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Friday, April 19. 2019Steam Department April Update
The absence of posts is a clear sign of progress, or so I will keep telling myself.
It has been a busy month in the shop. Work has primarily focused on the beginning of the end of 1630’s annual inspection.  1630’s arch tube caps were reinstalled.  The boiler pressure gauges were calibrated and installed.  And the brake gauges were calibrated and installed. Here Ken and Ray can be seen using a dead weight tester to check the gauges ‘calibration.  Here is a picture showing the internal workings of a “double spring” gauge. Pressure gauges contain a curved bourdon tube. As pressure increases, the tube straightens, moving the needle. In a double spring gauge, there are two bourdon tubes. The difference in tension between the two tubes holds the needle steady, whereas in single-tube gauges the needle tends to bounce as the locomotive travels down the tracks.  Joey and Conn inspected and cleaned the pilot truck journal boxes.  And I lapped valves, and then lapped more valves, and then lapped yet more valves. In this case, I am lapping a gated check valve on the line from the injector into the boiler. Our concerted efforts over the past month paid off, and I am excited to report that last weekend 1630 passed its federal hydrotest, which is the first of three major steps towards entering service each year (those being the hydrotest, an internal inspection, and a steam test). It is not enough to have a working locomotive, however. You need to have people who know how to run it. A few weekends back, the steam department held a training class on locomotive firing and train handling for all of our operating crew members. Steam Department Assistant Curator Jason Maxwell and experienced steam locomotive operator Ken Ristow lectured on locomotive firing, while Ray Weart and Phil Hehn addressed air brake and train handling.  Ken, ever helpful, brought pretty pictures to help explain things  He also brought a homebuilt demonstrator to illustrate how sight glasses reflect conditions in the boiler  Trainings such as this are critical to passing on knowledge of steam railroading and, ultimately, to the continued operation of steam locomotives at IRM. It was heartening to be one of the oldest members of the audience. Although many of our efforts recently have focused on 1630, work on other projects has also continued.  Ben continued to machine parts of 428’s spring rigging.  While Phil, running the museum’s horizontal boring mill, continued to machine the tops of 428’s axle boxes.  Meanwhile, final prep work on the auxiliary tender was completed, and it was primed for painting. As of this post, the first coat of black was being applied.  With the warmer weather, Jeff has also resumed work on the Bay City crane, which he expects to have back in operation shortly. Other exciting projects have also been in the works, so stay tuned for an update about everyone’s favorite Union Pacific consolidation. |
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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 [...]