After a couple of years of prep work in Tennessee and 4 months of labor here in New Jersey, followed by fits and starts and a scary runaway, LV 112 came back to life Friday afternoon.

This start-up would not have been possible without the help of Don Lachenauer, Frank Conlon, James O’Connor, and Eric Levin. I owe them all heartfelt thanks for their help and love of railroad preservation.

We had fun putting 112 back together. Here are some of the memorable quotes:

In Rockwood, Tennessee, Don Lachenauer, auto repair business owner, after an engine hood fell on his head while he was closing it: “See, I told you my head was harder than that hood.”

James O’Connor, tractor trailer diesel mechanic, while we where trying to service the starting relay: “Wow! Look at that yellow smoke!”

Frank Conlon, fellow railroader from the Black River and Western and a Lehigh Valley fan: “This is really cool!”

And finally, Eric Levin, after being asked about a particular engine component: “It still has that?!”

Without these guys, 112 would not have started on Friday. Thank You!

We still have more to do before we can dig into a paint job, but we cleared a huge hurdle by getting her running.

Check out http://www.prrllc.com for a couple of neat videos of the start up process, including a scary runaway.


Scott Kwiatkowski
Pennsy Railcar Restorations LLC

Beautiful! :)
good to see the old girl brought back to life..
thanks Scott!

Scot

Scott, it's great to hear you're having some success there.

You're DEFINITELY in good hands with Eric.

Great news, Scott! Another major hurdle cleared, hopefully the rest will be easier!
Good luck!

good luck on the work.

I'll look for the "runaway", you remind me of my little runaway encounter, no vid, no time to shoot on your 8mm...

little river 110 years ago was switching its little storage yard I was a member there
I was talking to someone, 110 was pulling its long passenger cars, the yard however had a sharp downhill before it leveled. Because of this 2 couplers disengaged and one passenger car was on a slow speed disaster trip to the end of the track where some speeder cars were parked. I saw this and ran down to the car and was looking for anything to pop under the wheels, found a large board, and stuck it under the wheels of the passenger car and it ground to a halt.

whew, at the same time another guy was on the other side of the car doing the same thing trying to find ways to stop the car. This was a sure moment to remember.

day saved, no disaster.

That's great news! It will be nice to see her working again. Good luck!

little runaway, haha, somehow I imagine a loose Lehigh Valley switcher with an Ore Jenny and some tractors on a flat zooming to their unknown destination...

still some oil prolly settled on the engine burns when it gets hot, same thing happens on my car.

Nice job on the engine!

Several years ago when Karl started the front engine on our 100 tonner after sitting for many many years, it to experiencd a runaway and it too was from old diesel that began to burn off of the pistons. A few more tries got rid of the old fuel and she idled very nicely until it started to creep along the rail since the secondary engine stand was out due to leaky seals. She hasn't been started since.

Later!
Mr. Ed

After repairing the leaks and other items we saw during the initial start up, on August 20th, we got 112 moving on her own!

With the help of Eric Levin, Don Lachenauer, and an electrical print from EMC (not to mention a few sparks and curse words), 112 was moving on her own.

Check out the video on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-kj-4snU1o

We have more to do before a paint job, however you might see 112 in her current livery on some BRW freight trains during a few shake down runs.


Scott

That is great news Scott. Your hard work is really paying off. I am still looking for the builder's plate off that unit. I have made some calls, but no luck yet. You have to be patience on these things. It looks like Laura will be getting you diesel fuel for a Christmas present this year!!! I cannot wait to see it when it is repainted!!!

Glad to see her running again. Can't wait to see the finished product!

That is great Scott! It will be great to see your locomotive along side 60!

Scott -

Wonderful to see LV 112 up and running. And hopefully soon with some very nice PRR (and other) freight equipment behind it. A nice 4 or 5 car train would be terrific. Im starting to salivate!

Les

Mike,

I did not want to hijack the thread on the WT 57 and it has been a while since I provided an update on 112, but yes, the GPS system that I have been using, LAT-LON, is a great tool. I have the temp sensor hooked up now and I’m also using the text message feature to send me text messages when certain conditions are met (such as if the engine is started up or moved, or if the battery voltage falls too low). It can do a whole lot more than that, too; I just need some time to hook up more things.

Last Thanksgiving, my home desktop and laptop got a bug and I lost a bunch of files including the Dream Weaver program that I had been using to update my website. Fortunately, a friend had created a Facebook fan page (“LV 112”) and I have been sending him photos and info on the restoration progress. There are some great pictures there, especially the ones of the radiator replacement in the snowstorm! But I am not on Facebook myself and am somewhat of a Luddite when it comes to the social networking thing.

Like all RR equipment that has been neglected for many years, the usual rust and mechanical repairs are pretty common and no different on 112. But basically, 112 has been running fine. She has been started almost weekly to keep the batteries charged. I have a couple more windows to put in and then will work on the blue card. That should be in few weeks. Then the plan is to work out a bug with the wheel slip relay and then take her for a run down the main with another loco for a protect engine, just in case.

I then have to change the injectors and then the lube oil, run her a few more times, and then work on the paint job.

Scott

Scott,
Thanks for the update, keep up the great work. I hope to make it over one of these days.
Mike Tillger