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Friday, April 21. 2017Freight Car UpdateHere is a short Freight Car update given to me by Buzz Morisette. The Rail and Wire had a short article about the Wagon Top Boxcar, it is still primed and ready but now we have the funds available to paint it this Summer. It was great weather, finally, April 8th so I [Buzz] reinstalled a rebuilt door onto the Soo Line caboose # 162. The Wednesday single project crew have been wire wheeling and bush priming the caboose. They are restoring back to the its Milwaukee heritage, #992300. As mentioned before Buzz is repairing and painting the two exterior doors: one down one to go. He also stopped by to see the progress on the Pennsy 476199 Bobber caboose located in the new shop barn,#10.This past winter Victor, Bill, and Dave have been energetically working away on the exterior old frame woodwork. Much of it is beyond saving so many new wood parts must be fabricated and custom fitted. Sitting right next to the bobber is an old Wisconsin Central steel and wood frame boxcar # 131650. It has been long used as a storage car for El car parts.Its now out of the weather! The Freight car department is sharing space in barn 10 with the passenger coach dept. Three cars are currently undergoing various forms of restoration. They are the RI 2524, IC 3345 and the heavy weight Pullman sleeper, John Mcloughlin. The fourth car B & M diner is now under cover but not being worked on.For two weekends we had two private varnish coaches visiting the museum. Stored on station track two they made a beautiful back drop to the entrance of the museum campus. What beautiful private varnish these two were. Sitting in the dome one could fantasize traveling down the rail at 90 mph WOW! Please remember the freight car department when making out your donation check. Thanks Roger and Buzz MorisetteFriday, April 21. 2017Steam Department April 2017
It has been a Spring of mixed fortunes.
Progress on #1630 has been excellent. On Sunday 4/9 she passed her FRA observed 125% hydro test. So, work then focused on getting her ready for the internal inspection scheduled next week and doing all the final assembly tasks to make her ready form steam testing.
The inspection hatch was removed and air circulation installed to thoroughly dry out the interior of the boiler to allow the internal inspection. From here the path is fairly clear. Once the internal is done, the boiler can be sealed again and filled with water for a final test at 180 psi, basically to ensure that the hatches have been properly refitted. The water level can then be lowered to normal level and we can load her up to do the steam test.
Work proceeded on many fronts with a large team in the shop on Saturday.
The fireman’s side connecting rod and motion rods were reinstalled with the new bearings that have been made during the Spring. The new main rod bearing fitted nicely
The new crosshead bearing was an excellent fit. Well done Eric and Brian. The new bearing is in one piece, while the old one was split. This was apparent normal practice. When new the bearing is a single machined bearing. After wear, it is split vertically in the middle so that wear can be taken up by adjusting the wedge seen at the rear of the bearing in the rod.
Much was learned in reinstalling the motion rods!!. The pins are installed from behind. Clearly the connecting rod must go on first as it is behind the motion rods. However, the pins in the motion may be impossible to install if the connecting rod or piston rod are behind the point where they must be fitted.
The key problem in the picture above is that the union link is not connected!. The “small” snag is that there is no position where you can insert the pin between the union link and the combination lever without the piston rod being in the way!. Amid increasing frustration, the secret was finally revealed (after fitting and removing the pin between the connecting rod and the crosshead twice)!!. The connecting rod must be fitted BUT ONLY MOUNTED AT THE WHEEL END!. If the connecting rod is not mounted to the crosshead it can be lowered and the motion moved enough to allow the pins to be inserted into the motion rods. The extra couple of inches that the connecting rod is raised when pinned to the crosshead and the inability to move the motion when attached to the crosshead makes all the difference. So pinning the connecting rod to the crosshead is the LAST step!.
While not as aggressive as last Winter the work program this Winter has made significant improvements to the running gear.
A wedge bolt that has been broken for many years was replaced, which will allow adjustment of all axle boxes to be carried out normally. The adjusters are long threaded rods with an expanded end that fits into the hole seem here in the wedge itself. Adjusting the rod where it passes thru the binder allows the wedge to be raised or lowered to adjust the clearance between the axle box and the frame.
