IRM Steam Team

Shop Update 8/22/10

On Wednesday, Matt, Bob, and Tom were in the shop tightening valves and calking rivets on the 1630.  They also looked at the air brakes.  It was believed there may be a problem with the brakes, but after testing the brakes, they determined that the brakes were fine.

On Saturday another hydro was done on the 1630.  Many of the valves that had leaked in the past were fixed.  It appears that this may be the last hydro before an inspection is done by the FRA.  It should be noted that the FRA inspector will tell us when he wants to see the locomotive hydro tested.

Work also continued on rebuilding the engine for the Bay City crane that is used to lift wheels from the elevator in the drop pit.  Glenn has reassembled most of the engine.  When he finishes, it will be started before it is put into the crane.

Tammi continued to needle chip rods and other items that will be put back onto the locomotive after she repaints them.

Rick and Jim gave tours of the steam shop as part of the Thomas weekend.

Shop Update 8/14/10

Saturday a few things were accomplished in the steam shop.  Work was done to permanently install the new compressor in the boxcar by the steam lead.  Due to unexpected problems, the compressor is still not in its permanent place.

A third hydro test was done on the 1630.  Although many of the leaks have been stopped, there are still some leaks on the locomotive.  The plan now is to work on these leaks during this coming week and do a fourth hydro.  If all goes well, the FRA will be called.

Tours were given in the shop on Saturday as part of “Day Out with Thomas”.  All those who took part enjoyed the experience.

On Sunday additional tours of the shop were given. 100 visitors took part in the two tours.

Shop Update 8/7/10

Yesterday, a second hyro was done on the 1630.  Those doing the test discovered various leaks.  Valves were lapped and tightened while others still need to be lapped.  The plan is to do a third hydro in the next two weeks.  The hydro test took up most of the day.

The non-working compressor in the boxcar, along the steam lead, was removed and a new one was put into the car.  This boxcar contains materials used to prepare locomotives for service.

New side sheets so that the cab ladders can be attached to the 428’s tender were welded and ground down.  The old side sheets were in pretty sad shape and needed to be replaced. 

Finally, the final numbers on the fireman’s side of the 1630’s tender were painted onto the tender.

Shop Update 8/1/10

Yesterday, a great deal of work went on related to getting the 1630 operational.  Valves were lapped in preparation of a second hydro.  In addition, the draw bar was put back on the locomotive.   Afterwards the hoses that carry water from the tender to the locomotive were also put on the engine.  Doing these things took up most of the day.

In the past, one of the major issues with the 1630’s tender was that the metal side-sheets were so thin that they were springing leaks.  This was especially true of the engineer’s side of the tender.  Since pieces of side-sheet had been cut out and patches welded in place and the surface smoothed, the sides of the tender were repainted in black.  Yesterday, the number 1630 was completely repainted on the engineer’s side of the tender, and the repainting of the numbers on the fireman’s side was started.  The remaining numbers on the fireman’s side will be painted next Saturday.

Shop Update 7/25/10

Yesterday, we did a test hydro on the 1630.  We quickly discovered there are a lot of items on the locomotive that need to be tightened and lapped on the locomotive.  This test took up the entire day.  In addition, the diamond plate deck was put on the tender of the 428 and bolted down.

Today, Bob worked on the hoses that go between the tender and locomotive of the 1630.  Mike and Jim spent the day lapping valves that go on the 1630.

Shop Update 7/21/10

Bob and Jim worked in the shop today putting the plugs into the 1630’s boiler so it can be given a hydro test.  It took four hours to put 20 plugs back into the boiler.  Part of the reason was that not all the shafts on the plugs were the same size so the right size sockets had to be found for some of the plugs.  They also had to grind some shafts that had been banged up and would not fit the sockets properly.

After this they removed some of the piping from the 428 that is used for hydro tests.  One piece was put in place and the rest should be in place on Saturday.

Shop Update 7/18/10

Saturday the missing brake shoes were put in place on the driving wheels of the 1630.  We also removed the caps for the fire box arch tubes and cleaned the threads.  We did the same to the fittings on the locomotive. 

The major event of the day was the moving of the 1630 from the south end of the steam shop to the north end.  To do this, several other cars had to be moved, and the 428 had to be moved out of the shop.  By the end of the day, the Shay was sitting at the south end of the shop with the 428 in the middle of the shop.  The 1630 is now in position to have a hydro test.  Before this will be done we must put the insulation back on the engine which was removed.  We also must make sure all valves are in working order.

Shop Update 7/10/10

Today, everyone in the shop concentrated on one thing. Since so many Steam Team members were involved in the work, I apologize for not naming everyone.

