The WW&F Railway Museum in Maine last week kicked off a major effort to raise $130,000 to construct two new boilers. The "21 Campaign" will raise funds for new boilers for workhorse No. 10 and for No. 11, a planned reconstruction of the original WW&F's No. 7, a 1907 Baldwin 2-4-4 Forney scrapped in 1937. The numbers of the two locomotives equal 21, thus the name of the campaign.

As funds come in, the two boilers will be constructed sequentially. The nearby Boothbay Railway Village, which is a code-certified boiler shop, will construct the boilers. The WW&F will lend its two riveting machines to Boothbay, and through a cooperative partnership, museum volunteers will participate in parts of the project. Donations are being accepted through http://www.fundrazr.com/21campaign.

No. 10 has been the primary motive power at the museum since its arrival in 1999. A recent ultrasonic inspection of its boiler revealed multiple defects, which were confirmed by additional testing, dating from its manufacture in 1959, necessitating its immediate replacement. We will concentrate on No. 10 first, and once it is returned to service, all efforts will concentrate on the second boiler.

The Build 11 Project has been underway informally for several years. Numerous drawings and patterns have been produced, and the pony truck wheelset and several small components have been manufactured. Watch the progress at www.facebook.com/wwandf21campaign

One neat aspect of the boiler for #11 (the second boiler to be constructed as part of this endeavour) and of special interest to RYPN readers is that it will be riveted. From the campaign announcement:

Because we value authenticity, #11 will be a reconstruction of #7 (built in 1907 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works). Our desire is to represent the era from which the original was born. Rather a replica built using modern construction techniques, #11 will be the direct result of the technology and production methods available at the time of original construction; the details of design and fabrication make up the heart of the machine. With this in mind, we intend to construct an all-riveted boiler for number 11 according to BLW standard practice, with only slight modifications to meet current ASME code.

The new boiler for #10 will use riveted and welded construction.

No. 10 had a new boiler built in 1959? Interesting. Is there more info available on the boiler and the defects?

Yes, when number #10 was regauged by the Edaville from 30" to 24" gauge it also had a new, boiler constructed as did the Monson and B&SR engines. This new boiler was slightly larger to increase capacity. The dead giveaway for the larger boiler is that the boiler diameter was increased but the smokebox was the same diameter, creating a large step between the boiler and the smokebox.

There were several defects in the boiler. Most stemmed from using incorrect welding procedures for the given application. During a boiler inspection this winter some minimally invasive testing was done on several stays which revealed cracks developing in the staybolt welds. Due to this discovery the situation was further explored and found to exist elsewhere. There was also a flaw in the procedure used for attaching the steam dome to the boiler barrel.

Due to the multitude of flaws and the age of the boiler it was determined by our Master Mechanic, in coordination with our board that the best course of action would be to construct a new boiler.

The 21 Campaign seeks to take advantage of the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm we gain as a result of return #10 to service with the construction of #11's boiler and the continued construction of this locomotive

A question I forgot to ask yesterday: Will the State of Maine and the FRA be okay with riveted construction? (The WW&F is currently an insular operation, but it may fall under FRA jurisdiction at some point in the future.) I love the idea of having a riveted boiler for No. 11, but I had thought riveted lap-seam construction was a no-no in most jurisdictions. (Perhaps I'm mistaken about this?)

-Philip Marshall

Hi Philip,

Good to meet you over the weekend.

In short, Lap Seam is not the same as Riveted. You use rivets when making a lap seam, but the reverse is not always true.

That said, someone started a separate boiler thread, which should be getting some response from those more knowledgeable than I.

Regardless, anyone interested in helping us out - we'd love to have you on board with the 21 Campaign!

Thanks, Ed. It was good to meet you finally as well.

Yes, I saw the other thread and look forward to getting some clarification of the riveted fabrication issue from those who are much more knowledgeable!

-Philip Marshall

What is the WW&F? So many of the posts here just give the initials for the railroad or museum it leaves many of us in the dark. Please take the one or two seconds to type out the name.

Wiscasset, Waterville, & Farmington: http://wwfry.org

Blueprint of #11.
(drawing by Jason Lamontagne)

Since riveted construction is part of the ASME code, as long as the State of Maine subscribes to ASME, they should already be OK with it.

Regarding the FRA, 99.99% of the boilers under its jurisdiction are of riveted construction. The way that the FRA system is set up, every boiler that passes a 1472 SDI is a new boiler in their eyes, a new boiler with a fifteen year life span. Whether that boiler is actually brand new, or one hundred plus years old is of no difference in their eyes.

Riveted lap seam longitudinal joints became obsolete one hundred plus years ago, and were replaced with riveted butt joints. That is one reason why a lot of older engines were reboilered in the 'teens and 'twenties. Lap seams on circumferential joints are not an issue and remain state of the art for riveted boilers to this day.

See drawings of the types of joints here.

Thanks for the clarification, Kelly.

-Philip Marshall

Today, 4 days into the 21 Campaign, we have raised over $2,750 of our $130,000 goal. While this might not seem like much, it is amazing progress, and we at the WW&F are thankful and grateful for the support that has been afforded to us. To put this into perspective, if 1/3 of .1% of the U.S. population gave $1.00 each tonight, we would meet our goal tomorrow. Another way to put it in perspective: by raising just $250 a day, this campaign would be over in less than two years. In the past 4 days, we averaged just under $700 per day.

If projects like building boilers using traditional construction techniques, building a reconstruction of a 1907 28-ton outside frame Baldwin, or simply returning a great locomotive to service are of interest to you, consider donating to the project, sharing it with friends, or becoming actively involved in the process as a volunteer.

We have begun tooling up for the project, including the repair of riveting machines donated by Mack Boiler and Sheet of Syracuse, NY. One, a squeeze riveter, is now operational and was recently used to rivet switch components. The other, a Deep throat riveter, has had its mechanical components cleaned and was recently tested under air.

These machines will be employed by our boiler builder, Boothbay Railway Village, to efficiently and accurately produce riveted boilers for #10 and #11.

Find more details at http://www.facebook.com/wwandf21campign
Donate at http://www.fundrazr.com/21campaign

The WW&Fry's deep throat riveter after a rebuild at the museum. The riveter dates from the late 1870's early 1880's and will be used in building no. 10's and 11's boilers.

https://fundrazr.com/21campaign

To see the deep throat riveter in action, visit:
https://youtu.be/akdBHaWtd9s

As of this morning, the 21 Campaign has raised over $8000! Please help us in any way, if you can.