So the gaskets are just a thin wide strip of cold rolled steel with slots for the exhaust stack bolts to go through? Is that correct?
Mark

Nice!!!!

Yes Mr Fixit, That is true for the gaskets on the top of the block ( the yellow ones ). I should have noted that the smaller set of openings, toward the front of the engine, is an inlet for engine coolant. That also has the same kind of gasket as the exhaust . All of those fixtures are held in place with brass nuts. The top deck gaskets are of a "wet" type. They are composed of a fibrous, paper like material that soaks in a small amount of oil and swells to fill in any small gaps.

Not many pics of me doing anything here,,, I'm normally on the other side of the camera. but, I do show up in this Richard Jahn photo.[attachment=31421]

With the new radiators back in and the prime mover put back together it was time to put the top back on.[attachment=31426] Next year we will have to remove the hatch one more time to replace the radiators on the other side. we have done what our time and money budget has allowed.[attachment=31425]
Here's a shot from the inside of what the new cooling system looks like. All the plumbing will still need to be connected,,, but that's for next week.[attachment=31424]

The conduits were reinstalled into the fan control cabinet., and all the wiring terminated on to it's correct binding post.[attachment=31423]

Then it was time to step outside for a little breather and watch #26 take out the yard shuttle.[attachment=31422]

One of the upgrades that is being done while we are doing this is to remove the old "Oil Bath" type air filter housings that are no longer in service and attach the paper filter holders directly to the blowers.

The oil bath system on the left, mounts on top of the blower by the round flange on it's bottom (it's upside down in this pic). Then the paper filter bracket on the right, attaches on the open end on the left. [attachment=31429] This set up makes it very difficult to change the filters and restricts the air flow into the engine. In this engine the old filter system hasn't been in use for decades so it will be removed. But, before we can send it to the scrapyard we must remove the old mounting flange and weld it in place to the paper filter bracket. Like so...[attachment=31428]

[attachment=31427]

After all the plumbing for the cooling system is reassembled the new improved air filters will be mounted.

e-paw Wrote:Yes Mr Fixit, That is true for the gaskets on the top of the block ( the yellow ones ). I should have noted that the smaller set of openings, toward the front of the engine, is an inlet for engine coolant. That also has the same kind of gasket as the exhaust . All of those fixtures are held in place with brass nuts. The top deck gaskets are of a "wet" type. They are composed of a fibrous, paper like material that soaks in a small amount of oil and swells to fill in any small gaps.

Not many pics of me doing anything here,,, I'm normally on the other side of the camera. but, I do show up in this Richard Jahn photo.[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Ah, e-paw, which one in the photo is you?

Can I just say from a workshop OH&S rep. point of view, I am not crazy about the photo of you guys working on top of the roof without any means of fall protection, either a harness system, building a temporary timber or steel handrail on both sides and or placing a mobile scaffold against both sides of the locomotive. Now before we get into a heated debate about the issue, remember it is a long way down to that hard concrete floor, which like Gravity, is very unforgiving. A serious accident or death can and will result in a whole lot of trouble, think officialdom, investigations, even inquests, that no body needs and which a volunteer organisation is generally not well placed to deal with, and may well not survive.
Given that you will have to repeat this process next year, it is well worth investing some time and energy in solving this problem before the next work cycle.
I dont wish to be seen as a Safety Nazi, as I would rather raise this issue friend to friend, before it becomes a tale of woe. I will give some thought to a suggested solution or two for you as one friend to another.
Please just take some little time with your workmates to discuss and properly solve this sort of issue so that you and we via you wonderful blog posts can continue to enjoy the 1 : 1 scale modelling that you do.
Mark

This mornings work session was very productive... First off we installed the newly finished air filter brackets.[attachment=31434]

The plumbing connections were assembled from the water outlet on the prime mover to the radiators.[attachment=31433]

The forward fan was reinstalled ,, It was removed in order to gain access to the top bolts on the radiators.[attachment=31432]
The batteries were also charged, and with the cylinder cocks open and the fuel pump shut off we pre-lubed the engine and rotated her a few times .

