String Lining

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1181

8 hours for steaming up sounds about right, maybe a bit less if it’s a warm, sunny day and She’s sitting outside.

Our shop compressors lack the capacity to run both 1392’s atomizer and blower, so 9000 gets to play air compressor too. From last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u01dqy0R0dY

We don’t run steam in the winter anymore, but in the past they would fill the boiler and tender while still inside, and the walk her out on shop air just far enough to get the stack outside. Lighting up would then proceed normally, the only diesel needed was for soaking some rags…

1392 normally burns re-refined used motor oil, but she did use up some “skunk diesel” from the tanks of other stored locomotives a few years ago. The re-refining process is supposed to remove water, antifreeze and other impurities from the oil but it always has some, so we blow air back through the tender’s oil tank just before lighting up, to mix it up nicely. Otherwise you are guaranteed to get a slug of “unburnables” and a flameout at the worst possible time. Many past oil spills came from this.

Her burner is mounted at the rear of the firebox, which seems to be a MLW trait. Alberta Prairie’s 41 (a Baldwin) is a front burner, and she always makes a blue haze no matter what the Fireman does. I am given to understand that is normal for front burners.

I can’t imagine doing a boiler washout in winter, but it had to be done. Making coffee must have been a full-time job for someone at the roundhouse! The resulting icicles must have been spectacular!

According to the CNRHA website the diesel 1392 met a unfortunate end in a Quebec landslide some years ago, and has been scrapped.

And you are right about the hazards of low oxygen levels in confined spaces, wasn’t there a fatal incident somewhere in BC not so long a

1182

And I almost forgot, the break-in running went very well today. 1392 is back to Her old self and ready to run for another 5 years.

1183

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the correct Canadian answer – one which I heartily wish had been far more prevalent and developed in late United States practice – came with ‘direct steam’ systems. I am presently working on truck-borne equivalents that can eliminate the issues inherent with trying to use ordinary designs of burner (which have very poor turndown, including control of the plume at reduced fire as appropriate for early stages of cold startup) or having to rely on passive circulation to prevent hot spots.

My recommendation for many years now has been to use the same approach to entering any confined space around a locomotive that one would use when handling a firearm: presume, don’t just assume that the thing is loaded and dangerous even when you have taken due precautions ‘otherwise’. This includes appropriate standoffs on ‘worn’ gauges or badges, to keep the part of you that needs to breathe far away from things like H2S that can stop breath expeditiously at mitochondrial level. Set up the protocol once, and set it up right, and then run it religiously.

1184

A short video from yesterday, giving Her some “light” exercise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFIcnNO5TX0

1185

LOVELY!!

Thank You! for the update!!

When getting ready for firebox staybolt inspection, it was customary to brush the soot off the sheets, and some poor F had to suit up in one of those throwaway paper coverall suits and tape wrists and hands, face mask and cap, then enter firebox and use wide brush to pull soot off metal.

Visibility NIL.

AWFUL, esp if boiler still warm = sweat.

Put Shop Air on turret and opened up blower FULL! at 90 PSI. Instant hurricane in firebox door, moving soot out thru tubes and stack. Cooler, too. Engine outside.

BE CAREFUL if washing out boiler when hot not long after blowing water out and removing all washout plugs. DO NOT look in washout holes in backhead with NAKED EYE and flashlight in adjacent hole to observe crownsheet. Wind change can blow steam from inside out.

You MIGHT consider looking around your area. As launch point for Oil Patch, there MUST be a free air compressor around somewhere, of the type on rubber once pulled around to power pneumatic drills in cities to break up sidewalks??

The reason is, there, even if some money had to be spent, it SAVES wear and tear on 567B? and auxiliaries in 9000, a true artifact, just for air for burner and blower. Just suggesting, mind you.

1186

This made me smile. The folks renovating the Dixie 4-8-4 in Nashville have proceeded to discover, and start analyzing, the Superior Soot Blower setup on the rear fluesheet/tubeplate … they don’t seem to have been aware of what these things were used for in a firetube boiler.

The idea appears to have been that soot would preferentially build up in places, and when the engine was re-started and brought back to speed after a stop, the aggregated soot would blow out, start fires, smut laundry, etc. So … buy a Superior Soot Blower, and activate it sometime in the period you are APPROACHING that station stop, with judicious use of the ‘blower’ arrangement in the front end if you need a little induced draft to run the cleanings through. Then you have a nice clean gas path for the actual start…

I will grant you that this is up there with the Elesco Steam Dryer, Nicholson syphons as crown-sheet protection, and the pictured explanation of Nathan drop plugs as actual safety relief devices in Super-Power fireboxes as watch-lubrication-grade snake oil. But it would sure move that soot!

1187

Thank you for the Video. She looks beautiful. Rode behing her about 15 years ago. A great operation. Loved every minute of that trip.

1188

FYI.,

Greyhound Cutting all Runs in Western Canada.

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/greyhound-canada-cancels-all-of-its-routes-in-western-canada-plans-to-cut-415-jobs-1.4006215

Thank You.

1189

You’re welcome, glad you guys liked it as much as I thought you would.

  • PDN.
1190

Turns out even they can’t make money in public transportation out here.

There are a few other bus services, like Red Arrow or Sun Dog on some in-province routes in Alberta.

1191

I have thought about that too, and will have to do some looking around. Unfortunately in our past experience free stuff is free for a reason, and usually comes with its own baggage. Numerous junk piles in the weeds out back are testaments to past good intentions. But you are right, saving unecessary wear on 9000 would be a very good thing.