In addition a damaged bolt in one of the binders was replaced. Again, something that has been there for a long time. This shows the binder removed and primed in preparation for reinstallation. These parts are bolted tightly into the frame from below across the base of the horn guide, effectively converting the “U” shaped guide into a box to avoid any distortion under force. The binders are machined to fit tightly into the horn guides in the frame so it is the machined faces of the binder that stop the frame flexing not the bolts.
A significant patch was welded into the bottom of the smokebox. We have noticed some seepage when washing out the smokebox each Fall and this proved to be an indication of a significant thin area in the smokebox wrapper. A contract welder welded in a patch and built up the area, which should ensure that the smokebox bottom is good for at least the rest of the 15 year certificate.
In addition a new section of pipe was formed and fitted at the front of the blower line. The main length of the pipe was replaced last year but the section fitting here was not replaced then. On inspection it had lost maybe 2/3 of its original thickness
A new pipe was formed and fitted.
A last minute issue arose when a crack was discovered on inspection of the steel pad that sits between the locomotive and tender buffers. However, that was welded during the week and should now be ready to install. The two auxiliary drawbars can be fitted while she is in the shop but the main drawbar can only be finally fitted with the help of a switching locomotive as the sprung buffers between locomotive and tender must be compressed to allow this to be finally connected.
In parallel with the “improvement” work, the many tasks of the annual inspection were completed successfully. The one remaining inspection item is to hammer test the firebox stays during the 180 psi hydro test.
Probably the most troubling issue of the Winter was a leak that developed in the tender water tank. This has been sealed by the application of several coats of a preservation / sealant. However, it is an indication of a serious problem that we will have to deal with at some stage. The tender tank is basically life expired. Corrosion has thinned the bottom and lower sides to an extent that is real difficult to assess. This makes it a tricky call on how much you do to prepare the surface for any treatment. Getting to clean metal is highly recommended for most sealants to work well but discovering that your search for clean metal has exposed the timber on which the tank sits would be really bad!. It is very possible that, in the not too distant future, we will have to lift the tank off the frame and either do some substantial patching to the existing bottom or replace it.
However, for now at least, this has been a very successful Winter on #1630. Within the next couple of weeks, she should be moved out to the steam lead for steam testing and service.
I wish that similar progress could be reported on the Shay. One setback is that we no longer have Brian Davis as the project manager. It proved problematic to effectively manage the project remotely.
A great deal has been achieved but the remaining barrier to completion is the fabrication and welding work on the smokebox. Fitting of the new bottom was completed but the inner protecting sheet has still to be fitted and additional work is required as the smokebox front was found to be too thin to repair and replacement is being fabricated.
The new components for the blast pipe have been made and test fitted. Here the exhaust casting, joining the motor to the blast pipe has been test fitted.
The spark arrestor assemble and chimney petticoat were test fitted but have now bee removed to allow access to fit the inner sheet on the bottom of the smokebox. Much of the new grate mechanism has been assembled but a couple of studs in the firebox have proved a problem and the holes for these will need to be welded up so that they can be re-drilled.
The lagging is all in place and the cladding is also largely complete.
Rick and his helpers have made great progress on the front beam. First the bottom beam was cut and chamfered on the edges to fit into the heavy channel that secures it to the locomotive frame.
The channel was then test fitted to the locomotive so that the beam could be installed correctly.
Once the bottom beam is in place the top beam can be placed to allow accurate marking of the holes to be drilled to fit the rods that link the two beams. This is all temporary fitting at present. A large beam that connects the center of the beam to the main frame cross member has yet to be fitted and this cannot be done until welding under the smokebox is completed.
In parallel with the work on the front beam, a lot of painting has been progressed.
And do not forget ….. the Annual Steam Department Benefit is approaching again. Last year the proceeds from this enabled us to install the large sand blasting cabinet.
