What a year!.
Another Saturday somewhat disrupted by the Winter weather. There was a reasonable turn out at the shop
but a lot of people left at lunchtime as the rate of snowfall increased. For those of us that stuck it out, the snow
did cease by evening and the slither down US20 to the expressway was what we
are becoming used to.
It was definitely a day for work
inside the shop and the absence of some key people and parts meant that testing
of the paint sprayer could not proceed.
However work progressed in a number of other areas.
On 1630:
Brian
did a great job in cleaning out the rust scale from the tender tank. The treatment applied a few years ago has not
proved successful and a layer of rusty metal has largely scaled off the bottom
of the tank. During the test steaming we
had some issues with blockage of the water flow to the injectors. From Brian’s handiwork it is clear why this
happened. As the rust and muck lifts it
tends to be drawn forward to gather in the area from which the water is being drawn
by the injectors. After several hours of
work in the tank he had extracted a couple of gallons of rusty debris. This was a foul job. We can use the ducted fan to circulate air
but you still have to work in clouds of rusty dust;
The
reverser reservoir is now back in place so that the valves can be moved using
air pressure;
Jim
continued the job of masking the lettering and this is now largely complete. After all this effort we are wondering if we
should stay with blue lettering !;
Matt
primed the area of the engineer’s side walkway that was cleaned off last week;
On the Shay:
Phil
is progressing well with the bolster for the truck. With the lugs for the springs now completed,
it has been primed and now painted on one side at least. Now we just have to turn it over and do the
other side, once it is dry.
We
made good progress on the bolts that fit thru the frame and truck pivot
casting. We had been working on the misapprehension
that these simply secured the pivot into the frame. Jeff reminded us that some of them also
secure the large fabricated draw bar that runs down to the wooden front beam
and on which the coupler is mounted.
Having made that connection, we found that new bolts were acquired a few
years back and stored with the drawbar.
Each hole needs to be cleaned and reamed slightly to allow the bolts to
be fitted. However, with the parts in
hand I was able to fit the first of them by end of day. Looking at the front of the frame member, the
bolts in the 4 outer holes secure the drawbar while the 2 in the middle (which
are currently occupied by locating pegs) only secure the pivot casting to the
beam. The drawbar fabrication has a
recess that fits around the nuts of the two center bolts. The first of the new bolts is in place in the
lower left hole and the holes for the remaining five can now be reamed to allow
the bolts to be fitted.
In the shop in general, some
significant reorganization was achieved:
With
the swager gone, we were able to relocate the air pump for #428 so that it can
now be worked on while allowing free access thru the door. (It does not look like free access in the picture
but the forklift is actually standing in the exit with a pallet of parts ready
to drive out to the boxcar ……. Once there is not 6 inches of snow and ice in the
way !!);
Phil
did a great job sorting and cleaning the steel stock storage area.
So overall a successful day despite the weather.
Nigel
Comments
Mon, 07-21-2014 17:48
The hydraulic drawbar on X-5000 works. Its operation was determined Saturday evening and successfully used all day Sunday. The car measured up to a [...]
Sun, 07-20-2014 13:56
2702 would definitely be a project of a massive effort. It has some sort of giant roadside casino sign installed on it. The interior is completely [...]
Sat, 07-19-2014 21:02
Great show today; 100% improved from last year. Ran at a faster pace which kept it interesting. Also, the brief synopsis of each loco made it very [...]
Sat, 07-19-2014 19:39
Missed the push me pull you this year. If you guys do a high noch engine pulling dynamic breaking load the X-5000 should go in the middle. Chuck said [...]
Sat, 07-19-2014 16:42
Roger, Is IRM going to pursue acquisition of RI commuter coach 2702 -- the one for sale for $11,000? It's an important link in the development of [...]
Sat, 07-19-2014 10:37
On the IRM home page, click on "Site Imndex". There you will find, about halfway down, "View a map of the IRM grounds". The Schmidt cutoff is shown [...]
Fri, 07-18-2014 23:45
I do not have a map although the museum office can provide visitor maps. The cut off will run from beside the steam service boxcar to a new switch [...]
Fri, 07-18-2014 23:44
Yes, removing the cab roof is essential if we raise the boiler. The Shay cab was designed to split allowing the upper part to be lifted for this [...]
Fri, 07-18-2014 22:27
Let's just say that you guys have to lift the boiler from the shay to replace the stays, would you guys also have to take off the cab? Also, I really [...]
Fri, 07-18-2014 20:25
How long does the parade of power usually last once it has started, two hours or so?
Thu, 07-17-2014 18:20
Will MILW HH660 1603 be on display outside this weekend?
Thu, 07-17-2014 14:38
Nigel, I noticed in your last post you mentioned the new route (the Schmidt cut-off). Do you have a map that labels everything (for us who are not [...]