Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report May 2022

As of May 5th the birch trees all sprouted leaves and the ice disappeared from Wasilla Lake. Right on schedule for spring, the last dedicated Hurricane Turn passenger train rolled by the engine house.. That service is being replaced for the summer with flag stop service on the Denali Star starting May 11th. On May 7th the last North bound Aurora approached the 557 Engine house. The SDMAC70 locomotives framed the engine house in Wasilla and were subject of overhead surveillance by Sancho the drone flown by Bill Hess.

Bookings are up, so schedule early if you plan to ride the Alaska Railroad this season. Wave when you go by the 557 Engine house in Wasilla.

Pistons and piston rod assemblies have been subject of NDT (Non Destructive Testing) as part of our due diligence. Alaska Industrial X-Ray performed both Ultrasonic and Magnetic Particle tests returning favorable findings. Don Millar and his crew turned this work around in one working day and joined our in-kind wall of fame by donating the service valued at $400.00. Our next step will be conditioning the rod surface.

The new drawbar was being conditioned by Mike McKervey prior to NDT testing by Alaska Industrial X-Ray as part of our due diligence. It came back after Magnetic Particle inspection and Ultrasonic Test with No Indications Found. The draw bar is now on the mill where it will receive all the final machine work at the hands of Jeff DeBroeck, here on the right, instructing our newest volunteer, Brice Douglas.

What others say:

Ben Wetsteen AmVets post 49 (in Anchorage, Alaska, Facebook page)
“As a Veterans Post, we want to extend our well wishes as we have done so in the past for the 557 Restoration Project. I want to announce to you and your amazing staff of volunteers that Amvets Post 49 in Anchorage, Alaska has approved a donation in the amount of $2500.00 to further your detailed work geared toward the completion of Engine 557 to serviceable condition. Please keep sending updates on forward progress as time permits. We Thank You all for your hard work and dedication.”

Bob Cole of Milton, Florida, first saw 557 during a visit with three grandsons back in June of 2017. He came by again on May 19 to tour the facility to confirm what he had already read in the 557 Progress Reports. Bob was impressed with all the work and left behind a very nice donation.

One of many local boosters, Greg Brooker dropped in for a visit with 557. He was most complementary of the recent progress and left behind a nice donation.

Terry Douglas has become our in-house expert on the Nathan mechanical lubricators after completing total rebuilds on three eight feed units. He is currently building up a five pipe unit for use on the Westinghouse cross compound air pump. Two units were purchased through Robert Franzen as take offs from Chinese locomotives headed to the scrap line. No screw is left unturned in the process.

The second five pipe unit (spare backup) is being cleaned and disassembled by Ken Morton as a fill-in job. These were real grease balls as received so Ken is following up on the work of at least three other people in the process of getting down to the check valves.

The pilot assembly was finally forced into submission for a proper fit and then the five components were broken down for final primer and finish paint. Mike McKervey is the default painter assisted by Gene Augustine on the left and Doug Brandon on the right.

After review of our photo file to confirm bolt positions, final assembly of the pilot with painted hardware and marine grade anti-seize was done by Mike and Ken Elmore.

The Bissell post travels up and down in a vertical cylinder in the pilot deck. This needs to be periodically lubricated with heavy way oil. To protect this exposed wear point we located a very heavy wall ABS plastic end cap for 12 inch pipe. With some trimming it fit snugly over the exposed parts of the Bissell post and leaves room for the vertical travel of the post. With the addition of a handle it is a rather elegant solution to an often overlooked problem.

Taper fitted bolts for the rear frame cradle are being made by Jerry Cunnington, shown here cutting the hex head on the milling machine.

Gene Augustine works in close quarters connecting the steam atomizer line to the burner assembly which extends into the fire box. The burner has been dubbed the ”gator head”.

Under the cab several connections extend up through the floor to the firing manifold in the cab. Temporary labels have been added to familiarize the volunteers with the function of these lines. They include the large bronze firing control valve, steam line to the fuel oil heater and atomizer steam line. All these lines are installed so condensate can drain out to avoid freeze damage.

The vertical line with the globe valve and an air fitting at the bottom, is the Start Up Air line. At start up an air source is connected to charge the firing manifold. From the manifold you can send air to the the blower in the smoke box, and the atomizer line to distribute oil in the fire box. When steam starts to come up, the air can be disconnected and steam then provides for the atomizer and oil heater. Now the start up air line becomes a source of steam for the Fuel Oil blow back line used to clear obstructions from the fuel line.

The last line to connect will be steam to heat a coil in the tender oil bunker. There is already a regulated air supply to the bubbler pipe with multiple ports inside at the bottom of the bunker to keep the oil stirred up.

There is now about 100 gallons of clean flush oil in the tender so steps have been taken to avoid any accidental spills. Lockouts are in place on the delivery valve handles, and the cam lock fitted delivery line. In addition, the emergency spring loaded plug valves are both closed.

Items surplus to engine 557 are being offered for sale.

We have new old stock of Dietz red globes. $25.00 each.

Baldwin at one time had a standard of 14 threads per inch for boiler taps such as wash out plugs. We have three Vermont taps with the old Baldwin standard of 14 TPI surplus to our needs, since the current standard is 12 TPI. Asking $1000 for the set of three.

• 2 ea. Vermont #1 V thread 14 size from 1 3/4 to 2 1/16 inch
• 1 ea. Vermont #4 - 14 V thread 14 size from 2 5/8 to 3 1/32 inch

May has been a beautiful start to our summer here in Wasilla. Come and visit 557 when you are in Alaska. Thank you for your continuing support.

Matching Challenge funds are still available to double your contribution to:

 

Patrick J. Durand
President Engine 557 Restoration Company

 

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