WP 165 Restoration Blog

2012 Fundraising Calendar now available.

2011-12-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

The 2012 WPRM Steam Department Calendar is now available through CafePress:

http://www.cafepress.com/wprrsteam.597983315

A portion of the proceeds from each sale goes toward funding the restoration of locomotive 165. Thanks again to Eugene Vicknair for his assistance with several unique images this year.

Have a wonderful Christmas season and a happy, safe and productive 2012! - JCA

WPRM Steam Work Dates for 2012

2011-11-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dates for steam work sessions at Portola in 2012:

Thursday, April 25th - Saturday April 28th.
Thursday, July 19th - Saturday July 21st.
Thursday, September 27th - Saturday September 29th.

Additional dates will be added as necessary. As always please contact the Museum Manager ahead of time if you wish to arrange accommodations in the Pullman.

Have a happy and safe 2012!

-Chris Allan

Fall 2011 Work Week Report

2011-10-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Season for the Steam Department has ended, and we can be proud of our accomplishments over the past year. The lion’s share of the work was toward our 1472 day FRA inspection, with all but a very few of our ultrasonic thickness readings on the boiler shell completed by Nathan Osborn and James Cowdery. Nathan has also been meticulously transcribing the thickness readings into a format that is more “user friendly”.

We welcome new steam team member Dick Coudin, who I met onboard Roger Stabler’s private car “Two Rivers” on the Railroad Days Special to Portola in August. Dick met me in Woodland on Tuesday the 27th of September, and together we motored back over the hill to Portola in time to get moved into the Pullman before dinner.

Steve inspects the drivers with the D&RGW tool boxcar in the background.

Nathan takes a turn at scraping grease and paint.

A clean journal surface, ready to be polished out.

Wednesday we were joined by Steve Lee, in from Cheyenne to lend a hand and help us get through our initial FRA boiler internal inspection. The inspection was to take place on Thursday, but was cancelled Wednesday evening by the inspector for reasons beyond his control. We will reschedule in the spring of 2012, and continue on with boiler work in the meantime. Roger Stabler arrived about this time, and got to work on the base of the cab, welding up what Erin Swain had tacked in place during the summer work session. Dick drilled out for the rivets along the bottom of the sides. These will be driven into place, hopefully, in the spring. Thanks to Roger and Dick for finishing up around the base. All that remains is to patch the drip rail areas on the roof. Charlie Spikes has the cab mounting brackets pilot drilled. Those will be finished off with the magnetic base drill after the cab is in place. He has also been systematically cleaning up the driving boxes over the summer. The grease is quite stubborn, and progress is slow, but he is sticking with it. With any luck we will have them ready to lower the frame and boiler back down on the drivers by this time next year. Wednesday evening ended up with some delicious rib eye steaks grilled to perfection by Roger, a nice way to end the day.

Dick drills holes for the rivets at the base of the cab.

Thursday a twenty-thousand pound capacity forklift, sourced out by Charlie, was delivered to unload our 16” lathe from where it has been residing over the summer, in the back of the dump truck. This machine was too heavy for our beleaguered white forklift, so more power was in order. After the lathe was set in place, the next logical move was to relocate the locomotive drivers indoors where they could be cleaned and inspected for cracks, a chore the giant rented forklift handled readily, and we sent it back on its way. Our good friends from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum, Dave Roth and Severn Edmonds arrived to find us at work in the shop. Dave pitched in with Nathan and Steve on needle scaling and scraping the driver sets, and Severn set about cleaning the years of built-up scrunge on the lathe, which as he discovered, is in nice shape. Duane started the wiring, and he hopes to have it operational soon. Our thanks to the Union Pacific railroad for their donation of this machine. Steve Lee inspected each driver spoke closely, and found no cracking, which was a huge relief. Repairs to spokes can be a costly and dramatic undertaking.

Our "new" 16" lathe indoors at last!

Steve scraping grease around the hubliners.