She is a survivor, that unit. I’ve probably written this before, but while still in service 9000 was leading a freight in the Fraser Canyon when a boulder the size of a boxcar fell on her, and completely destroyed the Fireman’s side of the cab. Today the seam is only visible from the inside of the nose.

We very nearly lost her in a breakdown at the Museum about 10 or 15 years ago (before I started volunteering), just after starting the engine a connecting rod broke, and punched a hole in the oil pan. The Engineer was just outside putting away a water hose, raced over and had her shut down within seconds. Fortunately the block was not damaged, so that power assembly was replaced and the oil pan repaired, and she was soon back in service.

9000’s engine was rebuilt to 567BC specs while still in service on CN, I suspect at the same time as the rock incident. This modification eliminated the internal water leak issues that earlier 56

1192

Virtually nothing left for us in Saskatchewan. Guess all those retired boomers are going to have flashbacks to the 60’s and 70’s when hitchhiking was the way to get around. Same thing for the hundreds of Reserves. Airfare from the North is very pricey.

The Saskatchewan government killed their own bus services throughout the province, including us last May in the budget cuts. 20-40 cars would be waiting at the depot every single night for the parcel delivery. Not any more. The bus always had that ‘pup’ trailer behind and the cargo bays loaded.

To think that the Prairies were interlaced with rail to every community and passenger train service to everywhere and all that is gone is truly amazing. Oh well the .1% get richer and the great unwashed can fend for themselves.

I will not drive in the winter any longer … 1 November to 1 May no way.

1193

I have been involved in lifting the dome cover on and off by hand once before, never gonna do that again! Scary up there indeed, balanced on the handrails with no good place to step. Now we normally use the 250-ton Brownhoist “Big Hook” for that operation. Much safer, and not even a workout for that crane, don’t even need the riggers out.

I have helped remove, re-lap and re-install her throttle valve before, with ropes attached to all our tools. Fortunately there is enough room to get wrenches in there, as there is no good way to tie a string on a socket. It is indeed a interesting sight in there, but I have never gone fully inside. Next time we remove the throttle I will try, taking appropriate precautions for confined spaces and ventilation of course.

We plan to paint 1392 this week, if other work allows. You probably noticed in the video that her jacketing still bears

1194

I had completely forgotten about these!

More videos, inside the shop this winter. I hope a full documentary is forthcoming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULkiahTgbP4

The “Flyin Dutchman” works on diesels too. WARNING: CONTAINS LANGUAGE SOME MAY FIND OFFENSIVE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x0hbdycsxI

1195

Sanding Out.

Thank You!

I had not seen these videos, before!!

Lovely!

Interior views are great, and show what it is.

I Like this, and was MY preferred way ’ To Leave Town!! ’ but, PROHIBITED!!, IN BIG LETTERS!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUEa0r9DVwM

So, you did it when no one was looking, only once in a while.

The WHISTLE part of the whole ’ Rush ’ and the flapping of the flags, at speed.

Blowing correct reply for ’ Greens ’ on passing Diesel Trains was great too, and everybody waved like FOOLS!!

Makes up for all the Volunteer Hours in dirty, wet, cold, ignorant locations with burns, purple finger nails and torn flesh.

Memories!

My Father died Ten 10 Years ago, today, and ’ Leaving Town ’ like that made me smile.

Memories of streetcars, steam and canallers locking thru.

Bells and Whistles, another connotation, and, best at night.

Thank You.

PS.

Nice T car on rear from CN Mount Royal Tunnel Electric operation. These cars ’ hunted ’ badly when being pushed at 5

1196

Great videos… well done. What an effort.

I propose as many as possible Forum members meet here July 30, 31st and Aug 1st, a Civic Holiday in Canada for a ride behind steam. Make it our Woodstock, spontaneous and a grand old time.

1197

Was just going to sign off.

You Know, that is NOT a bad IDEA!!

Missed a bullet with Cancer in Dec., now they want a Pacemaker installed.

Doable by Air, too.

Thank You.

1198

My condolences, enduring a loss like that never gets easy. Glad we were able to brighten up your day a bit.

Seeing the smiles on our operating weekends does indeed make it all worth it. I always make sure to wash my overalls beforehand. But they can’t be perfect (gotta have some oil and/or grease stains), or else they don’t look authentic.

Good Eye!!! I was hoping you would notice. 6740 has been on permanent loan to the APRA from Alberta Prairie for around 20 years now, and has been our workhorse for most of that time.

Alberta Prairie acquired a whole bunch of those MU cars after they were withdrawn from service, they have rebuilt some but a couple have been in storage near Stettler ever since coming to Alberta.

I cannot emphasize enough how much we appreciate Alberta Prairie’s generosity with 6740, and this spring we were able to return a favour. Their 2-8-0 #41 has been re-tubed this year (at this time she is still out of service), and we donated most of the new set of firetubes. The APRA had purchased them eons ago for use in NAR #73, but she turned out to be too far gone and the tubes were put in a storage boxcar and forgotten about. Turns out CLC tubes fit a Baldwin, and we have also loaned them a set of tools that had originally come from the NAR’s Dunvegan shops, including a tube expander.

It is s

1199

If the two of you are going, I will take special pains to be there.

1200

I am definitely going this year. Been looking forward to it for a while now. If NDG and yourself (Overmod) commit then that would be beyond terrific. Hoping more Forum members can do the same. Wouldn’t that be something.