Links to some of Joe Shaw's excellent photos of the 763 on her way to a new life with the Ohio Central.

http://www.krunk.org/~joeshaw/pics/temp ... bria-1.jpg
http://www.krunk.org/~joeshaw/pics/temp ... 3nkp-1.jpg
http://www.krunk.org/~joeshaw/pics/temp ... nkp763.jpg
http://www.krunk.org/~joeshaw/pics/temp ... 39nw-1.jpg

The very nice N&W C31 caboose on the rear is actually privately owned. If you look closely, you can see the small reporting marks under the number. At one time, the owner was considering repainting it in it's as-delivered Wabash blue paint scheme.

While I enjoyed seeing the engine in Roanoke, it's good that it's going back to it's home turf.

I'd like to know how they finagled pulling the main rods and then re-installing the rear rods, since that engine has forked big end main rods that the rear rods normally fit into. I'm sure they did some interesting jury-rigging to make that work out.

Gary -

NW #518539 ex-Wabash? Are you sure?

Les

Thanks for the great pics! anyone have a route, timeline. I'd love to see her on the way.

NKP berks do not have the arrangement on the mainrods you are thinking of. They have standard mainrods with floating bushings on the big end. The fork you are thinking of is on the parallel rod between number 2 and 3 drivers. A pin connects this rod to the one going to driver number 4.

John Bohon

[quote="

NW #518539 ex-Wabash? Are you sure?

Les[/quote]

Les, The caboose was built in the late 60's like all the C31's. Blue was it's as delivered color. The "Wabash blue" that I was refering to was from the period between 1963 and 1970. Herman Pevler of the Wabash was president of the newly merged company, and eveything that wasn't nailed down in that era got painted "Wabash" (or "Pevler") blue.

Les, The caboose was built in the late 60's like all the C31's. Blue was it's as delivered color. The "Wabash blue" that I was refering to was from the period between 1963 and 1970. Herman Pevler of the Wabash was president of the newly merged company, and eveything that wasn't nailed down in that era got painted "Wabash" (or "Pevler") blue.[/quote]

Gary -

Thanks for the clarification. I knew athe subject caboose wasn't ex-Wabash as all of the steel cabooses on the Wabash were offset cupola. NO center cupolas. It is rather ironic however, that the Wabash DID have some WOODEN center cupola cabooses; all purchased second hand from the N&W in the mid-1930's!

Les

John,

Well I would defer to you except for the fact that I personally spent several hours working with the NKP 765 crew on this very bushing and got well-aquainted with the main rod/3-4 side rod arrangement on these engines.

Here's a photo of the NKP 765's main rod/3-4 side rod assembly during its most recent overhaul from their webpage:

http://www.765.org/photogallery/locomotiverestoration_files/Media/.....

This photo clearly shows that the 3-4 side rod does fit into a fork in the main rod big end. It's held in this position by a press-fit steel bushing that goes in the big end of the main rod. A floating bronze bushing rides between the steel bushing in the main rod big end and the #3 driver crank pin.

One thing interesting with the NKP 763 is that the 3-4 side rods appear to have been borrowed from one of the Wheeling & Lake Erie 2-8-4's as they are shaped differently at the #4 driver bushing from the normal NKP Berk side rods.[/url]

I stand corrected. I had tried to look for this detail on a photo of 770 taken slightly from the front of the mainrod and thought I could see the hex nut on the pin. Looking again it must be grease or dirt in the photo. Now that you show me your picture I think I remember the rod is rather far out on the end of the pin on the number 4 driver. It has been 20 years since I last eyeballed a berkshire in person and I apologize for the mistake.

Looking at the second photo of the 763 under magnification it appears they have put a spacer block both behind and in front of the rod to number 4 driver on the big end of the rod. If so this block would hold the rod in the proper alignment with the pin and allow them to move the engine safely. If I am wrong I hope someone will enlighten me. It is an interesting situation.

John Bohon

Three wooden spacers, greased abundantly for good measure.

I love high-tech steam modifications! :-)

so....any word (or even better, PICS!) did 763 make it to her new home OK?

No pics at the moment, but 763 is indeed safely arrived at Morgan Run.

Ohio Central Steam Dept. website updated with new pics and story...Congrats to everyone involved!
http://ocsteam.com/763/index.html