Roger began prepping the patched area on the right side of the wrapper sheet that had been removed last season. The sheet was corroded to the point of needing replacement, so new pieces of code steel were obtained. Roger and Dick ground the new plate to fit, beveled the edges for welding, and tacked in place so we could transfer the staybolt locations for pilot drilling. The two larger patches up on the roof area of the wrapper still need to be fitted; more work for the Spring. Thursday night was dinner at the Roadhouse across the river. Thursday was a good night for dining there- no Karaoke.

Friday cleaning continued on the locomotive frame outside. This less than pleasant task was undertaken by Ed Chase, Steve Cope, and Jim Greco, who was experiencing his first day in steam restoration (and hopefully not his last!). The guys found a formerly undisclosed crack in one of the frame spreaders. This can be ground out and welded in situ due to its easily accessible location. Thanks to them for sticking with it, a good deal of the frame may now be inspected for cracking. Dick and Charlie primer painted the pilot beam and deck, as well as one of the cylinders. The 165 is starting to look like someone cares!

Roger preps a patch area for weld.

Severn cleaning up the lathe.

Roger and Dick forming a piece of boilerplate using heat.

The patch tacked in place and marked for drilling.

New section of steel around the base of the cab.

Friday continued with more of the same. Grease, paint removal, on and on it went. Roger’s company thought they might need him at some point, so he headed back to Woodland that evening. Thanks to him for bringing up his welding machines, and getting a good deal of work accomplished. Steve Lee was presented with the Ultrasonic thickness readings taken to date. He will be begin to generate our FRA Form 4, which is essentially a big book of stress calculations, over the winter back in Cheyenne. Given the average winter temps in Cheyenne, he should be encouraged to stay out of the wind and get a lot done. Thanks again Steve for coming out to Portola and your continued support!

Dave and Dick took preliminary UT readings on the drypipe inside the boiler, the pipe that delivers the steam from the throttle valve on one end, to the cylinder admission pipes on the other. This is simply a length of seven inch diameter pipe with fittings on each end. Readings revealed thin areas in several places. I opted for replacement, Steve concurred. Now is the time to replace this component, since the boiler is devoid of tubes, and front tube sheet is partially removed, giving easy access. If we waited until after the engine was in operation, and this pipe failed, even if nothing bad happened due to the uncontrolled acceleration, we would have to go through seven levels of Hell to get it out. Another dandy project for the spring.

All week long Bob Sims was hard at work measuring our ex-D&RGW tool car for interior build outs to outfit it as a machine shop and work area for the Steam Department. Thank you to Bob for taking this necessary project on. As I write this about half of the materials necessary are onsite. Bob will with any luck and good weather get a lot done later this year.

Saturday we winterized, tarped, and generally put things away. Another season is behind us. Sunday morning Dick and I headed down the hill and stopped into Colfax, where our Museum’s train was on display, staffed by our friendly volunteers, for the Railroad Days celebration in that town. The equipment looked shiny and spiffy, a rolling ambassador to the WPRM.

Thanks again to all of you for your continued support. Thanks also to the team behind the scenes that makes sure we keep moving forward, including Rod & Gail McClure, yardmaster Steve Habeck, treasurer James Mason who keeps us grounded, our webmaster Tom Carter, Eugene Vicknair, our graphics department and cheerleader for us from time to time, Norman Holmes who continues to donate more bits and pieces for the engine he comes across, and of course to Steve Lee, whose mentorship during this project has been invaluable. Special thanks go to Charlie Spikes who spends days getting ready for our arrival making sure everything is in place when we arrive.

Interestingly, after a gorgeous week in Portola, the weather turned just days after we left, and snow was flying again by the middle of the week. Everyone have a nice holiday season, and we will pick up where we left off next year! We will convene again at the end of April, after things thaw out a bit. - JCA

Steam Department Summer 2011 Update

2011-07-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

The absurdity of life never ceases to amaze me. No sooner had our sandblasting contractor finished up with the 165’s cab, the sky opened up and dumped on the freshly bared metal, turning everything a rusty orange haze by the next morning. I purposely scheduled this work at the end of June to avoid such an event, but Mother Nature had other plans for my sanity.

