We have made considerable progress on the cosmetic restoration of Chesapeake Western DS4-4-660 #662 for VMT this spring. If the weather holds it looks like we may meet our goal of finishing it by the end of June so it can "debut" at VMT with 1776 in July. 90% of the metalwork is now done and we expect to finish it up by Memorial Day. Our painter, Chris McBride, is scheduled to paint the unit the week after. Re-assembly is now moving along nicely, including cab interior work. Below is a link to our Facebook page showing some of the work done in the past couple of months.

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=nf#!/media/ ... 749&type=1

I'm constantly amazed by what a small but dedicated crew of volunteers can accomplish. We have less than 20 people active in the Mechanical Dept., and usually have 10 or fewer present at most work sessions. So far this year we have put in over 1600 man-hours on 662 and other projects, including maintenance on our operating equipment and providing the operating crews and equipment for the special events at VMT.

Gary,

I am amazed at the progress that has been made on 662! It is hard to believe it sat all those years as a "Lost Engine" in the scrap yard. Great job!

Are any of the Baldwin's even possibly operable in the future? I know it's been discussed, but I didn't take notice.

Richard,

The operational potential of this Baldwin was discussed in pervious threads on this magnificent restoration.

Maybe you can take notice by using the search feature.

David

Gary:
You and the rest of the Roanoke crew have done a fantastic job !!!!!!!! As a Baldwin diesel fan I was thrilled to see them saved and you guys have gone above and beyond on the quality of restoration ! I can't wait to see the final finish coat ! Will you be applying some sort of builder's plates ?

Keep up the great work !

Kevin Kohls

From a Facebook photo caption:

The 662 has been in several floods and sat with uncapped stacks for close to 50 years. The prime mover is in rough shape and would take an enormous amount of time and effort (and money) to make operational again.

Thank you, Filmteknik.

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. A few of use worked again today. Fred & Lewis finished the masonite on the cab interior, and we got most all of the doors rehung on the hood. Kevin, we are planning on some replica plates for her.

I have just finished posting a few more pictures from today on the facebook page, showing the completed masonite in the cab and the engineers side doors hung. The two sheet metal corners needed at the nose will be reproduced this week and installed next weekend, bringing the metalwork to an end.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 749&type=1

Recent photos through today of the progress on 662.

http://www.facebook.com/messages/131849 ... 749&type=1

Her scheduled debut at VMT is in two weeks. We're in the reassembly and detailing phase now, so things are proceeding rather quickly.

is there any way to see the photos without belonging to face book not all of is belong.
thank You
Al

Absolutely amazing work! A real inspiration to the field!

I too am amazed at how good you are getting this unit to look. Now, to get those "cubic dollars" for operation. . .and how good might this look with your own 663?

Just dreamin' a little, just a little. . .

Al,
The facebook page is public, so it doesn't require that you have an account to view the photos. It will ask you a couple of times if you want to log in, but you can just ignore that.
Lewis

So the older color photo shows the locomotive in a green paint scheme and the restoration in blue. What eras are these from?

Richard Wilkens