Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report April 2021

Spring finally arrived with a week of record breaking 60° temperatures and the snow evaporated in the Wasilla breeze. Right across the railroad main line and the Parks Highway are representatives of many fast food institutions, so with the thaw the wind blown trash blooms up faster than dandelions. Getting a jump on Wasilla Cleanup Days, Mike McKervey, Lynn Willis and Pat Durand made a sweep between the Alaska Railroad main line and the 557 facilities. Among the treasures found were a $20.00 bill and a ready made sign. We like subtle hints.

The City of Whittier soon will display a new 557 exhibit next to the World War II monument in the plaza at the South end of the pedestrian tunnel under the Alaska Railroad yard. Historian Ted Spencer is the man responsible for the fabulous Prince William Sound Museum in Whittier. The 714th Railway Operating Battalion, Engine 557 and her S-160 sisters are honored for their service in Alaska.

What others say:

From Mike Sypult, President of the Arkansas Boston Mountains Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Springdale, Arkansas: “Hello Pat, Daniel and I enjoyed the visit and wonderful tour!  Thank you much for taking the time and effort to show us around.  Your team is doing amazing work and making great strides! We truly enjoyed the experience of seeing just how intricate the restoration of a locomotive can be. Your motto "We only get one chance at this, so let's do it right" is very evident in all you are doing.  We are excited to see all the blood, sweat and tears come to fruition in the near future.”

Tuesday, April 13 was not a regular work day at the 557 Engine House but Mike Bridges called me in because he wanted to make a repair on the milling machine so it would be available the next day. We had just opened up, when Mark Daniels, FRA Region 8 Administrator called from right here in Wasilla. He had just read our March Progress Report and realized he was within a mile of the 557 Shop. He got an immediate invitation and 10 minutes later Eldon Offutt and Mark Daniels were on the shop floor where we spent the next 90 minutes in depth with 557. We realized it was August of 2013 when Mark last visited.

Mark is due to retire soon so he introduced his Deputy, Eldon Offutt on this Alaska Railroad orientation. I really appreciate the time they devoted to our 557 tour so they got more than a superficial look at the level of restoration work being done.

Brandon King continues as the Region 8 “FRA Steam Guy” so we will continue to work with him. It is affirming that the top Administrators for Region 8 take an interest in 557. To quote Eldon, "I have visited a number of restorations with Brandon, and 557 has to be the cleanest and best organized, I have seen." From Mark came this note: “Pat, I appreciate the time you spent going over the 557. The passion you have for the restoration of that steam locomotive is very evident and I wish you well in the future.”  

More 557 trivia. When Jerry Peters was working on our third K-240 dynamo (steam turbine generator) he discovered that the armature had only 20 segments, while the other two had 40 segments. Whasup? Bernie Watts at Back Shop Enterprises advised that the early units with 20 segment armatures were simple K-2 models. When they improved the design to 40 segments they became the K-240 models. The armatures are interchangeable and over the years were obviously switched on occasion as our three units were all tagged as K-240 models.

Consultant, Paul Dalleska, is engineering all the components to install a 26L brake system, replacing the original 6 ET that 557 operated with before. The 26L will give the PTC system the ability to make the required penalty brake applications required should the system be activated.

The 26L has several advances over 6ET, most notably is the system will maintain pressure in the brake pipe during a brake application, preventing the braking force from increasing during longer periods of braking, giving the engineer better control and shorter cycle times. Another benefit will be the addition of MU controls that allow 557's brakes to control, or be controlled by an Alaska Railroad locomotive.

In the cab the refurbished cabinet to hold the automatic brake valve has been located and installed. The top of the cabinet will be the mounting location for the cab radio. Below the cab the components are being located to minimize the length of pipe runs and provide access for exchange of the portions for servicing, without conflicting with the injector controls and other components in the space.

Fred Meyer/Kroger stores reported that the 26 households who have designated Engine 557 under the Community Rewards Program resulted in a contribution of $84.70 in the last quarter. Imagine what would happen if 260 families signed up! If you have not designated a qualified non-profit organization for this rewards program, PLEASE specify Engine 557 Restoration Company. Read all about it here.

Dick Morris our Secretary/Treasurer maintains a network of resource people on line and regularly posts on Railway Preservation News. He also maintains our Engine 557 Facebook page, which reaches a different audience than our Monthly Reports. I invite you to check it out for almost daily posts.

Universal joints in sizes #0, #1, #2 and #3 are used between the manifold and the extended handles for valves in the cab. They are also used for the injector water controls through the cab floor. We came up a few short even after rebuilding some badly worn ones. Dick reached out to Pat McKnight at Steamtown on a Friday evening with request for drawings from either Prime or Nathan for U-Joints. In just 4 hours that same evening Dick had the drawing in hand. That is service above and beyond, thanks to Pat and the National Park Service Archive at Steamtown.

Here is the process in Dick’s own words; Most of the steam accessories on the locomotive including the generator, sanders, and power reverse obtain their steam from the turret which is on top of the boiler and about a foot forward of the cab. Each accessory has its own shut off valve at the turret, controlled from the cab via a long extension of the valve stem. At the valve, each has a universal joint. With a need to install additional valves came a need for more U-joints. Finding no source for the original “Nathan #1” design, Dick Morris offered to manufacture a few. Combining the ancient technique of investment (“lost wax”) casting, original circa 1940 Nathan drawings from the Steamtown National Historic Site archives, and 21st century 3D printing he has created prototypes for replica U-joints and special valve handles. Pictured with the completed parts are examples of the purple “wax” patterns printed from special castable resin. Several patterns are printed at a time and this is what they look like immediately after being printed and cleaned. The parts were cast in silicon bronze using the investment process. Always trying to keep costs down, the bronze was recycled and had been collected a few months earlier when machining suspension shoes using the “super swarf sucker” described in the November, 2020 status report.

Dick has been building an S-160 in 1/8th scale for years. He can scale these up or down so I expect to see some 1/8 scale versions in the future. Is there a market for these U-joints in the restoration community? Let us know if so.

Dry fitting all the suspension links and the driving boxes continues. Terry Douglas cleaned out a mounting pin hole on a rear spring set. All the links have new bushing and we still need to make 8 new pins. With the new bronze shoes in place, the refurbished driving boxes are fitted up to make sure the wedges have working room. One final check is then made to assure that the center lines of each axle will be perpendicular to the frame and their center to center spacing is dead on to match the rods. Tom Walker and Terry are doing most of this fit up.

The engine truck (pony truck) was badly abused and worn. New rocker pins were made earlier, but we found the hart links needed to be built up and remachined to the original specs. New bushings for the lower end of the hart link are also being made. Next step will be to pour new Babbitt for the two journal bearings. This will all be installed along with the driving box/driver assemblies so it is a priority job.

Piece by piece the locomotive is coming together as all the work done on sub assemblies over the years is now paying off. The smile on Jeff DeBroeck’s face is coming easier as the components are finding their proper place on 557.

The 557 company store is open for business with product ready to mail. Contact us at sewtrain557@gmail.com or 907 350 4340 to place an order.

Patrick J. Durand
President 557

 

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