Kelly, regarding 2-8-2T 37, could you offer an estimate as to how far along this entire project is right now?

IMHO, the 37 is a good example of the right locomotive being saved. She was the final of 4 Alcos of this type built for SPL in CA., but was a little heavier than her scrapped sisters account of greater water capacity. I hope that I live to see her run.

Thanks to your shop for all of their professional craftsmanship.

The yokes go inside the steam chests top the cylinders) and move the slide valves back and forth on the valve seat - the stems protrude through the rear of the chests (via packings) and connect to the valve rods coming from the motion. Since Kelly stated they were serviceable, I'd assume it was for performance. Chrome is hard so the stems will wear less in the packing, and reduces rusting, which would reduce maintenance issues - particularly on a machine that gets occasional use.

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There is a "Waiver" that can be applied for; you are a Rail Road Shop which is more important than the Lawn and Garden Stores here that are still open, also in Pa.

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".......die as a result of my greediness..."

Wow!

I Fully concur with Kelly. It is too bad that operations like his can't take advantage of the down-time to catch up on restorations and things like RoW maintenance (since road construction apparently is considered essential, at least in my area), but the sooner we get this under control the better for all.

Walter’s new boiler looks great! I know he’s pretty much finished. Can’t wait for him to come home.

Wait a minute.

Freight railroading is "essential," no?

Just do the track work as part of maintaining "essential" freight service. And likewise work on that other SW diesel awaiting a return to service.

When the old B&O main through Baltimore was shut down for a week in July 2001 after the Howard Street Tunnel derailment and fire, I was flabbergasted at CSX's ability to roll in hordes of track gangs to undertake routine and suddenly-scheduled maintenance projects--from rail resurfacing to tie work to replacing a switch--while they were waiting for the tunnel to be cleared so they could repair the track in there.

Yes, but I get the sense that Strasburg (rightly) cares about its employees and is trying to prevent exposing them to any unnecessary exposure.

Back to the "Little Porter":

I restored one in Florida some years ago; it was as odd gauge like 30"; the steam dome was in the cab and "H.K. Porter" was cast right above the "incline" cylinders.

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I'm glad that the authorities are allowing things like outdoor track work. I thought that as long as employees took precautions, like face masks (which I have been unable to find for over a month), and staying apart as much as possible should be generally okay if the workers were well starting out. I am concerned that the demand by some to "get back to normal" ASAP is rushing things far too much, and it will cause a rebound of the outbreak where things have started to level off somewhat. We need more assistance to make it possible for people to stay in, at least until Memorial Day, if not longer, and even then, mass events like indoor or stadium concerts, baseball at any professional level, and maybe even the Fall football seasons might not happen, let alone the U. S. Open Tennis Championship and major golf tournaments. I don't know if it's going to work out to have much of a tourist railroad season. Maybe some limited things like a photo freight charter where all the participants use their own cars, attendance is very limited, and the photo locations are only in places where everyone can socially distance could take place. But I don't see loaded trains of tourists happening this year, and I doubt most operations could make it pay to run trains with only small numbers of passengers per car.

Your attitude is the responsible, ethical one. A photo showed up here in the last few days of a steam engine which a shop apparently continued to work on all during the pandemic. This particular engine is in a state with 14% of the population being older than 70 (4 million people), and 5% older than 80 (1.1M). And I know from living there for seven years that many of these elderly people are not wealthy enough to isolate themselves in gated communities. I sincerely hope that the state in question does not experience a particularly harsh outbreak, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does.

Opinion: Rushing back to working side by side, figuring the poor and weak will naturally be culled from the robust herd, is exactly the way to see a contagious and better adapted virus sweep through the nation. No matter how smart we think we are, nature has the basic math on its side. The observant have seen it reoccur throughout history. Torches and pitchforks, led by ranting populist politicians won't make this go away.