Volunteer Work Log 2006This page outlines the activities of SBRHS volunteers while they keep 3751 operable during the year 2006 - as recorded by volunteers James Campbell, Wolf Fengler and Steve Crise.
January 7, 2006 - The first Saturday back for the New Year involved cleaning the rods of flash rust that had accumulated over the past three weeks and patching the number 2 driver roller bearing leak that had been plaguing the engine and crew for several years. While we had guys working on “de-rusting” the rods, four of us worked on cleaning, inspecting and patching the crack found in the oil cellar of the roller bearing box. The hairline crack being in the oil cellar area and did not affect the bearing races. Also the crack was many years old as well as the Santa Fe attempt to repair the same. Welding was not an option for many reasons and since any repair would not affect the roller bearing itself it was decided that an epoxy patch would be applied. The epoxy used was Marine-Tex. This epoxy is used on boats and ships repairing engine blocks, water tanks , fuel tanks and even wood and metal hulls. The bearing cellar was drained then repeatedly flushed with solvent until all oil residues were gone. The Marine-Tex epoxy patch was applied from the outside then left to set up.
January 14, 2006 - Today it was raining for the first part of the day, so very little was done around the compound. Jim Campbell was the first to arrive in order to place tarps over the running gear to help minimize the flash rust from returning. Tony Neece, Dave Clark and Bob Kittel soon followed. The epoxy on the roller bearing oil cellar was checked and found to have set up very well. The cellar was then filled and no detectable leaks were noted. We did check again after many weeks to make certain that we didn’t have weeping.
January 28, 2006 - With news that our Educational Outreach Program event scheduled for the week of February 6th had been approved by Amtrak, the crew prepped the locomotive for light off, which included installing the fire-up fuel, air and the water hose connections used for filling the tender and boiler with. Later that morning, Wolf Fengler and Jim Campbell returned to Union Station to measure possible clearance problems associated with Track 13 (the eastern most track at the station which is not assigned to a platform). Much to everyone’s disappointment, it was found that the locomotive would not clear the skylight cap. It was decided that before anything was removed from the locomotive, Bob Kittel would discuss the situation with Amtrak to determine if Track 12 might be an alternative.
February 2, 2006 - Today, a small crew was present at the compound to fill the boiler and tender with water. In addition, it was found earlier in the week that Amtrak would not be able to accommodate the educational program on any other track, so the decision was made then to remove all components of the engine that could be removed on the fireman’s side that were identified as being clearance issues, this included the maintenance step for the running gear, the cab steps and the tender belly box.
February 3, 2006 - Today was start-up, fire-up day, with crew call about 9:30am. The circulator pump that had been restored the last half of 2005 was tested and worked as planned. The purpose of the circulating pump is to move the water around as it is being heated. This in turn heats all the boiler sheets and courses evenly. Also a somewhat accelerated fire up schedule can be used. Once the operating pressure of 230 PSI was reached all of the support systems were put through their paces. That is air pumps, dynamo, injector and water delivery systems. The brakes are run and a terminal air test is done and then the fire is dropped and locomotive boiler capped ready for the next morning.
February 4, 2006 - Crew call was at 6:30am this morning so that enough time could be permitted to bring the boiler back up to operating pressure before moving to Union Station, which was expected to be mid to late morning. Once the steam pressure was sufficient, the locomotive was moved to one of the inspection tracks, for additional servicing and inspection. After a brief inspection, the locomotive was moved down the “101” track towards Union Station, arriving at the east end of Track 13 a short time later. Nearly 2 hours passed before the locomotive moved down towards the cars at the south end of the platforms due to a miscommunication and the fear of clearance problems. As the locomotive neared the cars and the capped skylight, it slowed to a crawl and passed by the skylight inch-by-inch, in some cases clearing it by less than an inch. Slight disappointment came when it was realized that everything, but the tender steps at the rear of the train could clear. Thankfully, there was still room to assemble the cab viewing platform, so once the engine was tied down, work proceeded on setting up the platform and getting the cars ready for the EOP on Monday, and a catered event for sponsors later that evening.
February 5, 2006 - The engine was on public display Sunday and between Monday and Thursday, hosted nearly 1,000 fifth grade students. For more information on this event, please check out the Los Angeles EOP page. Overall, it was a very successful week, despite a few hiccups early on. The engine was scheduled to be moved back to Redondo the evening of February 9th.
February 10, 2006 - Unfortunately, the locomotive did not move back to Redondo as planned on Thursday evening, nor the rescheduled time of Friday morning due to commuter traffic and the American Orient Express tying up much of the yard tracks providing access to Redondo. Finally on Friday evening, the crew was given the order to proceed back to the yard, arriving back in the late evening. The fire was then dropped and all of the collectables removed from the engine. As usual it seems that we are late night early morning doing this routine. It was finished and everyone disappeared into the night.
February 11, 2006 - Not much could be done with the locomotive today since the boiler was still hot, so the boiler cleaning and draining were delayed until the following weekend.
February 18, 2006 - Today Jim Campbell was the first one to the compound, and began linking the fire hoses to the tender for draining. Shortly thereafter, Bob Kittel and Rowland Fogarty arrived and worked on attaching a hose to the boiler for draining. Once the boiler was drained all the washout plugs were removed and the boiler interior was thoroughly washed. Also today, most of what had been taken off of the engine for clearance problems prior to the week at Union Station were placed back on, with the exception of the belly box, which was left for another weekend since it was threatening rain for most of the day. The last item to accomplish today was placing the tarps back over the engine.
