Due to several poorly timed illnesses, I hadn’t been back to museum property since the summer of last year. Suffice to say I was ready to get out of the confines of the greater Los Angeles area and head north. On Tuesday I made it to Concord and spent a wonderful day with my parents, old home week for me. The next day Dad and I made our way back to Plumas County by way of the scenic Feather River Canyon, always a treat for the eyes and the spirit. After arriving at the museum we were pleased to find the accommodations in such a clean state, thanks to Rick Grunninger and David Elems for putting in so much time and effort into cleaning and organizing. We were hosted that evening by the ever gracious Debbie and Kirk Baer, a nice period of decompression after the drive, and an equally nice welcome back to Portola.
The next morning, Wednesday, those in attendance, including
Steve Lee all the way from Cheyenne, Wyoming, had a hearty safety breakfast at
Sharon’s Café on Commercial Street. Dad ordered the famous full plate of biscuits
and gravy, his one indulgence for the year, and finished it with only a bit of
trepidation. Getting back to the museum,
I was heartened at the shear amount of work that had been accomplished on the
needle-scaling and primering operation. Kirk, Charlie, Matt and Dave Anderson
had gotten the tender frame side sills and two trucks completed, they really
look great! Charlie spent some time getting the new steel deck plates in place
on the tender frame, in preparation for drilling the rivet holes. Later in the
afternoon the contingent from the Bay Area: Dave, Severn, Jeff, Ken and Nancy
arrived and got settled in. Hank and Michael worked on relocation of one of the
right side air reservoir brackets, necessary so that we can use the new drilled
tanks which don’t fit quite as well as the original lap riveted vessels. That evening Dad and I along with new
volunteer Mike had a sensible meal at Lena’s Café and we called it a night. It
was a bit chillier than we anticipated.
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| The Crew assembles for Breakfast at Sharon's |
Friday morning after literally taking over the majority of
the space at Sharon’s, leaving well fed yet again, we hit the shop with
whatever we could muster. We were very lucky to be joined by two gents who
work on the former Western Pacific tugboat “Hercules”, Erik and Channing. This ocean going steam tug is now preserved by the National Park
Service in San Francisco along with several other vessels and artifacts, and is
well worth a visit. I set these boys on the task of finishing up the fitting of
the rear tube sheet knuckle patch, started by our boilermaker Norman. Some
drilling and reaming was still required to prepare for the riveting operation
to take place the following Sunday and Monday.
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| Kirk vacuums out more sandblasting media from the shell interior. |
Roger Stabler started early on making up a test rack for the
locomotive’s air compressor from heavy angle iron. He and Mike chopped and
welded until the compressor could stand on it’s own. At that they began
inspection of the various check valves, shuttles, and appurtenances that make
it run. A gallon of Marvel Mystery Oil was poured into anywhere and everywhere
on the steam and air sides. The diesel boys were tuning an air horn outside,
which encouraged everyone to don a pair of earplugs. The sweet sound of a Nathan M5 (at least
after they got it tuned) spurred us on.
Ken, Nancy, and Jeff began the task of drilling for the
rivets on the tender frame plates. Thanks again to our friends at the Golden Gate Railroad Museum for the use of their magnetic base drill press, a real
necessity for an operation such as this. They went at it tirelessly, and by the
end of the weekend, only a few holes remained to be drilled. Around 4:30pm we started the shop cleanup,
and soon after we were enjoying a bit of fellowship and libation. Later we once again traveled en masse to Kirk
and Debbie’s for a nice cocktail hour and cookout at their compound. Kirk was
able to talk tugboats with Erik and Channing as the rest of us caught up on
what’s been happening in the world of steam preservation since we last met.
Thanks from all of us to Kirk and Debbie for letting us into their beautiful
home and allowing us a nice change of scenery from the rail yard.
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| Ken and Nancy drilling out the tender deck plates. |
By Saturday we were up to full speed. A great deal was being accomplished by
everyone, including Bob Sims who had recycled and rescued a set of cabinets
from one of our parts cars. Bob stripped them down and resized them to fit into
the steam tool car, and they look as good as new. I am hoping that now our
boiler tools will have a nice orgainized home from now on. Thanks Bob for
everything you do!
Michael and Hank repacked the grease pads for the main drivers. This involved a great deal of slicing and squishing of the waxy stuff. These will be installed in the summer when the engine is again over the pit.
Michael and Hank repacked the grease pads for the main drivers. This involved a great deal of slicing and squishing of the waxy stuff. These will be installed in the summer when the engine is again over the pit.
Eric and Channing took on the challenge of removing the
remaining flush staybolt caps from the wrapper sheet. Most of these had been removed previously,
but the most stubborn had been left. The guys along with Severn figured out a
smart method of removing them: this involved welding an anti-creeper, which is a
track part, directly onto the cap, and using it as a handle that could be wrenched
on. This process worked very well, and is a good example of the ingenuity
required to work on old machinery in less than ideal situations.
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| Channing prepares to weld the anti-creeper to another stubborn staybolt cap. |
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| Not pretty but it works! |
Roger and Mike hooked up the house air and finally got the
air pump to start doing its thing; the result was quite dramatic, with Marvel
Mystery Oil shooting everywhere and the familiar “thump-thump".Video follows:
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| Roger with his completed pump stand. |
Black clouds finally closed in, the temperature dropped
significantly, and the snow came. It was too warm to stick, so it just made a
sloppy mess. I had misgivings in regards to the evening BBQ, but as quick as it
blew in, it was gone and blue sky dominated. The evening meal of grilled
chicken, donated by Dave Anderson, and my chili (an old family recipe, if your
family name is Chasen) was enjoyed by all. After, Dave Roth was appointed
entertainment chairman, treating everyone to the evening’s feature film.
Another fun and productive weekend for the WPRM steam crew.
Dad and I made our retreat Sunday morning back to Concord
where I actually got to see my mother on Mother’s Day, probably the first time
in over 20 years! The visit was too short before I had to get back on the road
and head back to Southern California, where we celebrated my wife Rita’s
Mother’s Day with my daughters. The next day the temperatures at our house in
Lakewood were in the high 90’s. For me it was hard to believe that I was being
snowed on just two days before…
Epilogue:
After Dad and I left, Norman Comer and his burly helper
arrived to complete the riveting on the knuckle patch. This was accomplished
through mainly brute force on Norman’s part. Riveting overhead is not a task
for the weak of heart, or weak of upper body strength. Norman, being a
tug-o-war champion is one of the few in our circle that can take this on. Steve
was able to borrow the propane forge. Kirk was appointed the red-hot rivet
passer, probably not the job he thought he would undertake when he woke up that
morning.
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| Norman riveting into the knuckle patch. |
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| Kirk getting ready to pass a heated rivet. |
In the meantime, Erin Swain is manufacturing the windows and
doors for the cab at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona. He hopes to have these
completed by the Fall work session. So far from photos he has sent, they look
great!
The Superheater flues purchased through the fundraising
drive are now fabricated and waiting to come down from Washington State. Thanks
to Stathi Pappas of the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad for getting this done. We
now have just about everything needed to put the boiler back together. All we
need now is sweat, tears and lots of labor.
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| Brand new flues ready to travel! |
Please consider a monetary tax deductible donation to help us along. Checks
may be made payable to: FRRS, PO Box 608, Portola, CA 96122. Please note “165
Steam Fund” in the memo line of your check.
Thanks again to
everyone who has donated cash, materials, time and even moral support. We are
getting ever closer to Western Pacific steam returning to Portola! - JCA
