Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report May 2024

By May 5th ice went out on Wasilla Lake just across the tracks from the Engine House. Over the next week leaves popped out and the very first Denali Star passed the Engine house right on time at 9:45am and Bill Hess with his drone, Sancho, caught the action. The tourist season as of May 15th is in full swing as evidenced by this photo from the second level open balcony on a GOLD STAR all dome coach, sent to us by Conductor, Brice Douglas who is also a 557 volunteer. The crew rarely misses an opportunity to greet passing trains and the tour guides onboard. With cruise trains there are now up to 10 passenger trains past the Engine House each day.

A sure sign that 557 has hit the big time is when they put her on a postage stamp! On the opposite side of the world, in Madagascar this stamp honored 557 in a fantasy paint job. Looks pretty good, Actually this stamp was released in 1998 as part of a series of locomotive stamps issued by the island nation. Madagascar is very active in generating hard currency through philately, which is stamp collecting. So, how do you like the paint job? If you are in that hobby, we are considering getting a First Day Cover to be issued concurrent with our first revenue operations. Drop us an email to get on the mailing list.

Our next major overhaul involves the Laird Crosshead assembly, which exhibited wear on both the bronze liners in the crosshead and the supports on which it rides. Jim Keene assisted in the cleaning of the guides.

Tom Walker and Jeff DeBroeck dry fit the crosshead guides to determine the wear patterns. These are assembled with fitted bolts that need to be carefully tracked. The guides are being reconditioned by our ever creative machinists, in this case Jeff Loffert is running the mill. adjustable shims at the bolted ends will make up for lost material.

Jerry Cunnington, carefully removed the 3/8” copper rivets retaining the worn bronze liners. New replacement copper rivets were obtained from Jay Cee Sales and Rivet in Farmington, Michigan. The components of the Laird guide are shown on the pallet with the bronze liner wired into the guide. The curve formed as the rivets were removed, indicating the soft bearing material was stretched in service. New bronze liners are being machined from material purchased from Magnolia Metals Corp.

Among surplus items is a unique Baldwin 1.25” 14 threads per inch fire side fuseable plug for the fire box crown sheet. This is a unique thread used in early Baldwin boilers so it is a rare piece. If you need one, it is free to the first organization to contact us. A donation would be nice.  

May 20, 21, 22 saw a flurry of activity in the 557 Engine house as the formal Hydro test of the Locomotive Boiler was prepared.  Robert Franzen and Bob Gold of Steam Services of America arrived in the shop Monday about 9 am. after late Sunday night Alaska Airlines flights.  Alaska Airlines provided vouchers to cover their travel to Alaska. All the setup for the formal Hydro test on Tuesday were in place and the boiler was filled with water and overnight heated to about 90° F.  

Mr. Milo Voigt, the FRA inspector came on board Tuesday morning and witnessed the boiler slowly rise to the Hydro Test mandated pressure of 281psi.   This test met expectations.  Terry had set up a camera on the double faced Ashton gauge to record the intentional slow rise and fall of the boiler under hydro test. Jeff DeBroeck and Robert Franzen checked the front flue sheet under pressure while Bob Gold observed from the fire box. Next came a hammer test where pressure on the boiler is dropped to 225 psi (operating pressure) each staybolt is subjected to a hammer blow and the responding sound evaluated to determine if the bolt is secure and not cracked or broken.  (This can happen even on newly installed stay bolts) Robert Franzen, 557 CMO Jeff DeBroeck, and Bob Gold completed this task witnessed by Inspector Milo Voigt.  At that point he issued the Inspection Report.

The extra signatures at the bottom are part of the crew that witnessed this milestone.  

The action line is found under "DESCRIPTION"      WE PASSED WITH " No exception taken".  

The boiler was drained and the steam dome cover was removed allowing the boiler to cool to room temperature overnight exposing the dome throttle.  Wednesday morning Inspector Milo Voigt then crawled into the boiler through the steam dome and conducted an internal inspection.  After lunch, and after reviewing the preliminary Form 4 covering all the engineering specifications for the boiler with Robert Franzen, he issued a second report.  

As Mr. Voigt commented,  "On a report all you want to see is No Exceptions Taken."  That says it all.  Can't get any better than that. Congratulations to Robert Franzen, Jeff DeBroeck, 557 CMO and Bob Gold!

THANKS TO THE LEADERSHIP CREW AND THE VOLUNTEERS WHO SAW 557 TO THIS MAJOR MILESTONE!

The volunteers came out so we had crews of 10 and 11 each day. Could it have been the free lunch? The “Last Lunch” was attended by, from left to right, Tom Walker, Paul Dalleska, Bob Gold, Robert Franzen, Jeff DeBroeck, Brice Douglas, Gene Augustine, David Lucas, Jeff Loffert, Jerry Cunnington, Milo Voigt, Gerry Christensen, Ken Morton, Terry Douglas was already back to work and Pat took the picture.

