Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report July 2024

Alaskan summers are fleeting. We were just planning for the AuRoRa charter to Seward on June 21st, the summer solstice. Suddenly it is the end of July and the days are now 2 hours shorter and we can only hope for an Indian Summer to take us into November. After some delays due to smoke and fire danger in the interior during early July, train traffic has resumed along with the rain and the regular schedules have resumed. Things can back up quickly when Mother Nature interrupts the schedule of the only full service, Freight and Passenger railroad in the country.

What other people say:

These two comments come directly from our Engine 557 Facebook. That’s where you will find nearly daily updates on what is happening at 557. Reading the comments is always a boost.

Jonathan White
“557 Restoration Company, I said this with 1309s restoration. ‘You can’t rush art.”

Rich Phyillaier
“When it's done right, it takes time.”

“You know what it takes to keep things going, and all the hats a person wears as a volunteer :) I enjoyed seeing the photos from your fundraiser train ride - what a grand adventure for all those involved!” Sheri Hamming, Palmer Historical Society www.palmerhistoricalsociety.org

Visitors to Engine 557:

Martin “Marty” Banks visited 557 on July 7th gathering information for Trains & Travel a specialty interest tour operation. They want to be onboard when 557 starts operations. They also arranged for two donations of $125,00 each via Pay Pal.

Rick and Meridith Fritsch, of Juneau last visited when their children were in high school. They returned for a Family visit Jul 11, 2024 and both have graduated college, Melissa Fritsch from Boston College and Charles Fritsch from Colorado State. Congratulations, and thanks for supporting 557. Time really does fly while working on a steam locomotive.

Donald Haiss and wife, Sarah visited July 20 at 557. They have been coming to Alaska for the past 20 odd years to do restoration work on the Hatcher Pass Gold Cord mine buildings. Lots of railroad experience and great interest in seeing 557 back in operation. He has a 12” gauge railroad in their back yard in Marshallville, Ohio where they snowbird to.

After a drive up the ALCAN highway to deliver motorcycles for a group ride in Alaska, Andrew Williams took a break to visit Engine 557. His 8 year old Nephew, Grayson, back in Indiana, follows us on line, and asked for some pictures of 557. His uncle will be returning South with a little “557 Bling” for Grayson.

Mike Sypult of Rogers, Arkansas is a friend of 557 board member, John Combs, and came by for a return visit. Many changes since he came by with his son in April of 2021. As a rail historian he follows us on Facebook and gets the monthly status report. We appreciate his financial support. In follow up, his Son, Daniel Sypult, Branch Manager for SUNBELT RENTALS in Wasilla, dropped by and offered their suite of equipment services as in-kind donations. Welcome to our family of in-kind business partners. This will come in handy when we need a scissors lift or space heaters for winter emergency as they are only 1/2 mile up the Parks Highway. Everyone say THANK YOU!

Paxson Heck, is a very well spoken young man of 8 years, who visited July 24, 2024 with his grandfather, Herman Griese. Paxson has been following 557 on line and has a good grasp of steam locomotive design and function. Paxson is of a new generation, who will need to be prepared to help 557 survive into the next century.

Enzo David Snyder, age two, introduced himself in a strong voice and shook my hand on July 27th. Enzo was out on an adventure day with Grand parents, Judy and Dave Snyder, long time major supporters of Engine 557. Enzo brought his own tape measure and advised there was a wrench taller than him. He got his very own copy of Shannon Cartwright’s Ol’556 book. Dave and Judy own Diversified Tire in Wasilla and also keep our support vehicles on good rubber, even doing on site repairs for our loader tires. Another one of our many in-kind business partners here in the Valley.

Volunteers are pushing ahead with preparations for our first fire test. The thirty superheater assemblies are being fine tuned and adjusted when new support bands are installed. The bottom side of each band gets a pair of standoff feet to keep the assembly centered in the flue. Tom Walker and Ken Morton do much of this work in preparations for the welds to be completed by CMO Jeff DeBroeck.

Paul Dalleska continues reinstalling and replacing plumbing as needed. The injector delivery lines originally extended through notches in the ash pan extensions that came over the frame below the mud ring. With conversion to oil the fire pan stays between the frame rails, so new delivery lines were in order, eliminating several bends. We also condemned those pipes that exhibited abrasion wear on the outside and erosion inside adjacent to bends and unions.

With all the additional flexible stays on the back head and crown, more clearance was needed to position the new jacket under the front wall of the cab. Dean Sawyer drew the job of trimming back the edge of the cab in preparation for getting it back on the locomotive. There will be a rubber gasket between the cab wall and the Jacket.

On Facebook and here, we have mentioned our acquisition of a long neglected long bed 12” Lodge and Shipley lathe. Initially we thought it would just be a parts source but more and more it looks like a keeper for future restoration. We have needed a taper attachment for our trusty short bed L&S which is the same model just removed by 117 serial numbers. What stories these machines could tell since their production in 1939. The short bed was found here in Wasilla several years ago with a property tag from Los Alamos Laboratories. The long bed carried an old tag from Fort Richardson buildings and grounds. We paid $750 for it. The first part that Terry Douglas revived was the Taper attachment that bolted right up on the short bed and has already been turning out taper thread boiler studs.

Our Case 721 Loader needed another stand by operator. Tom Walker volunteered and has been learning the intricacy of center point steering and will be ready for winter snow removal. That’s right, since June 21st the days are getting shorter and the Fireweed is in full bloom.

The 557 Engine House lead has another upgrade. The ARR crew is installing a 2 way switch stand operated derail to protect our lead. This is in addition to a lock out on the main line switch and a lock on the engine house lead switch. We will maintain our derail in place 150 feet out to protect our crews working on 557 inside the building. Another nod to safety is the Close Clearance admonition next to the engine house door.

For those concerned about the degree of curvature coming off the engine house lead, it calculates at 19 degrees per Paul Dalleska and Terry Douglas. The 557 is designed to handle curves as tight as 25 degrees, so rest assured we have no problem there.

July 22 the ARR crew were back with the Track Aligner and Tamper a Ballast Regulator and loader to finalize the new Track installation on the engine house lead and Section house stub. Terry Douglas captured some video of the action now on our YouTube channel.

In the last quarter 29 families participating in the Kroger Co. Community Rewards directed $75.29 to the benefit of Engine 557 Restoration Company. We encourage your participation if you patronize the Fred Meyer stores in Alaska or any of the associated Kroger Co. stores in the “Lower 48”. Imagine the impact if 290 families were participating. Learn more at Fred Meyer Community Rewards.

Please select Engine 557 Restoration Company (FM166)

We have received a $100.00 anonymous donation via the BLACKBAUD GIVING FUND. We thank the generous individual that directed the gift to the Engine 557 Restoration Company.

Pay Pal is the easy peasy way to donate to Engine 557 restoration. Just scan our QR code.

 

New Volunteers Always Welcome at Engine 557

We hear it all the time, “how do I get involved with Engine 557?” The answer is pretty simple actually - just show up!
We love having new faces join our all-volunteer mechanical crew. Must be at least 18 years old.

Feel free to join us (anytime after 8:00 am) on any Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday and be ready to work in the 557 Engine House.

Questions? Email: sewtrain557@gmail.com

 

We look forward to seeing you along the tracks. Please stand well clear of all movements and live to show your selfies. Teach those who do not have proper trackside etiquette, it may save their life. Ignoring an unsafe condition makes you complicit in the inevitable result. These are hard facts of life we all must share to insure the future of Historic Preservation and Operations. These comments are personal opinions of Patrick J. Durand.

Patrick Durand
President Engine 557 Restoration Company

 

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