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Sunday, March 4. 2012Steam Department Update 3-3-2012It was a low turnout at the Steam Department today, in part because several of the team were at Harper staffing the stand at the High Wheeler show. The weather may have deterred some and it certainly was not kind to the shop!. The ice brought down a large section of guttering and the machine shop furnace failed, which lead to some time spent investigating the gas leak. Glenn and Mike made great progress on the super heater flues. 7 of 16 are now cut and ready for safe ending.
Sand blasting was on hold as Collin was away. Jason tried but found it difficult to work in the boiler due to the accumulation of blasting sand. This made for an unstable base on which to stand in the confined space of the barrel. We therefore brought forward the task of clearing sand from the boiler. The technique may not look pretty but it works. The material is so dense that suction is not effective. It is not easy to sweep or push in the confined space of the boiler but pushing it to the main drain plug and setting up a chute there proved to be the most effective method.
In this way we have now removed several hundred pounds of the material from the boiler.
Several key additional pieces of equipment arrived that should allow us to move forward next week. We now have the angled tips for the sand blaster that will allow the corners of the firebox to be cleaned. A dust collector was installed that improves the extraction of dust from the boiler during sand blasting. With the arrival of a new and more powerful vacuum, substantial progress was made in removing residual lagging material. This tends to accumulate everywhere as the material fragments as it is removed. Cleaning this up to enable inspection and refitting is one of many mundane but essential steps in the overhaul. Mike was working on the mud ring where the patch is to be installed. This is being ground out in preparation for welding to make good small areas of damage that have been detected. Once this is done the surface will be prepared for fitting the new material of the patch.
Nigel |
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Comments
Fri, 03-29-2024 21:26
We're slackers and spend more time working on the equipment in the shop than keeping all you readers updated. We'll work on it, but I'm sure updates [...]
Thu, 03-14-2024 08:02
What happened to the Department Blog? It's been over 2 years and I still regularly check for updates, but nothing comes...
Mon, 12-27-2021 16:28
Happy New Year to all the Departments at the Illinois railway Museum! Thanks for all the good work you do in railroad preservation. Ted Miles, [...]
Wed, 10-13-2021 13:33
Was the CB&Q 1309 every transported to IRM?I’ve been reading old issues of Rail&Wire and the car was mentioned several times.
Mon, 06-07-2021 22:40
I was wondering if in the model layout display what scale would you guys be using and would you be displaying model train history as well? Just [...]
Wed, 06-02-2021 17:27
Nice to see 428's cab back on. Looking forward to when it is operable!
Tue, 06-01-2021 16:47
I hope the work will continue on the UP #428. Now that they are the museum's connection to the national railroad network; she would be very [...]
Sat, 04-17-2021 23:07
What is the status of 126, the Milwaukee Buffet car that is in S. Dakota? Any guess on when or if it will get to IRM?
Wed, 04-14-2021 21:09
Perhaps it is time to scrap the remains of the c, B & Q 7128 to make room for the Villa Real. Ted miles, IRM member
Wed, 04-14-2021 15:26
Hi IRM my name is Jason and I was wonder If you guys would be willing to save a CN Dash8-40cm they are currently being retired by CN and being [...]
Fri, 04-09-2021 19:56
Bear in mind that the Nebraska Zephyr is an articulated train set, so cars cannot be inserted at will. Although cars and/or a second engine could be [...]
Wed, 03-31-2021 11:37
I believe Silver Pony is currently on the back burner, and has been put into storage in one of the barns. The car needs a lot of work done to it's [...]