WW&F Locomotive 9 (ex Kennebec Central 4, exx Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes 6, exxx Sandy River RR 5) has been undergoing restoration for more than 5 years. Today she received her first steam test fire.


Here our Eames Vacuum brake mechanism is getting tested.

For more info, please check out our website's post at http://www.wwfry.org/?p=391, which also has a link to our Facebook page which has many more photos.

Exciting day!

This is brilliant stuff. These guys are the best.

Is this merely "practice", in advance of doing the same thing with a certain 4-6-2?

I bet Alice Ramsdell would have loved to see this....

Howard P.

I'll bet Alice Ramsdell is smiling down from Heaven, along with her Father!!!

Not to mention Harry Percival and Linwood Moody!

You're way ahead of me, Howard! Yes, WW&F's boiler engineer is New England Steam's Project Engineer, and is managing the restoration of 470.

Having seen what Jason did to 9 to make her suitable for modern usage (i.e the frame modifications) and what he has done thus far, I'd say he's probably overqualified. If the preservation field had ten more people like him, we'd be really well off...

Why are the engineer and fireman side cylinders different?

This is the one that was in the lady's shed? I remember reading about that in Trains many years ago...
I'd always wondered whatever happened to that engine.

No, we wouldn't, because the talented technicians would be doing what many of them are doing now, working other jobs and dealing with preservation projects part time because our organization management, business and marketing people aren't as good as they are.

And, we do have many - more than 10 -excellent underemployed technical people, those who freely share information to make us all stronger and help inspire more to learn the craft. I could telephone a dozen guys right now with any technical question and they would know several answers and where to look for more.

Not all volunteers are interested in achieving high standards, either - a lot just want to play with trains and have others tell them how to do complex tasks, rather than take the time to dig in and learn about the hard stuff and do it themselves. Leadership that panders to this majority hold us all back, and are actually followers.

I'm thankful for the projects like this one that show us what can be done of we'd only commit to being who we need to be to get them done. Great examples can lead to great things.

dave

I'm just looking forward to seeing a genuine Eames Vacuum Brake in action! I just wish Maine was closer to Texas.

Congrats to all involved, Very exciting stuff for those who have been at this thing for a while. First steam up is a good reason for champagne in my book. Though your usually to busy and then to tired for it when the day is done. Go cat go! Regards, John.

Pictures from the first steam up.

Just after lighting the fire.





Adding  more wood.









Look inside the smoke box. The copper line feeds the blower nozzle and you can just see the top of the blast pipes.



First scoop of coal.







Second scoop.



Blowing down the water glass.



Only place you can see a Portland Company locomotive hooked up to a computer.





Coal smoke in the air.







View from the car barn staging and the first time the safety popped.





Blowing out steam passages in the cylinder castings.













Setting the valves to blow out exhaust passages.



Open the throttle and



you get rained on.



Second whistle of the day.



Rest of the pictures.

Thank you Mr Barry for the very complete coverage of the first fire in WW&F #9.

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all at the WW&F museum.

Tom

What is the lap top for?