Entries by Nigel Bennett

Well the first weekend of 2014 proved to be a virtual wipe out (or maybe white out) in the Steam Shop and probably most other areas of the museum.  The forecast made it clear that snow and brutally cold temperatures can be expected Sunday thru Tuesday but I had hoped that the snow was not to arrive until afternoon / evening on Saturday.  This looked plausible on the drive out from Chicago but, once I left the expressway, the last 8 miles to Union was an unpleasant surprise.  Wind was whipping drifts across US20 and it certainly looked as if new snow was falling even at 9 a.m.

The museum site was challenging.  The few who made it had to break thru a drift at the gate and dig their way thru a drift at the trolley loop crossing by barn #9.  5 of us made it to the Steam Shop and I found a similar hard core at the Car Shop.

At least we reached the shop

and a few reached the car shop

An arctic view of Main Street

We did a number of jobs to prepare for testing of the paint and spray equipment next weekend:

The small air reservoir was moved back beside the locomotive ready for fitting;

Jane painted the walkway and supports so that we can refit this tank next weekend;

The two large air tanks were moved to the South end ready for painting.

However the major task turned out to be the response to a phone call from Phil who, in attempting to be the 6^th shop volunteer had ended up in a ditch on US20.  Luckily Eddie has a 4WD pick-up so he, with Collin, Rick and a couple of sets of shop chains, went to the rescue.  Having got Phil back on the road they were also able to pull out at least one other driver who had encountered a similar problem.  US20 was deteriorating rapidly.

So, having completed the jobs above, we headed out at 11:30.  There was little sign of improvement and a definite forecast of much worse late in the day.  Much as we love the museum, I do not think anyone liked the idea of being stuck there for a couple of days that threaten record low temperatures.

So we can only hope that the weather next weekend is more helpful.

Nigel

Saturday provided a brief respite from the recent frigid weather in which the Winter work plan could be continued steadily.

On 1630;

The large copper pipes were annealed.  Dennis heated them to red heat with the acetylene torches and then Brian and I moved them into the water bath to quench them.  They are now ready to be re-insulated and then re-installed when the painting under their positions  has been completed;

Dennis applies the heat while Brian waits to quench

Ready for insulation

Jane and Stu finished painting the backhead in the cab;

Jane, Ed and I were busy preparing the front and walkways of the locomotive for painting;

Brian, Jerry and Jim worked with Tom on the plans for painting.  More advanced spray equipment is needed for the paint that has been donated for this repaint.  This will hopefully be available in the next couple of weeks and the first test spraying can then be planned;

We took the opportunity to get out to the boxcar and measure the dome cover in order to determine how thick the insulation on the dome should be.  With this information, Jerry will hopefully be able to complete the insulation.  The dome is the last piece remaining to be insulated;

The small air tank that serves as the reservoir for the reverser was painted with conventional spray paint to allow it to be refitted.  This is required to allow the reverser to be moved allowing measurements of the valve chambers for future fitting of replacement rings.

In other areas:

Phil put in a solid day with the air hammer caulking the tube sheet rivets on the Shay.  This is hard and essential work ensuring that the head of the rivet is tightly sealed into the boiler barrel.  With eight rivets to do, Phil was working with the air hammer for much of the day and most other people in the shop were wearing ear protectors!;

Phil caulking the boiler rivets

A team including Jim, Jerry, Matt and others fitted the wires to #428 that will be used to attach the insulation.  This is not an indication of an immediate start to insulation but rather reflects the fact that, since the boiler is currently bare, it is easier to install these wires before pipe work is fitted along the boiler;

Work on the planer suffered a set-back.  Having filled everything with oil, an initial attempt was made to test the hydraulic pump.  The good news was that the pump certainly develops pressure.  The bad news was that it was immediately sufficient to blow a gasket in the hydraulic control assembly.  Investigation is now under way to determine why this is not sealing correctly.

So the work continues steadily at the end of another year.  It is certainly good to be able to compare where we are now to where we were at the end of 2012.

Happy New Year,

Nigel

This Winter is becoming a bad joke !.   Today was the official start of Winter but we have been in the deep freeze for several weeks.  Amazing to look back and see that this time last year we were working outside on the KCS tender that had recently been unloaded.  This year we had a crew much reduced by a forecast of a substantial ice storm reaching Union in the afternoon.  In practice, although the forecast caused several  people to leave in the early afternoon, the air temperature held up better than forecast and the last of us were not driven out until 7, when the rain started to freeze on the cars.

Setting foot outside the shop was an adventure all day as the ground was well below freezing and any unsalted areas were simply sheets of ice which built up further as the rain fell.

Anyone for skating ?

However, in the shop we were able to progress steadily.

On 1630:

Jane, assisted at times by Stu, made good progress on priming the sheet metal in the cab.  The assistance was often dipping the brush in paint and passing it to her as the only way to paint some areas along the sides is to squeeze into a space so confined that there is no way to take a paint can with you;

Collin had detached the large copper pipe feeding the water column during the week and then worked with Phil on Saturday to remove the safety valves, which allowed the pipe to be removed from the front of the cab.  The safety valves will need to go away for testing / setting;

Jerry and I located the “cattle trough” that provides a water bath into which the large pipes can be quenched as part of the annealing process.  It is not clear that quenching makes any difference when annealing copper.  However it certainly causes the surface scale to come off so has some advantage;

Vince and Evelina worked on cleaning off the front platform, air pump and steps in preparation for painting.  The ideal way of painting would be to thoroughly clean the whole locomotive, remove all the dust outside and then put it into a good dust free area to paint it.  Given the reality of the steam shop and the weather, the game plan will be to thoroughly clean an area, paint that and let it dry before moving on to the next one !!;

Vince prepares the air pump

While Evelina prepares the steps

Jason, Phil and Collin removed the regulator for the air pump and, with considerable effort, managed to open the steam side of this.  A good deal of varnish, arising from lubricant subject to steam temperature, was found.  This may well explain why the regulator appeared not to run smoothly.  A good deal of soaking and polishing had it running more smoothly.  This will continue over the next couple of weeks to get it really clean;

Jim and Jerry worked on the spray equipment in preparation for the first painting tests.

On the Shay, Phil and I worked with Tom to plan the next steps on refitting the front truck.  Six large bolts need to be acquired and fitted to secure the casting in which the bolster of the truck pivots.  The holes for these need to be reamed to allow the long bolts to be fitted.  Phil will caulk the rivets that were placed several  years ago so that Dennis can go ahead with refitting the smokebox bottom sheet.

Elsewhere in the shop:

Jane finished painting the press and the planer;

Stu and Bob, with my ?able? (what sort of idiot can bend a barrel pump!) assistance filled the planer with oil.  This sounds simple but the darn thing has around 50 gallons of oil divided between two reservoirs, both of which must be filled thru filters that greatly reduce the flow and cause substantial leakage if you add oil to fast.  One reservoir took around 90 minutes to load 20 gallons of oil.  However, the machine is nearly filled and then comes the tense time of starting the motors and seeing what happens.  This is a rather serious operation as the main hydraulic circuit operates at around 2000 psi. !

So more steady progress despite the weather.

Nigel