C&NW #1385: Mounting Achievements

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The next item to be mounted to the backhead of the 1385 is the hydrostatic lubricator.  That is merely a complicated name for the device that delivers steam cylinder oil to the valves and pistons as well as to the steam end of the engine’s air compressors.  Steam cylinder oil is specially compounded to mix with and then be carried by the steam to all the internal moving parts.

The lubricator lives in the cab of the engine within reach of the engineer so he or she can keep a constant eye on this vital function.  If the oiling stops the engine will begin to make some really ugly noises in a very short time and if not immediately corrected those noises become quite expensive. 

Once again the 3-D chessboard is set to mock up the placement of several pieces at once and the lubricator is hanging from the chain hoist.  The bracket for the lubricator is mounted using 2 studs and its position is being verified between the try-cocks, throttle and one of the two required water gauge glasses.

A chain hoist is used to hold the lubricator in place during test-fitting.
Placement of the lubricator bracket between the try-cocks and water glass.

Here is the lubricator mounted in its final position showing how it is studded to the boiler.  Our parting shot shows the upper right corner of the backhead and the top of the boiler with the body of the throttle peeking up out of the steam dome area.  The dome was made to be removable to better facilitate maintenance work in the future.

Hydrostatic lubricator installed.
Hydrostatic lubricator with top of boiler and throttle in view.

D&R #9 Work Session Scheduled for July 30, 2022

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Fletch’s crew will be holding an EXCITING volunteer session on the D&R #9 this Saturday, July 30.  If the weather holds, we are hoping to get that first coat of paint on the #9’s tender.  Start time will be 10 AM at the south end of Coach Shed #1.  If the weather changes, or we run into some unforeseen circumstance where we cant paint the tender, we will shift back over to the locomotive and continue to work on the many tasks over there. 

I am sad to report that Fletcher and I will be out of town this weekend, so we won’t be able to attend.  But we will have an able-bodied crew on the ground, led by Steve Pahl.  Hope you can make it.  – Jason Reiman

D&R #9: June 20, 2022 Volunteer Session Report

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Fletch and his crew got together on a Very Hot day this last Monday. We took our normal precautions with frequent breaks under our awning, and drinking lots of water. Even with that, the sun felt like it was hovering 2 feet over our heads – LOL. But we pushed through and had a dirty, but great work session.

While we wait for the tender to get painted, we decided to start focused work on the Locomotive cab. We used grinders to get down to bare metal on half the cab roof, and some walls of the cab interior. Once the rust and old paint were removed, we applied a good quality, red metal primer. We hope this coat will provide a good level of protection on the metal skin until it gets some paint. Fletch did a lot of work inside the cab, while the rest of the crew worked on top of the cab. Now I have a better understanding of the phrase, “like a cat on a hot tin roof”.

We also got a look at the mahogany cab windows and doors that received a coat of primer from the restoration department’s last work session. They look great, and many thanks to Owen Hughes for his work. Finally, many thanks to Steve Pahl and Jay Slinde for all their help last Monday.

Once we identify our next work session, we will let you all know. Hope to see you there. – Jason Reiman

Installing the Throttle Rod, Part 2

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This post is a follow-up to the 2020 post Installing the Throttle Rod.

One of the next steps at SPEC Machine has been to finish the installation of the throttle rod and handle on the backhead of the boiler.  Many of the new parts were shown in the December 25, 2020 update and now they have found their final home.  The chromed end of the throttle rod has been mated to the long reach rod and is being fed through the boiler to the throttle proper.  The half-lap and bolted connection is per the C&NW drawings and replaces the threaded coupling that was found when the throttle rod was disassembled.

Throttle rod installation in progress.

The packing gland was installed to properly position the rod so the throttle handle anchor could be properly located and studded to the boiler per the C&NW drawing. 

Throttle packing gland and throttle handle anchor installed.

As another part of the 3-dimensional chess moves, the throttle handle support was mocked-up to check not only for correct placement of the handle but also proper clearance over the gauge-cocks and around the boiler stays. 

Throttle handle support mock-up to check for clearances.

The original support was an “L” shape with the short leg pointed down.  The new support has the short leg pointed up because the new boiler has a stay rod in the way of the old mounting.  Here is a look at the completed assembly with the support studded to the backhead.  The anchor does have a dog-leg in it per the C&NW drawings.  It also does connect squarely at the stud end even though the camera lens distortion makes it look differently.

Throttle support.

Last but not least is a look down the top of the boiler from the throttle handle down to the throttle itself.

View of both the throttle and throttle rod.

In the next update: Installing the hydrostatic lubricator

D&R #9 Work Session June 20th

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Fletch’s crew will be holding a volunteer session on the D&R #9 next Monday, June 20. Start time will be 10am at the #9 (located behind Mid-Continent’s Car Shop building). We plan on working a slew of smaller tasks such as windows, and other ancillary hardware that is currently in storage.  Hope to see you there.

– Jason Reiman, Project Lead