Are there any examples of preservation era steam repair shops been built with large lifting jacks as the primary source of lifting and re-wheeling instead of a gantry crane and wheel pit combination? Every repair facility I can think of at a successful museum features a gantry crane and a wheel pit. What would be the pros and cons of having lifting jacks? What are the pros and cons of having a gantry crane and a wheel pit?
Lifting jacks seem to make me think of a car repair shop and not a steam shop...

The Valley RR uses a set of 4 jacks to do its heavy lifting. They were purchased and refurbished as part of the 3025 restoration project.

Having been peripherally involved in projects that were done both ways, I prefer a drop table setup.

The steam locomotive wheel set that started rolling across the shops has something to do with it. Best 20 ft. wheel-chock toss I ever saw.

-Hudson

https://www.facebook.com/rheidolrailway/photos/pb.205064302842602.-2207520000.1423532955./1028698220479202/?type=3&theater

Here is a photo in the new (2014) workshop at the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales. I think the jacks probably date from the '70's or 80's when British Rail still operated this railway, the last steam on the national network. I'm sure the staff there would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

P.Hosford

Another problem was that the jacks were borrowed and had to be returned after the lift, so when it was time to reinstall the drivers, jacks were borrowed again, turned out to be a different set, and when things were lowered back down some items did not line up, so the head of the rail got adjusted with a cutting torch, and a porta power was needed to slide the drivers a little more to the left.

-Hudson

Western Maryland Scenic RR uses a system of jacks. The former WM Carshop had a pair of Jacks in the floor that were refurbished and those along with portable air jacks have done the heavy lifting when #734 has needed wheel work. The attached photos are from the early 1990's during #734 first rebuild in Ridgeley.

We used jacks to remove the drivers and front truck from Alaska Railroad #557 last spring. In the photo, number 4 drivers have just been chocked at the end of the rail and are waiting for movement by the fork lift.

For us, the advantages of jacks were that we had them. We didn't have access to either a crane or drop pit but do have donated jacks and work space.

We're not a steam shop, but we are a restoration and repair shop. Pennsylvania Trolley Museum has a set of four 7.5 ton capacity synchronized jacks that have been a huge help for trolley repair and restoration. The jacks and a pair of cross beams were donations from Bombardier Transportation. In the "bad old days" such lifts were done with many bodies on the levers of many mechanical jacks, accompanied by all the usual hazards. Now it's the touch of a button. We can't imagine getting along without them now and in the future.

I got nothing to do today until my dentist appointment at 2:30 so I'll put my two cents in. I've been with IRM since 1967. Been with C&NW/UP from 1975 till retirement August 2012 in the engineering dept. I have been involved in many jacking and lifting jobs. The safest jacking job I did was in the Proviso Diesel Ramp when they let me use their drop table to drop my American Locomotive cranes trucks for motor replacement. The jacks were imbedded in concrete . They were adjustable up and down and in and out to fit different car body types. An errant forklift could not knock them over. With that said I've seen many jacks kick out. Bad base prep were at the top of the list. Next came rotten and\or soft wood blocks which would crush or split. The higher the lift the more unstable it becomes. I always favored using a crane along with three legged jack stands to set down on. Keep that fork lift away. Always think "What If ". You can never be too safe.

While not a preservation shop, the following is of relevance. The Cotton Belt's Pine Bluff shop did not have "big" cranes in either the backshop or the car shop. The locomotive shop has pits (filled in) and the car shop was set up with jacks and jacking pads throughout the foundation. The boiler shop was equipped with the largest cranes in the complex and were capable of lifting a boiler.

Jason

Thanks everyone for the great replies, they are exactly the kind of details I am looking for to help my decision making process!!! We currently have a very large set of floor mounted jacks for our new shop building stored outside, and I have some concerns about them. They are very tall and take up a large amount of floor space (permanently!). I also feel that it is much safer to drop drivers into a pit and to lift the boiler with a crane than to lift a whole locomotive in the air and keep it there for a while. In many ways they would be more perfect for our other location's workshop, who handle car and diesel repair, as they will be building a new shop facility as well. We do not have two sets of these large jacks, so it might save money on that project that could go towards our own project.

These are just personal opinions though, so please keep the info coming! I would love to hear debate about my thoughts! I can also get pictures of the jacks in question tomorrow at the work session if any of you would like...?

Thanks everyone!

So let us think of the kind of work a real world shop would do. Most of the pictures here are one time restorations, complete dis assembly and re assembly.

What if you only need to fix one driver? Using jacks and - or crane, you have to remove many or all of them. That is, the axle in the middle is blocked by the axles fore and aft. You have to move those wheels out of the way to get the middle one out.

With a pit, you can selectively remove only one axle.

So aside from the safety considerations (and a steamer on jacks still makes me nervous), a wheel pit is more versatile in the dis assembly options it offers.

The picture of backshops with crane lifts are complete dis assembly jobs, not running maintenance.

I've seen lifting jacks used at both BR&W and NH&I for wheel work (though the latter does have a drop table in addition to jacks).