The first two pictures were taken during the second week of Midwest Haunted Rails.
The next few pictures were taken on the last week of MHR.
You will notice the "mask" on the front of the 6. It is supposed to be a skull although some have likened it to a large marshmallow while others say it resembles "Frankenstein." Regardless, it has eyes that glow red. We had a suggestion to vent a steam pipe through its mouth. Perhaps next year?
Elliot H. and Roger. R are discussing something. It looks like an offset jaw pliers but what would be holding their attention like that?
Brian B. looks on intently as Elliot H. dips a rag into a cleaning solvent.
Roger R. and Brian B. discuss the reassembly of the valve gear during the repair to the fireman's side steam cylinder. A small amount of linkage had to be removed on the engineer's side to insert the new gasket.
John G. (bending down) is continuing the work necessary to install the new gasket and Dustin B. (right) and Jesse V. (left) discuss the progress of the repair.
John G. cleans the surface where the gasket will be placed. Braden B. gives John some advice.
The steam cylinder head is rotated slightly to inspect the placement of the gasket. (Actually, the gasket is a 4 gauge copper ring, brazed at the joint. The soft copper fills the gap between the cylinder and the cylinder head.)
Brian B. insures the forks of the skid-steer are set correctly under the portable light generator which will be set up at the park's north end.
Midwest Old Threshers' "Volunteer of the Year" (well, one of the volunteers of the year) Dylan D. places grease sticks in the cogs of the 9's drive train while engineer Paul C. watches.
John G. and Roger R. perform various tasks necessary to prepare the 6 for use on the evening's Midwest Haunted Rails.
The Henschel building up pressure. Based on the color of the smoke, its fire is being switched from wood to coal.
Three steam engines building pressure.
To induce draft when the steam pressure is low, we hook the locomotives to a gasoline compressor. You can see the air line leading down from under the fireman's seat on the 9 and leading down near the brake air cooling tubes on the 6.
The 16. Like the 9 and the 6, the 16 is hooked to the gasoline air compressor to induce the draft while the steam pressure builds.
A few ties just outside the shop needed replacing. The gauge was approaching 37.5 inches which can easily cause a derailment on a 36 inch system.
After Dustin B. had started the spike, Elliot H. drives it into the tie with the air hammer. Randy V. is prying the tie upwards while the spiking is completed.
Eric C. is oiling the running gear of the 6.
The 9 and 6 under pressure and weaned from the gasoline air compressor.
Frontal view of the skull on the 6
OK...we do play practical jokes on one another.
Griffin W. backs Dustin's car onto a tilt bed truck while Matt C. guides it on the ramp.
Abe C. gives words of encouragement to Griffin.
The car was transferred from the tilt bed truck to a flatcar that was parked outside the south station. We started the decorations which included inserting a skeleton into the driver's seat. The skeleton is holding a "cell phone" to his head, much like the actual owner of the car often does.
The decorations are complete.
-steam.airman
