Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. Porter 0-4-0T No. 58

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:58 am

Hot Metal wrote:

Those tenders were ingot mold cars that had a box added to the top of it for coal. I have not found any drawings of anything related to J&L South Side Works and its highly doubtful that such drawings still exist.

I have built a small tender for the loco using an inverted coal box that came out of the Wheeling Labelle Nail Co. plant in Wheeling, WV. In these photos its sitting on a Carpenter Steel car, but will sit on a car with a longer frame when its fully complete. The coal space holds about 1/3 of a ton and there is room for two seat boxes. I think it approximates well the mill's penchant for building saddle tank loco tenders out of whatever they had laying around.

That makes sense, and goes with industrial railroads in general (including loggers) improvising a lot. It explains why no tenders seem to be visible in any of Porter's photos, but one shows up in an in-service shot.

Rick Rowlands · **Posted:** Fri Nov 04, 2016 9:19 am

Every railroad needs a herald, even railroads that are currently 200 feet long. This is a modification of an older J&L steel logo.

The new cover plate for the saddle tank has been fabricated and placed on the tank for hole drilling. Amazingly Porter did not include any access holes into the tank so I cut a large opening in the top, framed it and made this cover. No problems with access now.

Rick Rowlands · **Posted:** Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:13 am

It has been quite a while since I have updated this thread, but I am sure that I have discussed the 58 on other threads.

At any rate, here is where we stand with the restoration.

The frame and running gear has been rebuilt. I am selectively replacing bushings and pins as money allows but generally the running gear is ready to be put back in service.

The rear platform, made up of several pieces of 2" and 4" steel plate, is being drilled and tapped for bolts to attach the plates to each other and to the rear of the frame. Originally that mass of weight was integral with the frame. I have made it removable.

The boiler repairs are nearing completion at JS Company. The major work included a partial front tube sheet, new smokebox bottom and reinforcing plate, one staybolt and new tubes. Generally we found that the boiler shell is so overbuilt that according to the NBIC we could lose 1/8" of shell thickness and still be thick enough for the full 200 psi boiler pressure. We do plan to run at a MAWP of 180 psi to stay in conformance with the Ohio historical boiler regulations.

I am hoping to get the boiler moved back to Youngstown sometime in mid to late February, mount it to the frame and start plumbing it back in with an expected first firing date as soon as the threat of freezing has passed, probably late March or early April.

When I come to the ATRRM conference in April it is my goal to have an operating steam locomotive to brag about!

Attachment:

2018-01-18 14.00.19 small.jpg [ 145.37 KiB | Viewed 5300 times ]

mldeets · **Joined:** Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:06 am **Posts:** 379

Fantastic news, Rick. I wish you continued success.....mld

NS6770fan · **Joined:** Sat May 19, 2018 10:03 am **Posts:** 195

Rick Rowlands wrote:

Some of you may be familiar with the extremely heavy 23" gauge 0-4-0Ts that Porter built for the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. to move ingot trains at their Pittsburgh Works. Several of them went to Crown Metal Products in Wyano, PA and two eventually made their way up to Benkart's Rigging in Cranberry, PA. In 1998 I stumbled across the locomotives, No. 58 and 59, and made a tentative deal with Mr. Benkart to purchase the 58 for $5,000.

However, I was saddled with the reality that I owned no land and really had nowhere to move it to, so that deal fell through. Benkart sorely needed the space that the locomotives occupied, and after my friend and I noticed that one of the cylinders on 59 had frozen and broke, Benkart decided to scrap the 59. Through a post here on RYPN we found a taker for the boiler, the Niles Canyon RR in California, and it went west, the frame was cut up and the drivers, rods and misc. other parts were set aside.

Since I have yet to see it posted, Rick and his team successfully acquired 59's boiler as per his recent YouTube post. Great job, Rick! Can't wait to see the Canadian locos back in the states as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzAgFmxct7M

Rick Rowlands · **Posted:** Thu Apr 22, 2021 6:02 pm

Thanks! Yes the boiler is here. We will evaluate it and put it in a storage container until we start work on it. The idea is to eventually put it on 58, then take 58's boiler off, do some work to it and then use it on one of the Canadian Porters.

Speaking of those locomotives, as soon as the Ontario covid restrictions are lifted we will be moving them. We are ready to go.

Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. Porter 0-4-0T No. 58

Who is online