Photos posted recently by the Santa Fe 2926 restoration team in Albuquerque show her
piston valves being reinstalled after many years. This is a major step towards getting her moving under her own power again. See the installation process here
http://www.nmslrhs.org/Photos/2019/08-31/index.html

This is SO thoroughly delightful.

And continues to be a lesson to us all about 'the art of the possible'.

They just posted photos from 9/7 showing work on preparing the drifting valves for installation. Looks like installing those buggers can be exciting.

Right! Lots of potential energy that wants to become kinetic if not properly managed and contained!

Rob Gardner
ASR VP and 2100 Project Manager

The latest batch of photos from Albuquerque (9/14). Can't wait to see them try to install the drifting valve spring. Looks like trying to cram a 12 foot slinky into a 4 foot tube.

http://www.nmslrhs.org/Photos/2019/09-14/index.html

Yes, but remember that as the caps indicate there is only about 110lb. pressure on one end with the spring 'loaded' -- the point of the long multiple-turn construction is to assure that the spring pressure changes only negligibly when the ends move. Note that the two 'halves' of the spring are wound opposite so there is no winding up end to end.

It looks in a couple of those shots that they were thinking about gagging the spring with clothesline and presumably cutting it once the covers are on -- but that trick wouldn't be easy with the piston valves in, would it?

It'll be interesting to see how well these perform in the general service likely for this engine when finished.

You know -- I never noticed until today that #4 driver pair is Baldwin Disc. Do we know the engine that used that wheelset originally?

The restoration is using whatever parts, equipment and appliances were on the locomotive when it went into the park, including the drifting valves and the Baldwin Disc Drivers. The only additions I am aware of is modernizing the brake and electrical systems. So, if the loco ran successfully back in the day, there is no reason to doubt that it will run successfully again.

There's no doubt ATSF 2926 will work fine with the wheels that are on it, which are the ones it was retired with. I interpreted the question to be asking whether ATSF replaced one of the sets of its original drivers with Baldwin discs some time during its original working life, and if so, why would they have done so.

The reason was likely the usual one for parts swaps, which would include components as big as a whole tender--the original part wasn't ready or just wasn't handy when it came time to put an engine together, but something interchangeable from another engine was.

I understand this engine has rods from at least two other engines, C&O 1309 (2-6-6-2 under restoration in Cumberland, Md.) has parts from at least two sisters, Big Boy 4014 is running with the tender from Challenger 3985 (and came out of the museum with a tender from another Big Boy), and N&W 611 has parts from a couple of other engines as well.

There is a report of a USA S-160 (GI 2-8-0) that ran in Poland for years, and is now in Great Britain, that has parts from a variety of engines in it. It even has driving journals from all three of the companies--Alco, Lima, and Baldwin--that built the series!

What type are the other three sets of drivers? Thanks!

Les

They look like what are called Boxpok drivers, pronounced "box spoke."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxpok

http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... hp?t=94715

http://www.railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=161356

We have found components from at least seven other C&O 2-8-4's on C&O 2716 as well as running gear parts from an Allegheny. AMC interchangeably for the win!

Our 2100 has one main rod from the 2101 and one from the 2107. Always an intriguing glimpse into parts swapping when you start taking an engine apart.

Rob Gardner

1522 also has parts from multiple engines.

They look to be LFM, made by the Locomotive Finished Material Co. of Atchison, Kansas. The Santa Fe was a big user of their driver centers, although I don't know if they specified them on new locomotives, or only as replacements.