Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report December 2018

The winter solstice, December 21, brings us just over 5 hours of daylight and marks the beginning of winter for most of the country. Here at the 557 engine house we take a more positive view as days are now getting longer and spring is just around the corner. This was also the coldest day we have had at 1 degree F.

A South bound freight with two MAC 70s on the point went by the engine house at 9:15 a.m. and there was not even a glimmer of sunlight yet. The cover of darkness was broken with a train of flats loaded with U.S. Army Strikers, M1128 Mobile Guns and support equipment. Another MAC 70 was at mid train under distributive power followed by a long string of TOFC mostly empty containers headed to the Port of Alaska in Anchorage.

Since the the November 30, 2018 magnitude 7 earthquake here in the Wasilla and Anchorage area, life has pretty much returned to normal. There have been over 4,000 after shocks with many in the 4 plus range up to 6.4. Several schools and public building have been shuttered until structural repairs can be made. There were no major injuries or deaths. You can find details in the local papers at adn.com or frontiersman.com.

The 557 engine house is a concrete block building 50 by 90 feet with 28 foot walls and 28”X6” glue lam beams on 6 feet centers, supporting a clear span flat roof. The building dates to the 70’s but it came through without a crack. There were minimal disruptions as a few fastener bins unloaded, tool chest tipped over. A cabinet on the east wall opened but amazingly dumped very little.

When the earth shakes, gravity wins every time. The locomotive probably weighs 100K pounds in its current state and sets on wood timbers laid across the rail head. The cylinder block end stayed in place and the firebox end moved about 5 inches to the West. In the machine shop area the lodge and Shipley, the milling machine and shaper all moved about 4 inches to the North. They were not secured to the floor and that is just as well. There is no logic to movement for falling objects, we are thankful that Friday was not a regular work day. Clean up took about three hours and the rest of the day was spent securing items in anticipation of the next big one.

The two crown sheet pilot holes have been tapped 1” NPT for the new fusible plugs. Michael Vawter of Stellar Industrial Technologies Co. Inc. has supplied our new stock of ASME coded fusible plugs. 

Rod (Welding Rod) Hansen finally got some time away from his 7/12 schedule with ENSTAR gas company to do some welding projects on 557. The first, was welding the plug into the abandoned odd hole at the top of the front tube sheet. This tube was eliminated when the new fire box tube sheet was designed. Here the finished weld is shown between the strong backs. Then he finished out the welds in the firebox door where the back head and rear firebox sheets meet. We reserve all the structural welding on the firebox for Rod’s experienced touch.

The uni-strut pallet shelving allows reconfiguring the work platform regularly as needed. Rigid stay bolts on both side sheets have now been prepared for hammering both inside and out.

Terry, Mike and Tom team up on the air motor to ream and tap the firebox sheet for the flexible stay bolts. The work takes control and concentration as the reamer and tap are passed through the outer sheet sleeve guide and finally cut through the firebox sheet. Ron Dudley stands inside the firebox in his catchers position with a PCV plastic tube to receive the tap as it passes into the firebox.

December 22, was our last work day in the shop for 2018. The crew is off enjoying the Christmas season and we will resume with a work call for Wednesday, January 2, 2019. This allows us to wrap up the December report early.

Please recognize the dedicated cadre of volunteers who have invested over 70,000 hours hands on, while restoring Engine 557. The core group for December is represented by the Thursday crew and the Saturday crew present this last week. 29 individuals volunteered hands on with 557 in 2018.

There are three legs of financial support that keep 557 moving forward.

1. Major grants have come from Rasmuson Foundation, Atwood Foundation, The extended Jansen Family, John H. Emory Rail Heritage Trust, Kahiltna Family Trust, MEA Round Up, National Railway Historical Society, Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm Heritage Area, GREX Rail Solutions and LORAM.

2. Our many dedicated In-Kind Corporate friends providing goods and services. Estimated value is now over $600,000 in support.

3. Individual contributors who share our vision of 557’s future. Our Treasurer, Richard “Dick” Morris posted a $5000.00 matching challenge to kick off our December fund raiser. Another anonymous donor bumped this by another $20,000 and we are off to a great start.

The big unfinished business for December is to close out the annual fund raiser with a big bang! Your individual contributions help validate our project when we go after major grants.

Our entire fund raising effort is conducted by 557 volunteers. The only expenses are paper, ink and postage. Every dollar donated goes to the project. The most efficient way to donate is to simply send a check to:

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

You can donate on line via PayPal.

Thank you for your support through out the year. Best wishes for 2019!

Patrick J. Durand, President

 

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