Maine Central 470, last operated on June 13, 1954, will be moved today, through August 10th, from Waterville to Washington Jct., Maine.
Erection of the newly arrived shop will begin this fall (Courtesy of Samuel Freeman Foundation).
Restoration of the tender will begin as funding allows, but a grant from Mystic Railway Society will allow truck and tender frame work to begin this year.

Photos of move to follow.

First day work began around 5:30Am for some, At 7AM, the locomotive was wiating while the cranes were placed.



Riggers took considerable time following the lift plan, but stringers and shackles were attended to. Note the height of these cranes!




Awestruck crowds while 470's boiler was lifted into the sky, and turned to set on the receiving flatbed.




Once in position, the blocking and chaining down took place.




470's boiler will remain on this flatbed for surveying and other inspections. This allows it to be mobile and re-positioned to make room for other equipment. In this photo, the boiler departs Waterville for the first time in 62 years, bound for Washington Junction and restoration.


After similar processes with cables and shackles, the frame, steam chest, drivers, and other machinery were likewise lift, and placed on a truck. This will depart Waterville on Tuesday, and be unloaded on Wednesday.





More pictures will be placed in the coming days. Please see Kerri Marion's "Maine Central 470 Restoration" Facebook page for excellent additional coverage, as well as the New England Steam Corporation Facebook page. Additional photos and link will be added to our website (http://www.newenglandsteam.org) once we have a completed record to share with Railway Preservationists.

Please consider joining NESCO or simply making a contribution to:
New England Steam Corporation, P.O. Box 302, Winterport, Maine 04496 .

This is great. Congrats on a monumental day for your guys' efforts. Best of luck with the move!

Chris

Written off by many, believed in by a few. The few just scored a major victory. Never stop dreaming.

I am awed by what this group has been able to do in a short time for a locomotive that was often the poster child for park engines simply rotting away.

Rob

great effort on all involved.

Author Arthur C. Clarke ("2001") said there are three phases to undertaking a big project. They are"1) It can't be done, don't bother me.; 2) It can be done, but costs too much.; 3) I always thought that was a good idea!"

A lot of people got behind us, from the first time I asked you to send emails to the Waterville City Council in 2004. You are a good part of getting 470 into preservation. There are regular volunteers who worked in all ranges of Maine weather, one young woman whose Facebook blog is magnificent. Donors of tools, services, experience in management, and supporters with both big donations in Foundation grants and pennies for ringing the refurbished bell. We have undertaken this together and will see it through. Thank you.

Today we loaded the tender and remaining trucks and steel. I arrived at 8:09Am, and the tender had already been placed on her truck.


Next came the tender trucks, which will precede the tender to Washington Jct.


Three of our regular volunteers, Coll, Bob, and Myron, waiting to the pony truck lift. These are just three of about 11 regular volunteers.


A flying pony (truck).


Lashed down for the ride downeast.


470's booster trucks being moved. This was heavier than originally estimated.



The tender being driven out of the park.


470's frame, drivers, and running gear lashed down, waiting for a police escort. Tomorrow she get placed on live rail.


Torch man Myron Moody and CMO Leverett Fernald standing near the empty track where 470 stood since 1970, having been previously display in another location since 1954. Empty track looks good to us.

Tomorrow we will place everything back on live track before shuttling some of it around the yard. Another long day. Pictures will follow.

Just wondering......

What was the weight of the running gear, drivers and frame ?

farmer.

Also wondering...

When she is running again, will she be using her booster engine?

Also, were you able to turn the axles on her various trucks? I recall that when moving 6167 around we tried to see if the engine truck axles would turn, but they seemed frozen in place.

Engine truck looks as if it would need new wheelsets any way. Pretty well grooved and not enough meat for turning. Think about Amfleet wheelsets and converting it to roller bearings. They're going to have to make a ton of tapered/fitted bolts when its time to put her back together.
Not a bad way to work on everything without having to crawl between the boiler and frame.
If the booster is repairable, they should keep it and use it. We did on 1522. Did some minor rebuilding and used it.
Hope they will have room in the shop to spread out all the components.