We also checked out some of the firebox grates and hangers for the Boston and Main steamer that were being inspected. The entire Firebox was X-rayed and Magna fluxed, we should hear back on the results soon.[attachment=31431]

While all of this was going on Little #26 was outside putting on the best show she could.[attachment=31430]

Tomorrow 664 will lead the father's day excursion to Moscow and back so today was a day of last minute fixes and prep work for the trip. Last week she developed a radiator leak on the engineer's side , the side that we didn't replace over last winter. We were able to loosen up a few of the bolts and seal her up with some formagasket.
[attachment=31438]
The pink stains are from the water treatment, it makes it easy to locate leaks in the cooling system. This repair is only temporary, we will have a new set to replace the 70 plus year old ones in a few weeks.


Another project was to replace the glass in the mirrors, these were also original to the locomotive. This shot shows the new glass in the frames with the old mirrors next to them.
[attachment=31437]

We then took her out for a shakedown run throughout the yard limits.[attachment=31436]

[attachment=31435]
With no leaks and all systems working as they should we took her back to the diesel shop for a bath.

Lots going on but only one pic for now.. We just took delivery of a new compressor / compressor coupling from a CF-7 that was going under the torch. The coupling will be used on 663 to get her back up and running, and the compressor , or parts of, will go into the B-unit. Speaking of the B .... The bad injectors have all been changed out, water pumps replaced, most of the main cabinet has been cleaned out, Starting contactor / circuit installed ( as well as the kill circuit) and tons of inspections completed. We need to replace the battery cables and one cable from the starting contactor to the main generator. After this is complete we can put power to the unit to check the various pumps, switches, relays , and contactors. As long as all that checks out ok, we will attempt to start the prime mover. We have put lots of work into getting the engine to rotate freely after its 42 year slumber, and at this time it bars over easily by hand.

Today I was supposed to run with 664 on an excursion to Gouldsboro, but old man Murphy had his way. BLDW #26 broke down yesterday so 664 had to take over the yard shuttle and leave the excursion train to one of the DL Alco's. So I was no longer needed on the main.

Here is the DL rental unit backing down to our train so we could take over the yard shuttle.
[attachment=31439]

I got to ask everyone for a favor. Stanley tools is running a contest called "Build your America " . My historical society is one of the entries in it, and we need all the votes we can get. If you can go stanley tools Facebook page and vote for us ( the anthracite railroads historical society ) on page 13 of the contest I would be very grateful. This is for a $10,000 prize that will be used in the up keep and repair of our locomotives.

Thanks a bunch. Steve O.

Just got back from today's excursion to Tobyhanna Where DL&W 664 and DL 405 did the honors of taking a group of passengers down to the Army depot and back to Scranton.

Ok.. what year is it??? Here we pass the display freight train as we gather our consist for today's run.[attachment=31444]

With our train in tow we pause for the yard shuttle with 26 on the point to get it's passengers and clear the tracks for us.[attachment=31443]

[attachment=31442]

And away we go.[attachment=31441]

Now passing Moscow station.[attachment=31440]

Arriving at Toby...Not Bad for a cell phone pic.[attachment=31449]

After running around the train we now set and wait for our passengers to return from the Ice house tour.[attachment=31448]

And back to Steamtown we go.[attachment=31447]

Approaching Nay Aug tunnel..[attachment=31446]

Had a close call with an ATV.. That's them backing off the Pocono main. I think they needed to change their shorts after we rounded the curve with the horn blaring.[attachment=31453]

One of the many reservoirs that can be seen along the way.[attachment=31452]

Almost home.[attachment=31451]

And with Scranton station in sight we are back.[attachment=31450]

Thanks for the cab ride, Steve.

Wayne

I got some rough news yesterday. It seams that while the train crew was getting ready for Sundays excursion, the #3 traction motor on 664 may have burned up. It seams that oil from the sump that the engine rests in, has leaked in the motor causing it to ground out. Hopefully the ground fault that protects against problems like that tripped in time, before any serious damage happened. She will be moved into the shop for evaluation this weekend.