The New York Central Mohawk 2933 is being cosmetically restored at the Museum of Transport, St. Louis County, Missouri.

On the engineer's side of the cab, near the floor is a box. markings on the box are "General Railway Signal Co" and "52149-1X. There is one spring loaded lever on the upper rear corner of the box. The box is connected to the locomotive electrical system via conduiit.

What is this box for?

Thank you

Jim Butler

automatic train stop, a red signal has a device near it that is activated (magnetically) on the engine is a pickup, that will put the train brakes on or alert the engineer.

It appears to be a forestalling lever. It was used on engines with automatic train control. Normally, when the engine passed a signal with a restrictive indication, the system would automatically initiate a brake application. This lever would allow the engineer to override the system, in order to make the brake application at the time & place of his choosing.

JR

Latest pics from the St Louis MOT taken 7-20-2014:

Coming along nicely!

/Mitch

The closest we'll ever come to a New York Central Hudson! Let's think about getting her running!

Thanks for the photos Mitch. She's looking good!

Les

Seems talk of having NYC Mohawk #3001 in Indiana fizzled....

I had heard that #2933 was a potential candidate for restoration at one point but Frisco #1522 won out - 'least, I had heard that. Also, in the rumor department - MILW #261's one time replacement.

Maybe some day!

/Mitch

The New York Central Mohawk 2933 is coming along. I have been doing a study and documentation of the electrical system of the locomotive and tender. The entire electrical system will not be restored. For instance, no need to wire up the dynamo, the automatic train stop system, etc. My main interest is getting the lights burning again.

In that regard, I have been searching on-line for Pyle National parts. I am missing a 4" hand rail junction box cover, a class light glass and rim, suitable wire for 120 volt that will go from the light connection points on the conduit to gauge lights, etc.

As for getting the locomotive running again. Well, not all locomotives should be made operative. We are not going to bring the locomotive to brand new appearance condition. We are preserving the locomotive while maintaining the history of the service scars that the locomotive received over the years of service. Those dings are part of the history of the locomotive and they are going to stay.

As a former crew member of the Frisco 1522, it took me a while to understand the difference from a full restoration and preservation. After several conversations with Museum personnel, I have come around to their thinking.

One of the things I learned from the Frisco 1522 is that I never ever want to hit the high iron with a locomotive that uses friction bearings.

Jim Butler

You can get class light lenses from Kopp Glass or Adlake. I think Adlake may also have clear plastic lenses in addition to glass.

http://www.koppglass.com/solutions/traf ... lenses.php

Adlake probably has the metal rims for the lenses as well, since they are still making marker lanterns.

I too am hunting for countless Pyle National parts. There is of course a gentleman who claims to make Pyle National parts and has been discussed several times on this site. I have been in contact with him and to try and find out if his claims are true or not. Eventually I will report on my dealings with him to the RYPN community when I have something to report.

I have also contacted the company Translite, who bought out PN in the late '60s. They used to supply countless parts (a friend was able to buy a reflector for a 14" steam locomotive headlight in the '80s), but several years ago they were bought out by a Finnish company that has told them not to bother with old stuff and small orders. I sent one gentleman there a list of everything I was looking for but he hasn't responded yet.

When Frisco 4-8-2 #1522 was selected for operational restoration all the locos of similar size were evaluated for their suitability as part of the process of making a selection. Only the Frisco donated locomotives without insulation on their boilers, using spacers to keep the jacket the needed distance away from the boiler shell. This allowed rain and snow melt to run off the boiler instead of being held in the insulation where it would pit the boiler shell. So the Mohawk as well as others have badly pitted boiler shells now, some very badly pitted shells, especially on top. The insulation under the boiler was removed in the 90s along with that part of the Mohawk's jacket. But it was only removed from the top of the Mohawk's boiler and steam chests few years ago, making her an even worse candidate for operation now. When railroads donated steam locos in the 50s and 60s they didn't think of such things and just cleaned them up and possibly did some repainting. When steam was in everyday operation this wasn't a concern and even some time in dead storage would not hurt a boiler. But 60 years with an insulated boiler holding moisture against it is very different.

Very Nice so far! Looks far better than she did when I saw her in 1981. At the time I was not aware of the lack of 4-6-4's and for a second thought it was one of the famed Hudsons when I first saw it.

As to having a running Mohawk I'd thing the 3001 would be a better candidate. Roller bearings and its stay in the dry climate of Dallas help. As to the NCY I suppose both of these locos were run hard to the end, given a fresh coat of paint, and sent off to St. Louis and the T.P. An attempt to bring either back to life would be a daunting task. Given that the NCY (kind of like the Southern RR) scrapped the steam fleet as fast as possible we are very fortunate to have these 2 examples from their fleet.

Jim Butler wrote;

"suitable wire for 120 volt that will go from the light connection points on the conduit to gauge lights, etc."

I would recommend you reconsider that plan;

I think a 120VAC to 32VAC step down transformer (hidden under the cab floor?) might be safer.

All the wiring out to the the light fixtures, gauge lamps, etc, could be 32VAC (nominally).

The National Electric Code (NEC) has a "breakpoint" at 50 VAC, above that the rules get progressively more stringent. Below that, you can do almost anything that "works".

Otherwise you get into messy stuff like "bonding" / "grounding" / "conduit fill", etc.

And most of your fixtures are likely not rated for 120 VAC. If it's a static display that is "connected" to "premise" wiring and I was the inspector I would want everything "up to code".

With a transformer in an enclosure with a "disconnect" your NEC worries end at the transformer enclosure.

You can get "THHN" wire in many gauges and colors at your local "big box" home improvement stores. It's good for 600 VAC (the next "break point" in the NEC), enclosed locations, "damp" (but not "wet", there is a difference) locations. And it's easy to pull through conduit. Oh, and "technically" you are not allowed to buy "romex" (the common house wiring cable;14/2, 14/3, 12/2, etc.) remove the outer insulation and stuff the bare wires into a conduit. All wire must be marked on the exterior every 36" (?) with the gauge and rated temperature. If you strip the "romex" you remove the markings and violate the code.

Regarding colors; Green Insulation (or some other color with a green stripe, or bare copper) is reserved for grounds. Neutrals are supposed to be white wire (120 VAC), or a wire with a white stripe (can be white electrical tape). Black, Red, Yellow, Blue, Brown, etc. are expected to be "live wires" (maybe switched). These color rules apply above 50 VAC. These rules are so somebody that opens up your work in 20 years has a "clue" about what you did.

Also, the interior edges of some of those old conduit fittings can be quite "sharp", it's easy to nick the insulation on the wire and have a hard to find short show up a few years down the road (well not exactly for a static display). I like to put a few wraps of electrical tape over my wires wherever they encounter a conduit fitting. And they make plastic bushings to "line" the bore of the fittings. I would rather do things once and be done with it.


My two cents (I am a degree holding electrical engineer who has done many NEC complaint (and inspected) jobs).

If I can help, just PM me.

Cheers, Kevin.