OTR Preparations: Aug 21&22

During this late August weekend, a few members gathered in the shop to get the Nine and Sixteen ready for use.

In July, the Nine had resisted efforts to allow the annual hydrostatic test. The superheaters were leaking, but shouldn't have had water in them in the first place. The gushing superheaters dictated that the spool valve and connection to the dry pipe be inspected, but that required the steam dome lid be remove for access. The steam dome fought us all the way and wrecked two 1" studs in the process. The beat up studs resisted all efforts to be replaced.

Jesse V and Griffin W tried where others had failed to remove the studs...and succeeded! It is understood by this author that the other 28 or so studs are slightly bent and need to be replaced. The pictures here show the team working on the known bad studs.







































While J and G were removing the studs others were readying the Sixteen for this year's OT Reunion. Dustin B and Abe C are seen oiling the bearing journals. Cheering them on is Braden B.














The "other" Braden, Braden G, is putting the grates into the 16's firebox. Every year, at the end of the season, the grates are removed to allow for thorough cleaning of the firebox.

















As Dustin sticks his hands into the undercarriage of the 16, Abe steadies the locomotive while Dallas K. calls an unidentified person.














Braden G smiles as he pauses during the grate replacement task.

















Abe has his hands inside the 16's firebox. Exactly what he is doing is rather curious.

-steam.airman
Pictures courtesy Jennifer B.

August 2010 Work Weekend

On yet another steamy August weekend, the volunteers at the MCRR continued their primary restoration project, the reassembly of the Six. The general procedure is "pick something off the flatcar and put it back on the Six."

Not long ago, the air brake parts were sent to a rebuilder in Pennsylvania. The parts are due back at the shop very soon.

Abe C. and his dad, Eric C., finished the machining on the dry pipe for the spool valve and were able to get the whole affair back into the boiler. While it only takes a few words to describe what they accomplished, it took nearly a hundred hours of labor to complete the work.

During this work weekend's Friday evening, Dustin B. and Elliot H. mounted the mechanical lubricator and the two running boards onto the chassis.

Another seemingly trivial project was getting the bell onto the boiler. With the increased diameter of boiler jacket, the bell mount (like nearly everything else) didn't fit. Elliot H. made various modifications to the mount and Dave O. "lengthened" the studs to accept the modified bell mount.

Abe C. and Elliot H. also completed the modifications to the boiler jacket on the unit's left side to accommodate the air compressor. With the help of Walt O., the air compressor was ready to mount onto its frame by late Saturday.

With the dry pipe in place, another opportunity arose. The new dry pipe didn't protrude into the smoke box as far as the previous dry pipe incarnation. The length change caused the pipes leading up from the steam cylinders to not meet the manifold which connects to the dry pipe!

With the skills of Dave O., the problem was "easily" resolved. The dry pipe/steam cylinder connector pipes were sliced in two and a steel "doughnut" placed in the gap. Unfortunately, the aged manifold attached to the dry pipe broke when the connecting pipes were attached. As of the close of Saturday, the plan was for Dave O. to fashion a new manifold from boiler flanges and steel piping. We should see the finished product in a week or so.

The connector pipe with the slice, awaiting the steel doughnut to fill the gap.













Nathan V. hands the MIG welder gun to Dave so he can tack weld the steel doughnut into place.


























Dave O. grinds a bevel into the connector pipe to facilitate welding.













Randy and Nathan V. cut a doughnut from a piece of 4" diameter steel pipe.













Several members look on as Dave O. explains to Nathan V. what needs to be done inside the smoke box.













While work was going on in the front of the locomotive, Abe C. crawled inside the firebox to measure it for the fire brick purchase.













It might look the boiler is giving birth, but it is really Abe C. crawling out of the firebox door after measuring the inside.













Besides altering the size of the bell mount, the boiler jacket needed a bit of adjusting. Elliot H. uses a flap disk on the angle grinder to remove jacket material which provided for the proper fit of the mounting bracket.


























Braden H. lowers the bell into place.













Mounting the bell on the modified bracket.













To make the boiler jacket fit properly behind the air compressor mount, we had to make some new fasteners. Abe C. drills the holes for a nut plate which will be used to hold the jacket sections together.

-steam.airman
-Some pictures courtesy Brian B.

July 2010 Work Weekend

With just one week separating the Independence Day work weekend and the "real" work weekend, the volunteers at the MCRR were at it again!

