Each year the Amherst Railway Society announces a series of awards at its West Springfield, MA railroad hobby show. On January 25th, Project 3713 was named as the single recipient of the $10,000 2015 Founders’ Grant. Carl Packer was on hand to accept the check.

Interest in Project 3713 stretches far beyond Scranton, as this award shows. Of the five surviving steam locomotives from the Boston & Maine Railroad, only #3713 is under restoration to operation at this time. Our friends in the New England area, where #3713 spent her working career, have been very supportive of the restoration project.

We are greatly honored that the Amherst Railway Society chose Project 3713 for the Founders’ Grant.

Rob Davis
Co-Chairman
Project 3713

Actually there are 6. One is underwater in Portsmouth. The other 5 are preserved

True, whatever is left of #3666 after she was moved is still lurking down there. I was expecting someone to suggest at least some of the MW cog locos should count. I'll stick to 5 with the caveat that they are standard gauge and not submerged. ;-)

Still looking for photos of either 3666 or parts removed from her, after the dumping.

I couldn't find any, how about you guys

My recollection is that the National Park Service signed the original agreement with the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Chapter of the NRHS, in which the LWVRHS assumed all responsibility for the management of the operational restoration of 3713, in 1995. Are there any special events planned this year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of this project?

There have been some postings on another board re: some technical issues that they have run into. I am not a member of that board but I do have some questions about the issues mentioned.

Several years ago, I was fortunate to be on site when Gary Bensman of Diversified Rail Services was working on 3713. As he had also done some work for the Park Service during the asbestos abatement, which had given him the opportunity to get a good look at some of the locomotives, I asked him for his take on the condition of some of them. He was very gracious with his time and the conversation turned to 3713. He walked me over to where he was working and showed me the thermic siphons he had fabricated. He had one replacement laid out next to an original. I am not a boilermaker and have very little shop experience, but, to me, at least visually, the two units were identical. If there is an issue with the thermic siphons he fabricated, what could it be? If the fit is OK, could there be a metallurgical issue with the way they were formed and/or heat-treated? If so, what could cause this and what would the remedy be? The only other possibility I could think of is if there is a concern about the welds. Again, would this be something that could be fixed or would the whole part have to be scrapped?

I used to check out 3713 almost every time I went up to Scranton. One time I was looking at the firebox and noticed that the staybolt holes in the inner and outer sheet appeared as if they did not line up, especially towards the backhead. I can see, given the geometry in this area, that it might be difficult to keep these holes aligned as the sheets curve into the backhead. It may be easier with CAD, but without modern computer technology, the only way I can figure to maintain alignment in this area would be to only drill the holes in the inner sheet up to about half or three-quarters of the required diameter specified for the staybolts prior to assembly of the firebox and then drill them through once the firebox was welded up. Is this how it was done in regular shop practice or was there another way to maintain proper staybolt hole alignment between the inner and outer sheets?

The thread on Trainorders has little to do with #3713 and everything to do with axes to grind about unrelated projects and a desire to discredit certain people. Please don't feed the ego trolls on TO by bringing their grief to RYPN.

We're due for the status report on Project #3713 soon. When that is available, I am sure it will be posted here. There are some other pretty cool announcements related to #3713 coming. Until you hear it officially, please don't sweat Internet witch hunts and agendas.

There is great momentum and support from all the right places for getting her done, perhaps more than ever. Official updates on her come via Project #3713 and the Steamtown National Historic Site, per the partnership. Anything else is conjecture.

Rob Davis
Co-chair
Project #3713

Thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I have no axe, but I do appreciate transparency and straightforward answers to my technical inquiries. I post on RYPN and not TO because there are many experienced and technically skilled folks on this site that have the ability to answer questions relating to steam-era technology. Are you one of them, Mr. Davis? If you do have the technical skill, I'd appreciate direct answers to my technical questions. Thank you.

I was at the Scranton site a number of times where I observed at least one long bolt placed through the stay bolt holes in the firebox that could not go through completely because the holes were not aligned and some holes appeared to be marked indicating they were off. Both the inside sheet and outside sheet holes appeared to be bored out to their full diameter. That is not an "internet witch hunt" but a fact I saw with my own eyes on several occasions.

My interest was originally technical, but your somewhat non-response raises another issue. It is disingenuous to over broadly paint everyone who questions a project or voices concerns as an "ego troll" or to infer that they have some sort of hidden agenda. A large restoration like this that is publicly funded through both taxpayer dollars and through private donations to a 501(c)(3) entity, which is operating as a public trust, should be held to a high level of accountability and transparency. Perhaps some of the people asking questions are concerned donors or potential donors.

Please re-read my comment, I did not suggest that anyone with a question was a troll. Unfortunately, as I said, the TO thread is a witch hunt and #3713 has been the vehicle for the hunt, not the target.

If you want deeper technical answers than what has been discussed in the project's mechanical updates (which have been very transparent and detailed), I'd be happy to connect you with the people who could give you a considered a response. Feel free to PM me your contact info or email project3713 at project3713 dot com

It is unlikely an unsigned post on a message board will get you what you are looking for, especially in light of the TO thread you mentioned.

Rob

Rob, I still think in the interest of transparency, these rumours should be either categorically denied, or confirmed as truth.
1. Is there or is there not a problem with the staybolt holes not being aligned?
2. Is there or is there not a problem with the thermic syphons?
Your future donations depend on how people perceive their money being spent, either its being spent wisely and you'll get more, or its being wasted, the project has taken a significant step backward and potential donors will shake their heads and walk away.

True, there is some misinformation presented as fact on Trainorders, but I've seen it here too. I was pleased that John Rimmach took the podium on RYPN and set the record straight on some of the rumours surrounding his work that were presented here and on Trainorders, now maybe its your turn to shed some light on your project.

.

This is interesting... I wonder if there's any technology out there now that can set up and form boiler components after holes are drilled with a high degree of accuracy through digital controls? There are a few old McCabes and a lot of heat it and beat it projects around, and I know shops that can press drum heads and such, but what about or keyhole boiler's backhead or rear tube sheet? No question about accurately cutting and holing flat plate, but it's the next step that we may not have technology for yet.... but I may just be ignorant of what's out there. A digital McCabe that uses the hole location as the basis for locating the bends or some such is what I'm thinking about.

dave

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I always get a kick out of people citing CAD as if it is magic. CAD is but a tool, no different than an engineering calculator, slide rule, or Kelly's dividers. The results the tool will yield will be no better than the skill of the man who is using the tool.

Laying out holes on a curved surface requires making a basic assumption; do I calculate the circumferential length along the inner surface of the curve, the outer surface, or it's neutral axis? Then, can those forming the sheet actually form the curve the calculations were based upon? It's not rocket science... men were building these machines long before we went to the Moon... but it does require a high degree of skill.

Kelly,

Ich habe eine frage...

Since they used a press brake, are the radii at the top corners a true curve or many small bends that accomplish the same thing? Or, did the press brake have rounded dies to facilitate something closer to a radius than several small bends? Although the pics are great, the texture that would reveal the answer to my question isn't readily apparent. In either case, at least one engine is getting a PRR Belpaire firebox back together.

Thanks!
Michael