Just got the latest copy of Railfan/Railroad yesterday and an article said that Altoona Railroad Museum not only plans to put the engine back together once all the pieces have been collected, but to ALSO operate her in the yard at 'reduced boiler pressure'.
It also said that this project will start once the roundhouse is completed, (hopefully some time this fall) so that the re-restoration can restart in the roundhouse.
They are also looking into getting an expert in steam mechanics to assist/oversee/work on getting the K-4 back in service again.

Ladies and Gentlemen!? Prayers DO get answered.

Hey. Its a start, right?

I'm very glad to hear this, hopefully someone can stick to their words this time and finally get her running.

That's great news! Maybe one day she'll be on the mainline again (fingers crossed). I wonder what the reduced boiler pressure is going to be? 120 psi?

Don't get your hopes up, folks.

I'm guessing the steam might be 40-50 pounds--just enough to move her and toot a modified whistle.

It's the difference between a farm truck--or how about a baby tractor?--and a street-legal truck.

Well for those interested, here's the link to the article:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/529033.html

And for those who want the text to the article:

Moving K-4 steam engine still the goal
By William Kibler, bkibler@altoonamirror.com
POSTED: April 20, 2010

Locomotion is still in the works for the Railroaders Memorial Museum's historic K-4 steam engine, despite recent reports to the contrary, according to the museum's executive director.

Larry Salone said that it's true the museum board recently approved a plan that calls for the K-4 to be assembled for display at the museum in Altoona. But it's not true he's given up on making the locomotive run after about $1.6 million and 13 years of promises, problems, restarts, fitful progress and frustration.

Salone doesn't intend to settle for making the K-4 a static display, or even a static display with fire in the firebox and enough steam to blow the whistle, as board member Rudy Husband suggested last week.

Instead, Salone will present a plan to the board this week that calls for the famous locomotive to be running by early next year - not necessarily fast or on the open tracks pulling excursions - but under its own steam, at least.

"If that's the case, I think that's fantastic," said Dick Charlesworth, a former board member who was dismayed about last week's news.

"Blame it on me," Salone said of the misunderstanding.

"We all want the K-4 to come back and operate," Husband said Monday. "If he has a plan to do that, I'm sure it will be welcome."

Salone has been working on the K-4 problem since he took over the museum in fall 2007, he said.

A prerequisite will be completion of the long-delayed quarter-roundhouse in the yard to house the reassembly and to shelter the locomotive after it's put back together, he said. Other prerequisites include hiring a steam locomotive expert to finish and test the boiler at his shop and to supervise the reassembly in Altoona.

The museum should have enough money.

The museum will cover the cost of the quarter roundhouse with a $2.1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant obtained a year ago by state Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona, after a long battle.

It will comply with a 50-50 match by using about $2 million in match-eligible money it had previously spent above and beyond the required match for an earlier $1.6 million RACP grant. That comprised $1.4 million for museum yard work and $590,000 for the K-4.

The museum will pay for the additional work with $300,000 in unspent K-4 money, matched with museum income and donations already in hand and donation commitments.

The grant money must go for labor in Altoona and getting the locomotive running again, Salone said.

Most of the K-4 is in pieces in eight trailers in Altoona. The boiler, frame and tender remain in Steamtown, where it has been since the start of the project in 1996.

The museum hopes to begin the roundhouse construction in two or three months and complete it by early fall, Salone said.

Then it can get to work reassembling the K-4, which museum-goers can witness. The K-4 will start out chugging in the yard, going back and forth, to show it can go, he said.

"We don't want to have a debacle again," Salone said, referring to the 1988 breakdown that ended the last run of the K-4.

If the yard runs are successful, the museum can negotiate with track owners like the Everett or the Nittany & Bald Eagle railroads for permission to run an excursion, Salone said.

Norfolk Southern may be out, because it has a policy of not allowing steam locomotives run under their own power on its mainline tracks, Husband said.

There are also insurance issues, Salone said.

After it's running, experts can help the museum evaluate what additional improvements it would need to bring the K-4 up to Class I railroad standards, so it could travel fast, like it used to in its heyday, Salone said.

A static display isn't good enough, especially for younger people who never saw a steam engine run, Charlesworth said.

"When you see that thing operating - steam and smoke coming out of it, and you see it moving down the tracks," he said. "It's self-explanatory."

People were upset about last week's announcement, but it had a positive side, Salone said.

"It shows you there's still a lot of love and passion," he said.

