Steam Department Update 09-29-2012

Well I'm glad to say that after the problems last Saturday we were able to move forward very well this weekend.

Glenn did a great job during the week in getting the starter of the Sullair rebuilt and refitted.  It may be overkill but we added a battery isolator on Saturday !.

On 1630 work on rebuilding the boiler proceeded well:

·         Collin and Jeff made great progress on painting the boiler shell.  After final cleaning, almost all the interior of the boiler barrel was painted.  If all works to plan, Jason and Eric will be in Sunday to deal with the tube sheets, dry pipe and the last area around the exit.

·         After a few tests, swaging of the new boiler tubes started in earnest.  My initial intent had been to do 5 that we could test fit them to the boiler.  Having done the first couple, Tom checked them and confirmed they were good so we went straight into production. 

The first batch of tubes ready to use

We now have 24 swaged at one end and annealed at the other, so ready to test fit to the boiler, cut to final length and then start expanding into place.  Only another 150 to go !.

Swaging area now active

The swaging area now shows a good quantity of finished tubes on the "output" side.  No photographs of the process as I seemed to be the prime candidate for working the furnace and swager, which made photography a little tricky!.

·         Tom and Stu worked on methods for cutting ferrules from copper tubes now we know that we cannot buy them.  A series of approaches using band saws, pipe cutters or a lathe failed as the result tended to be egg shaped or had ridges that it would make fitting difficult.  However plan D worked.  Using the large band saw with a stop set at the required 5/8 inch length, two people can cut them reliably in less than a minute each.  A little work is required to take off the rough edges with emery cloth but we now have the means of mass production and produced the first ten.

·         Ed continued the boiler pipe work.  We now have the first of the new pipe runs largely in place.

Progress on fitting new pipework

·         Mike continued forming the second test patch.  This is now pretty much formed and ground to size and the next step will be drilling the rivet holes and fitting.  So far so good.  If the next stage works, we will be able to start on the patch itself.

Dennis was back after a busy summer and was able to progress some of the welding tasks:

·         On the Shay, the new retainers for the springs were fitted to the bolster so we can now start planning the reassembly of the truck;

New spring retainers welded to the bolster

·         Jeff worked with Dennis on the design for the a boom and lift cage for the fork lift that will enable us to use it for lifting large parts such as the throttle and dome cover on to the top of the locomotive;

·         Bob worked with Dennis on fitting the reinforcing sections to the gear of the wheel lathe.  These are now complete so when Dennis is next available in a couple of weeks, we can hopefully finish this gear and reassemble this part of the wheel lathe.

Also on the Shay, Tom and Stu drilled the tell tale holes on new stays and test fitted these to the firebox.

A number of tasks were progressed in preparing for the winter:

·         Rick, Bob and Glenn worked on clearing the area around the new large compressor in preparation for set up and testing;

·         Bob cleared the area around the cab of #428.  One of the cold weather tasks will be to complete the riveting of the cab so that it can be refitted to the locomotive.  Not only will this be a big step on #428 but it will free up a big and useful area of the shop for fabrication work;

·         Bill and Stu worked on the water supply in the boxcar.  This will need to be winterized soon but we wanted to ensure that it was operating since it was reported as inoperative when Leviathan visited.  In the event it proved to be fully functional.  However it takes an inordinate time to clear the air from the pipes and draw water from the underground tanks.  Hopefully we can make some modifications to install a non return valve and avoid this issue.  Once the air locks are cleared it certainly moves a lot of water quickly.

Nigel