed a number of groups of visitors to the shop.  It was encouraging that a couple of groups expressed surprise at the number of volunteers and amount of work being progressed.

In other areas:

·         Jeff put together an outline plan for positioning machines in the new machine shop.  Once this is agreed we will be able to position all the large equipment and free up a good deal of space in other parts of the shop.

·         Bob cut the steel slugs that Tom will now machine to make the spring retainers for the Shay and also continued work on the planer.

Nigel

Another day with temperatures reaching 100 degrees certainly slowed work in the shop.  However, we plugged along with frequent "cooling breaks" and made good progress on the key tasks.

Alex and I completed tapering the safe ends for the super heater flues.  So we are now ready for the welder to attach these to the flues.

Paul cleaned up the pressure testing rig, that we need to test the flues once they have been welded.  As shown below it consists of blanking plates that are tightened from each end of a rod so that will tightly seal the ends of the flue.  One has the connections to allow water to be pumped in and air allowed out.  Once free of air, the flue is pressurized to ensure that the welds attaching the safe ends withstand boiler pressure.

Pressure testing rig for the flues

Glenn, Phil and Jeff spent the day refitting the piston rod to the McCabe flanger.  The rod is now in place.

Main cylinder of the McCabe

This view gives some idea of the power of this machine.  The main cylinder shown here is approximately 3 feet in diameter.  Operating at 90 psi this creates a force of more than 40 tons on a few square inches of plate in the jaws.  In this way it can smoothly bend 3/4 inch steel plate with no apparent effort.  The downside is that minor errors in adjustment or operation can cause this force to fall onto the machine itself causing issues such as the broken piston rod.

There is some tricky drilling to be done to place a set screw but once that is done, we can hope to refit the piston and get the machine back into operation to start work on the firebox patch.

Kevin has been working most of the week on preparing and then priming the tender tank top.  This is a massive improvement.  Unfortunately I failed to take a "before" picture but this area was in really bad condition, probably due to water lying on the tank top at some stage.

Tender tank top now primed

Stu and Bob worked on reassembling the planer.  A new bearing has arrived and the shaft has been machined so it is beginning to come together.

Nigel

I have received a few notes from Jeff Calendine on the Benefit last Sunday at the Sanfilippo estate.

First of all a big thank you to all who attended and made it the great success that it was.  At this stage it looks as if we will have raised over $10,000 to support the ongoing work of the Steam department.

I think it is true to say that a great time was had by all ..... I certainly I did!!.

A huge thank you to Jasper Sanfilippo and the Sanfilippo Foundation who made us very welcome and allowed us to enjoy the superb collection of beautifully restored antique musical and other machinery.  Here Jeff and Dave sit with Jasper with the Grant locomotive in the background.

Jeff and Dave with Jasper

The steam engine house provides an example of the scale of the collection and the superb quality of the restoration

The steam engine house

A central part of the collection is the Super Wurlitzer organ on which Dave gave a masterful performance.

The Grand Organ awaits the performance

In the carousel house, aside from the most spectacular 19th century carousel I have ever seen, is a collection of fantastic fairground organs.  Here Nancy stands with Jasper in front of the  spectacular 1906 Gavioli which replicates a 50 piece orchestra.

Nancy and Jasper with the Gavioli

Much to our enjoyment the carousel was operated for our visitors and here Dave and Jeff are seen riding on it.

Jeff and Dave ride the carousel

Many thanks to Jeff's brother Dave for a superb performance on the grand organ and to Jeff for the effort that he has put into the development and organization of this event.  Plans are already in hand for an even more spectacular event at Sanfilippo next year so watch for the announcement of the date.

Nigel

Independence Day weekend and temperatures of over 90 degrees reduced us to a very small crew.  However we achieved good progress on critical tasks.

Working with Alex, we managed to cut all the safe ends for the super heater flues.  The ends are laid out on the Shay bolster.  All are matched to a specific flue.  All 16 flues must have a small diameter safe end (the darker tube in the picture).  9 require safe ending at the larger end (the gray tube).  The small diameter safe ends for these 9 are inside the large tubes.

The full set of safe ends

Each end must be tapered to fit into the end of the flue to which it is welded.  This is a safety measure so that, should the weld fracture, the flue could not completely separate and fall within the boiler due to this overlap.

Safe ends tapered for fitting

The tapers are cut in the lathe.  Here one is being set up for tapering

Set up for tapering

With training from Tom, I cut the taper on a significant number of them during the evening.

Tom can now arrange a time for the contract welder to come in and attach the ends to the flues.

We also located the pressure test rig that we will need to test each of the flues after welding.

Tom has completed the new piston rod for the McCabe flanger so next week we should be able to reassemble this in preparation for forming the firebox patch.

New piston rod for McCabe flanger

It now looks very nice but provides a great example of the difficulty of working with old heavy equipment.  Any breakage requires remaking parts in much the same way as repairing the locomotive itself.  This apparently simple breakage has cost about $300 for steel and many hours of time in machining to reach this stage.

We mentioned a couple of weeks back that the headlight had been refitted to 938.  She now looks a lot better with the headlight in place.

938 now has its headlight back

Now that would be a really nice locomotive to see in operation.  Anyone got the odd couple of million spare ........... !!

Hope to see many of you at the Benefit this afternoon.

Nigel