|
|
Tuesday, February 19. 2019Steam Department Mid-Winter Update
Steam Department Mid-Winter Update
Despite the Polar Vortex, work in the steam shop has continued unabated. Our shop crews have been hard at work on 1630’s annual inspection.  Conn testing telltale holes in the firebox.  Volunteers inspecting the valves on the cross-compound air compressor.  Phil inspecting and cleaning the sight-glass and water column passages.  Conn again, using an ultrasonic tester to chart the main reservoir’s thickness.  And Carina, painting it black again afterwards.  These volunteers worked their way down the frame of the locomotive, cleaning old grease off the rigging. Work on our auxiliary tender, which we are hoping to place in service this spring, has also continued.  Several patches on the front of the tender were laminating. Don cut out the bad metal and welded in new patches.  Holes were drilled to mount new steps.  And a new platform was installed to provide access to the brake wheel.  Don needle-scaled around the rivet heads.  While Carina and the Blakes gave the front of the tender a final round of sanding. Surface preparation on the tender is almost complete, and we are hoping to be able to begin painting in the coming weeks. Our machinists and welders, meanwhile, have stayed busy working on projects to support Union Pacific 428’s eventual return to steam.  I spent the last month machining new T-bolts for our wheel lathe on the 1940s vintage Boye and Emmes lathe.  While Ben has continued to bore holes in the brake rigging on the Kearney and Trecker milling machine.  Meanwhile, worn components were built up with weld so that they can be remachined. Although I do not have any pictures to prove it, work has also continued on the Shay. Following the successful steam test this fall, we are continuing to make minor improvements and we look forward to public operations this summer (dates will be announced on the IRM website once finalized). As a reminder, you can also follow the steam shop on facebook at facebook.com/irmsteam. Friday, February 8. 2019Winter update on the Mt Harvard 2018-2019Winter didn't start out too bad but the last four weeks sure has made up for the earlier malaise. In spite of the cold, snowy, icy, did I say cold, Sandi and I with help from Eddie and Bob are still on our restoration schedule. You must ask yourself how have we been working in barn 11 during this cold and miserable winter. We have five oil space heaters which keep the sleeper relatively warm at 50 degrees. Let me tell you that 50 degrees sure feels great when you come in from a 10 degree outside temperature. Here's our latest accomplishments!  Here Sandi is painting the wall trim next to the entrance door.  Another wall by the entrance door.  The entry door and walls now are all painted.  Bob has been working on the womens bathroom. He is removing all the old paint.  This shows the emergency tool box. The correct sledge hammer, saw, and pry bar, were found and added. They were not in the Mt. Harvard when I acquired it.  Here is a Before picture of the hallway. Below is the After photo. Quite a difference!  Again another picture of the hallway now showing the two side windows. The two windows shown here were removed in August prior to the start of the hallway project. The exterior and interior sides of each along with all four metal frames were cleaned, repainted and reinstalled. You must remember that we started this hallway project way back in October, 2018! It really didn't take us too long to complete this repaint.  Another picture of the entrance door leading to the newly painted hallway. Don't forget to stop by the Mt. Harvard when you next visit the museum. We are still hoping to have the sleeper in showcase weekend this coming year. That's our goal! And.... Donations to the Mt. Harvard project are greatly appreciated. Thanks Roger |
Blog AdministrationCalendar
QuicksearchArchivesSyndicate This Blog |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comments
Fri, 05-01-2020 10:25
Thanks Kirk We could have gotten more completed but a little problem developed called the Virus. Now everything is off schedule. Roger
Fri, 05-01-2020 10:23
Thanks for the suggestion but that will not work! The stairs weight is about 250 lb I would have to remove the light fixture and the ceiling will not [...]
Wed, 04-29-2020 20:13
Out standing work and a great report!
Tue, 04-28-2020 16:54
Next time you have to hang a step using a come-along, look up. There's a hole in the vestibule ceiling on either side for the light fixture. Pop it [...]
Sun, 04-05-2020 08:30
We have not decided yet. There is a long way to go to get to that point.
Sat, 04-04-2020 17:12
The question is though, when it comes to repaint 314, which paint scheme will you go with? Blue and yellow or gray and yellow?
Thu, 04-02-2020 21:52
No, it is not. This is a cosmetic restoration only.
Thu, 04-02-2020 12:37
This snowplow is gorgeous! Is it operational?
Wed, 04-01-2020 19:08
Good Job. Sincerely, Ethan A.
Wed, 04-01-2020 13:48
The rubber seal around the windows appear old and cracked, will the windows receive attention?
Tue, 03-31-2020 13:34
This FA2 was a late build and came from the factory with the Static Excitation system but also came with the 244H prime mover.
Mon, 03-30-2020 14:16
Are they converting the amplyadine to static control in the electrical system