40-50 psi you say? Unless they plan on sticking an air hose to the reservoirs from a stationary compressor, thats not quite enough to run a single-stage compressor let alone a cross-compound steam compressor efficiently...

Anyhow,

Last I recall, according to Mr. Musser from the wondrous Strasburg Railroad, the derated pressure from the most recent calculations put the boiler at around 120-150 MAWP if my memory serves correctly? That's including the thinner roof sheet and the lack of the extended crown bolts furnished with acorn cap nuts. Hopefully, one of the SRC steam gurus can further input on that matter.

Now, if the latter is the case, light locomotive operation can certainly be a possibility. I personally think that running the locomotive at derated pressure is a shame but due to the situations at hand, its certainly MUCH better than leaving it to sit in pieces either in Altoona or Steamtown.

Looks like cooler heads have prevailed after all! Steam is better than no steam period! With the K4 finally running, even if relegated to yard service, it provides a possible fund raising opportunity for the restoration to be completed the right way sometime in the future IMHO. Also, to put the pride of the PRR steam fleet back in service once again and further preserving it's history is, after all, the goal in any operation of a steam locomotive!

If they are allowed to run at reduced pressure, they will have a tremendous leverage to fund full and proper boiler reconstruction in the future. Even if the Altoona museum can only get two or three years of operation, it will still be sufficient to give them the necessary momentum for private fundraising. Yes, it means going back to the well for another $500,000 perhaps, but you do what you must. At least this way they are getting some value out of funds already spent.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

For steams sake let's hope that Mr. Salone is being genuine when he says that he intends to hire " a steam professional" to be in charge of the effort to return her to service.

One would certainly think that the disasterous results of his predesessors Andy Mulholland and Scott Cessna would have been stark enough to drive that point home??

Hope springs eternal!!

Ross Rowland

It would seem a very terrible shame to not deal with the roof sheet at this point. This will end up being another case where some statement is made along the lines of "it was just to far gone" or "it would have cost to much" or "you can only get so much out of these old machines". The reality is that right now, with 80% of the firebox being new, it would be in poor practice to not finish it properly.

Yet another debacle that Mr. Salone said they were going to avoid.

Cheers all, Jason

Ok, so if everyone goes through with this, when will they actually retrieve the Boiler, frame, and tender from the Steamtown shops? I could swear someone told me Steamtown already shipped them parts out already? Oh well.. it's a start, and seeing 1361 in yard duty wouldn't be bad at all, considering her current status.

I think the 1361 steaming about in the museum's yard is the highest and best use for this locomotive. It can become an integral part of the museum's educational experience, something that isn't possible when off the property pulling passenger trains. Also, not running on FRA trackage means that those regs don't have to be contended with. Reduced steam pressure also means less stress on the boiler.

Do you think that "Your Hand on the Throttle" type programs could be implemented in the future?

Hmmm... Less stress on the boiler? Well then we should better stop firing boilers and pressurizing air compressor reservoirs. Can they handle regular stresses of intended service if they are medicated and get an occasional nap perhaps?
Do we all realize that "those" FRA regs are a very very good thing? They are there for the purpose of safety, not something to be "contended"(definition of contended is:to strive or vie in contest or rivalry or against difficulties : struggle) with. A locomotive should be maintained to the same standards regardless of whether or not the FRA is involved. If one cannot afford or does not have the knowledge base on hand to do so means only that they should not be attempting to be involved within the operating realm of preservation.

do a run an engine for a day thing for the public. Probably keeping the heat down and pressure down will keep stresses off and prolong life, and getting it operational is the best preservation you can do for the engine..

Well said sir! As a member of a group who mirror federal regs under state jurisdiction there is a reason the FRA has mandated what it does. In both traction and railroad the thinking needs to be that regulations are not a hindrance but part of the operation.

Operating a boiler at 100%MAWP, 75%MAWP, or 50%MAWP really doesn't matter as far as stressing a boiler and milking it for maximum working life. What does matter are 1) Thermal Cycles - allowing it to go hot / cold / hot / cold, and 2) water chemistry.

If a boiler is operated at 200psi CONSTANTLY vs. 100psi CONSTANTLY it really doesn't "stress" the boiler as far a life expectancy. True, the stress within the boiler's components is higher at the higher pressure, but again, this is minimal compared to thermal cycling and chemistry. The only caveat is that at the higher loadings, there MAY be faster deterioration of certain components due to "stress corrosion".