Boilersmith built the boiler for the Climax at Clark's Trading Post in New Hampshire back in 2005. AFAIK, they haven't had any issues with it and that locomotive is in steam quite a bit during the season.

Roger

I should have suggested checking their website: www.boilersmith.com Look under the "Custom Boilers" heading. They show their traction engine boilers, with a list of specs, and another list of examples. These are similar to locomotive boilers, which are not shown on their web page. I know of a half dozen locomotives using Boilersmith replacement boilers, and the owners are all happy campers.

Audrey's boiler has arrived at Boilersmith's facility in Seaforth, Ontario and the process moves along another step.

I'm told the young lady in the photo above volunteers on steam locomotive crew at a local heritage railway in addition to working on the engineering staff at Boilersmith.

Meanwhile, back at the McHugh Locomotive shop in Pennsylvania, one of the piston rods in being polished in the lathe and a driving box is getting some attention in the milling machine.

Was a new boiler always part of the plan? If not, was there one thing in particular which tipped things in that direction?

I received my March issue of Railfan & Railroad this morning and what should be mentioned in it but............Audrey and McHugh. Look on page 16.

The cost of repairing the old boiler was about the same as the cost of a welded replacement boiler. Among the many miracles that contributed to Audrey's preservation is that SOMEHOW she didn't blow up years ago. It's a very good thing that nobody had tried to put her back in service, because (I swear on my Grandmother's grave), that the firebrick was the only thing holding the inner side sheets in place... and the list goes on and on.

I was also influenced by my time working for the Texas State RR. We had four engines in regular service in those days, three of which had the original boilers. We were using Betz Entec water treatment and all of our boilers were repaired and operated in compliance with all applicable codes. Every month we did a washout on every locomotive, and these three engines usually coughed up a 5 gallon bucket full of scale and rust each time.

The fourth engine had a welded boiler made by Dixon, which used the same water and got the same chemical treatments that the other three did. Every month when we washed it out, we got less than a handful of soap suds out of it.

Here is a little glimpse of what has been happening with Audrey. I've been really busy and not been online very much or i would have posted something sooner.

Here is a new spring hanger pin compared to one of the old ones. All of the pins have been machined and are ready for installation.

The valve packing is finished and ready to go. The wick holders on this engine have been banged up, repaired, and have been repaired again by us. I like the these things, they add character.

Brake rigging is often neglected on heritage equipment. The brake hanger pins are in terrible shape, they have been removed from the frame, and new ones will be made in the near future. Fortunately, because Audrey is so small, we only have 4 of these pins to worry about.

The project is moving along nicely and we're all excited to see Audrey start to come back together. She is a cute little engine with tons of character, a kind owner, and a growing number of friends who are pulling for her. We've all heard the stories about other engines, XYZ railroad overhauled the engine and ran it for 3 months before the diesels came. Not Audrey, she was rode hard, banged up, worn out, and then neglected. I commend Sammy for the dedication has for his little engine. She is a sweetheart.

Tom Gears

After all these years of busting my knuckles for nothing on one steam locomotive or another, it is downright surreal for me to watch my own locomotive taking shape on the other side of the continent, like watching an internet movie of my life. As soon as we feel it's a good idea for us old fossils to travel, I will have to go out to Pennsylvania and nag the guys that have actually been doing all this work.

Funny thing, this project is going way better than any other I have ever been connected to, and I haven't been anywhere near any of the three work sites. You don't suppose...

New cab progress at the Vintage Rails Restoration 'silo' in Cheyenne, front cab is on its way to being assembled.

Mike Pannell

Mike -

Looking good!!!


Les

This is becoming one of the very best ongoing sagas ever. To all involved, please keep up the fine work.

Over the years, I've learned to shut up when the project is going well. I wouldn't want to mess these guys (and one young lady with a locomotive engineer's license, an engineering degree, and a job at Boilersmith) up by running my mouth.

At this point, the only thing I can do which might improve the Audrey overhaul, is to place an ad in RyPN Classifieds. Please check it out if you think you might have something we can use.

Thanks Again & Again to all our workers, friends, and complete strangers who are pulling together to bring the Saddletanker of my Dreams back to life.

I've not not posted anything in some time. A lot of parts have been fabricated and are sitting aside waiting to be installed. Here is a before and after photo of the pins through the frame that the brake rigging hangs from. The way I took the photo and the cropping distort the view a little, rest assured that they are right.

It couldn't happen to a nicer locomotive...

The latest work underway on Audrey involves boring the cylinders. I hope to post more in the near future.