The Austin & Texas Central Railroad is searching for documentation regarding the late 40's practice of the C&O railroad that built up cylinder saddles from stock steel rather than casting them. We MAY be placed in a position of having to replace the cylinder saddle on the fireman's side of SP 786, an ALCO Mikado built in 1916. If so we hope to use this build up process with the idea that it will produce a part more cheaply, more quickly and better than we could do by casting. I have sent a query to the C&O Museum in Clifton Forge, but while I await their reply I am expanding my search.<p>Any help would be appreciated.<p>Bill Nash<br>Brakeman & Webmaster<br>A&TC RR<br>www.main.org/flyer<br>



william_nash@compuserve.com

Hey Bill;<p>You don't need to go that far back - welded cylinder asemblies are a modern fact of life in Eastern Europe, Australia, and in other places where steam lived a lot longer and technologies kept pace. <p>Can you come up with a drawing for the saddle half you need? We can probably get it fabricated and annealed in the workshops in Poland. <p>Dave<br>



lathro19@idt.net

Another suggestion: Meiningen Works.<br>The No. 1 Steam locomotive repair shop in Europe.<br>http://www.th-online.de/firmen/Dampflokwerk_Meiningen/dlengl.htm



Meiningen Works, Germany
bmic@nynas.com