Fire up the (Duluth & Northeastern) 28

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

Finally Official!

http://www.fireupthe28.com

Youtube Video

Quote:

Work is almost done on the Duluth & Northeastern 28; all it needs is new flues from Germany. We need your help to raise $11,700 to make this purchase and get the 28 running for this season, 2014.

The Duluth & Northeastern 28 was built in 1906 as the Duluth, Missabe & Northern 332. It originally hauled freight and passenger trains on this road between Proctor, MN and the Range cities. After the merger to form the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range, it hauled freight and passenger trains on the Lakefront Line. Eventually the Duluth & Northeastern bought the locomotive, which used it until the railroad donated it to the museum in 1974. The 28 has the distinction of being the last steam locomotive to operate in Minnesota under a common freight carrier.

Details:

-The locomotive is in Cloquet, MN under the care of the Cloquet Terminal Railroad. The boiler has already been ultra-sounded and approved for further restoration, old flues have been removed, and interior boiler prep is underway.

-The donation goal ($11,700) covers the final payment on the flues and shipping from Germany.

-Any funds raised above the donation goal will be put towards other restoration and operating costs for the 28.

Nick Turinetti

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:43 pm

This time legally!

Actually, great news. But, I'm wondering why they have to get flue material from Germany?

o484 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:56 pm

wilkinsd wrote:

This time legally!

Actually, great news. But, I'm wondering why they have to get flue material from Germany?

German Steel is considered to be the best in the world. MLW 261 has flues made of German steel if I recall correctly.

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

o484 wrote:

wilkinsd wrote:

I'm wondering why they have to get flue material from Germany?

German Steel is considered to be the best in the world. MLW 261 has flues made of German steel if I recall correctly.

28's use of German steel is actually a direct result of 261's experience.

whodom · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:52 pm

The Fireman wrote:

28's use of German steel is actually a direct result of 261's experience.

Interesting- can you tell us the name of the company that's supplying them?

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

whodom wrote:

Interesting- can you tell us the name of the company that's supplying them?

I'm not privy to that information unfortunately. That would be a question for one Steve Sandberg.

GaryPBensman · **Joined:** Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:12 pm **Posts:** 18

The German boiler flue steel contains copper which is a tremendous benefit to resisit corrosion. Current U.S. boiler flue materials contain NO copper.

Dave · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2014 1:08 pm

Gary - does the addition of copper to the flue alloy have any implications in terms of welding on safe ends or seal welding to the tube sheet? I'd hate to see the flues pulled in 15 years in excellent condition and useless for recycling through safe ending......

dave?

Lincoln Penn · **Joined:** Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm **Posts:** 841

It has little or nothing to do with the composition of German steel. It has everything to do with the fact that 5 1/2" flues are no longer available from domestic sources, reportedly because of high demand for similar (but different) tubing for the oilfields, where demand has skyrocketed.

It's either Germany or China for flues of that size that meet (or purport to meet, in the latter case) ASME/ASTM/NBIC specs.

My question is, has the 28's boiler had it's UT and new Form 4 calculated yet?

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

Lincoln Penn wrote:

My question is, has the 28's boiler had it's UT and new Form 4 calculated yet?

My understanding is that getting the tubes here and making the final payment on them is the final 'hurdle' for the locomotive. I last saw the locomotive in Sept or Oct of last year, and at that time they were in the process of calculating its Form 4. Interestingly, one of the discoveries during the locomotive's tear down was that in several places it looked like either the DM&IR or the D&NE had actually replaced portions of the boiler with thicker plate than original spec.

jasonsobczynski · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2014 8:36 pm

Dave wrote:

Gary - does the addition of copper to the flue alloy have any implications in terms of welding on safe ends or seal welding to the tube sheet? I'd hate to see the flues pulled in 15 years in excellent condition and useless for recycling through safe ending......

dave?

Dave,

It actually holds true to the most common steam era spec for flue, tube and plate material. "Not less than .30% comes to mind. SA106 seamless pipe often has comparable amounts of cooper, obviously quite weldable.

Cheers, Jason

etalcos · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2014 9:16 pm

Not to hijack the thread, but I believe that the ACL specified a "copper bearing steel" for many of the roofs on their heavyweight passenger cars. Looks like its corrosion resisting characteristics had a lot of uses on the railroad.

Nice looking little 2-8-0 BTW.

ETA

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

etalcos wrote:

Nice looking little 2-8-0 BTW.

ETA

"Chunky" is the best term I've heard to describe 28. She has significantly more tractive effort than Soo Line 2719 (no more diesel assistance out of Two Harbors? *crosses fingers*) and her smaller size makes her much more versitile to the North Shore Scenic Railroad's operation. Should be a fun engine once in service.

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

Update from the North Shore Scenic Railroad's Facebook:

Quote:

Donate $28 to the #28 today! We are almost half way to our goal of $11,000 after just the first week. You can make a difference on the completion of restoring the #28 to service at the North Shore Scenic Railroad. Visit: http://www.fireupthe28.com now...We'd also like to thank anyone who has already contributed to this project. The announcement went out last week that this locomotive was going to be restored to operating service, and now is your chance to be a part of this historic project.

The Fireman · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:44 pm **Posts:** 120

Another update on the Fire up the 28 campaign:

Quote:

Thanks to very generous contributions, steam locomotive #28 will be getting new flues soon. Last month, we asked our members and enthusiasts to contribute to the operational restoration of this locomotive. Our goal was to raise $11,000.

So far we have raised over $15,000!!!

This shows tremendous support and interest for live-steam in the Twin Ports. A special fund has been setup, and every dollar donated will still go directly towards the restoration and operation of this locomotive in the near future.