Steam Department Update 09-28-13

It seems very distant to be providing this update from the UK.  For the input I must thank Collin and Jim.

The immediate good news was that apparently we did not put Ethan and Evelina off.  Both were back and hard at work on Saturday.

On 1630:

·         Rick, Ed & Collin concentrated on lagging the back head.  First, the pieces of sheet metal were fitted up against the firebox to determine where and how they fit together.  After having accomplished that step it was determined that the firebox door should be added next as it serves as a template against which the insulation is cut.

The previous week the fire door casting, weighing several hundred pounds, was lifted into the tank's coal bunker with the forklift.  A team including Rick, Collin, and Eric dragged the door over to the stoker coal feed pipe and placed it so the mating flange to the backhead was horizontal. Rick then mixed up the special fire-resistant concrete and mudded the flange.  This mud serves as the gasket between the fire door and the back head where traditional insulation would be consumed by the fire.  This is a tricky operation as the concrete has to conform to the surface of the back head before setting up yet be solid enough that it does not fall out of the flange once the flange is vertical.

Rick starts to apply fire resistant concrete

On the initial attempt the mixture was not set up enough so the acetylene rig was brought over to heat up the flange and speed up the drying process.  Then a paper was tied to the top of the flange to hold the concrete in place until the fire door casting could be bolted to the back head. Once in place and torqued down, Rick mudded the flange interface completing the seal against the back head.

Concrete completed ready to fit

As a final step to the back head project, Rick & Collin determined the appropriate width of the insulation for the back head is 2".  Since our insulation comes in 2 1/2" sheets, Rick ripped down the sheets, one at a time and then cut them down the center as well. So, when work resumes next week, the back head insulation work can proceed as all parts are now ready.

On Sunday, Tom and Cameron worked on aligning the fire-hole door casting with the stoker riser so that the securing bolts can be fitted.

·         Work progressed steadily on the boiler insulation as well.  Eric, Jerry, Ethan, Evelina, Brian and Jim continued lagging the boiler courses.  Since Eric has led this project and we had several new volunteers Eric became known simply as "Crew Chief".  In totality, the lagging blocks are in place on the first, second and much of the third courses with a significant portion of the infill mudding also accomplished in these areas.

Progress on the boiler lagging

·         Jim Opolony picked up, from the wood shop, the cab window frame that Collin put his shoulder through two weeks ago.  Many thanks to Bob and the guys for their efforts in producing the beading.  Ed worked on the frame, cleaning it up and preparing it for the installation of the glass.

Repaired cab window

·         Dennis worked on the sheet metal for the smokebox.  A number of the pieces were cut to shape and checked against the old damaged sections to ensure a match.

·         Tom and Ralph worked on the throttle.

·         Mike and Brian continued work on the valves of the air compressor.

In other areas:

·         Phil and several others worked on preparing the steam locomotives on steam row for movement.  More heavy duty switching is in prospect!.

·         Stu and Jane worked on the planer and have now primed the main pillar

So it sounds like another successful weekend..

Nigel