Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

Russ is probably right. In the late 1950s 557 was converted to oil and at that time 10 of the original ARR S-160s were dead lined. My guess would be they found cracks in the wheel center or a bad journal. The quality of other repairs during the last few years when it was held for emergency service wading through an area flooded too deep for the diesels of the day (we found mud in the journal boxes) and some special events was pretty marginal. The allowed boiler pressure had been dropped, possibly because of the welds covering cracks in the firebox next to the mud ring and there was an oak block above the engineer side #1 journal box to take up a sag due to broken springs and badly worn suspension parts.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Greg_Lewis »

So was it the tire or the wheel casting that was under size?
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
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NP317
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by NP317 »

Greg_Lewis wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 6:47 pm So was it the tire or the wheel casting that was under size?
Tire was smaller, although I did not measure them. Even if wheel centers are slightly different, tires make up the difference.
IF the crank pin centers are all equal!
RussN
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Russ:
I was wondering about the Alaska engine.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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NP317
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by NP317 »

Greg_Lewis wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 11:29 pm Russ:
I was wondering about the Alaska engine.
Oh, duh. Sorry. :lol:
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

The tire on 557 was smaller.

On the S-160 model I'm building I somehow ended up with the drivers being 1/8" undersized. My excuse is that I'm modeling it after it had been through a couple of overhauls.
James Powell
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by James Powell »

It doesn't take as much running as one might think to end up with a LOT of wear. I have photos of Charlie Meyer's setup to turn the tires on Porter 4077, done by mounting the cross slide from his lathe to the frame of the engine. It's wheels were U shaped from the wear ! That's on an air operated mine loco...

James
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

A short time lapse video of 557 being lowered onto her wheels. For context please open "show more" in the video's comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrfLewn ... %27sTrains
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557_Landed-02640 reduced.jpg
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

The February, 2022 status report is posted at http://www.557.alaskarails.org/restore/ ... index.html.

Volunteer Terry Douglas , Board Member John Combs, and President and Project Manager Patrick Durand pose in front of 557 shortly after she was fully lowered onto her wheels and before the lifting I-beams and jacks were removed.
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

We are pleased to announce the award of a $36,000 grant from the John Emery Rail Heritage Trust (https://emeryrailheritagetrust.org/WP/). The purpose of the grant is to fund a substantial part of the installation of 557's flues and tubes. We are currently coordinating a schedule for this work with our boiler contractor. The new flues and tubes were purchased several years ago.

John Emery was a long-time Chicago resident who was an avid rail enthusiast who loved to ride trains around the world, and wanted to help preserve rail equipment and infrastructure that will allow future generations to share his experiences during what he considered the “Golden Age” of railway travel, from 1920 to 1960.

During its short existence, the trust he established has become a major player in grant funding for the heritage passenger railroad community. Their attached news release shows the impact that they are making on the rail preservation movement.
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

The March status report is posted at https://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former- ... index.html.

After a bit of delay to do some fine tuning on the pedestal binders, the wheels are in place and all of the jacks and blocking have been removed.

A photo taken today shows Mason, our youngest and newest volunteer trying out the engineer's seat. He joined the 557 volunteer crew just after he turned 18, the minimum age that our insurance allowed. This photo shows the first time the locomotive was mated to a tender since it left Moses Lake. It is being measured for interconnecting hoses fit and the exact length of the replacement draw bar.
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NP317
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by NP317 »

That's a HUGE achievement!
Congratulations.
RussN
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