Southern pacific #18 Restoration – July 2012

Chris and Marty continued removing old staybolts and installing new ones. They worked non-stop for 4 to 6 hours (Marty spent the entire time INSIDE the boiler) and still weren’t able to finish…even with the help of an apprentice. By the way, staybolts (with caps) cost $200 each because they must be made to order.

chris  marty   apprentice
Dave, Forest, and Cromer first fitted and installed part of the new cab floor…

cabfloor2   cabfloor1
emdrillpress…while Bob repaired a drill press with an electromagnetic base which we were given. It’s an extremely versatile tool. It’s base becomes a powerful magnet when its connected to a power source allowing it to be used in almost any position.
Then they tried to remove the heads, pistons and connecting rods.

removehead   headoff

As usual it wasn’t easy. The heads came off with the aid of leverage. The large pins securing the connecting rods required jacks, heat, and a couple of hours of banging and cursing, but they came apart.