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I have two comments: WOW and rock on!!!

Ya what he said and thanks 4 the update.

Tom C.

Thanks for a tender note.

Is that Carl welding there on the right front corner?

Jim

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Neat.

How are the cosmetic rivets applied? actualy riveted or secured some other way.

thanks,
Jess

You folks do great work. Thanks for keeping things steamy! Any decision yet on restoring #4?

Thanks for the post. I used to weld stainless {long ago}and it was always good to be carefull about distortion on long welds or light guage material. So did they just skip weld to keep the distortion down? Also I too would like to know how folks apply "cosmetic" rivet heads. I am guessing that they are welded on like our old stud welder machine would do? The reason I am asking is that all the tender tanks at Mid Continent are junk at best. The Polson #2 might be better I don't know as I have never taken an inside look. But we have a lot of tank building to do in the future and I think about these things as I know they will be coming down the pike someday soon. Wish I lived closer to PA, I would love to see your shops and the work that is done there. Thanks again, John.

Question,
What will become of the old tender?

Len.

A modern, simple solution to an old problem.

Expensive initially but cheap in the long run.

This is a first; I think there will be many more stainless steel tenders.

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Facinating method for rivet heads. When I welded for a living we had a stud machine that was old even then, but worked great. Usually the studs were for covers or lids on various machines, nothing real critical. I like the engineuity of your system. The shop I worked in didn't specialize in stainless, but we did it once in a while. I have often thought of what I would do if I were in charge of building a tank and how I would go about it. The distortion thing is even a problem with mild steel. Not near as bad, but the welded seams would show up no matter what you do. I guess if some of us noticed a welded seam through the paint it wouldn't matter that much, model railroaders might pick it apart though {no offence guys, I model HO too, as well as 12" to the foot guage}. Thanks for sharing your expertise. John.

[redacted]

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Excellent illustration of the fake rivet process. I'll bet Tommy Davis, longtime master mechanic at Loveland, is smiling down from above at the work the Strasburg shop has done to keep his engine alive. Having been in essentially continuous service since 1924, old No. 90 is worthy of a history book of its own, like the one the Colorado RR Museum has for its 346.