This year the event is on Sunday June 25th. This is a great event for everyone, even if you do not have interest in the steam department the San Filipo collection of music machines and the giant Wurlitzer are amazing. Tickets are now on sale at http://www.irm.org/events/steamdeptbenefit.html so come join us on June 25th.
Nigel
Friday, April 21. 2017
CNW Night Photo Session on May 20th, ... Posted by James Kolanowski
in Diesel Department at
09:00
Comments (6) CNW Night Photo Session on May 20th, 2017
https://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=2134 Some of the featured equipment will be:
Some of the photo lineups will be announced at a later date. All schedules and equipment subject to change without notice.
Monday, April 10. 2017
Diesel Shop update week ending 4/9/2017 Posted by James Kolanowski
in Diesel Department at
17:12
Comments (5) Diesel Shop update week ending 4/9/2017
When the weather is perfect and between the mid 60's to low 70's, a lot gets done! And that was the case this weekend! On Saturday, the day started out with Nick D, Eric Z and myself moving a few locos around the shop to get setup for the weekends projects. Jeron G joined us half way through. We rearranged about eight locos between tracks 21, 22 and 23, and grabbed two from other yards.
Mark R was running the backhoe with the track department, he was able to break free from that for 10 minutes to help us dig out the old plow to 1605 from the material yard. We'll be putting it onto 6847 removing the UP plow that is on it now. Charlie S and Kevin S spend much of the day needle scaling the plow to prep it for primer and paint. There's still more work to do, a little more needle chipping, and we'll have to straighten the leading edge of the blade. Jeron and I worked on watering, prelubing and inspecting some of the rotating equipment in WC 7525, and started that up. It is so nice to have new good batteries in the loco. When we last ran it with the old batteries, it would not start itself, and a couple years before that, you only had one chance on a warm day to get it started. We let it idle for the day to dry everything out. Meanwhile, Colton V changed the oil and fuel filters in CNW 6847. After Jeron and I were done on 7525, we went over to 6847 and inspected the rotating equipment, then decided it was lunch time. When we got back, prelubed, watered, and attempted to start, but the turbo clutch was doing its thing again and wouldn't engage. We pulled the intake filters off, spun the turbo impeller a few times in one direction and forced it in the other direction until it stopped. Did that a couple of times and tried another attempt at starting, much better this time. Replaced the intake filters and didn't have any other problems the rest of the weekend. Again, having new batteries in this unit too was great! Eric Z and Nick D spent the afternoon working on CNW 4160 inside the shop. The goal there was to change out a head with one of a few that we picked up from MOT a year ago. The number 6 cylinder head had a lot of blow by on one or more exhaust valves. To change out a head, the fuel lines, the rocker oil line, rocker shaft, injector linkage, injector crab, the injector, overspeed lockout, cylinder test cock, main crab nuts, and head to liner bolts all come off to be able to pull the head. Perform some cleanup and put all new seals in and gasket on the liner, same on the head, and put it all back together. Unfortunately, there was a small water leak on the upper O ring of the head which forced us to remove it again and work on that a bit. Nick D and I stayed until about 1:30am had it all back apart, ready to go back together on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, Eric and Nick went through the reassembly process once more and no issues this time with any water leaks. On Sunday, I moved the 6847 over to pump to engine oil into it as it was about 100 gallons low. Also topped off the water in it and also in 7525. Eric and I switched the order of locos on track 22, placing the CNW 411 and ATSF 92 deep in the shop for more work, and moved the 4160 outside for prelubing and added some oil to it as well. Since 4160 doesn't have batteries, we jumped that one off the 7525. It sounds much better than it did for the last 9 years. It'll still need the fuel rack set and go through and set all the lash adjusters, but it is getting better and better, closer to a reliable running loco. It was a very productive weekend getting three locos running and a getting a few other projects going and well on their way to completion. Thanks to all you guys for helping out this weekend! Tuesday, April 4. 2017
Diesel Shop update week ending 4/2/2017 Posted by James Kolanowski
in Diesel Department at
09:15
Comments (2) Diesel Shop update week ending 4/2/2017
From this point forward I'm going to start summarizing the updates by week instead of by day like we've done in the past. That might make it easier to post a little more info with my limited time. Also, I'll be making separate blog posts for the progress on 92 starting next week.
