Steam Department

Another good day in the shop although I think most people were moving a bit slower due to the 90 degree temperatures.

Work on 1630 continued as planned:

·         Despite the heat, Dennis put in many hours in the firebox and has now built up the inside face of the mud ring. 

Dennis welding the mud ring

Welding complete and ready to drill the rivet holes

Now Mike has a lot of work to carefully drill the rivet holes thru the new weld, at which point the mud ring will be ready to receive the patch.  This will be a slow and tricky job requiring the accurate drilling of small pilot holes that must be steadily enlarged as creating an accurate hole thru the weld is never easy;

·         Work continued with Bob on the form 4.  We now have a detail plot of all the measurement points and a few new ones marked up for the next UT testing session (hopefully 6/2);

·         Several of us worked on completing the diagrams that Bob will need in support of the form 4 showing the location of each thickness measurement point on the particular boiler sheet.  Boring work but at least it is good to see the book that will support the form 4 starting to come together;

·         Part of Phil's extensive sand blasting effort was the dome cover as noted last week.  Now we have the "after" view ready for inspection and testing

Dome cover after sand blasting

·         We located a length of tube suitable for safe ending the super heater flues so now we can progress with this when resources are available;

·         One unfortunate set back was that the piston rod of the McCabe flanger broke during test bending of steel for the patch.  Several of us spent quite a bit of time checking the storage for a spare but this proves to be one of the parts for which we do not have a spare.  The broken rod has been stripped out and sent for analysis.  Once we have this a similar steel rod will be acquired and machined.

Phil did a solid day of sand blasting and, aside from the dome cover for 1630, also did all four of the axle boxes for 428 and the bolster for the Shay.  This was quite an effort given the heat.  Unfortunately one photograph I missed was Phil after working most of a hot day in a cloud of black dust.  The trouble was that, like most of his sympathetic colleagues, I was too busy laughing and joking about his appearance to hold the camera!!.  Sorry Phil.

The results of his efforts can be clearly seen on the bolster for the Shay.  This now looks very different and, aside from the improved appearance, appears free of any cracks after detail inspection.

The bolster now sand blasted

In other areas:

·         Ed and Rick worked on setting up the rivet furnace to cast the new brickwork.

·         Stu and Cameron continued work on the planer.

·         Bob operated the water supply to provide treated water ready for Leviathan.

I will not be providing an update next week as I will be out of circulation for a hopefully minor operation.

Nigel

Generally a successful and productive day in the shop.

The best news is that Tom was sufficiently recovered to be back at the shop.

A lot was progressed on 1630:

·         There was a change to the plans for the thickness testing as Ralph's brother will not be able to come back to complete this for several weeks.  However, this is not necessarily an overall delay as we already have enough information to start reviewing the calculations for the form 4 (engineering analysis of the boiler) with Bob Hunter, who will prepare it;

·         We did an initial review with Bob, who is now working with the previous form 4 data to determine what operating pressure we should consider.  I now have a bunch of "homework" to plot all the measurements on diagrams of the sheets.  One benefit of the second set of measurements being later is that we can review these with Bob and decide if we need any additional data points on the main sheets before Tom next comes;

·         All the remaining sections of the boiler are now marked up with points for testing aside from the dome top.  In view of the successful sand blasting set up noted below, it was decided that this part would benefit from sandblasting before we test it;

Dome cover before sand blasting

                Hopefully we will have an "after" view soon !!