February 25, 2006 - The major task to accomplish today was pumping, filling the superheater units with preservative. Unlike the last several times this was done, draining it into a large storage tank prior to the Educational Outreach Program saved much of this preservative. This task was accomplished by noon, with several smaller tasks being worked on in the afternoon.
March 4, 2006 - The first order of business today was to take delivery of about 350 gallons of excess diesel fuel courtesy of GE. Dan also led a project to extend our airline around the compound. We now have connections along the back fence from the main air connection over to the front of the locomotive. This will make it easier to connect to the blower line during startups. We will also be creating a work area near the back fence by moving the outdoor vice and some other equipment - the air connections will support that as well.
March 11, 2006 - There was no work session today due to rainy weather.
March 18, 2006 - Despite the possibility of rain we did have a few brave souls show at Redondo. Jim was the first to arrive at the compound, and was soon followed by Dave Clark, Danny, Smokey, and later Steve Crise. Most of the work involved cleaning and organizing the compound. The firebrick pallets and the mobile hot water pressure washer were moved out of the way finally, and we also cleared the northeast corner area of all remaining shelving material to allow for the work area to be setup for the work bench, the outdoor vise, and other equipment. We also fixed a flat tire on "3751 junior" (electric cart) and got rid of some of the plywood that was cracked or molding. The day ended around 1:30.
March 25, 2006 - In addition to the ongoing work of "house cleaning", work was done on the locomotive in testing a 6N-distributing valve, which is being considered to replace the older 6KR valve or just to hold in reserve. The 6KR has the older slide valves, which are harder to maintain. The 6N, while still an older valve dating into the 40s, has only one slide valve and the rest of the valves are diaphragm type, making it much more reliable and easier to maintain. The replacement is not complete yet as today's exercise was only to use the locomotive brake stand as a test fixture for the 6N. It was good that we did this as the 6N failed in one of its circuits. Later, we will remove the 6N valve and go thorough it to determine what is wrong.
Other smaller jobs today included inserting rubber tubes into the tires of "3751 junior" to help minimize the number of flat tires and clean up and organization of the compound, which today included attaching additional air fittings to the extended air line around the compound, and beginning the process of moving the work benches and vise to the new work area.
April 22, 2006 - Work was completed on setting up the new “workshop” after moving the welder, workbenches, and vise. The shade tarp however had been destroyed the previous week when a freak tornado went through the compound. The new location of the workshop allows for much needed room between the locomotive and tool car, which was becoming cramped for space.
Additional work focused on repairing a crack that was located on the boiler saddle, at the front of the locomotive. The crack was “V’ed” out today and will have a weld repair done on it later.
April 29, 2006 - Today work focused on the reefer. The coupler pocket was prepped for cutting finally, which meant all wood within close proximity to where the cuts will be made had to be removed. The nuts and bolts holding the wood were rusted tight, and much of the wood was brittle. The wood was removed in pieces (and splinters) and will be replaced when the couple pocket is ready to be reattached. It is not known yet when the coupler pocket will be cut out, but it is hoped that this can be accomplished within the next month.
May 6 & 7, 2006 - No work was performed at the compound today, as the crew was volunteering their time to man the SBRHS booth at the annual Fullerton Railroad Days.
May 13, 2006 - Volunteers today did some rust clean-up work on the reefer around the coupler pocket and did a photo survey of the damaged area. Dan and Wolf studied the structural connections and both now agree (as does Bob) that the best approach is to cut a section of the frame out (not the whole pocket), fabricate a new section and weld it back in. Sam and Wolf also studied the left side combination lever. Some of the lateral clearances are too tight according to the folio so they were looking for binding.
June 10, 2006 - Today, after months of discussing and preparing, the damaged coupler pocket section was cut out using a plasma torch. This section will then be used to design a new piece to be fabricated and welded back into place within the next few weeks.
July 8, 2006 - Not much was done today. A small crew removed the tarps that had been placed over the driving wheels and traveled over to Coast Packing to check on the status of the new coupler pocket assembly.
July 15, 2006 - Little was done today due to the extreme heat that has been occurring the last few days. Only Wolf and Matt came out to Redondo to again checked on the progress of new coupler pocket piece as well as search for the Society's Multiple Unit Control Box for possible installation on locomotive.
July 22, 2006 - With the new coupler pocket created, the crew spent the day readying the reefer for inserting new coupler pocket piece. A group also traveled to Coast Packing to pick up and transport the new coupler pocket piece to Redondo.
July 29, 2006 - To allow for a solid weld, two crew members began grinding off the remaining angles on the coupler pocket for welding in of new piece. This will also need to be done to the remaining pocket on the reefer where the new piece is to fit. In the midst of this, we test fitted the new piece in place, to side the amount of grinding that will need to be done. During this, a second crew was busy performing rust cleanup and prevention treatment to locomotive running gear.
August 5, 2006 - The crew today continued grinding down the remaining coupler pocket to adjust angle. In addition, shims were welded on to the draft gear bumper, and the coupler pocket was again test fitted into place. Rust cleanup and prevention treatment to locomotive running gear was continued so finshed what was not done the previous week.
There are no other work reports for the remainder of 2006.
