Category: Restoration

Better late than never. Over the weekend of November 21st and 22nd we gathered in Independence to continue the restoration of SP #18. On this weekend we continued the tedious work on the plumbing and various other detail work. Lots of little things left to do, but all the little things add up.

We reinstalled large sections of the air lines, like the cooling pipes on the sides of the air reservoir tanks.

The new air equalizer tank was also bolted on under the engineer side running board and new straps to hold it on had to be fabricated. Several fittings all over the engine got anti-seize added and tightened up. While this was going on work was continuing in the cab. At the last work session the new boiler jacketing was installed in the cab. With that done we reinstalled the water glasses, hydrostatic lubricator, and a few other pieces of plumbing, hopefully for the last time.

Other small but important tasks completed included installing the wood flooring on the firemans side of the cab, measurements were taken for spiral wound gaskets for injectors and water glasses, the headlight was bolted on, and the sand dome was assembled and the top cover was added.

One very critical job was measuring the center to center lengths on the drivers, then finding the center of the piston stroke and the extreme ends of stroke.

It was discovered before we removed the drivers in 2012 that they were spaced differently than the SP spec sheet called for. The reason for this was not known at the time, and when we reinstalled the drivers we trammed them according to the spec sheet. However in October while working on the rod brass we discovered that both of the main rods are 1/4″ shorter than originally called for. Because of the available material on the small end of the rods, this difference in rod lengths is to significant to safely make up by offsetting the rod brass and holes. We could make new main rods, expensive, so instead we will make accommodations just like the SP did, by moving the drivers forward in the frame 1/4″.

The weekend of October 17th proved to be the first work weekend that the weather was actually on the cool side. Some desert flash floods had occurred a couple days previous and caused havoc on some local roads. The same storm also brought the first signs of snow for the season to the Sierras.

Regardless of the weather, we trudged on with our restoration, more specifically the installation of the air tanks. To get the air tanks on, and to allow our out of town supporters see the engine – with its first coat of black paint applied the weekend previous – we pulled the engine entirely out of the park enclosure, its longest trip yet.

Before installing the air tanks we had to get some plumbing reinstalled. Due to the new running boards and cab floor, some minor adjustments had to be made in the form of adding holes, or just adjusting the hole sizes. The fireman’s side tank was first up and the easier tank to install. Due to their different manufacturing style from the originals, welded vs. riveted, the new tanks are slightly larger in diameter and length. As a result the steel straps that hold the tanks under the cab required some slight modification.

With the fireman side installed we pulled the locomotive back a bit further and headed to the other side. Much of the air plumbing had to be tightened up prior to the tank going on. With things ready, we squeezed the forklift in between the fence and engine. With some maneuvering, Okie engineering and some straps we were able to get the tank in place.

With both tanks on, it was time to put things away and head off to the party. There is not enough room on this website to thank everyone who helped put things together for our fundraiser, so I will just give a big THANK YOU to everyone. Over at the Legion Hall all the trash cans were cooking away for the famous Independence trash can tri-tip. About 140 came for dinner and between dinner, donations and raffles we received about $8600 dollars! THANK YOU ALL!!

Happy and full Saturday night we returned to the park Sunday morning to finish up securing the air tanks. We also got back to the final details on the jacket and worked on manufacturing some final boiler bands. All in all it was a fantastic weekend and we appreciate everyone that has been, and continues to be, a part of this project.

As a final note, check out Ed’s latest short video from the steam test in August.