June 2010 Work Weekend

The return of the boiler has revitalized many of the shop volunteers' enthusiasm. With the goal of seeing the Six move under its own power by Labor Day, 2010, a concerted effort is being made to make it happen.

This work weekend saw activity primarily in or around the Six. There were two primary tasks: a) prepare and paint the boiler jacket and b) anything else.













For the "paint" task, the first challenge was to select the jacket color. Nothing will be disclosed about the color selection; it will be a surprise for everyone not wandering in or around the shop.

After 25-odd years, numerous coats of wax had been applied to the jacket and numerous layers of grease and dirt were located everywhere else. The next few pictures show John G. using a special elixir from the auto part store's paint department. Reading the ingredients on the "wax remover" was like reading the ingredient list on a package of "Twinkies" or "Pringles." John G. did a tremendous job of removing the wax and grease.









































Besides removing the wax and grease, the upgraded boiler presented some other opportunities.

With the flexible stays' sockets making the overall boiler diameter a bit more than before, we used slightly thicker insulation between the boiler's shell and the jacket. The end result was that the tight fitting jacket was now fitting like someone who ate too many treats during the winter holidays.

Letting out the jacket at its seams in turn caused holes for various boiler fitments to be slightly off from their current position. Moving a hole in sheet metal presents some typical auto body shop activities. Cut the new hole; weld a panel into the old hole, apply body filler to smooth the finished product.

The next few pictures show Elliot H. forming a metal patch before welding and the other John sanding the filler smooth.



























With the jacket let out at the seams, the running boards along each side were rubbing against the metal, plus the boards (well, "metals") were simply in the way for preparation and painting.

Once removed, the running boards needed about 1/2 inch of material removed for extra clearance. Due to a bit of less than perfect torch cutting, a bit of grinding was necessary. Paul K. grinds the slag away from the cuts in the next few pictures.



























The other project ("anything else") was rebuilding the brake cylinders and mounting them on the boiler.

Dustin B. and Griffin W. disassemble the cylinders and clean the walls.













Brian B. helps with the insertion of the pistons back into the cylinders.













Bradon B. helps his dad lubricate the cylinder walls before installing the other piston.













Tightening the rubber "piston ring" on the piston.













Once the cylinders were reassembled, they were mounted onto the boiler and frame. These beasts weigh around 150 pounds so it took our resident power lifters to get it in place. Fortunately, the cylinders hung off of studs making their remounting much easier.













Dallas K, Bradon B., and Griffin W. discuss the next move while balancing on a large two wheeler cart.













Paul K. and Brian B. install the brake shoes onto the cylinders. Like the cylinders, the shoes were quite heavy and resisted being put in place.













On Sunday, with the heavy mechanical work complete and the jacket ready for paint, Jennifer B. and Dustin B. begin the covering of locomotive parts that didn't need to be painted.













MCRR president Matt C. adjusts the paint gun.













Elliot H. suits up for the mission. Any sort of spray paint demands that the operator do what they can to keep overspray from their skin and lungs.



























Spray enough paint and one can cause a fog to form near the target.













In the meantime, Paul K. had a few items that needed sandblasting.

-steam.airman
pictures by SteamA and John G.

May 2010 Post Work Weekend Special - III

During the Memorial Holiday Weekend, volunteers Fred H. and John W. refinished the floors inside the Bellevue and Cascade caboose and the "Quinn" coach. See this blog entry for views of other bits of maintenance being performed on the "Quinn" coach. (Summary: during the official May work weekend, members removed the seats and thoroughly cleaned the coach's insides.)

This weekend, the old finish was removed from the floors of both cars and a new commercial grade finish applied.

Besides doing a large portion of the work, volunteer Fred H. also donated the materials to complete the job.

Fred H. roughing up the old finish in the caboose's baggage area.














John W. doing some hand sanding. He doesn't look too happy; he found out that his pay had been cut -- again! (Actually, he was sanding the floor by hand, not sanding his hands.)































Applying the new finish to the floor.














Several views of the caboose's refinished floor.




























Inside view of the "Quinn" coach after the floor was refinished.













The pictures don't do justice to the look of the floors. Fred H and John W worked extra hard to make these the best they've ever looked. We are contemplating asking riders to place protective covers over their shoes before entering!

The "Quinn" coach's seats had been removed from the coach and stored in the South Station's conference room (the "M&E Room"). Before reinstalling them, the upholstery was cleaned and other bits of mechanical maintenance was performed.

-steam.airman
-pictures courtesy JohnW.

May 2010 Post Work Weekend Special - II

Several shop volunteers were busy in the past few weeks!

As can be seen in these pictures, not only has the boiler been placed on the chassis, but a good amount of work has been completed.

It almost looks like a steam locomotive again!

-steam.airman
-pictures courtesy BrianB.

May 2010 Post Work Weekend Special - I

After the first coat of primer was applied to the boiler, a second coat was added. Pictures are available, but it is nearly impossible to tell anything changed.

