That's a nice brief about MA & PA 82. I'm curious about the boiler tube pilot on the 82. What's the story behind it?

Good question.Boiler-tube pilots were common on the Ma & Pa up until the mid-1950s, when the diesels finally took over. I can find lots of photos of diesels 80 and 81 with the pilots in the 1940s and 1951; however, 82 was delivered in 1951, and apparently was sporting a sheet metal pilot by 1958.Given the history of this line and the MPAPS, it's likely an "original" tube pilot surfaced somewhere on the railroad during restoration to original paint in 1992.

Reading the brief, I am curious as to what the nature of the problem is that makes it is cheaper to replace the engine block rather than repair the original. Alan Maples

I'm not an MPAPS member or official, but I can pass on some general impressions:The Preservation Society does not have a formal shop or enginehouse, nor do they have access to one. Their trackage is isolated from the rest of the railroad network, and is pretty much "in the middle of nowhere." At best, they've put up "Quonset tents" for some work. Therefore, they have limited capacity to do rebuilds on anything larger than a Fairmount track car or Whiting Trackmobile. One thing they do have going for them, however, are some of the actual mechanics that maintained 82 on the MPA over the years, either as restoration mechanics or brain cells.The problems with the 82's engine that I heard about supposedly had to do with a combination of coolant leaks and worn rings. This is like one of those situations where your car mechanic comes back and tells you "well, the head gasket is blown, and so are the rings, and she's blowing oil. WE can take out the original engine, rebuild it, and put it back in for two grand; we can drop in a factory-refurbished engine for seventeen hundred; or we can try and find a junkyard engine with low enough miles to be worth it for seven hundred........"

Coolant leaks are not uncommon with B engines but can be cured by replacing the seals, using a good water treatment to prevent rust buildup, and keeping an eye on things. Given that this locomotive is "historic" to the MPAPS, I'd suggest they look into replacing the power assemblies rather than the whole engine block. I think they would find it easier, cheaper, and would preserve more of the "historic fabric" (if that's important to anyone.) There are enough short lines, contract shops and traveling mechanics in Pennsylvania to be able to find someone who can do the job at a reasonable price.It is always a risk giving unsolicited advice without having seen the engine in question, but generally I wouldn't pull an engine block unless there was crankshaft damage or because life-cycle costs justified upgrading to something newer.That being said, I did get rid of all our B-block units at the Everett Railroad because we work them hard and there was real cost-benefit to going with BC's and C's. On the other hand, I also assist with a short line that has a pair of SW-9s, old B-blocks, light duty use, and they work out just fine.Replacing an engine block can certainly be done, but it is not a small job.Alan Maples

The Ma & Pa purchased 3 EMD diesel switchers in 1946 and added a fourth in 1951. SW-1 #70 was used as a switcher, mostly in York, and always had footboards. NW-2's #80 and #81 and SW-9 #82 were used as road engines, and all three of them were fitted with pilots fabricated from strip steel (unlike the real boiler tube pilots on some of the steam engines). Most pictures from the 1950's show the pilots covered with steel sheet. The Ma & Pa typically covered the pilots of its steam engines with steel sheet in the winter to clear snow. Perhaps they started to follow the same practice with the diesels but found it easier to leave the solid sheet in place. By the mid-60's summer pictures of #82 again show the open strip steel pilot, and the pattern of open in summer and covered with steel sheet in winter seems to persist through the 1970's. The same pilot was retained when #82 was repainted yellow and black in about 1970. By 1983 the pilot had been removed and replaced with a solid vertical sheet with no footboards. The current pilot was welded up from strip steel and installed on #82 in 1992 when the engine was restored to its original black paint scheme with yellow lettering.Craig Sansonetti

The Preservation Society would prefer to retain the original 567-B engine in #82; however, the engine was professionally evaluated by a reputable firm hired by the Society and the cost of repair was found to be prohibitive. At least four power assemblies need to be replaced and all heads and liners are leaking badly. Apparently seal kits are unlikely to solve the leaking because there has been warping due to overheating of the engine.Based on the best information available to the Preservation Society, swapping out the original B engine for a B/C good running takeout will be far less expensive than repairing the original engine.Craig Sansonetti

Dear Craig,Thanks for the information on the prime mover. I would suggest that when it is removed that it be retained for use as an interpretive exhibit - either at Muddy Creek Forks or perhaps as a loan to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania or the B&O museum - (which could open the door for a reciprocal loans from them). It would be useful to educate people on how locomotives function, but it would also have interest because many people are amazed at just how large prime movers are.Tom Cornillie

The B&O Museum has/had at least one large EMD prime mover on display.The RR Museum of Pa.: I don't remember a prime mover on display, but as I recall they also have former Ma & Pa 81 in their collection.