Director Dan H. cleaned the three golf carts which get extensive use during the Old Threshers' Reunion and other events throughout the season. The gasoline cart only needed a cleaning while the two electrics needed some power pack maintenance. Many of the batteries were "old" and the gassing out of the acid had also taken a toll on the wiring. Dan H. removed all the wiring and 70% of the older batteries and will be getting new (or at least, newer) replacement parts.







































Meanwhile, this author continued the wet sanding and buffing of the recently painted boiler jacket. The two component polyurethane paint didn't go on as well as we hoped. The easy solution was to repair the painted surface by wet sanding and polishing. The results were spectacular. The surface is ultra smooth and has an deep shine that will please anyone.


























Several studs had broken off the firebox door frame during locomotive disassembly. Director Dave O. fabricated new studs and welded them into place.


























Several unidentified volunteers helped Roger R. install the smoke box to pilot braces.













Roger R. hunts for a large 3/4 drive socket.













Several volunteers (Dave O., Dallas K., and Bill B.) discussing what to do next.













Part of the 6's reassembly includes resurfacing the seat of the spool valve. Eric C. is milling a large chunk of round stock which will fit into the standpipe so that it can be placed onto the lathe for milling.


























Some of the 6's brake parts need servicing. Roger R. carefully fits the units into a shipping container.













As part of the color scheme change, the sand dome gets prepared for painting. The author, after applying the "new" color to the sheet metal portions of the boiler's top accouterments masks the new paint and roughs up some of the over spray for the application of the black paint.







































The steam dome lower ring and sand dome show their new black paint. The "new" color of the sheet metal is hidden by the masking paper.

-steam.airman

Mt Pleasant Independence Day Celebration

Instead of having pictures of the parade, afternoon passenger train, or the nighttime fireworks, this blog entry has the usual "behind the scenes" activities of the MCRR staff. (After all, it is the "shop blog.")

Despite the fact it had been decided to use the diesel powered switch engine (14), a few of us hapless souls chose to ready the three truck Shay (9) for service. After all, the MCRR is a steam railway.













Ha! The 9 had other ideas!

Since the 9's boiler had been "washed and dried" last December, our railroad requires the boiler to be pressure tested before being put under steam pressure. The process consists of replacing the boiler washout plugs, injector check valves, cleaning the sight glasses, and cleaning the tender drains.

The set of boiler plugs is shown here. They had been wire-brushed and Teflon taped and were ready for installation.













We have a laminated "road map" for the plugs to insure the plugs always go into the same hole which they were removed.













With the plugs replaced and the other chores complete, we topped the boiler, started a fire to warm the water, and after reaching the proper temperature, extinguished the fire and attached the high pressure pump.

In keeping with years' past, several of the superheater pipe leaked at their connection with the boiler's superheater manifold. Actually, this indicates a possible second problem: a leaking throttle, as the steam (and water) should not be reaching the superheaters until the throttle is opened.

Fixing the superheaters requires someone to crawl into the locomotive's smoke box to unfasten the pipes. Griffin W. squeezes inside the smoke box which keeps this author from having to do so. (Thank you, Griffin.)













This is what a set of "well used" superheaters look like. These three are located in flue pipes on top of one another, hence their varying vertical size. A close look at the ends shows the erosion which we have to fix every year.













While a few volunteers were dealing with the 9, a few others took advantage of the wonderful weather to apply herbicide on the healthy set of unwanted plants (sometimes referred to as "weeds") which were populating the tracks and switch mechanisms.

Volunteers Brian B. and Paul K. mix the ingredients in the tank of our special UP (Unwanted Plants) "flat car."


























Brian applies the herbicide around a switch stanchion.













By this time, we gave up on having the 9 pull the afternoon train. Although the superheater leaks were eventually plugged, we needed to determine why there was water in the pipes in the first place. This required removing the steam dome cover and lid to inspect the spool valve and throttle valve standpipe's connection to the dry pipe.

Removing the steam dome lid was far more difficult than in any time in recent past. The studs had splayed outwards, making removal of the lid extremely difficult. Usually, removing the 24 nuts shouldn't be a big problem but this time two nuts refused to budge, apparently having seized to their respective studs. A bit of torch to heat the nuts and a 3/4 inch impact wrench helped spin the nuts off but two nuts had seized so tightly, the nuts took the studs' threads with it. The only solution was to cut the nuts off and replace the studs. The studs had other ideas.

Sometimes, we can grip the studs with pipe wrenches but not this time. Paul K. and Griffin W. prepare to weld large nuts onto the studs for removal. The heat from the weld often loosens the studs in their seats. Not this time. The last I heard, remnants of the studs were still in the boiler, having resisted drilling and torching.

And the mystery of where the superheaters' water was coming from still exists.


























A closeup of the broken studs.


























I am not sure what Paul K. and Griffin W. were doing here but it looked interesting.

-steam.airman
some photos courtesy Anita N.