Well a little bit of good news. The city managed to temporarily brace closed the coal access doors. I hope it keeps unwanted people out.

Now onto a request. Does anyone have any experience with capping off a coal tender? It is thought that if the coal doors and cab doors are secure, then there would be no needd to cap of the coal tender. This is not correct as the weather and unwanted persons are getting inside the coal tender causing damage etc. I thought about a sheet steel cover that was curved to allow water to run off and possibly an accesxs hatch in the top? Any ideas??

Your idea is a good one; the sheet steel cover would shed snow and rain, and keep the coal compartment from rotting out. It sounds like you have the resources to make a substantial cover from steel and secure it properly.

A number of years ago, RMNE covered the coal compartment of our CPR #1246's tender. We used 2x lumber, plywood and roll roofing. The "lid" was peaked just like a house roof (the 2x were the rafters), and was fastened to the angles at the top edge of the coal compartment using common c-clamps under the roof. This was a cheap and effective method that worked well for us. One of our people commented that it gave the loco the look of one operating "north of the Arctic Circle".

A substantial steel cover would probably hold up better in a high-vandalism area; our locomotive was not subjected to that problem. This is something that is a must for a display steam locomotive (or one stored for long periods of time), as it cuts down on weather damage and eliminates an "entrance point" for vandals.

Make any access cover so that it latches from the inside, as any exposed latch or lock or hasp will not survive very long under assault from miscreants, no matter how heavy you might think said latch/lock/hasp is.

Howard P.

Razor Wire, NY

Thanks Howard.
The cover would be tack welded onto the coal tender. Once the cover is in place, then the coal doors can be repaired as part of the cab restoration and then the tender could be used for storage etc.

Go back and read the Gainesville Midland aticle again. Pictrures of a coal bin roof included.

dave

Dave I tried a seach and couldnt find it??

Click on ARCHIVES and scroll down to April 4, 2005.

dave