A few after the second coat was applied, Griffin W and Dallas K, along with several other volunteers (unknown as of this writing) placed the boiler on the chassis officially marking the reassembly of the 6.




























Dallas inspects the smoke box end of the boiler as it rests on the steam saddle. Some sort of elixir was applied to the saddle to seal any possible steam or smoke leaks.














Griffin mixes the elixir.

-steam.airman;
-pictures courtesy BrianB.

May 2010 Work Weekend

The weather was our enemy this weekend. Leading up the May work weekend, it had been unseasonably warm, summerlike if you will.

Thunderstorms passed through the area on Thursday night leaving low clouds and lingering rain on Friday. Saturday was dry but low clouds and a strong north wind made the 50F weather much more uncomfortable than expected.

The staff started to assemble Friday afternoon. At the same time, the 6's boiler was making its way back to the shop. Board member Dave O. had fetched it from the boiler maker a few days prior and kept it at his property near Des Moines.

Unfortunately, while awaiting pickup from the boilermaker and while sitting on his property, the unprotected shell gained a good coat of rust.

While this blog entry seems to be of the same voice used in nearly every other blog entry, we are all very excited that the 6's boiler is back at the shop. The boiler-less 6's chassis has been a constant reminder of how dear this steam locomotive is to our railroad and to our fans. Everyone at the MCRR is anxious to get the 6 running under its own power by this summer's Old Threshers' Reunion.

And in case the return of the boiler has our readers as excited as we are, we still need $$$ to get the 6 moving under its own power. Please go to our "Fix the Six" fundraising program page and make a donation!

The next few pictures show the boiler on Dave's trailer awaiting sandblasting.



























If you look closely, there is something written on the boiler, just above the trailer's two wheels.













One of the MCRR staff that installed the flues is the primary member of the "Shay Racing Team." He couldn't resist autographing the boiler. The history of the Shay Racing Team goes back a few years and was started as a friendly rivalry between engine crews. Oddly, every Shay RT member is also a member of the 6 cab crew and vice versa. While all crews operate all engines, many have their favorite!













This picture is from inside the firebox looking at its flue sheet. The sheet is shiny due to the old flues being welded in place, typical for an oil fired boiler. The welds and flue ends had to be ground off to install the new flues. The grinding was a job nobody wanted to do. After the flues were "swedged" in place, the boilermaker seal-welded the the flues.













Besides having the stays replaced, the stays supporting the firebox's crown sheet were converted to "flexible stays." While this author is rather clueless about why or how they are flexible, the odd looking protrusions -- sockets -- are characteristic of flexible stays.













Griffin W. is moving a pallet of sandblasting media close to the industrial sized sand blasting tool.













The gasoline air compressor is always finicky in the morning.













With the air compressor finally running, Dave O. starts the sand blasting. The two masked items (covered in pink tape) are the throttle linkage and the "stamp" which indicates the boiler maker's certification of the boiler.



























Volunteer Randy V. tinkers with the sand blaster's hopper and media outlet valve.













The sand blasting took most of the afternoon to complete. Once it was complete, it was moved into the shop and then coated with an aluminized high temperature primer giving it this lovely silver sheen.













Yes, that insignia is "Hello Kitty." (Note: The "Hello Kitty" image and all Sanrio characters are registered trademarks of Sanrio Co., Ltd. ("Sanrio"), and the images are copyrighted by Sanrio. Use of the "Hello Kitty" image is granted via the "terms of use" agreement found at www.sanrio.com)



























While others were sandblasting the 6's boiler, another work crew was tending to the "Quinn Coach." After being pulled around the track for so many years, some remedial maintenance was necessary. The two primary order's of business were to tighten the truss rods and to remove the interior in anticipation of having the floor refinished.













In order to tighten the truss rods, additional threads had to be made on the rod ends. Previously, washers had been added every few years as the coach was heavily utilized at the three big operating events.

MCRR volunteers Ken C. (right) and Elliot H. use a pair of combination wrenches to turn the die on the truss rod ends. With only a 1/4 turn stroke at a time, adding 1.5 inches of extra thread took some time.



























With the new threads cut, Griffin W. reinforces the steps.













Master craftsman John W. cleans one of the coach's lamps.













MCRR Conductor Steve R. pauses for the camera while washing the wood interior of the coach.













Bill F. washes the woodwork with "Murphy's Oil Soap." The years of service added a massive layer of dirt to the wood work. We were all surprised on how much brighter the walls and ceiling appeared after a thorough washing.













That's Dillon W. coming through the door in the background.













Reinforcing the steps required extra long bolts. Shelby G. discusses Dustin B's welding handiwork.













FNG Dallas K. applies some black paint to the end sill where the step reinforcements and truss rod ends had been modified.













With the work done, volunteers Brian B., FNG Dallas K., and Paul K chat about the day's accomplishments.

-steam.airman