Ok, question for those of you who have worked with saddle tank steam engines. What is involved with removing a saddle tank from an Alco 0-4-0ST?? Keeping in mind, that this situation has seen the engine outside for many many many (did i say many?) years. I don't know what kind of thread this will create, so you can PM me if need be.

Ken Jones Jr.
Niagara Falls Railway Museum
http://www.nfrm.ca

I've never worked on a saddletank, but I presume penetrating oil and heat if necessary, which it probably will be. I presume its this one? Sounds like a fun project.

http://www.nfrm.ca/hepc46.php

Worked on many. Apart from the obvious such as removing all pipe attatchments, bolts securing the tank to the running board brackets and to the boiler shell at the cab end, whatever also might be at the smokebox end, the critical thing is to lift it straight up and level so as not to cock and jam on the dome or stack.

Not all the points of attatchment might be used on your engine - but make sure before you try to lift. I have never had the stack bind in the hole (assuming the tank extends all the way forward), but I presume it may be wise to measure to make sure it will clear.

The easiest lift I did of this kind was using a forklift on either side to raise both at once slowly. If anything jams in this process, you can jiggle the tank a bit to free it, and it won't want to swing around like it would if you used a crane, possibly damaging something.

Best wishes. They are sweet little engines, and economical.

Dave

The tank would need to come off the engine to get to the asbestos on the boiler. This engine is not operable, and will most likely never be returned to service. The wheels are worn very badly, the boiler is still it's original, and it hasn't been fired in over 40 yrs. The owner of the engine wanted to get the asbestos off, and asked if i knew what was involved with removing the tank.

Ken Jones Jr.
Niagara Falls Railway Museum
http://www.nfrm.ca

A point of curriosity: I seem to recall having heard that saddle tank locomotives were often unlagged under the tank. This would make good sense, since the tank itself would provide good insulation. And as a bonus, the waste heat coming off the boiler would preheat the feed water to some limited degree. (Presumably not a whole lot given the volume of water involved, but anything is better than nothing.) I'll be currious to hear what you find. Would anyone else here care to confirm/debunk this beautiful/horrible rumor?

Sincerely,
David Ackerman

I have always found tank locomotives as having the boiler fully insulated. Any heat absorbed by the water in the tank would be tiny compared to the heat lost to and carried away by the air flowing around the boiler.

Remember, an injector will not pick up water (will not operate) much hotter than 130-150 degrees, so the concept of transferring boiler heat to the saddle water tank would likely not work well at all. How can the heat transfer process and therefore the water temp be regulated? That is why the boiler was lagged and jacketed in the same manner as a tender-equipped locomotive.

I have stripped one of them, and it was insulated.

We lifted with an overhead crane and had a couple of guys with bars to help her off the dome and stack. Take some time and wash the crud out of the saddletank before you pick it up. You can lighten the weight some by doing that.

Ken