On east end of the mainline.



Yes, IRM was earning some "off season cash" by doing car storage over the winter. This was the last of 3 unit coal trains that had been stored at IRM (total, just over 400 cars).

At one point, cars were stored on the mainline, streetcar line, south yard leads, and on the "connector track" that allows long wheelbase equipment to reach the south yards.

All of the stored cars were supposed to be gone by the end of April, but an extension was negotiated for the last train.

Jeff

And for those who enjoy this sort of thing, a go-pro video shot from the doghouse roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q39OEODpsA

Jeff
(disclaimer, NOT my video)

I might point out that the resulting train of 135 EMPTY coal cars still totaled something like 2800 trailing tons, not too shabby for what is the equivalent of a medium Consolidation with an extra axle.

Is the stoker just not worth the time and effort to repair?[/quote]

No answer indicates that some institutional memory is being lost. As I recall (and J. David can correct me if I'm wrong) the stoker was operable when the the engine was initially restored to service in the seventies / eighties... but it was found that with the museum's flat profile and light loading, it used more coal than just hand firing, so became a "non-maintenance" item.

The stoker motor was removed in winter 2014 for a rebuild, as we found that it had seized up. Since that time it's been undergoing a slow rebuild. Other tasks have taken precedent, as Mr. Storzek is correct in saying that it fired more coal than was needed.

A full stoker rebuild has been talked about, and perhaps this will be the catalyst for one. The firemen would appreciate it should an opportunity like this one come again!

Christian Ellis

Greetings:
Dennis is correct, the stoker did work back in the 1970s', but not due to anything we did. Like most everything else on the locomotive, it just worked the first time we tried it. Remember, in 1972 (when it first ran at IRM), it had only been stored/out of service for about 15 years, and it had been stored properly, we found nothing freeze damaged or seized up.
One of the times we used the stoker was during some museum event where they had all the food set up alongside the Barn 4 (the Lester Barn). I was firing 1630 that day and playing with the stoker. We made a "spirited" run past the station area with the stoker running nicely, although, it turned out, not too efficiently, as tiny particles of unburned coal drifted over the food tables. I recall that the red jello was nicely sprinkled (I still ate it).
J.David

J. David -

If I recall correctly, the 1630 was one of the five Decapod's that went to the Eagle-Picher Company and was eventually donated by them to IRM. I wonder if Eagle-Picher used the stokers when they ran the 2-10-0's at their plant in Oklahoma?

BTW, I think a bit of coal dust on red jello might actually improve the taste!

Les

The stoker rebuild is part of the long term plan for 1630. Since restoring 1630 to service about two years ago, we have focused primarily on running gear along with the valve job last winter. The valve job included boring and honing the cages, machining new bull rings, some machining of the spiders, metalizing and surface grinding the valve rods, and the rebuilding of the engineer valve crosshead. We were also very lucky, that we had several sets of Hunt-Spiller segmented rings "new" in the box that we were able to use for the rebuild. I believe these valve rings were spares from Eagle-Pitcher. I ran the engine the two days before the coal drag, and it was obvious the valves were tight and the timing sounded square. I don't think the engine would have handled the train that well prior to the rebuild.

J Maxwell

JM How much throttle was needed and where was cut off to maintain speed?

IRM should consider doing this more often (car storage). It would also be a chance for visitors to see steam haul modern freight on occasion to. That would be a draw like it is for Strasburg. I have often wondered why the IRM doesn't extend the line a few more miles and build a siding to demonstrate small regional railroad operations.

Car storage can be lucrative, especially if the trackage being used would otherwise be just sitting there, say, during the non-operating months, when the track isn't needed for operations anyway.

IRM is not the only RR museum that has discovered the value in their trackage. Getting paid $x per car, per day to let the cars sit on your track that you wouldn't be using at the time anyway is a good, low-cost (to the museum) revenue generator.

It also doesn't hurt the relationship with the host railroad.

Mr. Penn, I happen to know that the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, KY also uses their tracks for car storage purposes for many months out of the year. I agree that more museums/tourist railroads could benefit (make a little bit of extra cash) from storing cars on their rails on the off-season.

Best,
-Andrew

Excellent move! Glad to see a Frisco engine accounting well for herself.
Couple of questions: Any reason it was a reverse move and is that the whistle that was on her when you got her? I think its from a Frisco 4200 class mike.
I think its great that IRM returned the tender to the original configuration and that the doghouse is on it. Completes the package.

Which is why the Strasburg railroad has ceased operation of schedule steam powered freights/mixeds?

The revenue generated from the storage of cars is awesome any Railroad that has the ability.

Frisco1522: The whistle is a Frisco 3-chime. I'm not sure if it's original to the locomotive, but my understanding is that the Frisco decapods used Frisco 3s (may be wrong...Jason Maxwell (above) would know). We also have a Frisco 6 that we used before, as can be seen in the clip below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDvqGM-JRLY

We've got more whistles than locomotives, and the plan is to have some swaps this year. Last year we used a Milwaukee 6 (which was very well received) and a NYC 5. We are exploring building a manifold to hook up to steam so we can have whistle blows.

As for why she's going backwards, we simply don't have a place to turn her thanks to her long wheelbase. We have a wye, but she can't go on the east leg due to sharp streetcar-style curves. Now that we have a turntable, we will (one day) have a place to turn anything in our collection. Lot's of money is needed for that, so it's years away.