Started last month, the 6's firebox brick project was completed.
How does the bricklayer keep from choking on the musty mortar fumes in the confined firebox? By using a high volume ventilation system! The 20 foot long hose keeps the blower noise away from the boiler so the bricklayer only experiences a breeze coming through the flues.
Roger R. squeezes into the firebox and gets settled in for a few courses of brick laying.
The pallet of bricks gets smaller by the minute.
The bricks are cut to size with a water cooled tub saw.
The next series of pictures shows the brick walls being built up to shield the steel firebox side sheets from the blast of the burner. As much steel is exposed as is practical to maximize heat transfer within the firebox.
The gasoline powered fuel pump needed some assistance. Last month as it was being placed into position to drain No. 12's fuel bunker, one of the wheels fell off. Besides fixing the broken wheel, we moved the axle to a better balance position to ease moving the pump from location to location. The pump still needs a "toe" to keep it from tipping over when the heavy oil hoses are attached while fueling a locomotive.
In the days following the March work weekend, Dave O., Dan H. and Kendall O. traveled to Durango, Colorado, to fetch the re-axled drivers for engine No. 2. The wheel sets were unloaded from the trailer and stored in their tradition home in the south portion of the shop. One of these days, they will get "tires" and eventually the frame will start reassembly. Imagine the 2's frame rolling on the tracks instead of dangling from a crane!
Matt W., Chris P., Walt O., Roger R. and Dave O. deal with the movement of the wheel sets.
These two pictures are rather odd: Jennifer B. delivers the upper and lower portions of a manikin to Matt C. with eventual use at Midwest Haunted Rails.
The next phase of the Vulcan gasoline switcher (the "Squirt") refurbishing was preparing the frame for painting. Choice: either pneumatic needle descale the loose paint or sandblast the old paint completely off the frame. We choose the latter so lots of preparation was needed to get the frame ready for the sandblaster.
The engine and transmission assembly, ladders, grab rails, and step boards were all removed.
The drive train was covered to keep stray sand from getting where it shouldn't.
Evan P. sand blasts the old paint from the frame.
Besides bringing the 2's wheel sets to the shop, Dave O. also delivered a new band saw to replace the worn out DoAll saw. The DoAll served the shop well but it was warn beyond continued use.
The ground equipment needs periodic maintenance. The backhoe's battery terminals had corroded in the past three years to the point where insufficient current was available to start the engine.
All of the MCRR's rolling stock needed to be somewhere else. A crew spent a good part of the day moving rolling stock from Old Threshers Museum "B" to the shop and the south station.
Work continued on the green coach. The paneling was removed to reveal the hidden woodwork. To our surprise, the original car men signed their names as they were completing the internal structure. The signatures are hard to make out, but the second picture shows the date of August 25, 1977.
-steam.airman
