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Friday, July 5. 2013Steam Department Update 07-03-2013An interim update this week as I was at the shop on Wednesday with my son who is visiting from the UK. With additional work sessions Sunday and Wednesday a lot was achieved. On 1630 the primary focus is on the remaining tasks to get the boiler water tight for initial testing. · Phil has now finished caulking the rivets inside the firebox so the rivets are now complete subject to hydro testing; · The major remaining task is fitting the two new flexible stays into the patch. These are steel rods with domed heads that must be threaded into the inner firebox and tightened so that the domed head makes a seal with the socket in the outer firebox. Here
you can see the holes in the inner firebox into which the stays will be
screwed. The end of the thread cutter is
projecting from the right hand hole.
Viewed
from the outside we can see the two sockets.
The one on the right is empty and, thru the socket, you can see the hole
in the inner firebox into which the thread will be cut. The guide and cutter are in place in the left
hand socket ready to start cutting.
Here
Tom is setting up one of the stays to cut the thread on the stay itself.
Here
the thread is being cut. This also gives
a good view of the overall shape of the stay with the thread being cut at one
end and the ball, nearest to the camera, which will seat into the socket. The slot in the ball is essential to allow
the stay to be screwed into the threads in the inner firebox.
Here
Michael is manually cutting the thread into the inner firebox sheet.
Good progress was made and by evening the stays were being screwed into place. This is not a "one-time" operation as the threads must be carefully adjusted so that they are tight but not excessively so in the threads of the inner firebox when firmly in contact with the socket. Once this is achieved the inner end is to be peaned over and caulked to complete the sealing Another major task completed Wednesday was the hammer and hydro-testing of the three air tanks. All were successfully tested to 180 psi and have now been partially stripped of paint. Paint stripping will continue so that they can be repainted before fitting. A lot of preparatory work was required for the hydro-testing, which has commissioned and tested the equipment needed for the boiler testing in the next few weeks. The water for testing both tanks and boiler must be warm. The heating is achieved by circulating thru a pool heater. Preparing the pump and heater system for use after winterization requires several hours work. This was successfully achieved and the system is now tested and ready for use in the boiler testing. I will not be at Union this Saturday so will look forward to an update myself on Sunday ! Nigel |
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Comments
Wed, 04-11-2018 11:28
You mention in the header that you would like to have the Electroliner operational by its birthday. Was it?
Sun, 04-08-2018 20:03
As a child, IRM was always my favorite place to visit. Well, other than grandma's house next to the Geneva Sub. It's been many years since I now [...]
Wed, 04-04-2018 16:01
Those temporary walls could be constructed in a way that allows their reuse after the phase is done to close off the new phases.
Tue, 03-27-2018 03:08
Why did the smoke box cover on the shay need to be replace Do?
Mon, 03-26-2018 16:29
It never ceases to amaze me of the diligence and passion of the current mix of volunteers associated with IRM in 2018. Back when I was a active [...]
Mon, 03-26-2018 11:10
Awesome paint job Jamie!!! I never would of thought with the Rock Island history this locomotive in this scheme would of been preserved. Thanks for [...]
Sun, 03-25-2018 23:56
The Hick's blog lists it as Fruit Grower's Express FGEX #55407. Arrived in Union June 2016.
Sun, 03-25-2018 20:51
Good job on the diesel update 2018. Sincere, Ethan A.
Sun, 03-25-2018 20:45
Good job on the steam update 2018. Sincere, Ethan A.
Sun, 03-25-2018 00:12
Bill, The 1990 Roster has the PFE #68428; this may be the reefer that we saw moved. It is a rare car and deserves a paint job. Ted Miles, [...]
Fri, 03-16-2018 11:10
It would be rather difficult to operate an 11,000 Volt AC locomotive on our 600 Volt DC wire.
Thu, 03-15-2018 05:57
Good job steam update. Sincerely, Ethan A.