Roger Stabler and I traveled to Portola June 28th with the goal to prep and primer the cab prior to the July work session. Our sandblasting contractor had a few minor “mechanical difficulties” on the drive over from Reno but was still able to get going by around 11am. While he started blasting the multiple layers of cab paint away, Roger and I started removing four more leaf springs from the locomotive, which are currently being rebuilt at a spring shop in West Sacramento. Thanks to Roger for taking the lead on the leaf spring renewal!

Cab in the process of being sandblasted.

Roger Stabler works on getting the leaf springs out.

My original plan was to get the cab inside the shop for painting as soon as it was blasted. Unfortunately, as you read above, that effort turned out to be futile so Roger and I called it a day. I cursed the rain all night from inside the motel room, which was about all I could do at the time.

June 29th dawned gloriously sunny, almost like nature was mocking me. Roger, undaunted, went back to the paint lockers in the shop and found some rust converter solution left over from a prior project. After a good dousing of the stuff, the orange haze disappeared. We were now ready to paint. Roger and better living through chemicals saves the day again!

No fewer than five paint guns tried and failed to atomize the two part epoxy primer. Finally Charlie Spikes made a run over to the local auto parts store and purchased a fifty-dollar el-cheapo gun, and it carried Roger through the rest of the job. The cab and Roger were now a nifty oxide-red color. We were ready to start replacing the “cancer” or rusted metal later in July. The contractor returned for a second day of blasting, this time in the boiler interior. A great deal of scale was removed, and we are now ready for our initial interior inspection by the FRA later in the season.

Hopefully our good friend Steve Lee from Cheyenne, Wyoming will be on hand in the fall for our first FRA inspection. Here's a link to a recent interview of Steve by John Rimmasch of Wasatch Railroad Contractors in which Steve tells John of his involvement with the 165 project and his ongoing relationship with the Feather River Rail Society.

Back to Sacramento with a bed load of leaf springs, the extra weight yielding a very smooth ride down I-80. Thanks again to Roger for taking time off from work so we could keep on schedule.

Roger applies rust converter solution to the cab.

Primer is applied.

Cab finish primered, ready to go inside.

Fast forward to July 21st. Portola’s own “prodigal son”, Erin Swain arrives to take the lead on the weekend’s task of repairing and replacing some badly rusted spots on the cab. Charlie had previously picked up some sheared 10 gauge steel in Reno and had it ready to go by the time we got in. Thanks Charlie! The first task Thursday was to move the cab into the shop, not only to get us out of the sun but so that we could use the concrete floor to achieve flatness around the bottom, which was the completely rusted away.

Erin’s plasma cutting machine made quick work of removing the offending sections, and new pieces were tacked in place a little at a time, so as not to warp the sheet metal due to excessive heat. Burr Wilson and his son Alex helped out Erin by removing the drip rail piece on the right side, exposing more than a bit of rusted-through roof section. Removing this piece of angle iron involved drilling out a bunch of rivets holding it, then driving them out; a tedious task to say the least. Thanks to the Wilson’s for sticking with it! A big thanks to Erin for making the drive from Flagstaff, Arizona to help out. We hope to see him again soon. Erin also recently rebuilt the power reverse for the 165, which he brought back working like its brand new. Here's a video of it working after restoration. It was a complete mess when he took it home last year, and it is nothing short of miraculous how he brought it back to operation. Great job Erin! Now get on that cab woodwork! (Just kidding- Take your time, we’ve got until Spring 2014).

Erin Swain (below) and Burr Wilson (on ladder) removing rusted portions of the cab.

Rust under a removed section of the drip rail.

Erin working with a grinder- removing a corner section.

Patches in the cab front tacked in place.

