Volunteer Work Log 2007This page outlines the activities of SBRHS volunteers while they keep 3751 operable during the year 2007 - as recorded by volunteers James Campbell, Wolf Fengler, Eric Cook and Steve Crise.
January Through May, 2007 - Over the last 5 months we have seen 3 operations for 3751. A rather intense schedule for us, given we consider ourselves lucky if we operate once or twice a year. The first operation was the February Educational Outreach Program (EOP) at Los Angeles Union Station, the second was our April EOP and the subsequent Centennial Rail Festival in San Pedro. Most recently was Fullerton Railroad Days in May. With all these operations, there has been little time to perform work on the locomotive above general maintenance in between trips. However a few things did see some attention.
The crew drilled out and replaced a staybolt that was found to be cracked during the last hydro. There was also some preventative maintenance performed around the front boiler saddle and cylinders this past winter. Work has continued, although slowly and infrequent, on the reefer. The body of the reefer is finally now resting on the truck and a new coupler pocket has been created and welded into place. Work is still required on the brake rigging.
Now that the latest round of events is over, the crew will focus on performing some of the other necessary work around the locomotive to prepare for possible upcoming events this autumn.
June 9, 2007 - The work session today continued the work started last weekend of removing the pin that holds the main rod to the crosshead. It was believed that the bearings and shimms in this connection may be worn and that this wearing may be the cause of the excessive "clanking" during operations. Once the pin was removed using a good old fashion sledge hammer and some protection over the pin to prevent denting, the main rod was released from the crosshead and an inspection of the shimms and bushings was conducted. Using some of the original Santa Fe drawings, it was determined that the tolerance was greater than the maximum allowed due to the considerable wear that had occurred. This will require new parts to be manufactured to original design specifications.
August 4, 2007 - We arrived at Redondo at about 9:30 A.M. and started the day by cleaning the flash rust from the rods. We used kerosene to soak the rods along with an aggressive caliber sponge and a high grade sand paper to penetrate the rust. A cloth shined the rods just fine. We finished the fireman’s side and half of the engineer’s side of the locomotive before lunch.
After returning from lunch and completing all the rods we brushed on a coating solution which will “hold our place.” This solution is a wax layering and self-healing solution. Rust will not be able to form on the rods as the moisture will not be able to penetrate this layer. It is self-healing in that if there were to be a ding put in the layering by dropping an object on it for example, it will regroup and close the wound. This layering will be washed off in the coming weeks at which point we will apply a permanent polish.
I joined Bob in the cab by dusting bulk-head, piping and controls. We concluded the day by washing down the floor.
August 11, 2007 - It was a bit of a short day today, we went to a facility a couple miles south of Redondo Junction in the city of Vernon where SBHRS has stored the first tool car from the Bakersfield trip. Yes we still have access to it and plans. The car is a 1930’s Santa Fe combine car (half passenger/ half baggage).
This morning’s activity was to remove graffiti which covered nearly an entire side of the car. We started out by using a lacquer thinner and a high-grade sponge to get the paint off. But, in little time, we found that by simply applying paint stripper by a brush ate away all the layers of paint within seconds. You could watch the paint crumble right before your eyes! The proud and strong stainless steel of those old Santa Fe cars is what helped make the paint removal go so smoothly. The treated paint can be wiped away completely with a dry rag. Any lingering spots were scrubbed with a sponge and lacquer.
lesson of the day: when working with solvents purchase gloves made for handling solvents! With lacquer and thinner, vinyl gloves dissolve like tissue paper in water.
There was no task that could be started in the afternoon and reasonably completed or paused so the day ended around 2:30 pm.
August 18, 2007 - The morning work revolved around repairing a small leak in the second drivers’ journal box . Bob, our CMO, crawled under the locomotive and poured in a compound called Buna N. to line it. A second and maybe a third lining will be poured next weekend. Buna N. is a tank liner that is used to line the fuel tanks of air craft. The process was a thorough cleaning and drying then pouring enough Buna N into the bearing celler. Then after a few minutes the Buna N is drained and the celler is coated.
The small crack in the celler is thankfully away from the bearing race but has been giving us fits for years now. It is located in an area where we just can not service it until the driver is dropped. It was decided to line the interior of the celler with the expensive tank liner material, Buna N. This is just temporary and this problem will be adrressed correctly at a later date.
After lunch we focused on the break system on the reefer. We took into the tool car all the break heads and decided what type of machining would need to be done to fit them on the break beams.
After clearing the tracks we took two very heavy duty jacks and lifted up one end of the reefer. We placed a bedding of large wood blocks underneath and set it on those, still being held by the jacks with the reinforcement. By hand, the four of us, with the assistance of a pry bar, pushed the truck away from under the car. That in itself was quite a hefty task. By 3:10 P.M. we decided to end the day.
Next week work on the brakes for the reefer truck will continue. It seems as though this task will be our main focus until completed. There will be some research done on extending some track to make way for an auxiliary tender that Wolf is working on obtaining from Atlanta.
August 25, 2007 - Bob was already at work on putting the second coating of Buna N inside the journal of the fireman side of the second driver.
Back to the reefer repairs, The mechanical crew members continued working on cleaning the brake gear from the truck. We cleaned it with air-powered tools and metal rotary brushes. Afterward these parts were painted.
