Back in steam with a new boiler:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=162933

With it becoming more common place for our beloved steam engines getting a completely new boilers I have some nut and bolt questions. Does anybody have any detailed stories on who they had build their boiler and if they had any troubles that they could share in the process of reboilering? I am not looking for bad PR for any boiler company, just did the design have to have final approval by FRA? When it came time tp fit the boiler was there any hidden surprises one needs to plan for. Retrofitting a large boiler could have surprises. Have these new boilers been all welded construction or did the fireboxes get threaded stays and rivited mudrings? I know Mid-Continent appears to be going forward with a replacement boiler for the CNW #1385, but have not heard of the final construction techniques for the firebox. I have heard many opinions of the pros and cons of welded vs threaded/rivited.

Hope someone could share some stories of there projects. I am personally glad to see some folks making the hard decisions to just go ahead and start new. With the cost of repairs it is at least an option that should be considered depending on the scope of work coming down the pike. Cheers, John.

Of course, I have a few detailed stories from the TSRR about 300's welded boiler installation, but I can't use that kind of language on Interchange!! If a short generalized answer will help, welcome to it:
Dixon Boiler Works in California built 300's new boiler, and they did a fine job. It has welded stays and mudring, which gave good service during the two years I worked on her. There certainly were a number of unplanned surprises when we took a new, solid, straight boiler and tried to fit it together with all those wrecked and rebuilt locomotive pieces. It probably took us the longest time to get the drip pans and draft openings fixed up so the fire went through her tubes instead of everywhere else anywhere near the track in search of oxygen. She didn't steam right and her fire kept going out until we got that straightened out. And there was an old bracket inside the dome that didn't quite let the throttle body align with the dry pipe. She wouldn't pass hydro until we tore that thing apart and reassembled it several times, and put all our "best brains" on it.

By all means, get an FRA approved boiler design. If you should ever have to sell the locomotive, you will have a better chance of recovering your investment if you do.

About all you can do to prepare for the unexpected on this kind of project is to allow plenty of extra time. Remember, it just makes it take longer if you get in a hurry.

Sorry, I LIED to you. #300 would pass hydro with the plug on her dry pipe, but she wouldn't stop leaking with the throttle installed because of that old bracket !! NOW I remember.

Anyhow, you get the idea I'm sure. One other thing you can do to gaurd against the unexpected and save time on your project is to get the most experienced help you can find, and listen to what those guys tell you. Don't pay too much attention to advice from people who've never done it for real.

Was it true that the 316 (201) backhead wasn't flanged, but had pipe segments cut in the radious? I have heard this from several, but I would suspect (and hope) that what was really done was relief cuts were made to ease the flanging.


I still don't see how you spend 8 million bucks for three boilers, though.

THAT, is a beautiful locomotive. Congrats to all who worked on getting her back under steam!

Many thanks for your reply, I hope the folks at Mid Continent read this. I can just about imagine how retro fitting a new boiler has it's headaches. I think that many people would have a misconception that it will be equivilent to a drop in Cummings motor swap. Having been around many smaller loco's and seen the many repairs already made, I can see the many headaches of replacing the boiler. Sort of like remodeling old farm houses, you have to stand on your head and think on your feet.

All the headaches acknowledged I still think it is going to be the only out for many engines in the future, especially the older boilers whose condition and design won't compute by todays standards.

Oh by the way, I like your thoughts on asking for help from the pro's to assist. I see a lot of rework coming down the pike or at least the potential for it, when professional advice isn't followed. Thanks again, John.

Agreed !
Can't speak to locomotive boiler design and all, but that is a beautiful sight. Is it just the combination of my computer and monitor, or is that just an extraordinarily sharp image ?

Wow.

Congrats to all involved, not often you get such impressive visual evidence of all the hard work that goes into a restoration job.