In the meantime, Charlie and his son Eric started ripping out shelves in our second parts boxcar in an effort to get things organized. A huge quantity of lumber was removed, and we hope to replace the old rickety shelves with some nice new steel shelving, donations gladly accepted! Working in a steel boxcar in the July sun is no pleasant task. Thanks to those two for getting the job done. Charlie has also been cleaning up driving boxes and pedestal binders in preparation for re-wheeling the locomotive next season. A lot still needs to be accomplished, notably cleaning and inspection of the frame, but we are on our way. Ed Chase did a few hours of sweeping in the boiler removing some sandblast sand on Saturday after operations. Thanks for pitching in! Rod McClure assisted us in getting the driver sets closer to the shop so they could be cleaned. He is the only person I know who can move a set of 6000 pound drivers with a 5000 pound capacity forklift. Of course we had to use some "creative" counterbalancing to keep the back wheels on the ground, that involved just about everyone on the property at the time. Very dramatic but we got it done!

Nathan Osborn and James Cowdery will continue with the ultrasonic readings on the boiler sheets in August. We should be able to wrap up this job by the Fall work session and get the FRA form 4 underway. With any luck we will also be able to start welding the patches into the wrapper sheet at that time. New flexible staybolt sleeves and caps for the patched areas have been completed by the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania, and should be in our hands by the time you read this.

Our next session is Thursday, September 29th - Saturday October 1st. This promises to be a productive and dare I say, “fun” time coming up, so we hope to see many of you in attendance. There is no shortage of work at all levels of expertise, so come up to Portola and join us!

I am quite excited that I will, for the first time, be arriving in Portola by rail for Railroad Days 2011, being held August 20th-21st. A chartered train of private cars will arrive Friday the 19^th, coming out of Oakland, including car “Two Rivers” owned and operated by our own Roger Stabler. There may still be a couple of spots available on this car, email Roger Colton: pullman@privatecarservice.net for more info and pricing. I am really looking forward to finally riding in style up the Feather River Canyon, something else I can cross off my bucket list.

Another item of note: We will be starting our next fundraiser in a few weeks to raise cash for the purchase of the superheater flues. Look for details soon! Until then, have a great summer! - JCA

Spring 2011 Work Week Report

2011-05-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

All photos by Debra Baer unless noted. (Thanks Debra!)

Spring has sprung, an unusually long, wet winter is over, and we are ready to get back to work on the WP 165. Leaving Los Angeles for a few days seldom requires an excuse, but in this case the cabin fever made it imperative. I arrived in Portola on Wednesday, April 27th ready to get something accomplished. Upon arrival we met up with Steve Lee, recently retired from the Union Pacific Steam Department. Steve came out from Cheyenne to help out for the week, and we were very happy to see him on the property. In anticipation for the “big pick” the following Saturday, Rod McClure, Steve Habeck, and Cody Wilson were adjusting the drum brakes in derrick 37, a beastly machine. Built for the WP as a steam derrick, it was converted to internal combustion sometime in the 1970’s. We ordered pizza in, and called it a night.

Thursday morning dawned clear, cold and windy. Breakfast at the Station Café with Charlie Spikes is always a good way to start the day. Charlie, Bill and Duane had spent the previous week getting our parts cleaning tank cleared away and functional so we could start degreasing locomotive parts. A 55 gallon drum of the cleaning solvent only gave us a few inches in the bottom due to the tanks enormous size, more is on order.

The big task facing us on Thursday was getting the pedestal binders ready to come off. This proved to be another colossal task given the amount of crud clogging the holes, damaged studs, etc. Luckily by this time our friends from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum in San Francisco were starting to arrive. Dave Roth, Dave Varley, Jim Prettyleaf, and Severen Edmonds were ready to get dirty, so they were put to work. By Friday Roger Stabler and Dave Wallace also took turns in the pit “persuading” the heavy binders to move, which eventually did. Everything does, in time, bend to our will, some things just not that easily. Bruce Hilliard serenaded us with the needlescaler. Charlie had to run back to Reno to refill the O2 bottles. David Hensarling, president of GGRM, arrived on Friday to check things out, and was put to work reassembling the left side brake cylinder with Jim P. and Nathan Osborn. James Cowdery, "Burr" Wilson and Nathan applied red primer to the first two boiler courses and the dome, which was nice to see, much better than rust colored metal. Doyle McCormack came down from Portland, Oregon to check out his sleeper car, the ”Magnolia Grove”, and visit with Steve Lee. Doyle is a steam veteran and has a lot of good advice for us. Thus started the “Fog of War” period when things were happening so fast that it’s hard to recount everything, so forgive me if I omit any details.

