Engine 557 Restoration Company volunteer crews made steady progress at the Engine House in the past month.    B'Originals Signs installed a new sign on the railroad side of the engine house visible from every passing train and the Parks Highway.  The 557 sign garners lots of comments in the community and visitation at the engine house has increased dramatically.

Arkose Brewery in Palmer produced a special one time batch of 557 Revival Ale and we enjoyed the first tap party on June 29th.   Collectable 557 Revival Ale 64 oz. Growlers and 16 oz glasses with a fill are the premium offer for tax deductible donations of $100.00 or more.   There are a few of these limited edition premium packages  still available upon request at sewtrain557@gmail.com. Read all about Arkose and 557 here.

Jeff and Jerry worked in close quarters under the locomotive while removing the pedestal caps from the bottom of the driving boxes holding the axles.   Axle 4 is free and they are working on removing the nuts from the bolts and studs holding axle 3 in place.

When all the pedestal caps were removed 557 went up on four 100 ton air jacks until the drivers would clear the studs and could be rolled out from under the frame.   Driver set #4 weighing 4800 pounds is being rolled out to be picked up by the fork lift.

Art Chase and Tim Coahran both came down from Fairbanks for this special 5 day work session.   Art cleaning a driver set looking for defects became a regular activity.

Stewart Sterling provided this panoramic view of 557 up on jacks while the crew took a break before  setting the locomotive down on blocking and removing the jacks.   All the driving boxes and spring rigging was then removed and labeled while inspecting for wear and damage.  A coil spring and one leaf spring were found broken.  A future inventory of all the parts needing repair will result in a work plan for each system such as brake rigging, spring rigging, lubrication etc. 

Robert Franzen our P.E. from Steam Services of America spent 4 days with us in the Engine House evaluating the results of all the hundreds of ultrasound measurements taken of the various boiler sheets and components.  

The old fire pan removal has provided access for future repairs in the fire box.  The interior of the firebox and the ultrasound measurements underway are telling.  The fire box flue sheet and the crown sheet are areas of concern as are the firebox door and rear interior sheet.  Robert is preparing a work plan and quote for the repairs needed.   Robert provided a list of "to do" items that we will need to prepare before his next visit.

About the numbers:   The orange numbers indicate location of the original mill stamp on each component of the boiler to include serial numbers and the rated tensile strength of 55,000 lbs.  The white numbers are the recorded ultrasound measurement of the plate thickness at that location.

Thanks to all those who participated in our fund raising efforts over the past two months.  We are closing in on the halfway point on the Rasmuson Grant.    A $25.000 dollar donation would put us over the hump.  Or how about ten $2,500 or one hundred gifts at $250.00?

To all those BP employees who have contributed $300.00 to be matched by the BP Fabric of America Fund, thank you!   When matched by the generous Rasmuson Grant your $300.00 gift will bring a total of $1,200 to the bottom line for the Engine 557 Restoration Company.

If your employer has a charitable gift matching program, please let us know all about it.

Just a reminder,   make all contributions of $25.00 or more to:

The Alaska Community Foundation 557 Fund
3201 C Street, Suite 110
Anchorage, AK 99503

Dream Steam

Patrick J. Durand
President
Engine 557 Restoration Company