It would be nice if SNHS could work something out with the Gravity Slope Colliery in Archbald

Will the overspringing still be an issue with a loaded tender?

The overspringing is not an issue at all anymore. It's been corrected

Discovering that the 26 frame was bent came to light when the engine was first trammed by ST. The bores did not line up with the rear of the frame as it was suppoed to. A quick check along the top of the frame with a straight edge revealed the fact that the frame had a 3/4" hump in it over the length of the frame. Closer examination revealed that the frame was bent at the pedestal jaw openings. Mostly at the forward axle opening.
To straighten things out, the first set of binders were removed and with a jack at the front and rear of the locomotive and with a chain over the frame at the box opening anchored to the rails below, the front jack was raised beyond the point of straightness then relieved, This was carefully done numerous times until the frame was straight above the first box openings and the correct measurments taken at the top and bottom of the shoe and wedge faces, met the blueprints without having any pressure on the jacks or chain. A new pair of pedestal binders were made to match the toe spacing and bolted up tight. The second and third box openings were treated the same, one at a time. When all three box openings were complete at the binders up tight, the frame was straight within less than 1/64" over it's length. The cylinder bores also lined up to within 1/16" of where they were supposed to be.
How the frame was bent remains a mistery. It could have something to do with the huge dent in the 1" thick cast steel pilot beam right next to the coupler. But, nowhere is this incident recorded. The odd part was that new binders were made to fit the bent frame and the non standard taper of the shoe and wedge face and new custom fit shoe and wedges were also made so that the standard axle spacing was achieved.
It would be interesting if these old lokies could talk.

Is there a risk of introducing cracks with all that frame bending?

The frame bent back quite easily. Low carbon steel is quite soft. With the 6 or less bending attempts that were introduced to get things back to straight, there was hardly "lots" of bending compared to the bending and twisting that the frame sees in actual service.

Thanks for the details. I think many locomotive frames are bent during the course of there active lives and never get straightened. Then the running gear wears out faster then it should and then gets rebuilt more often. The locomotive then gets the reputation of being a maintenance problem child. All that dysfunctional energy {stress} has to go somewhere. You may have some leeway you can adjust for, but I can see a severe bend really causing problems down the road. Very interesting repair, again thanks for the details. John

She's a yardgoat, not hauling the express down the mainline. So, it's time for an overhaul in 1940 and when you drop the binders you discover the frame issue. You need to make new shoes and wedges anyhow, so you alter them rather than deal with the frame issue and get her back into productive service fast, and she does just fine that way in her service - so well that it lasts that way for decades. Great illustration of industrial or shortline railroading mechanical creativity and pragmatism.

Not everything needs to be fixed all the time depending on circumstances. I think of these kinds of things as patina and history made manifest in the physical fabric of the artifact, and part of the telling of the story.

Bruce did a great job explaining how the problem was dealt with which will benefit the rest of us if we need to do something like that in the future, and achieved very good results. Thanks for the lesson.

dave

A little treat for y'all this morning, courtesy of the official Steamtown facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

The cab is back!

Here are some extra photos, taken with my "good" camera.

A little bit after the crane rested the cab onto the boiler. The cab is bolted on to make sure the new floor panels are fit in place, and that the various pipes can get out in the holes provided. When all plumbing is done, there will be a test fire.

Not exactly a close-up, but here is the injector.

Engineer's side view.

Right before the track mobile pushes her back in place. Bruce Mowbray posted a few shots on the Facebook Group page of how they placed the cab on the boiler. The loco was actually at the back wall, and the track mobile pulled it forward where the crane could place the cab on it. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 755&type=1

Seven bolts on each side. The cab will come off again as work proceeds, but she is looking more solid everyday.

Given that it has been almost 5 months since the last post on the progress of this work, I have been looking for new information. This article on this weekend’s RailFest in Scranton has two items of interest.

http://citizensvoice.com/news/steamtown-preps-for-railfest-1.1740934

The photo of Superintendent Debbie Conway posed in front of 26 shows that the fireman’s side piston is not installed on the loco. This prompted me to look back on this thread. Photos posted on January 31, 2013 show the pistons installed, as do photos posted on May 7&9. Photos posted on November 4 show the “piston caps” removed (with the pistons still visible in place) but there is no comment as to why they have been removed. A post on January 6, 2014 shows both pistons have been removed from the loco. I could not find any comment as to why this was done. As I am not familiar with shop procedure for an overhaul like this, I’d appreciate if someone would explain why the pistons would be installed and then removed. Also, if anyone knows when the pistons will be reinstalled, please post.

The second item in the story that I noticed is this quote from supervising exhibit specialist Barbara Klobucar, the person who is the supervisor of the shop:

“She’s ready once we get the (FRA) paperwork finished,” Klobucar said. “Then we can button her up and put fire in her.”

Again, I only have a slight familiarity with the regulations pertaining to boilers, but my impression is that most of the “FRA paperwork” for a process like this (such as the mapping of the boiler and the Form 4 measurements and calculations) is done up front and that, at this point in the assembly process, the FRA’s main concern is a successful hydro test. If someone could please clarify the basic regulatory process as far as what “FRA paperwork” should be done at different milestones in an overhaul like this, and particularly what FRA documentation should be occurring at this point in 26’s rebuild, I’d appreciate it.

Thank you.

Looks like a lot of good progress has been made on Baldwin 26. Both Photos Courtesey of Steamtown NHS (Facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/15128656821722 ... =1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/15128656821722 ... =1&theater

I don't know why, but the steam town shops look a bit too clean and organized... at least in comparison to previous photos. Maybe for safety purposes during RailFest tours?

/Andrew

Today, the National Park Service posted two photos of 26 on their FB page. According to the NPS post, it has been about 14 years since the loco was mated to the tender. Photos show that the spring adjustment to the tender springs worked nicely and that the tender appears to be at the correct height.

According to the NPS post, 26 has not been fired up since December, 1999.

The pistons are still out, as are the valves and valve gear. There is no discussion as to whether or not the "FRA paperwork" mentioned in the "Citizen's Voice" article dated August 24, 2014 by Supervising Exhibit Specialist Barbara Klobucar, the person who is the supervisor of the shop, has been completed nor is any information provided as to the nature of that FRA paperwork.

NPS photos, Kenny Ganz

After all these years of 26 being torn down, I am surprised by how large she really is now that the tender is added.
There is still a lot of work to be done. Monday, Oct. 20, the pistons will be picked up and taken into the shop. They will still need some machining, and the piston rods will be attached. This will allow for the final assembly of the running gear. While some pieces have been sitting on full display for 4 years, they have developed a light layer of rust that will need removal.

Does anyone know of a site where we can view that "Baldwin Olive Green" color next to other color swaths so we can make sure we are accuratly seeeing it?

Whomever did the stainless steel sheet metal covers on the sides of those cylinders did a fantastic job. I'd eagerly study a post on the making of those all by themselves. He wins the award for best cylinder side covers ever made (the actaul prize is still being determined, but will probably be an offer to make more of the same!)

I can only imagine what the boiler backhead jacket is going to look like, maybe he's a Copper-smith too!