http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... c.facebook

Sadly blocked behind a paywall, but 111 is finally up and running.

How can you live without a subscription to Trains magazine?

Budget priorities

1. Wife's birthday present
2. Trains subscription
3. Water bill
4. Electric bill
5. Frozen pizza

glad to hear it.

Great work Phil, Mark and everybody else I don't know who worked on her. This was no small job.

Is it just me or does it look like someone bolted pistons on where there used to be slide valves?

The piston valve conversion was, if I recall correctly, a Franklin Railway Supply kit. A number of the IRCA engines that were originally slide valve when built were given this conversion. Both ex-GLRR numbers 40 and 44, also ex-IRCA engines, had these conversions.

Have a gander...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pu3xuTkquM

DC

I only saw the first minute - how long do I want to look at the latch on the throttle while wishing I could see her at work while listening to her. Sounds great, but boring image......

Wish I could be there to experience it in person.

.

Insular tourist railroad.

Those conversion kits, which also often accompanied the installation of a superheater, were fairly common on secondary lines and even some Class 1s, such as the Boston & Maine.

Two other engines with them that I know about are Nevada Northern 40 and 93. Both of these machines have a different cover that looks like one for flat valves, but it's taller than it would normally be, there is the circular opening visible at the end, and there are outside steam pipes leading to the cylinders, typically one of the signs of a superheater conversion (though not always):

http://www.railpictures.net/images/d2/1 ... 322649.jpg

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/nevada- ... bHGdNvqQOA

It's not as good a photo as I would like, but here is No. 40 in the shop with the covers off:

http://www.exploringnevada.com/photogra ... engine.jpg

Congratulations to the crew at Georgetown Loop--more steam power is always good!

In 111's case, the conversion involved an Elesco Front end Throttle.

I've had difficulty keeping my mouth shut until the official announcement... now I can say MUCHO BUENO SABOR UNO ONCE !!!! Trust me on this, she looks, sounds, and performs WONDERFUL. Just speaking personaly, the only thing that could make me anywhere near as happy as the cab ride I had on her last week, would be seeing an NdeM 4-8-4 in steam, or perhaps my own personal project being successfully completed before I die.

Phil Johnson has done a truly great thing by completing this overhaul, let me congratulate him above all the rest of us that worked on her. The rebuild took at least 45 years, and involved endless politics, wasted mony, time, manpower, and materials. SOMEHOW Phil managed to concentrate enough resources on #111 to finally get the job done.

With all the noise made about this engine over the years, it was astounding to me that nobody around these parts knew her history. As a matter of fact, she was considered to have NO HISTORIC VALUE because she didn't say D&RGW or Rio Grande Southern on her tender. Besides putting her back in service good and proper, Phil has also established #111's service history in El Salvador as a representitive of US export power, and made certain that our dear friend Don Drawer gets the credit her desrves for saving this engine from scrap, bringing her back to the USA, and providing a home for her for over 30 years.

The finishing touch was the addition of another FIdeCA whistle identical to the #111's original, which was lost in a fire at the Drawer homestead.

VIVA GEORGETOWN LOOP #111 !!!!!

Anybody notice 111 has a new, all-welded, ASME boiler and firebox?

Makes the K4's saga seem rather insignificant, doesn't it? ;)