So the 1630 is holed up for the entire winter while the restoration progress on the shay is processing onward. But why involve taking the old #938 to the workshop? I saw her at the door entrance that summer.
Holed up?.
1630 is our primary locomotive and is in the shop for a lot of essential work during the Winter. #938 was brought in for some cosmetic work while 1630 was out and running but the space she was in is that which 1630 occupies when we need to work on her.
Nigel
The winter gives us time to properly inspect the locomotive for any defects during the last season. Plus, we won't be planning any winter operations anytime soon. While 938 was in the shop this year for cosmetic work, there is plenty of interest in restoring 938 to operational condition. However, a project like that may not happen until funds are made available and that other locomotive projects already in the steam department are completed.
Trevor,
Believe there is an element of realism to be injected here. A project like #938 would require quite a few man years of skilled work, either on-site or part contracted out. Starting such a project with volunteer efforts 1-2 days per week would be a recipe for a project that would run so long that it would never get completed.
As I noted in the blog, I believe that this could only become a project if we had donors prepared to come up with the big money needed to fund full time skilled working over a few years. Not impossible - look at the Electroliner. But I think we are kidding ourselves if we think it could be done on a casual basis and a couple of thousand dollars a year in donations.
Nigel
Thanks Nigel for the insights into how much work is needed just to keep one steam locomotive operational. Even granted that the big railroads had staff and equipment to turn such repairs around quickly, it is easy to see why they dieselized as quickly as they did. This is also a good example I should think of why IRM doesn't want to have too many operating steam engines at one time? Think of having to do this annually with 4 or 5 such engines.
Yes. Steam is certainly labor intensive .... but worth it when you see it running.
I am with you on the implication on the number of locomotives. Current regulations demand a lot of annual work. Some you have to think is over kill. It is frustrating that we have to remove, hammer and hydro air tanks on a steam engine when the same tanks on a diesel do not require this. But we must follow the regs so it is done.
It almost certainly says that it would not be viable to have the number of operating locos that we did years ago. The annual work on a loco that ran few days was not as great then.
Nigel
Certainly the 4 or 5 engine problem is something a lot of the railways in the UK have to deal with. We are very fortunate that the money available over here is such that the major railways normally have 3-6 locomotives available at any one time. Indeed I was reading last week that the North York Moors Railway is struggling for motive power as it only has 5 available locomotives (it needs that many just to run its regular service).
It would be great to come up with a way of getting that sort of money and allow engines such as 938 to run again.
Certainly a challenge but not really a like for like comparison.
The larger UK preserved railways are what the name implies - operating railways, often 10+ miles in length and running the service is the core activity of the organization. In contrast IRM is a museum (with arguably the largest collection in the US) and runs a demonstration line to allow some of the equipment to be seen operating.
Also, many of the UK lines are primarily steam while IRM also has substantial diesel and electric collections. So our total list of operable equipment (between which running days must be shared) is much more than 5 items.
Nigel
Wow you guys run a tight ship. Most of the museums out here in Pennsylvania are run down and full of rotting engines. I still hold out hope though that a group like you or Strasbourg can take over East Broad Top and turn it into some spectacular. I remember my parents taking me to the museum about 14 years ago; and I'm planning a summer road trip to see the museum again this coming year.
if i remember correctly, i remember hearing one of the volunteers saying that 428, in general, could operate on both the museum line and public rails because its a proportional size, if the price is right. am i forgetting something? and what other engines could operate on both rails?
Will the Steam shop have a work day on Sunday, 01/04/2015? If so, what time do you guys meet, and if I wanted to volunteer, what should I bring?
Thanks,
Tom
Will the pipes that are being installed on the backhead of 428 need to be removed for when it comes time for the cab to be refitted? Also do the pipes need to be replaced or is this just the time to figure out where they go and to determine if they are usable or need to be replaced?