Steve Lee helps to secure a lathe donated by the UPRR for movement into the shop.

The lathe is loaded into the dump truck.

Steve Lee and Doyle McCormack join forces to rig a spreader bar.

The Derrick's master, Rod McClure.

Phil checks the rigging on the Tidewater car prior to a lift.

Friday also saw the Brehm’s up from Phoenix to re-roof the Steam Department’s tool car, the former Denver & Rio Grande boxcar donated to us by the Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista, CA. The three of them set to removing the mostly rotted T&G and recovering with plywood and rubberized roofing. This is a temporary measure until we can mill up the proper wood roofing, but at least the interior can stay dry for the time being. Thanks to you guys for making the trip and getting the job done!

Friday night dinner at the Roadhouse was enjoyable, at least until the Karaoke started. At that point we were ready to get back to our bunks to rest up for Saturday, which proved to be eventful.

Nathan Osborn and James Cowdery prep and paint the boiler shell.

Jim Prettyleaf, GGRM welder removes a wasted section of the 165 wrapper sheet.

Mike Brehm, of Phoenix, AZ after nailing down the new roof on the tool car-JCA photo.

Dave Roth, GGRM Operations Manager, assumes the "Put down the camera and get back to work" pose.-JCA photo

Saturday morning the derrick crew, guided by rigging foreman Phil Schmierer had the Tidewater Southern bunk car back up on trucks for the first time in a long time. The plan was to pick the 165 off its drivers and place the boiler and chassis in the spot previously occupied the TS car. With the binder nuts loose, and the engine back down on the axles and lubricated with some STP (Doyle’s suggestion) it left the confines of the shop for the first time in several years and was back out in the light of day. The move went slowly due to having to pull it out with a chain, before the switch crew could run around and use the coupler on the front. Finally spotted next to the derrick, Steve Lee and Phil rigged the cables, and derrick operator Rod eased the engine skyward, just a bit. Of course the 165 didn’t give up that easy, as Severen, Dave Varley and Dave Wallace had to beat on a couple of the binders before they finally gave in (the binders, not the Severen, Dave and Dave). Once Phil was confident that the rigging was sound, up went the boiler and frame, and as according to plan, the driver sets stayed on the ground, thankfully. With two taglines and numerous holders-on, the engine spinning around 180 degrees to its resting spot resembled a Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade balloon, albeit an incredibly ungainly one. After some careful negotiation through the air, the chassis and frame were set down on cribbing. Sandblasting can now commence later in the season on the boiler interior, on the drivers, and other parts. Roger Stabler has offered to get quotes on the four leaf springs that need renewal. The plan calls for re-wheeling the locomotive this time next year, barring any “unforeseen” events or disclosures once we get the numerous layers of paint and grime off.

The 165 being lowered onto the cribbing. - Dave Roth photo.

The boiler and chassis set, ready for sandblasting. - JCA photo

Thanks to all for a great deal of time, effort, and professionalism during this process. It is my hope that this is as far as we need to go for disassembly, and we can now begin putting it all back together. Erin Swain has been making good progress on restoring the power reverse cylinder at his home shop in Flagstaff, AZ. This is one example of how things are always happening on the 165 project, little by little. In time lots of littles add up to a whole lot.