After lunch we attached the parts back to the truck after an extended search for a few missing pins. The parts were found boxed and labeled in the back of the reefer, where else would they be? Rhetorical question.
There was a possibility of not working on Labor Day Weekend but we decided that we’d like to still chip in and do our work on the railroad. Next weekend it is! Crew left near 5:00 P.M.
September 8, 2007 - Today Wolf Fengler went under the locomotive for a running gear inspection. Along with this was to check all the oil cellars on the pony truck axles, driver axles and trailing truck axles. The safety wires on the axle oil cellars were checked and replaced or retied. Interesting device along with the drain plugs. Each cellar has a drain and within the drain plug is a small chamber which has a chemical inside. If the bearing overheats the plug chamber opens letting out a foul smell. Humm sounds like most of our crew. Anyway the engineer and fireman can then smell this wretched odor letting them know that a journal is rapidly overheating and they should stop the locomotive.
After lunch we assembled the braking gear on the truck of our reefer. All looks good to go- complete with brake shoes!
September 15, 2007 - We started off this morning by assembling the draft gear for the reefer. The original gear (from the 1940’s) was too worn, damaged and out of date. Besides being out of date the old draft gear took a beating while the car was in MOW service during it's last years on the railroad. A good unit was donated to the project. At this point we are just making preliminary measurements before placing the unit on the car. Not all the mysteries are solved yet but the use of a book on freight cars from the 1940’s has been helpful. Before all parts are placed in the yoke the draft gear will need to be shortened and pinned. The complete unit will then be placed into the draftgear pocket. The first time the car is coupled against the pins will shear and the draftgear will lock into the pocket
We have noticed that one of the brake shoes on the reefer is riding up against the flange of the wheel. In use, this can wear the flange and cause a derail. In light of this we disassembled the brake gear from the truck and did some measurements. We found that the holes drilled at the ends of the brake beams won’t hold the brake heads to the exact specifications specified by the manufacturer. Both brake beams had to come off the truck to now under go repair and redrilling of the holes.
After lunch some minor discussion was held in our tool car. I took the liberty to grab a few rags and wipe down most of the dust and spider webs accumulating on the engine. Our day ended at 3:30 P.M.
September 22, 2007 - Due to the rainy weather the crew did not meet today. Bob did come to Redondo to tarp the engine.
September 29, 2007 - We arrived at Redondo this morning at 9:30 A.M. We are all so eager to finish the project involving the reefer. The holes on two of the brake beams were pinned and re-drilled about a week and a half ago by Dave. Our session started by attaching those two break beams on the truck along with the break heads, break shoes and pins.
This is a difficult task as there is minimal room within the confines of the truck frame to move the break beams around when attaching the break heads and shoes. These parts cannot be assembled first and then lowered into the frame as the frames’ dimensions would not allow it. After the beam is lowered inside the frame the heads and shoes are attached with much maneuvering. Finally, the assembled unit is held in place by hangers….also known as ‘dog bones’ as their shape resembles the contour of a femur or tibia.
The way it was with Santa Fe was that these parts were accessed by workers in a pit below the rails. Our situation of not having a pit, in my opinion, is not really a disadvantage- if such a heavy part were to fall it would be better for it to hit the ground than a crew member working below. The weight of the break beams are by all means considerable.
After pushing the truck by hand about 15-20 feet out from the reefer, we started on the draft gear (buffer and coupler action). The draft gear was compressed and gagged, or pinned, to allow it to fit in its frame, called the yoke. The draft gear is gagged and pinned to provide clearance for fitting up. Once the draft gear is in place the first time the car is coupled against the pins give way and the draft gear relaxes agaisnt the stops. Amtrak provided a forklift to place the draft gear and yoke, about 200 plus pounds, up into the frame. Unfortunately due to a weld bead the frame was just a bit tight to cause interferance in the draft gear pocket. After cribbing the pallet up and releasing the forklift several crew members helped release the gear. The gear was lowered by forklift and the weld bead was ground just a bit. Tony Neece and Bob Kittel took turns at this exhausting job. Once it was clear, the forklift lifted and successfully set the draft gear in the frame pocket. The braces were put in place and shop was then closed for the day.
This major task was a milestone in our reefer restoration work. Next week we will hopefully attach the coupler and any remaining break gear on the truck and push it back into place. In turn we will once again attach the truck to the body bolster. Once this great task is complete we will have an Amtrak switcher come and pull our beloved reefer onto the turn table, swing it around, and bring her back onto her track where we will accomplish the same tasks on the other truck. Crew left Redondo at 4:00 P.M.
October 6, 2007 - It was a short day today, we put the pilot back on the engine in preparation for a possible steam up this month. The pilot was off due to standard inspection of the pony truck and safety chains. Things are looking good.
November 10, 2007 – Our focuses continued today on the reefer. The morning started with Jim Campbell’s father, Glen Campbell, who came down to photograph the progress we’ve had in the past few months while Jim removed some paint and repaired some of the break rigging on the body of the reefer. Bob and Dave removed some old boarding on the underside of the body and replaced it with fresh new lumber. Sheet metal spark guages were made by Dave Clark and attached to the underside of the reefer. These guards are to keep sparks from the cast iron brake shoes from embedding inot the wood and starting a fire.
Things at Redondo tend to be a little slow at the end of the year. Shop was closed on November 17th. Naturally shop was closed November 24th for the Thanksgiving weekend. Shop is scheduled to open again on December 1st.
