Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report June 2022

What a summer to remember with heat setting records in the 70 and 80 degree range here in Wasilla. Evening thunder showers have been the only respite along with a few smoky days when the wind comes out of the North with smoke from fires in interior Alaska. We are enjoying 19 hours of daylight but the summer solstice just passed so now we are losing daylight everyday. Volunteers still arrive on some unique rides to labor away on 557. This was the crew on a recent Wednesday. Gene Augustine (blue ZO6 Vet), Mike McKervey (Triumph), Ron Dudley (Harley), Ken Elmore (Toyota), Ken Morton (TR-6), Doug Brandon (silver Vet).

Oh yes, we have lots of trains at the height of the tourist season! The regular freights usually run at night and the aggregate gravel trains have mid day schedules. Several Holland America/Princess trains run North in the morning in addition to the regularly scheduled ARR Denali Star and then South bound in the evening. Jayne Earhart and Richard Garrison are members of the hospitality crew on board the HAP Tourist trains and always alert passengers when they are approaching the 557 Engine House, where they can expect a friendly wave. Jayne and Richard took the 557 tour on a recent Thursday and left some very nice donations in support of 557 and Alaska’s railroading history.

People ask, “Where do you get parts?” When we run out of options, our volunteers step up and manufacture what we need.

Dick Morris is the one man crew at the Engine 557 foundry and machine shop. The Pyle-National Company is long gone and we were unable to find NOS or used parts for three missing, three inch diameter, twist lock, 32 volt DC electrical plugs used in the cab. Dick reports how traditional and modern technology were combined in manufacturing the replicas. A modern 3D printed foundry pattern and traditional sand casting were combined to cast the replacements for the aluminum die cast bodies. This was followed by old school machining using a manual lathe and milling machine. Contacts were investment cast in bronze using 3D printed "waxes." The insulating blocks were 3D printed using a special higher temperature resin and the new part will withstand 320 degrees F, higher than the Bakelite original. The original nut was cast iron. Lacking the needed material, a bronze rod was cast and machined with the proper eight-sided wrench flats.

Connections between the tender and locomotive continue to be made. Ron Dudley fabricated a new support for the bottom of the water delivery coming into the injector. The hose bib will support the weight of a water filled 3” tube swinging between the loco and tender. We eliminated one 90 degree elbow and 20” of 3 inch pipe with this approach. It will be repeated on the engineers side injector.

"The old and the new lower metal jackets for the steam delivery pipes are here side by side. We thank Mike Bitzan "retired" sheet metal pro and Slayden Plumbing and Heating for providing the two replacements needed. Our many In-Kind donors keep us moving forward with quality work."

The old steam cylinder jackets were only good for patterns. They are not mirror images, so each side had to be trial fit with all new fasteners before being sent off to the sheet metal shop for duplication. Lynn, Doug, Gene and Mike cleaned and tapped 54 holes to accept new fasteners before fitting the old jacket on each side. Ron and Ken made patterns for 16 gauge supports that close the space between the large jacket sheet and the frame on the top and bottom of the cylinders. Mike Bitzan returned 18 gauge galvanized sheet metal cut to the pattern size and the crew fitted them up.

Machinist Laverne Buller works out of his home shop and turns jobs around for us on a days notice. The overflow valve spindle on No. 1 injector was bent and too short to allow clearance for the control handle. The new replacement machined from 922 bronze runs like silk in the threaded cap and fits the bill. The old one goes into the spares drawer.

New lifting blocks for the Expansion link on the Walsharts valve gear were required. The old blocks had been built up with brass and did not fit well in the Expansion Link. The new blocks were manufactured by Morris Melani of Alaska Arms LLC from AISI Type S7 (think anvil) and hardened to R-60. The lubrication well is packed with wool noils retained by a stainless rod. These should out last the rest of the locomotive in service. CNC equipment turned out the two radius surfaces for a perfect fit.

After a two day delay while the crew rebuilt part of the milling machine, they were back at work on the draw bar. The slot in the tender end is done so now they can move on to machining a beveled edge around the perimeter top and bottom. The machinist for job are only available on Thursdays and Saturday so the weekly crew moves on to tasks that they have the skills for.

The steam and water delivery lines to the Injectors and further into the check valves at the boiler have not been wet in 20 years. To remove loose scale and rust we resorted to performing a pipeonoscopy on all this 2 inch pipe. Ice Monkey Garage loaned us a high pressure steam cleaner to do the job. 180 degree water was delivered at high pressure through a ball nozzle intended for cleaning sewer lines. This was repeatedly passed through the pipes from both ends until the condensate ran clean. This was a team effort, with Doug Brandon donning the surgical gown and probing the orifice while Gene Augustine steadied the patient. Mike McKervey kept the life support pumps going. While on task Gene gave the steam delivery pipes from the smoke box the same treatment.