Our next work session is coming up July 21st-23rd, 2011. By then we hope to have the sandblasting done, including the cab. Erin is going to lead the project to repair the cancer around the base, and renew the wood headliner. Cleaning of parts continues, thanks to Charlie and his son Eric. Thanks go to Rod McClure especially for all the prep work getting the derrick back into fighting shape. Big thanks also to James Mason, our Treasurer, behind the scenes directing all of the steam funds in the right direction. The amount of work left is staggering, but if we have a few more sessions like this last one, some real progress will be apparent real soon. - JCA

Spring is here!

2011-03-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I hope everyone is well rested and ready to get back into steam "mode"!

Our next work session in Portola is less than 2 months away, Thursday, April 28th - Saturday April 30th, so I would like to give everyone advance "warning" of what I hope to accomplish this season. The list this year is ambitious to say the least, but doable. We have an new tentative deadline of April 2014, so we need to kick ourselves into "high gear" to move the project along. Thanks again to everyone who has been putting in the hours and supporting the project either through showing up and getting dirty, financially, or even through moral support. We need to keep up the momentum so I hope to see a lot of you in April. The entire Pullman car is ours to fill up, so come one come all.

I picked up the steel boilerplate for the patches on the roof sheet today. I will get them drilled out and rolled in the next few weeks with any luck. Thanks to Paul Boschan at Redman, our left side brake cylinder is round again, and ready to put back up on the engine. Rod McClure has acquired a 16" Lodge & Shipley lathe that we need to set up, we will have lots of staybolts to thread. Flexible staybolt sockets and caps will be machined soon as well by a CNC shop here in LA.

The list so far:

Lower engine frame back onto drivers.

Move outside to suitable sandblasting location.

Jack/crib and remove drivers. Replace pedestal binders.

Remove areas in wrapper sheet for access- Sandblast boiler interior.

Continue cleaning drivers & frame – hot tank driving boxes.

Sandblast cab and spray primer.

Replace left side brake cylinder and piston. Test.

Continue thickness mapping of firebox / tube sheets / drypipe.

Begin generating FRA Form 4.

Prep tender tanks for removal. Steam clean oil tank interior. Sandblast water cistern inside&out - Primer

Source superheater flues and obtain pricing.

Re-roof tool car. Prep and Primer exterior.

Continue sourcing out replacement or rebuild of appurtenances (generator, injectors, lubricator, etc.)

Source out replacement leaf springs and obtain pricing.

Set up “new” Roseville Lathe in shop.

Again I hope to see many of you in April in Portola. Please contact me with any comments, questions, etc. -JCA

We Welcome a New Member of the WPRM Steam Team!

2011-02-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Western Pacific Railroad Museum Steam Program welcomes it's newest member, Mr. Stephen A. Lee of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Steve is retired from the Union Pacific Railroad, and brings a great deal of steam experience to our program. Welcome!

Steve at work for his former employer, UPRR, before retirement.

-JCA

WPRM Steam Work Dates for 2011

2011-01-11T11:22:00.001-08:00

Dates for steam work sessions at Portola in 2011:

Thursday, April 28th - Saturday April 30th.
Thursday, July 21st - Saturday July 23rd. Note date change
Thursday, September 29th - Saturday October 1st.

Additional dates will be added as necessary. As always please contact the Museum Manager ahead of time if you wish to arrange accomodations in the Pullman.

Have a happy and safe 2011!

-Chris Allan

Fall 2010 Work Week Report

2010-10-31T12:15:00.001-07:00

Once again I was happy to leave the greater Los Angeles area and head to chillier climes in the north, where Fall actually takes place. I made yet another journey to Portola for the final steam work session of 2010.

After zigzagging across the state, first to Pine Grove to see about a new gate for our property, then down to Fair Oaks to visit friend and BAERA director Paul Zaborsky, I arrived early evening Wednesday Oct. 20th back at the Portola campus of WPRM.

The ever-dependable Charlie Spikes had the heater going in the Pullman, thanks for that Charlie! I had but to vacuum up the usual detritus on the floor of the sections, and wipe down a few months of dust, grab a sandwich at Subway and collapse in a heap on my bunk.

