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Thursday, August 23. 2012CGW X 38 Update - August 22, 2012 Plow Extra Crew We split the crew today, more on that later. Here Dave Rogan and John Faulhaber are ready to try to open the left side wing on the plow. They had already done some of the prep work and fixed more air leaks, and charged the reservoirs to 50 psi. This had never been tried at IRM and perhaps not been moved during the previous 20 years.  First Movement Many of the volunteers migrated to what we hoped would be a successful trial. We had several working - Dave Rogan working the controls up in the cab, Henry Vincent watching the air pressure gauge inside, others to pass along verbal instructions. IT MOVES!!! We all expected loud squeaking and protests from the hinges, but it was completely smooth and quiet - we almost missed it.  Wide Open Here, Henry Vincent, Buzz Morisette, John Faulhaber, Dave Rogan and Rich Witt beam proudly. To deal with one of the leaks, we removed the whistle valve and capped the air pipe. In the shop Rich Witt dismantled that, and we found the spring inside had been assembled in the wrong position - apparently an artifact from an indifferent mechanic on the CNW.  Behind the Wing There it was wide open, and we peered to see behind what had been cloaked to all of us. The CNW never opened them up when repainting, and the last CGW orange paint remained. Henry and Rich Witt look for clues  Roof Walk Strap Gerry Dettloff fabricated a new steel strap to support the roofwalk. One was missing due to a broken weld and we needed it in place to continue installing interior wood framing on the back wall. The bolts pass through the straps, end wall, and the wood timbers.  Painting I opened this entry saying we had split the crew. Here, Victor Humphreys and Jim Leonard work to repaint the Borden's Milk Car. Prepped and primed last week, it was now time for the first coat of finish paint. In true IRM spirit they continued the painting during the plow wing moving tests. Thanks guys!
Thursday, August 23. 2012LAKE CITY Arrives - August 22, 2012Our newest arrival, the Milwaukee Road LAKE CITY, arrived today at our campus in Union. You will have to excuse the poor images, a product of old man shaky hands and having to use the telephoto feature on the camera. When we heard it was on Olson Road, several walked out in that direction, but I saw no one else taking photos, so these will have to do.  At the Gate We first saw it still on Olson Road but right at Gate 5. How could they possibly make that sharp left turn?  Bending the Corner Halfway around the turn and still moving, I was still quite a ways off. Yet it was moving forward and we know the car could not bend in the middle.  Museum Drive In short order the rig was traveling east on Museum Drive, where it sat most of the day. The delay was due to the large crane being tied up on another job and not on site at Union. We began to understand how they made the turn. We counted 50 tires under that rig, and the rear ones could be steered and turned by remote control from a second operator to the rear of the load. As I left the crane still had not arrived. Sunday, August 19. 2012Steam Department Update 08-18-2012The number of volunteers at the Steam shop was lower this weekend as it usually is during Thomas weekends. However some key tasks were completed. On 1630: · The last of the troublesome smoke box bolts was removed. With the bolts out, I was able to clean up all the holes and test fit new "T" bolts into all of them bar one. The new bolts are now being ordered for 10 of the 11 holes. The 11th requires more work. The smoke box has clearly been reinforced since this one was fitted so a rivet is now positioned that prevents setting the bolt into the ring from the rear. Tom will need to make a special stud that we can fit from the front and secure by welding a nut on the back. However, this repair is now largely complete and ready for when we refit the smoke box front sheet.
· All the flexible stay caps, that were marked as requiring removal, were successfully freed. This requires heating the socket of the stay with a torch before unscrewing the cap. Applying brute force to the socket wrench without using heat to loosen the thread is absolutely not recommended!. Cracking or otherwise damaging the socket would mean that the whole stay must be removed by drilling it out of the inner firebox then rethreading and fitting a complete new stay - several days of work - so it is a big relief that all are now off with no damaged sockets. One damaged cap was successfully removed and will be replaced with our last spare cap. A few more will be ordered to ensure that we have some spares in hand. The caps must be removed and the stays hammer tested where the stay does not have a full length tell tale hole.
Once the cap is removed you normally find rust, scale and debris that must be cleaned out to allow later hammer testing.
Once clean you can get a good idea of how the stay operates. In the center is the ball head of the stay, a long steel rod the other end of which is threaded into the inner firebox sheet The slot in the ball would have been used when the stay was installed to turn the rod and so screw it into the inner firebox sheet. The ball sits in the socket, which is welded to the outer firebox sheet. Screwing the rod into the inner sheet tightens the balled end of the rod against the socket. As with rigid stays, the objective of the flexible stays is to hold the inner and outer firebox sheets together against the full pressure of the water and steam that lies between the sheets when the boiler is in service. The difference is that flexis are used where it is calculated that there should be (marginal !) movement between the two plates as they expand This would strain and potentially crack a rigid rod. The movement of the ball in the socket allows this movement. Tightening the ball into the socket provides a significant, but not complete, seal against the boiler pressure so the cap provides the final seal. This is why there is likely to be some debris in the socket when you first remove the cap.
· Mike continued with test fitting of the patch. · We also started on the exercise of measuring the holes in the tube sheet and matching these to the ferrules that must be fitted before the tubes can be inserted. · Most importantly, it now looks as if we should have good news on the welding by next weekend. On 428: · Machining is now well under way on the thrust bearing surface of the first axle box.
This clearly shows the remains of the old thrust bearing which consisted of mesh (actually old spark arrestor mesh from the smoke box was specified in the UP drawing), which was tack welded to the face of the casting and held in place the babbit which was poured into the recess, allowed to set and then machined smooth. · The overhaul of the pump mechanism for the planer was completed. The next step is to clean and test the hydraulic drive mechanism.
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 [...]