Ken Elmore and Ron Dudley used the industrial endescope to follow up looking for erosions and pits. The hot pipes dried quickly and before the day ended the plumbers had dry fit all the feed water plumbing.

Painting might not be a priority but we take advantage of the skills available in the time frame presented. Masking was applied by Gene Augustine and Doug Brandon working with painter Mike McKervey. The pilot steps, cut lever handles, pilot wheel tires and running board edges were all targets for one afternoon. Surface of the black paint was abraded with scotch bright pads and cleaned with tac pads. The two part Armor Shield requires good ventilation and appropriate PPE masks. Only the painter crew stayed around for first coat during the afternoon paint party.

After a three day cure, a second white coat was applied and two days later all the masking was removed. Tom Walker touched up the SAFETY FIRST admonition and we admired one more step being done.

Details, details and more details go into the final assembly of 557. The fiberglass insulation wrap around the inverted angle iron channel running down the center between the frame rails, carries a steam heat line and eight journal oil lubrication lines. These branch off in pairs at each axle and connect through bulkhead fittings. The delivery hoses use crimped fittings and ferrels on stand pipes at each end. The final elbow is actually a spring loaded check valve so lubrication does not gravity feed, but requires pressure from the mechanical lubricator to top feed the journal bearing.

A black iron street elbow with a plug provides access to the top of the journal bearing, so you can top oil the bearings manually if ever need be.

The aluminum plate retains the silicon rubber weather guard around the axle on the back side of the driving box. Jeff DeBroeck, Dean Sawyer, Terry Douglas and Jerry Cunnington worked through several options before completing these upgrade modifications.

Any excess oil drains to the cellar under each journal box equipped with Armstrong oiler pads which provide passive lubrication of the journal bearings. They constantly wick oil from the cellar and wipe it across the face of the axle as it rotates.

This may all seam like overkill compared to the old lube lines connected with copper tube and 70 year old hose clamps feeding a journal with no dust cover. Now all the fittings and hoses are standard sized with spares at hand.

There is one more upgrade coming. Thermo couples will be installed at the top of each journal box providing constant readout of bearing temperatures in the cab. The black plastic drops just keep shop dust and detritus out of the boxes.

What others say:

John Holloway has been a mainstay with 4449 since the American Freedom Train in 1976 and by extension The Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland. Ken Elmore is a regular 557 volunteer member of our Mechanical Department. Ken and his wife Dotty have also served many years with the 4449 Christmas train hospitality group. John and Ken were together in Wasilla for an afternoon with 557. John followed up with these observations.

“I'm glad that Ken Elmore dropped by the engine house in Portland several weeks ago and invited me to see your operation in Wasilla.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to your restoration facility in Wasilla on June 8.  Getting the opportunity to meet the cadre performing their tasks was a treat in itself. You have a great group and it shows that they have their heart into the project. Everyone was working together to make sure it was done right.”

“There is always so much to be accomplished when a group takes on the responsibility of doing a full blown restoration. I was impressed with all of the detailed work everyone was doing. The day I was there your team had just completed cleaning much of the piping and they were busy reinstalling it. The new brake piping was meticulously routed in stainless steel and the lines were identified so there were minimal questions about where it was to be plumbed. The team’s attention to detail was evident all over the engine and tender. Excellent work throughout.”

“Getting the plumbing done and installing the flues and superheater tubing are major tasks unto themselves and must go hand in hand to help you to get the goal of the engine running in the future. It may seem like a long ways off, but with the cadre you have working on it the time will be sooner than you think. I was impressed with what with I saw and applaud the whole 557 team.”

From Rick Marsden NMSL&RHS and AT&SF 2926 “We received your very kind donation check # 4767 for $200; Thank you! I am attaching to this email a digital file copy of our latest Systems Manual, for our AT&SF 2926 locomotive. Our lead author / editor John Taylor has agreed for you to modify our document to work for your restoration of the AAR Locomotive 557. On behalf of all our members and staff of the AT&SF 2926, we want to extend to your restoration group, our most sincere wishes for an excellent completion on your historic Locomotive 557!”

Greg Nash from Minnesota, “You gave my friends and I a tour of the project and I snapped a few photos. I wanted to share them with you to use for the mailing list/progress reports. Thank you again for the awesome tour! It was one of the highlights of our trip!”

Greg’s photo of the 557 tender brings us to the close of this month's report. Now for a personal request by Pat Durand, President of Engine 557 Restoration Company, from the palatial International office in Wasilla, Alaska. “All these details, details, details, are easy to overlook in the creation of a budget. They all cost dollars, even with a volunteer crew and generous in-kind donors who represent two of the three legs supporting 557 financially. The third and all important leg is you, our support network of dedicated steam fans and followers of Engine 557. Please consider giving 557 a boost with a monetary contribution today.”

 

Patrick J. Durand
President Engine 557 Restoration Company

 

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