Restoration Journal - May 10, 2008

We've been working on the engine here and there throughout the week. On Tuesday the remaining bolts on the rear bowl were driven out and the bowl was removed. As well, all of the hose bags between engine and tender (what was left of them anyways) were removed. The throttle linkage was fiddled with so that it will come apart more easily when the time comes. The throttle lever in the cab moves freely, however the cam shaft in the throttle is seized. We also took the opportunity to begin marking items that will have to be removed by the contractor to facilitate removing of the jacket. Sections of pipe, union fittings, bolts etc. were marked with orange spray paint.

On Friday, the big achievement was getting all the sand out of the sand domes. This sand actually came in handy later in the day. We removed some of the wood ties that were laid out around the locomotive as they were all rotted out and made nice living accommodation for bees. The sand came in handy for filling the holes that the ties left.

Saturday saw alot of work get done. We pulled out all of the gauges (well what's left of them anyways) from the cab, as well as all of the light fixtures. Rather then pulling the gauges off one at a time, we simply unbolted the two plates they were mounted to. As we removed the gauges and light fixtures, each air and steam line we disconnected was tagged with orange tape and a ball point pen. Not the best way to tag stuff, but it will due for the time being. Anyhow, the whole cab will have to be dismantled to remove the asbestos on the back head.

We also cleaned a great deal of coal out of the stoker trough and elevating pipe (We also helped ourselves to a few cobbles for posterity, I know mine will look nice next to my jar of sand). To our delight, the stoker screw is in quite good shape for some reason, with little wear on the flange of the screw. With most of the rubbish cleared out, we are going to have the city either vacuum out the stoker trough (and the smokebox) and/or possibly get the trough flushed out by the fire department. See my photos from last year for a before and comparison

The next big job was cleaning the area below the tender vestibule. The whole area was packed with tons of coal dust and rust from 24 yearts of service and 41 years of being a park engine. While the stoker screw was in good shape, this area has deteriorated quite badly and all the metal is very heavily corroded, the same applies to the two draw bars. After what we pulled out of there, I think the railway will have to change weight listed on the Mechanical Department Diagram. At least after all that cleaning, the area actually doesn't look too bad.

We also managed to oppress the bee population. I found several attempting to establish nests, at which point they were soaked in Bug-B-Gon (marvelous stuff by the way). Looking around the locomotive, we found some huge (abandoned) nests. The tender tool box had some nice ones, as did the water pump. I also scrapped out one hell of a colony on one of the cab windows. I think the bees are starting to see that they are not welcome, and at least now we have the means to get that point across.

One pest that we will have to deal with is the squirrel living inside the turret. He has been getting in through a small gap where the steam supply to the Inspirator comes out of the turret. He has also disturbed a great deal of asbestos and there is a nice pile sitting on the boiler. On Tuesday he came into the cab and had a bit of a freakout when he saw us there. He started running up and down the back-head, looking for an opportunity to jump the door and when he got his chance, he flew out. He obviously didn't care that it is a seven foot (plus) drop from the the deck of the cab. I know he survived, because today just as we finished packing up, I saw him scale the pilot. I tried to chase away him, but he dived into the ashpan. And speaking of squirrels, 6213 has a family complete with offspring in her safety valve turret.

During the course of working on the engine, the steam supply pipe to the stoker engine broke. It was wrapped in asbestos which has kept the pipe nice and soggy for the last 40 years (and coincidentally was the only thing holding it together) and when we disturbed its air space, the pipe broke. The Steam Heat line looks to be in the same condition. Also all of the Barco Flexible Joints are seized in place. We also broke the glass inside the water column while taking it apart. Not to worry though as they are a dime a dozen and replacements are easily obtained. On a positive note we had a peak at some of the friction bearings and they all seem to be in very reasonable shape. The worst ones only had some light surface rust on them.

You learn something new every day. Examining the air lines in the cab, I noticed that locomotive is configured in such away, that when the brakes are put into emergency, it automatically activates the sanders, so as the locomotives is grinding to a halt, the system is automatically pouring sand onto the wheels to try and assist the stop.

Sadly, while we had all of our forces concentrated on 6167, vulnerable 6213 was attacked. At some point during this week some punks smashed one of the windows on the cab. Fortunately nothing was damaged or stolen (as the cab had been stripped a while ago.

We removed the three hose bags between the engine and tender (two suction lines plus the condensate return line from the feed water heater).

Some of the sand we removed from the sand domes.

The steam supply pipe to the stoker engine broke, but you can see why.

All of the fixtures we removed from the cab.

The Fireman's side of the cab. Note all the tags we put on the lines we disconnected.

The dismantled water column. Keep in mind that the body was never painted in service, so in reality, its not as bad as it looks.

The Engineer's side of the cab.

Looking down into the draw-head casting after we cleaned several tons of coal dust out. The drawbar pin is visible in this photo.