·         Collin  and Jeff did close examination of the back head braces using a boroscope.  These braces are of particular interest as it was calculation of the loads on these that resulted in the reduced operating pressure from 2001.  They are very inaccessible (running from the top of the wrapper to the back head above the inner firebox and among a forest of crown stays).  The conclusion is that their condition is excellent.  The camera shows no sign of wastage and, where we can get to them with a micrometer, they are still pretty much at the size shown when the boiler was built in 1917.  So, if the conclusion is that these are not considered sufficient for 180 psi operation, it will be due to requirement for a greater safety margin than historically required rather than any wear or damage;

The mounting of a back head brace among the crown stays

·         Jeff and I worked on the firebox stays.  All the stays must be proved to be sound either by demonstrating that a tell tale hole is clear thru to the head of the stay or by removing the cap and hammer testing.  Most have tell tales that we have ensured are clear but a number are solid so must be hammer tested.  This was a job approached with considerable concern as the caps look very rusted and, should they break as you try to remove the caps, the stay must be replaced.  Each replacement would be a substantial job.  Much to my surprise this task proved not to be as bad as feared.  Having identified the outer ends of the stays to be examined we started heating each one and then tried to remove the cap with a wrench.   To our great surprise, once heated, each cap unscrewed smoothly from its socket.  The rusting is far more superficial that appearance suggests and, once heated and the cap removed, the stay head looks relatively clean.  Building on our success in removing the required 9 caps on the engineer's side wrapper we tried some on the back head.  While these do have good tell tales we were concerned from appearance that the sockets were so rusted as to require replacement.  Again the experience was not only that the caps removed without issue but that the sockets are actually much thicker than they appear so few if any require replacement.  Altogether a lot of potential work avoided.

Flexi stay caps

The three lower stays, now with the caps released, looked like the row above earlier in the day.  Amazing how much of the apparent rust damage is actually superficial.

Elsewhere Stu, Matt and Glenn fitted the new cast face to the small rivet furnace.  This is now ready to cast the fire brick interior.  Once this is complete we can hopefully complete the cab for 428.

Stu and Matt prepare the new casting

The furnace case is now complete

Bob has de-winterized the water supply ready for Leviathan, which is expected next weekend.

Jeff and Phil set up for sand blasting parts outside using material recovered from the boiler cleaning.  After a few issues with screening the used material, the process was established and proved using the hood of the Bay City.  Now it is proved we can set up quickly and next week should be able to work on parts of 1630 and 428.

Paul and Bob continued on the Shay truck.  One small but time consuming job is caused by the fact that a number of the raised metal washers that stop the springs moving are missing.  In this view you can see what should be two rows of 5 spring retainers.  The wear around each shows where the spring resting against the bolster carried the weight of the locomotive.  You can see in  this view two washers missing leaving just a broken pin.

Spring retainers on top bolster

These prove to be held in place by rivets driven into a blind hole.  This is no great problem where the rivet has pulled out but "great fun" where the rivet has sheared off and must be carefully drilled and then removed in pieces to make the recess into which a new rivet can be driven. 

One that was removed, as it was loose, shows the way in which the rivet expands into a groove to hold the assembly into place.

Construction of the spring retainer

Significant progress was made on the bull rings for 428 where Mike was finalizing the machining of the third ring while Tom and Ralph were starting the fourth and last one.

Starting work on the last bull ring

Nigel

A very productive day thanks to a good turnout.  We did not move 1630 as Dennis was available to do welding on the mud ring for the firebox patch.  Good progress was made on this.  The metal has now been made good around all the rivet holes from the outside.  Once the last of the holes is re-drilled accurately from the inside the metal can be made good on the inside.  (One side must be done at a time so that there is always a pilot hole to ensure that the finished rivet holes are accurately aligned).

Making good the rivet holes

Now that the sand blasting and associated dust are finished several other jobs could be progressed.

·         Collin and Jeff C thoroughly needle chipped and wire brushed the back head so that is now ready for inspection and ultrasonic testing;

Ready for testing

·         Eric and Jason cleared and checked the tell tale hole in the stays on the engineer's side.  This is a dirty and tedious but essential task as we must prove that these holes, which would leak water and provide an indication should the stay break, are all clear to the required depth;

All these were cleared and checked for depth

·         Matt finished removing the blasting medium from the firebox crown and Bob cleared it from the sides of the firebox so it is now clear in most areas;

·         We continued the detail measurement of the super heater flues and should soon be ready to start preparing the material for safe ending;

·         Jason and Eric moved on to cleaning up the inside of the tube sheet for final inspection and preparation to refit the tubes.  The sheet must be closely examined for any cracking between the tube holes then the edges of each hole must be made good where necessary and smoothed to ensure a snug fit when we use the rollers to expand  the new tubes into place.