The one goal we had today was getting the rear driving wheels back on the 1630.  Glen, Nigel, Rick, Ralph, and Jim arrived early.  They were soon joined by Matt. They removed the cover from the drop pit.  Rick and Stu prepared the table for use.  It was discover one of the power cables for one of the table’s controllers had been chewed on by a critter.  Stu and Glen spliced the cable and the table was ready for use.  Rick made sure everything that needed to be oil and greased was oiled and greased.

The 1630 was rolled over the drop pit.  The crew that moved the locomotive was Ed, Ralph, Nigel, and Matt.   After the locomtive was in position, the table was lowered and moved to the west side of the pit so the wheel set could be put on it.  Ralph, using the fork lift, positioned the wheels over the table.  Rick, Matt, Curt, and Jim guided the wheel set onto the table.  Nigel, using the crane, positioned the wheels so that they could be put under the locomotive in the correct location. 

After the wheels were under the engine, Ralph, Curt, Matt, and Jason worked to get the shims for the boxes to fit.  Everything was bolted back into position.  We next attached the driving rod to the fourth and fifth wheels on the fireman’s side.  After that, Jason and Matt put the ashpan rigging together under the locomotive and then put the brake rigging together.  At 7:47, the 1630 was moved, so that the driving rod on the engineer’s side could be attached.  This was the first time it was moved with all its driving wheels on in almost three years! 

We discovered that the two driving wheels were a little too close to attach the rod, so with some adjustments, the rod finally was attached at 8:16.  The brake shoes still need to be attached, but since everyone had put in days of 10 to 12 hours, we decided to call it a night.  The 1630 was put back in the shop and the brake shoes will be put on next weekend.  The covers were put back on the pit and we called it a night.

After everything we need to do to the locomotive is done, we will hydro it.  Then, when we are satisfied with the engine, we will do another hydro for the FRA.

One last thing that should be mentioned is that Bill Chyna stopped by and gave us his support.

Shop Update 6/26/10

Saturday, the big event was moving the Shay from the Steam Shop into Barn 9.  This was done because the Shay has no front coupler and must be out of the way when the 1630 is moved.  The coupler was removed as part of the restoration project.  Ralph ran the crane with a ground crew of Nigel, Bob, Matt and Ed.  Collin made sure that visitors were out of the way during the move.  The move will allow us to put the 1630 over the drop pit to put the rear drivers back on the locomotive.

Tami and Rick worked at cleaning up, priming and painting rigging which had been removed from the 1630. This way it will be ready to put back on the locomotive.

Dennis did a good amount of work.  He welded lifting tabs onto the bottom patch sheet for the smoke box of the Shay.  This way it will be ready to be lifted into place, for measurements, when the locomotive is brought back into the shop.  He is also fabricating new metal sheets for the 428’s tender steps.  The tender’s platform was actually an inch lower than the deck of the cab of the 428.  During the rebuild of the tender, additional medal plating was added to the floor braces to even out the floor.  This means the fireman will have an easier time throwing coal.  This resulted in metal panels, that hold the stairs onto the tender, being an inch lower than the rest of the platform.

Stu and Jim fit the brass shims onto the boxes that go on the frame of the 1630.  Afterwards, they number each shim.  Later in the day, the boxes were put on the axle of the driver wheels to see if they fit with any problems.  There were none.

Glen continued putting the engine for the Bay City Crane together.  To finish his work, he welded up an frame to put the engine into.

If we can get everyone out on the same day, it would appear the next step is to put the wheels back on the 1630.

Due to the heat, everyone was gone by 7:30 in the evening.

Shop Update 6/12/10

Many things were accomplished in the steam department on Saturday.

Tami and Jim finished painting the frame of the 1630.   Tami also finished painting the bottom of the firebox.  Jim also touched up the boxes containing the brasses for the 1630.

Nigel and Jim straightened one of the pins that hold the grease boxes in place.  Trevor and Sean cleaned the grease boxes and primed them. They also worked on cleaning and priming break hangers.  Nigel also began to cut rectangle shaped blocks of grease for the grease boxes.

Dennis put on the drive boxes and welded square plates to them as retainers.  He also welded the front rib, which holds the smoke box door on, back onto the Shay so that the bottom patch for the smoke box can be fitted and later riveted into place.  The plate being used for the patch still needs to be cut to the correct shape and welded onto the locomotive.

Bob and Bruce made a great deal of progress on the water softner.  Bob later needed chipped and cleaned up rods for the 1630’s ashpan.

Terry & Stu began to clean junk off the track that runs through the shop so we can move the locomotives.  Stu also rounded off the edges of the grease groves on the brasses.

One of the spring equalizers was put back onto the 1630.

The next step is to fit the boxes onto the axle of the rear driving wheels of the 1630.  This needs to be done so that we don’t have any “surprises” while putting the wheels back on the locomotive.  It appears that putting the wheels on the 1630 will take place in a few weeks.