Anyway, earlier in the week Dan and I made it out to the shop one evening to work on the 7525 and 92. While Dan focused on testing the electrical system of 92 and making a list of work that it will be needing, I crawled under the 7525's number 3 traction motor to perform some cleanup. A few weeks ago, Dan had meggered all the motors and we also knew that the number 3 had flashed and needed some work. The armature was reading .1 megohms, which is not good at all. There were obvious signs with freshly melted bronze on the brush holders and zaps from the end of the armature to the motor case. I spent a few hours slotting the entire commutator, using a lining bar to move the loco an inch or two at a time to rotate the motor and wiped everything down that I could reach with some motor cleaner to remove any carbon tracks that might be present. Slotting is where you take a file designed to fit in between the bars of the commutator and essentially file out anything that is in the slots, copper balls from flashing, carbon, dirt, etc., anything that'll conduct from bar to bar. While cleaning and inspecting the bottom of the motor, I noticed two broken springs on the same spring pack on the back holder. Made a note that it'll have to come out to be repaired. After the cleaning and slotting, megging again brought it up to .6 megohms, better. On Saturday morning, Erik and Nick continued sanding in the cab of 411. They spent much of the day making a huge amount of progress getting most of it ready for primer. I worked on getting the holder out of the motor on 7525 to replace the bad springs. Little did I know I would find a hole blown in the bottom of it, which is what burned through the springs. I cleaned it up, removed and cleaned all the insulators before putting it back together and reinstalling in the motor. Megged again and not it's showing just over 1 megohms, much better. We'll give it a try this season and see how it performs. There were a number of people working on the 92, including Dan, Laddie, Nick, Erik, Brian, Colton and myself. There was a lot of paint scraping going on inside, more work on the electrical system, and some work on the air system. Erik and I also installed a fitting on the 7525 to make prelubing the engine far easier than what we were doing. Thanks to all these guys for all their hard work! |
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Comments
Thu, 01-21-2021 19:44
Hello Jack Yes, the buffers have been installed but the canvas curtains cost about about 1500 each to purchase. Thanks Roger
Wed, 01-20-2021 07:46
is there a eason a lot of passenger cars have no diaphrams on them? i see several have the buffers installed
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:20
Hello Jason. Your comments are very much appreciated. Yes, there is much hard work that goes into all our restorations and maintenance here at the [...]
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:13
Hello Jack Yes, It will be one of our most impressive cars that we have at IRM when its completed. Thanks for the pat on the back! Roger.
Thu, 01-14-2021 21:05
Those cars look great so far guys! Man I wish I had the time to volunteer and become a member at IRM that looks like so much fun especially with how [...]
Tue, 01-12-2021 16:30
the pawnee is looking great a pat on the back to all involved
Mon, 01-04-2021 12:31
Hello Jack Happy New Year from IRM. To my knowledge there was no damage from the minor ice storm that we had in late December, 2020. Some [...]
Sun, 01-03-2021 20:12
the museum area had lots of ice storms in area did the museum get a lot of damage
Thu, 12-24-2020 13:27
roger, Thank you to all of the Passenger car department volunteers. The #109 is going to be a great car when all done! Ted miles, [...]
Sun, 12-06-2020 08:46
Hello Ted We havenot finished lettering the 975 but we are well on the way. Look for a few blogs from me now that the wearther is colder and the [...]
Sat, 12-05-2020 18:36
i watched crew replace switch by diesel shop on dec 5. its good to see museum have equipment to do job and save money
Fri, 12-04-2020 14:56
It has been a long time with no news; have you finished lettering the Southern Pacific locomotive? Please post a picture. Ted Miles, IRM Member