Jason inside the boiler preparing the tube sheet

We are now scheduling the long awaited ultrasound testing that will provide the basis for the critical form 4 calculations in support of the new certification.

Work continued in a number of other areas progressed in previous weeks such as the planer and the boxes for 428.  In addition, Rick and Ed cast the firebrick for the riveting furnace that we need to complete 428's cab.  That is an important mid-term objective as refitting the cab to 428 would free up a very useful area of the shop for other fabrication work.

Jeff worked on lubrication of the Brown Hoist crane in preparation to pull 1630 out.  We will do this as soon as weather and other jobs, such as the welding and the ultrasound testing, permit.

We also managed to largely clear the area between the shop approach and barn 9.  B & G are planning to grade this once it is clear, reducing the risk of flooding and hopefully providing a more stable surface.  This area is a long standing problem as parts of it are no more than fine sand or dust not far removed from quicksand.  It proved its capability again yesterday when the forklift became bogged and we spent an hour extracting it!!.

After recovery of the forklift and nearly ready to grade

Nigel

A good deal of progress was achieved on 1630 today despite a low turnout that was to be expected at Easter weekend.

The main effort was heavy duty cleaning.  The objective was to clear the abrasive and associated dust from the locomotive top down so as to minimize the amount above the wheels and motion before the sheeting could be removed.  This was achieved and she now looks recognizable again with the wheels and rods uncovered ready to shunt next weekend.

The walkway is back to normal

Matt spend several hours inside the boiler sweeping, shoveling and finally vacuuming the sand from the boiler barrel.  There is still some more to remove from the sides and top of the firebox but the barrel itself is now clear and open again at both ends. 

Looking in from the front the view is open thru to the firebox again.  The tubes are clear of the sand that could be seen in the views last week.  The strange rod running between the tube sheets was being used to measure lengths for the super heater flues.

Clear view thru the boiler again

The scale of the effort over recent weeks can be judged from the medium removed.  Each of these tubs is about 80 pounds and there are several more that did not fit on the pallet!.  Paul, Ed and I were kept busy shifting the material that Matt pushed out while also cleaning the outside of the locomotive, tender and surrounding areas of the shop.

All this and more came out of the boiler

The decision was taken not to use sandblasting on the footplate.  We will needle chip the back head as the effort of removing the medium would outweigh the gains of quicker cleaning.  The diesel department moved the rotary snow plough from in front of the shop so, weather permitting, we are now ready to shunt outside next Saturday.  The objectives then will be steam cleaning to remove any remaining residue and prepare for painting as well as lifting out the throttle valve body for lapping.

We were also able to start work on preparing the super heater flues for refitting (safe ending).  The preparation is complex because there are small but significant length differences between different areas of the tube sheets so the final length of individual flues will vary by about 1/2 inch.  The length of each flue is currently different depending upon how much was lost in cutting each one out of the boiler.  There is a limit to how long the narrow section can be so each flue must be measured to determine if it can be fitted by attaching a safe end just at the narrow end or if it must be extended at both ends.  Once this is done work will begin on cutting the required extension pieces matched to each flue.

After we had removed the sand blast material from the area, Mike was able to restart work on the firebox patch.  Progress here will depend upon availability of our welding expert to build up the mud ring.

In other areas:

·         Steve, Bob and Ed were working on the hydraulics that will drive the planer.  This machine will significantly increase our capability to machine axle boxes and wedges, which is currently a very slow process.

·         Cameron was using the shaper to prepare the sections that will be used to build up the axle boxes for 428.

Shaper work to prepare plates for the axle boxes

Nigel