Over the Easter weekend in Albany, OR, the 4449 crew did some old time real steam locomotive maintenance. Chris Fussell (F40PHR231) is an active member of the crew and took these pictures. They are the property of Chris and used with his permission. The No.2, main driver "dropped" on the Portland & Western drop table. Of course all of the rods, main and side, had to be removed to accomplish this. A shot taken from overhead. You can appreciate the size of these 80 inch drive wheels. Doyle is in charge, with the white hard hat to the right of the wheelset. Now, THAT'S a BEARING! Look at the size of that monster. This bearing had been running warm, reason for the work. Inspection revealed that the Babbitt metal was wearing away. Nothing wrong with the axle nor the brass. It will be repaired. Here is a posed crew shot following the work. Chris Fussell, the photographer/crewmember, is front row center in the dark grey overalls and white hard hat. The guy standing to the right with all the grease on him is Doyle McCormack.
I wish I had time to get involved in stuff like that. Those guys have to be living a dream right there.
Jim- There's no drop pit at the Brooklyn roundhouse? Or they couldn't get in, as it would tie up diesel work? Boxcab E50
Pat- I've been involved in similar work. It can be long, hard, and frustrating. But when the end result rolls away, there's a wonderful feeling! Boxcab E50
NNRy #40 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler had just had that kind of work done when I was at RailCamp last summer. Of course, "Serious" is a matter of perspective... A&TC #786 Mk5 2-8-2 Repair Status :shade: :shade: :shade: :shade:
I read somewhere that her 80" drivers precluded the work being done anywhere else. Apparently nobody else nearby had a drop table that could handle 80".
Yeah, the drop table, which I just learned is new construction, not left over from the steam era, is the closest one. I know there are pits at Brooklyn, but I don't think there is any drop table. Edit: Chris informed me that there is a drop table there, but it's not big enough to handle those drivers. BTW, when I went into the original post to edit an error, the "~" in the photo link got replaced by "967E". Each time I change it, another one resorts to that. I can't get all four pix to show up now. What's happening? :confused2:
You may be holding your mouth wrong. When I right-click on each photo, then select "Properties", the tilde (~) appears in each address to the left of your name. I can't replicate your problem precisely because I'm not allowed to "Edit" your post.
Those are nice, crisp photos Jim! It's great to see the old girl getting some well deserved attention. Has Doyle put on a little weight?
