September, 2014 started wet but we found enough dry days to complete the sandblasting and painting of the frame and cylinder block.   Sand blasting the interior of the boiler and removing scale from all the braces was completed and the first coats of Apexior I protective coating was applied inside the boiler.   All these activities took advantage of unusually  warm weather through the month.

Installation of a 12 inch Water line to connect the adjoining building in the Railroad complex went on for the entire month of September. Our storage containers were stranded on the other side of the chasm. While we still will not have water in our building, there will be a hydrant right off the corner convenient for filling the boiler and tender when the time comes. The contractor also leased our case 721 loader for the job.

Leonard (Swede) Swenson who is a veteran of Conoco/Philips here in Alaska, brought his visiting locomotive engineer brother, Gerald Swensen by for the tour on September 4th.  Gerald lives and works out of Lincoln, Nebraska.   Now Swede is hooked on 557 and will become part of the volunteer crew!

Grant Wrathall, retired Eastern Airlines Pilot, with a summer home in the area came by just to enjoy the ambiance of a busy shop and share in our enthusiasm for the job of bringing Gypsy back from the edge.  Nice donations followed each of these "tours"

September 11th we had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. Robert Fisher who at 92 years of age is enjoying his long retirement from the Alaska Railroad.   Robert spends summers with his wife Mary here in Alaska on the original family valley home. Retired ARR Master Mechanic, and regular volunteer, Jerry Peters and Robert shared stories from working together in the Anchorage Shops.

James Blasingame, retired  Alaska Railroad V.P for corporate affairs  toured the shop facility on September 20, 2014.   Jim has provided guidance in our fund raising strategy and was very complementary of the work being done by the 557 Mechanical Department.

The restoration of Engine 557 has reached another milestone. On Friday, September 26, we received our first inspection by the FRA. Michael Blackwell, Motive Power & Equipment Inspector was joined by 557 Chief Mechanical Officer, Jeff DeBroeck and Zacarias Biagtan also with the Federal Railroad Administration Region 8. The interior of the boiler was presented for inspection.

"I was very impressed with the restoration of the 557. I look forward to seeing it up and running. You have a great team of volunteers that have solid technical and professional expertise which was apparent during our inspection." to quote Michael Blackwell.  

The inspection report includes the following comment, "The restoration of the ARR 557 to date is very impressive, being restored with quality and pride."

Kudos to Chief Mechanical Officer Jeff Debroeck, Robert Franzen of Steam Services of America, and over 25 volunteers who are responsible for bringing us to this point in the restoration.

The tender was built by Lima for an Army 0-6-0 and then converted for use behind an Industrial Brownhoist wrecking crane. There were a number of hooks and brackets and a coupler mount on the tender as received from the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry. These odd items were removed as we repurposed the unit to go behind 557. While we had the opportunity to gain access we succeeded in rolling the frame upside down to allow work from the bottom. No time was wasted during the original construction on cleaning up flash and rough castings and there were several places on the frame where you could have given yourself a shave. About 40 man-hours went into grinding the most problematic sharp edges away prior to sand blasting. By easing the sharp edges, epoxy primer will also have a better purchase.

With the frame upside down we also trial fit the truck bolster while designing changes to the hand brake system. After sand blasting and painting from the bottom side the frame was rolled once again right side up for final cleaning and painting. Justin Larabee of Rodda Paints in Wasilla continues to provide industrial finishes for 557 as a major in-kind donation.

Amerigas, America's Propane Company, has been added to our growing list of in-kind donors.  Randy Bradford, Alaska Director, has donated equipment and product for our use preheating components during the installation of the new firebox.  One more expense we do not have to budget for.  Thanks to Randy and his crew at Amerigas.

Our crew is forever grateful to all the supporting organizations who daily contribute services and products in support of 557 restoration. The wall of honor continues to grow in recognition of our business supporters.

I would be remiss if I did not ask you to consider making a contribution to the Alaska Community Foundation 557 Fund at this time. We need private donations to match the very generous Rasmuson Foundation $350,000.00 challenge grant. Major expenses for certified contract welders and fitters are being budgeted now to install the new firebox sheets.

Checks can be sent to:

Alaska Community Foundation 557
3201 C. Street Suite 110
Anchorage, Alaska 99503

Patrick J. Durand, President