Ran across this old ad for a wire rope sling for lifting engines. I would presume that, given the rotted state of smokeboxes on display engines, that this is not a safe way to lift them today. Any comments?

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?m ... o_Lift.jpg

I would have expected the strops/chains/wires whatever to be connected to the frames if lifting the entire loco.........

Roebling was the designer and builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. Think he had a part of the Golden Gate Bridge or he did that one also.

Roebling's company built the Golden Gate Bridge's cables, but they did not design the bridge.

The District's web site has lots of good information on its design and construction:

http://goldengatebridge.org/research/ConstructionBldgGGB.php

The locomotive in the picture is a little smaller than most and perhaps it is alright to lift it this way as long as a lot of blocking and strapping of important parts has been done.

This photo though reminds me of when the 1522 derailed and a company was brought in to rerail it. From what I heard was that straps were placed around the boiler then they just lifted the engine damaging it.

There are jacking points on an engine and I would imagine if everything else was taken care of then the jacking points could become lifting points.

There are a lot of photos of engines in the erecting halls being flown around by cranes. I am not sure if these engines did or did not have straps around the boiler.

If I recall correctly, engines were lifted in the backshop with a sling around the front part of the smokebox and they had attachments that grabbed the back of the frame. On an engine with a trailing truck, it was usually the crosspiece where the rockers worked.

In O. Winston Link's book, "The Last Steam Railroad in America," 1995, on pages 28 and 29, he has a study of a Y-6 2180 2-8-8-2 being "wheeled" on it's front engine. The first photo shows the rear engine attached to the boiler and a lifting strong back under the cab. The whole lash-up is suspended about 20 feet above the floor by the overhead crane. The front of the locomotive is held by a heavy wire sling wrapped under the boiler just forward of the stack. Since the smoke box front is off, it is easy to see that there was no shoring inside the smoke box. The only allowance for the process is a cut-out in the jacketing where the sling goes.

In "Norfolk & Western Class J" 2000, by Kenneth L. Miller, on page 24, there is a photo of number 600 being wheeled with apparently the same rigging. In this case the sling is behind the cylinders and most of the streamlining is applied.

In Eric Hirsimaki's "Lima, the History," 1986, pages 282/283, there is a two page photo of what appears to be a nearly complete Union or Santa Fe, (10 drivers, two wheel rear truck but no front truck applied in the construction photo) being lifted over another engine begin erected with a strong back behind the rear truck and a double cable sling on the front six inches of the smoke box. This is a side photo and it can't be seen if there is any shoring in the smoke box. Of note, on page 295, there are two photos from the front of engines being lifted with set of solid "J" hooks under the cylinders. There is a chain fall attached between the J hooks under the engine to ensure the hooks don't spread.

In the Western Maryland's Hagerstown backshop locomotives were lifted by the lifting pads on the rear of the frame and a sling around the smoke box. Much like todays park engines the only time this arrangement caused much trouble was when long stored engines were being returned to service after the depression. With rusted out smokeboxs the lifting slings went right through the smokebox and they had to relocate the sling under the boiler.

It was common practice to lift locomotives in this manner. Hanging on the wall of the backshop at Spencer are the spreaders used under the rear of the locomotives. I think the original spreaders were used to lift 2101 in 1978 when she was in the old Reading backshop for overhaul. I am also pretty sure they used a sling under the smokebox to lift the front of the 2101. The only time I was in that shop a diesel was being lifted using those same spreaders.

John Bohon