All, several shots taken by Vince Labert of the recent dome grinding party in Minersville... The handy machine was supplied by Dave Bradley of Thermal Solutions of Lehighton, PA. Hopefully Bernie will be along shortly to elaborate...

Great photos. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure more than one of us would like to hear more about the process.

I really need to make a trip up 81..

Will see if I can, get more pics and a good report on Sunday..

As mentioned by Stephen at the top of the post, the machine was supplied by David Bradley of Thermal Solutions, Inc. 2525 Interchange Road, Lehighton,PA 18235. He is supervising the overall operation. The other two people showing up in the photos are Kjell Benner and John Oross, two important volunteers for Project 113.

The machine is a portable lathe consisting of two sections. The lower section is stationary and is clamped to the outside of the dome. The upper part is powered by an air motor and causes the tool to rotate, cutting away the face of the dome. It is a rather simple procedure and set up takes longer than the actual cutting process. This machine can be used for all sorts of industrial applications on site. It is a very handy machine. The seat of the dome was built up with weld so it wasn't cutting into parent metal.

The best thing would be to ask specific questions and I will try to answer them. To most mechanical people, the pictures are almost self explanatory.

Bernie Perch

Whose property and track are you useing in Minersville? What's the story behind that wonderful Reading depot in the background of the photos? How do I join your group? By US Mail please. Thanks

Hi Bernie,
I assume that the top (black) ring rotates on the bottom (gray) ring, and there is an air motor driving it so the tool cuts all the way around the face, then is advanced for the next pass. Is that right? I couldn't quite see that from the pictures but that would seem to be the only way it could work.
Would this machine normally be used for facing large pipe flanges?
Looks like a bit of 'fun' lining it up to be square and concentric!

Higher Speed,

The locomotive sits on the very truncated Wolf Creek branch of the Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad. The interesting Minersville station is built of brick and is five sided and sits between the two branches of the railroad. It is a survivor and if it was built of wood, it wouldn't be there. Most of the interior has been replaced. It is not completely restored yet as it is full of tools and locomotive parts and whatever else is needed for the locomotive restoration. There is an apartment on the second floor which supplies overnight accomodations for volunteers.

You can join by writing to: Railway Restoration Project 113, 113 East Sunbury Street, Minersville, PA 17954. An application will be sent to you.

Gordon,

You assume correctly on the operation of the lathe. Stephen did not include the photo which showed the attached air motor. It could be used for pipe flanges and any other multitude on site applications where facing is needed. Yes, set up was teedious. The actual cutting time was much less. I could talk to John and Kjell about the times involved.

Bernie Perch

There is a Google street view of the station here:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=minersville,+pa&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Minersville,+Schuylkill,+Pennsylvania&ll=40.690498,-76.255846&spn=0.019134,0.036693&z=15&layer=c&cbll=40.690394,-76.256141&panoid=7YoNQpLNWqLRsJPXP-hPSw&cbp=12,141.69,,0,5

You can see three sides of the station "walking" around on the street.

More progress made!
Morning of July 3rd:



Evening of July 3rd:



Cab & smokebox cover are back on!

Awesome! Can't wait to see her back on the rails soon, hopefully!!

Wow that's looking great! So, did anyone get a new estimated date of when she'll return to the rails?