Steam Department

Despite the heat work progressed well in the steam shop this week. 

A number of important tasks on 1630 were moved forward:

·         During the week, Kevin has made good progress on needle chipping the mountings under the boiler in preparation for painting.

·         Jason worked with Bob Hunter on the form 4 submission which is now well under way.

·         Glenn and Richard (welcome Richard on his first day) reassembled the McCabe which we urgently need to produce the firebox patch.  An extremely awkward set screw fitting was achieved and the piston refitted.  Now we are close to being able to test the machine.

Piston back in place

·         Phil and Bob continued tapering the super heater flues.  A welding contractor is due in next Saturday and we should then be able to start building up the flues ready for refitting.

Flues ready for welding

·         Dennis welded the marks on the front tube sheet that need to be filled ready for tube fitting and also repaired the crack in the smoke box.  We can now finish the front tube sheet ready for the inspection.  That was the good news !!.  The bad news was that Dennis proved that he is too big to reach the rear tube sheet either from the firebox or from inside the boiler.  (Despite all the jokes, it is not your gut but your rib cage that determines this.  I can just barely fit between the arch tubes and usually bruise my ribs when I do so,  Dennis is just that little bit bigger in the chest).  Hopefully the contractor coming in next Saturday is smaller and can do the work on the rear tube sheet.

Dennis welding the tube sheet

·         Collin, Sean and Jason removed flexible stay caps that we need to inspect and Jason refitted a number that we have already done.

Removing a stay cap

Here you can see the inside of a flexible stay after cleaning and inspection.  The slot is in the ball head of the stay surrounded by the hex headed sleeve.  The stay is a long threaded rod with the ball head at one end,  When fitting a new stay it is inserted from the outside thru the sleeve and screwed into the inner firebox.  So far we have not found any bad ones, which is good news as replacing these is a slow job.

Inside a stay

·         The big new task started, which kept a lot of us busy, was the cleaning and testing of the super heater elements.  There are 16 of these and each must be wire brushed clean, the ball ends that fit into the header thoroughly cleaned and polished and then hydro tested to 1000 psi.  While it will be months before we are ready to fit these, we wanted to start early so that we can schedule any repairs if required.  It was a good thing we did.  The first one failed the pressure test and will need to be rebuilt.  Two then passed and the fourth proved to have a good deal of corrosion on one of  the ball ends which will require significant work to reshape or replace.

Paul cleaning super heater elements

This shows the critical ball end of an element.  The two rounded ends fit into rounded recesses in the header.  It is essential that these provide a smooth, polished and rounded surface that mates tightly to the header.

The ball ends of an element

·         We also welcomed a number of groups of visitors to the shop.  It was encouraging that a couple of groups expressed surprise at the number of volunteers and amount of work being progressed.

In other areas:

·         Jeff put together an outline plan for positioning machines in the new machine shop.  Once this is agreed we will be able to position all the large equipment and free up a good deal of space in other parts of the shop.

·         Bob cut the steel slugs that Tom will now machine to make the spring retainers for the Shay and also continued work on the planer.

Nigel

Another day with temperatures reaching 100 degrees certainly slowed work in the shop.  However, we plugged along with frequent "cooling breaks" and made good progress on the key tasks.

Alex and I completed tapering the safe ends for the super heater flues.  So we are now ready for the welder to attach these to the flues.

Paul cleaned up the pressure testing rig, that we need to test the flues once they have been welded.  As shown below it consists of blanking plates that are tightened from each end of a rod so that will tightly seal the ends of the flue.  One has the connections to allow water to be pumped in and air allowed out.  Once free of air, the flue is pressurized to ensure that the welds attaching the safe ends withstand boiler pressure.

Pressure testing rig for the flues

Glenn, Phil and Jeff spent the day refitting the piston rod to the McCabe flanger.  The rod is now in place.

Main cylinder of the McCabe

This view gives some idea of the power of this machine.  The main cylinder shown here is approximately 3 feet in diameter.  Operating at 90 psi this creates a force of more than 40 tons on a few square inches of plate in the jaws.  In this way it can smoothly bend 3/4 inch steel plate with no apparent effort.  The downside is that minor errors in adjustment or operation can cause this force to fall onto the machine itself causing issues such as the broken piston rod.

There is some tricky drilling to be done to place a set screw but once that is done, we can hope to refit the piston and get the machine back into operation to start work on the firebox patch.

Kevin has been working most of the week on preparing and then priming the tender tank top.  This is a massive improvement.  Unfortunately I failed to take a "before" picture but this area was in really bad condition, probably due to water lying on the tank top at some stage.

Tender tank top now primed

Stu and Bob worked on reassembling the planer.  A new bearing has arrived and the shaft has been machined so it is beginning to come together.

Nigel

I have received a few notes from Jeff Calendine on the Benefit last Sunday at the Sanfilippo estate.

First of all a big thank you to all who attended and made it the great success that it was.  At this stage it looks as if we will have raised over $10,000 to support the ongoing work of the Steam department.

I think it is true to say that a great time was had by all ..... I certainly I did!!.

A huge thank you to Jasper Sanfilippo and the Sanfilippo Foundation who made us very welcome and allowed us to enjoy the superb collection of beautifully restored antique musical and other machinery.  Here Jeff and Dave sit with Jasper with the Grant locomotive in the background.

Jeff and Dave with Jasper

The steam engine house provides an example of the scale of the collection and the superb quality of the restoration

The steam engine house

A central part of the collection is the Super Wurlitzer organ on which Dave gave a masterful performance.

The Grand Organ awaits the performance

In the carousel house, aside from the most spectacular 19th century carousel I have ever seen, is a collection of fantastic fairground organs.  Here Nancy stands with Jasper in front of the  spectacular 1906 Gavioli which replicates a 50 piece orchestra.

Nancy and Jasper with the Gavioli

Much to our enjoyment the carousel was operated for our visitors and here Dave and Jeff are seen riding on it.

Jeff and Dave ride the carousel

Many thanks to Jeff's brother Dave for a superb performance on the grand organ and to Jeff for the effort that he has put into the development and organization of this event.  Plans are already in hand for an even more spectacular event at Sanfilippo next year so watch for the announcement of the date.

Nigel