Pictures coming later this evening, but a few things to mention in response. Our next task is to polish the driver journals and remove her rods. We want to be able to move her when the pit is installed. The tender journals are smooth and shiny, and well greased. We don't expect to regularly move the tender, but she can be rolled as she is at present.
I cannot speak to the condition of the pony truck. I expect Strasburg will eventually see her drivers.
We opened the booster truck today for the first time in 63 years. It was full of oil, looked clean enough to use. The parts remain shiny and undamaged in any manner. The booster will probably get re-installed, although there is no real need for it. Considering its nearly perfect condition, it would be a probable move. Years away, in all likelihood. If 1000 people gave $1000 each, we can speed that restoration rather considerably!

Pictures to follow from today.

An uncommon sight on I-95 in Maine. (Peter Violette photo)


470's tender was on the rails by 8:30AM. The crane guys waste no time.


There was a ceremonial coupling of DESR's #1055, formerly a Portland Terminal loco, to 470's tender. Ron Jenkins did most of the journal renewal on the tender, so there's a smile on his face. His Dad was an MEC engineer who ran 470 in her prime.


A steam loco tender rolls on the Calais branch for the first time in half a century.


Tender leading, a flatcar with 470's pony and booster trucks, and ash pan, are pushed into the yard.


Forty-six years of display rust is worn off the tender truck wheels. These trucks will be completely torn down and renewed.


470's boiler will remain on this donated truck while work commences on other aspects of restoration. This allows it to be towed where needed or out of the way, while the frame is worked on elsewhere.


The frame and drivers await unloading. The shop building will be raised over the track next to this truck. The building in the background is Downeast Scenic Railroad property.


We have gotten a great deal of positive news coverage over the past three days. Our youngest Board member, Peter Violette, is interviewed. Peter is a recently licensed Civil Engineer. His student cadre at the University of Maine, helped design and plan our shop structure as their senior Capstone project.


Board of Directors Joe Foley, Leverett Fernald, Paul van Steenberghe, and Peter Violette, assist in placing the cables to lift the frame.


Strong with the Force is Lift Master Yoda, using Jedi powers (and two massive cranes) to raise 470's frame over track 7, where she will be rebuilt.


Maine Central 470 is returned to live rail.


We suspect a jammed journal or equalizer has caused the rear driver to not make rail contact. We are very much aware of the potential energy in those equalizer springs, and will deal with this issue.


Driver journal box hasn't settled as expected.


470's boiler is backed into Washington Junction Yard, during a sudden down-pour. She's at home tonight.


One unexpected surprise was the booster truck motor, which has been sealed for almost 70 years. The oil looks clean and nothing was damaged or rusted.


470 is viewable in the Washington Junction Yard, but inside a fenced area. New England Steam requests visitors to have an authorized escort when you come to see what we're doing. The Downeast Scenic Railroad is a cooperative partner in our work, and their property must be secure and respected. People will be happy to try and make your visits informative and pleasant.

maybe one day you can hook an air supply up to that booster and run it around for a bit?

Thanks for the pics!!

That's how 1522's booster engine looked when we opened it up. We checked bearings, crosshead guides and clearances. We had a toolmaker who hand scraped the crossehead guides, then we did a thorough cleanup. We had a 250 CFI compressor on site and I ran a one inch air hose to it with a ball valve on the end and we test ran it. Drew a lot of attention, but we could see that everything was running smooth.
Someday when the engine is back to running, there will be times that you'll be thankful you have the booster.
Most of the work we did was on the prelim valve and throttle valve. I had to rebuild the cylinder cocks on it, but it was great when it was done and back under the engine.
If possible, you should consider converting everything but the driving boxes to roller bearing. We did it on the 1522 and it worked out great for us.
We had a set of trucks like your tender trucks on the IC Canteen we got, but replaced them with "Bettendorf" style roller bearing converted trucks. It requires some alteration work to the journal boxes and some outside work on the axle/installation of the bearings.
On the pilot truck, we had new boxes cast by Daylight Loco Wks and we machined them. Solved all of the problems with the pilot truck. Replaced the wheelsets with Amfleet 33" sets and bearings.
The more trouble free you can make the engine, the better it will be. Think about 26L brake system and a temperature monitoring setup for bearings/brass.
Good luck to you.

Hearty congratulations to all concerned. You've got a long ways to go but you've certainly showed the commitment to be taken seriously. I would encourage all who can afford to do so to make a contribution ( cash or time or both) and thus help this beautiful locomotive live again.

Best wishes for continued success. Ross Rowland