Check some of the other blog entries and you will see how the three steam cylinders were thoroughly reworked and the drive shaft was repaired and aligned per Lima specifications.
To prove the effectiveness of the repairs several full power runs were performed starting before the curve leading to the North Station. The awaiting passengers on the platform had their fingers plugging their ears as the roaring three truck Shay passed by. The engineer was seen with a big smile and commenting that "...it has never run this good."
The following series of pictures shows the 9 in various places around the MCRR layout.
Enough pictures of the 9 doing its thing.
The next series of pictures are various coach and caboose scenes.
Three wise men from the shop are hitching a ride on the caboose. Left to right are Elliot H, Mike E, and Dave R. Actually working, with his back to the camera is Steve R.
Lead conductor Daryl is getting ready for the next train's arrival.
These next few pictures were taken on the 2nd and 3rd of July. Hidden from view of the passengers are the hundreds of hours which go into maintaining the tracks, equipment, and grounds in and around the shop.
Did you ever wonder what superheater pipes look like? (Hahaha...did you ever wonder what superheater pipes were? Did you ever hear of superheaters?)
Part of the 9's seasonal preparation is to hydrostatic check the boiler and associated pipes for leaks. The boiler is filled to the top with water and then pressurized to over 200 PSI. Even the smallest pinhole will manifest itself as a stream of water pouring to the ground.
This year, the superheater pipes were reluctant to seal to their manifold located in the smoke box of the 9. Of course, the leaking superheaters were not the "front row" pipes, but those in the second and third tier which required removal of the properly sealed front row pipes.
(And for those still wanting an answer to the questions posed above, a complete description can be found here at Wikipedia.
Quoting the most pertinent paragraph from the above linked article,
"In locomotive use, by far the most common form of superheater is the fire-tube type. This takes the saturated steam supplied in the dry pipe into a superheater header mounted against the tube sheet in the smokebox. The steam is then passed through a number of superheater elements—long pipes which are placed inside special, widened fire tubes, called flues. Hot combustion gases from the locomotive's fire pass through these flues just like they do the firetubes, and as well as heating the water they also heat the steam inside the superheater elements they flow over. The superheater element doubles back on itself so that the heated steam can return; most do this twice at the fire end and once at the smokebox end, so that the steam travels a distance of four times the header's length while being heated. The superheated steam, at the end of its journey through the elements, passes into a separate compartment of the superheater header and then to the cylinders as normal."
Again, the link to the complete article -- and the above quoted paragraph can be found here.)
Dustin B adjusts the connections to the water tower.
Elliot H waves from atop the water tower before he plunges inside to sweep out rust and other debris which formed through the 2008 operating season.
-steam.airman
Pictures courtesy Paul K. and Steam Airman.
Pictures courtesy Paul K. and Steam Airman.