The crews jumped into action and started adding parts needed for the next major milestone event, the First Firing Test. The new fire pan was installed quickly and underwent a modification lead by Bob Gold. The original design took a step up to a shelf at the front and it would have covered the heads of four stay bolts on each side sheet. When it came time for inspections, that entire section of the pan would need to be removed. Cutting the shelf down to match the front pan supports avoids this problem. Some recently donated 1/4” plate provided the material. In anticipation of laying up fire brick we have purchased all the materials and a new 14” masonry saw.

Two inch steam delivery lines from the starter valve to the injectors, both showed abrasion wear and we developed replacements. Paul Dalleska has been bending new ones on the Acorn table.

Trial fit of the two Steam Delivery Branch Pipes that connect the super heater header with the cylinder block was undertaken by a crew of four. Fitting the right branch pipe takes coordinating a fork lift, a chain hoist supported on the stack and guiding hands. After much “discussion” it was going in place as observed by Robert Franzen. That was just practice, and the right branch pipe followed suit and was temporarily held in place by one inch bolts. Watch next month for a complete report on how we reconditioned the cast iron “gaskets” that seal the connection on both ends of the pipes.

What other people say:

Lisa Sears-Croft of Austin Texas donated $10.00 In memory of DAVID FOLKERS of Wasilla, Alaska

Art Chase, long time 557 volunteer has relocated to Colorado. On learning of the Hydro results he commented. “This is very wonderful news Pat, my heart is heavy because I’m not able to be there. But I am really proud of my part in getting to this point. You and the crew are in my thoughts. Congratulations. I’m overwhelmingly happy for you and the crew. Extremely.  Congratulations Pat …the long dream has come true.”

“That’s exceptionally great news. Kudos to all who helped bring this amazing result!” From Gerry Keffer

Robert Kowalski of Portage, Michigan dropped by late in the day on May 20th and caught me before lockup. He has followed us on www.alaskarails.org and had this to say; “Thank you for welcoming me and spending time with me, and telling me about the status of the project and the hopes for the future.  Your comment that this effort should be about having fun and preserving a part of Alaska Railroad history sums up what this project is all about.  It is obvious from the effort put forth by by this team that this "work" is indeed a labor of love.”

This message came from John Combs in Ohio, 557 Board Member and webmaster of alaskarails.org, home of the 557 Restoration web site. “Congratulations Pat …the long dream has come true. I’m overwhelmingly happy for you and the crew. Extremely.”

My personal response to John:
“Every time I go into alaskarails.org, I marvel at the shear volume of knowledge it represents. For over 25 years you and the merry band have been collecting this massive resource of Alaska Railroad history and making it available to anyone who stops by at alaskarails.org. Just remember my friend, even if you do not hear it 10 times a day, you deserve our collective thanks over and over again.” - Patrick Durand

From Germany, “Congratulations on passing the hydro test of the 557 boiler!!! A very important and significant step for the commissioning of the locomotive! Because the boiler is the “heart” of the steam locomotive. I AM VERY PLEASED!!! In Germany, the “standard gauge steam locomotives” (1435 mm gauge = 4.708005 ft) are operated with 16 bar (232.06 psi) boiler pressure. During a boiler overhaul / examination / main test, a pressure test is carried out at 1.5 times the operating pressure, 21 bar (304,579 psi). Many greetings and best wishes for further work and for the entire 557 restoration team from Volker, Grosspoesna, Germany.”

“Scenic Railway of the World, Gateway to the Yukon” is the slogan the White Pass & Yukon Railway has used since 1898. There is no other railroad quite like the White Pass 3 ft gauge from Skagway into the Yukon. If you are narrow minded you might want to pursue this special charter offered for the end of season in September 2024. Note: Engine 557 has no financial interest in this charter and this is not a paid referral, just a friendly notice for fans of STEEEAM. If you are broad minded soon there will be another opportunity to ride behind steam in Alaska.

Speaking of charters, The AuRoRa party car is in the car barn waiting for its next booking. AuRoRa is booked for a 557 fundraising trip to Seward on June 21st for the Summer Solstice under the midnight sun. The trip is SOLD OUT at capacity and has generated $17,500 for the restoration of engine 557. Watch for a trip report in the June 557 Status Report.

As May closes out the the road frost restrictions are off and Alaska Railroad crews are preparing to complete the long anticipated lead and switch into the 557 Engine House. The yard is prepared to receive fill to grade. One more milestone in the book!

Be safe on and along the rails! Teach people to stay clear of the tracks!

 

Patrick Durand
President Engine 557 Restoration Company

 

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