Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report April 2018

Spring cleanup is underway in Wasilla and our volunteers stepped out to tidy up the right-of-way and yard along the main line at the 557 Engine House. In the distance you can see the connection to the main line that will serve 557.

The Heritage Rail Alliance held its spring conference in Strasburg, PA April 12-14.   I attended three days of seminars on short line and tourist railroad issues.   Rode lots of trains behind No. 89 and No. 90. There is a steam engine powered train leaving Strasburg station for Paradise, PA about every hour during the day and at times more often.  No. 475 a 4-8-0 Mastodon is nearing her 1472 day inspection. There were four steam locomotives, 2-6-0, 4-8-0, 2-10-0 and a 4-4-0 Cagney all in operation at the same time.     The shop is humming with repair work on their 4-6-0 and several other customer jobs.   The railroad employees 130 people and hauls thousands of people each year.   They also provide connection to the main at Paradise and deliver and pickup freight cars for Strasburg customers. Conference attendees had a pass to ride all four days on all trains. I boarded the combine coupled next to No. 90 on an out bound freight with a load of chicken “stuff” in a covered hopper.

All this happens on 4.5 miles of track with run-arounds at each end and a passing siding in the middle.   All trains back out, run-around at Paradise and are engine first returning to Strasburg.   Add the Strasburg Railroad to your bucket list. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is just across the street as a bonus.

We thank our major in-kind sponsor, Alaska Airlines for providing RT tickets for service between Anchorage and Philadelphia.

Vic Jansen and Steve Rimple (Monte Holm’s Grandson)  have arranged a major donation of “Once a Hobo”, Monte’s autobiography which features 557 prominently.   Monty saved 557 from the scrap line in Everett, Washington.  We will shortly receive 480 copies on a pallet.   We will need some help selling these! All proceeds go to Engine 557 Restoration Co.

We are accepting orders here which allows for payment by credit card or paypal. Just let us know how many copies you want and provide a mailing address. We will pay the postage.

“ONCE A HOBO” @ $25.00 ea. Postage Paid

You can order by mail. Just send your check for $25.00 per copy to:

Engine 557 Restoration Co.
PO Box 875360
Wasilla, Alaska 99687-5360

Jerry Peters and Tom Walker have just completed the governor voltage adjustments and obtained 33 volts DC from the Pyle National dynamo running on air.  They then went on to connect to the cab and tender electrical systems and tested the dynamo under load.   We are all pleased with the progress.  They will make the final adjustments under steam and full load when 557 is ready to roll.

Rebuilding the K240 dynamo was not a cake walk. These are actually quite complex machines but Jerry Peters has the knowledge and patience to see the job through. The steam packing assembly is supposed to be securely fixed to the turbine shaft with two clamping screws. When last in service it was not secured and wore an egg shaped depression in the shaft. Machinist, Laverne Buller, machined the shaft round with radius corners following advice of Jeromy Ring at Alaska Roteq. Then Jeromy put it through the spray weld shop as an in-kind job by Roteq. The shaft repair was then completed by Laverne. Thanks to Jeromy Ring, Bob Schmidt and the entire crew at Roteq for their continuing support of Engine 557 restoration.

Final fit of the pilot beam braces was accomplished by heating the flange end of the brace with a rosebud while it was held about an inch from the smoke box surface.  CMO Jeff DeBroeck applied the heat.

Tom Walker and Dean Sawyer inserted new grade 8 bolts and nuts and then using an air impact wrench to pull the components together.

The Ship Creek Industrial Complex has been the home of former ARR passenger cars #88 and #43. CEI offered the cars to Engine 557 along with former Power Car P5. These cars are being stripped of modifications made by the US Air Force as reported last month. Interior of P-5 show the results of clean up. Stripping out the interior mods of the other two cars will be a more complex job. Fortunately the original diaphragm between the cars is in still in place.

Terry Douglas and Jerry Cunnington have been milling clearance in the back side of the original side frames to facilitate installation of the Timken roller bearings on the new axle and wheel sets. This is a challenging setup on the milling machine taking advantage of its capabilities.

Clifford Leask and Ben Wetstein called at the engine house to deliver a $500.00 unrestricted donation from the Sons of Amvets Squadron 49. They are the third Squadron to adopt Engine 557 Restoration Company as a cause worthy of supporting with proceeds from their gaming activities. 557 as a G.I. locomotive built for the Army Corps of Engineers will certainly do her part to wave the flag for veterans.

You can learn more of the Sons of AMVETS.

Photos of engine 557 arrive from personal collections and often on referral from 557 board member, John Combs. John is webmaster of alaskarails.org and a recent contribution came from the Dan Bolyard Collection. 557 on the Mon-road Railroad, a few hundred feet of track at Monte Holm’s House of Poverty Museum in Moses Lake Washington. Is it wishful thinking or is that whiff of smoke from a locomotive under steam?

Come and visit Gypsy when you can.

Patrick J. Durand, President
President Engine 557 Restoration Company

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