Winter
2001
RESTORATION WORK ON
3713 CONTINUES
Boston & Maine No. 3713 with smokebox door opened, showing tubes,
draft gear and
flues removed (10/1/1999)
B&M 3713 RESTORATION WORK
PROCEEDS
The Boston & Maine 3713
Restoration project has continued since June, 1999,
with major portions of the work continuing as you
read this newsletter. Work began with the
disassembly and cataloging of the parts by the shop
workers at the Steamtown National Site.
Once this was completed, the L&WV Chapter hired a
contractor, at a cost of $25,000, to remove the
asbestos from the locomotive.
During 2001 our contractor completed approximately
2400 hours of work, with an additional 376 hours
approved for continuation of the boiler restoration.
The work is made possible by continued donations
that have been received from people who have
responded to our fund raising drive, and by visitors to
the Steamtown site who have contributed money in
the various donation boxes.
The locomotive is currently being restored at the
shops of the Steamtown National Historic Site in
Scranton, Pennsylvania. When you visit Steamtown,
find out about the free shop tour, and see for yourself
what has been done. If you have made a donation to
the fund drive, see what your contribution has helped
make possible.
TASKS PERFORMED AND EQUIPMENT
REMOVED TO BE
RESTORED :
1. Draft Equipment and Cinder Guards.
2. Petty Coat Pipe, Blower Pipe and Exhaust Pipe.
3. Super Heater Tubes were taken out and hydrostatic testing performed.
4. Thermal Siphons were relieved by removing the original welds and rewelded.
Also several area
of the right side sheet was repaired.
5. All piping and brackets from cab interior and cab were removed.
6. Stoker assembly and fire doors.
7. All piping outside of fire box and boiler along with turrent and valves
were separated from the
locomotive.
8. All brackets and valves were removed from the firebox.
9. All caps were disassembled from the flexible stay bolts.
10. Two wash out plugs and sleeves from firebox.
11. Approximately 241 flexible stay bolts and sleeves. Holes were repaired
and all holes
re-tapped.
12. Three flexible stay bolts, which were welded, to the top left corner
of the firebox. Holes were
repaired and cleaned.
13. All lubrication distribution blocks and lines from bottom of boiler.
14. Approximately 400 studs were burned off and ground. Holes were cleaned
and repaired were
needed. Also holes were re-tapped one size larger that the original hole
diameter to receive new
studs being made at Steamtown.
15. All drawings of fire box, boiler, and smoke box were revised to reflect
all changes.
16. All parts that were removed were inventoried and tagged with proper
identification.
ADDITIONAL
WORK TO BE PERFORMED WHEN TIME OR
MONEY IS AVAILABLE:
1. Remove approximately 150 rigid stay bolts so that repairs can be made
to boiler sheets.
2. Remove an additional 50
flexible stay bolts of there 50, approximately 20 sleeves need to be
removed.
3. All hollow stay bolts must
be drilled and cleaned.
4. The following units must
be removed, cleaned and rebuilt and/or repaired as necessary :
a) main valve assembly for the booster unit
b) feed water pump
c) two air compressors
d) two boiler checks
e) turret
5. The brake rigging must be disassembled, inspected and repaired along
with the brake cylinders.
6. The smoke box is to be cleaned from all rust by either sand blasting
and/or needle scaling.
Repairs to be made as required.
7. The locomotive frame is
to be cleaned from the grease and oil residue accumulated over the
years of operation.
8. All valve steams and airlines
are to be removed, cleaned, repaired and/or replaced.
On any given day, when you
visit the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, at least three tours of the locomotive shop are scheduled.
These one hour long
walking tours are led by rangers of the National Park Service and include
many aspects of
locomotive repair. If your are lucky enough, you can see one or more of
the craftsman making or
repairing the steam engines or rolling stock. Since 1998 Boston and Maine
No. 3713 has been an
important component of these tours. Since most visitors do not stay long
enough to see significant
changes made, the rangers have to provide background information as to
what a rebuild entails.
"I like to tell the story of the engine's name", says Ranger
Sue Razdilski, referring to The
Constitution, the name given to the 1934 Lima built locomotive and the
contest the Boston &
Maine Railroad had in the 30's with the schools along the route. This
can make the engine more
understandable to people who get lost in technical terms. "Definitely
the name and contest are
interesting parts of the engine's life", adds Ranger Sharon Biglin.
"I tell also how the appearance
of the 3713 changed over the year, how it had elephant ears near the smoke
box, a shroud atop the
boiler, and how the restoration process may not bring it back to its 'as
built' look". Sharon
regularly consults with Bill Fredrickson, the man conducting the restoration
so she can share
information with people taking the tours without interrupting Bill while
he is working. Ranger
Bill McCarthy waits for Fredrickson to take a break to discuss the engine
with people on the tours.
"They prefer to hear it directly from Bill than from me; it makes
it more personal"
Ranger Don Myer prefers to talk about the matters at hand. "Bill
told me that for every hole in the
firebox, he has to put 8 to 10 hours into removing, cleaning, and reaming
the holes - each hole.
This is even before all the staybolts go back in. I also explain the ultrasound
process, used to
determine whether the boiler is worth restoring at all." Ranger Caroline
Dann points out that there
were no blueprints available for Bill Fredrickson to consult, so he had
to draw his own and sketch
and color code each staybolt and rivet to identify the good and bad ones.
Ranger Kelvin Shultes
shows the people on the tour what a staybolt and its cap and sleeve look
like. "With all the holes
in the firebox, it's good to show what goes into each of them, demonstrating
what a restoration
requires".
At present a visit to the Steamtown back shop is a rare experience with
four steam locomotive
being repaired - the 3713, Pennsylvania Railroad K-4 1361, Baldwin Locomotive
Works 26 and
Canadian National 3454. Ranger Tim O'Malley keeps a piece of fire tube
in this spot to show
visitors what is inside the huge boilers. Nearby tubes and superheaters
are visible waiting the
installation in one of the locomotives. "In visitors' minds",O'Malley
explained,"they can assemble
the parts of the parts of the engines, getting a better idea of how things
work".
While the visitors' goal is to be entertained for an hour or so, the tours
lead then further in to the
job than they expect. The engines gain a bit of personality, and with
luck, the visitors learn were
the restoration projects are going. Steamtown's goals have always furthered
the understanding of
steam railroading, and with these tours through what Ranger Ken Ganz describes
as the "Land of
the Giants", we find out what is involved in the many levels of repair.
"We also learn", Ganz
notes, "why railroads got out of the steam business".
The projects continues with skills of Bill Fredrickson and the descriptions
of the various park
rangers who try to tell the visitors the story of steam railroading and
why it disappeared from the
scene. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Steamtown National Historic
Site and the
Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Rail Historical Society, we look forward
to the day when 3713
leads the tours and the rangers can rest for a while.
Thanks to Ranger Tim O'Malley and Steamtown National for permission to
use portions of On
Tour with 3713: What You'll See at Steamtown NHS.
.
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