After breakfast Friday morning with Charlie at the Station Café, we got set up and started in on trying to accomplish something. Hank Stiles showed up and continued with his rebuild of the brake cylinders. He cut new gaskets for the pressure side heads and was able to make the right side function again with grease and new rubber cups provided by a friend of ours. The left side gave us fits, in fact the piston didn’t fit back in, and so the cylinder casting was removed whole and is currently being bored out by Paul Boschan here in the LA area. Seemingly small, the rebuild of the right side cylinder represents the first restored part on the 165, first of many I should hope. We patted ourselves on the back and moved on. Welcome to our newest volunteer, Bruce Hilliard from Sacramento. Bruce was very enthusiastic and made himself useful all three days. Thanks also to Ed Chase for dutifully needlescaling the smokebox exterior for many hours on Thursday.

Thursday night a friendly “contingent” from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum arrived to help out for the rest of the week. These guys have Southern Pacific locomotive 2472 stabled operable at the Niles Canyon Railway in Sunol, California, and are a real bunch of professionals. Dave Roth, GGRMs Ops Manager was joined by Severn Edmonds, Jim Prettyleaf, and Dave Varley, GGRM's CMO.

Jim, Dave, Dave and Bruce. Taken just after the front tube sheet was fit.

Severn heating up binder nuts in preparation for loosening them.

Hank working on the right side brake cylinder.

By Friday we were at full speed. Bruce and Jim began the process of fitting the new front tubesheet, a laborious process requiring attention be paid. Jim took the lead and had it in by Saturday afternoon. Weld prep and the actual welding still needs to be accomplished but we are well on our way. Dave Roth and Dave Varley took turns continuing the thickness mapping on the firebox wrapper sheet. Having gone through the FRA form 4 process with the 2472, the GGRM crew’s assistance will prove invaluable on the 165 calculations.

Roger Stabler pulled in with a present for the project: a pair of Sharon locomotive couplers donated by him and Dave Magaw, president of the Sierra Northern. The couplers were originally from a locomotive they owned together which they subsequently sold. We can now replace the cracked coupler on the tender, and have a spare in stock should we need it. Thanks again to Roger and Dave!

Roger and Severn began loosening up pedestal binder nuts in preparation for jacking up the locomotive in the Spring and removing the drivers. We decided this was the best course of action for cleaning and inspecting the frame and driver centers for cracks, and it will also be easier to sandblast components when disassembled and on shop trucks.

Dave Roth tackles some thickness mapping using the ultrasonic tester.

Severn and Roger fighting with binder nuts.

Jim Prettyleaf preps the front tube sheet for the new section.

Front tube sheet fitted up. Grinding bevels and welding remains to be done. It's great to finally see it in place!

Saturday was blustery and rainy, we felt lucky to be able to work indoors. Dave Roth took it upon himself to continue the chipping on the frame spreader at the rear of the engine. Charlie and Duane started this last season, and Dave got nearly all the remaining bits and pieces out using Roger’s air hammer. Hank and I both took turns grinding on the rear tube sheet and removing more tube ends, a task which left our forearms sore for days given the weight of Dana’s 9” grinder.

I enjoyed meeting the GGRM guys, and sharing some stories and exaggerations in the evening during cocktail hour. I hope they can come back for more in the Spring. Again my thanks to them and everyone who braved the weather to help out this time!

Luckily I had loaded some boiler plate and the left side brake cylinder in my truck for the trip south. The extra weight in my bed was likely the reason I wasn’t blown off Donner Pass on the way home.

Another season has come to an end, and I would like to thank all of you who have supported the project either through showing up and lending some elbow grease, or have donated monetarily and/or in-kind. Thanks also to those who could only lend their moral support, which is appreciated too. We are progressing at a good clip now, so I would like to keep the momentum up. Please consider a year-end donation in any amount. You may send your check to:

WP 165 Steam Fund, Western Pacific Railroad Museum, PO BOX 608, Portola, CA 96122.

I will try and have our fundraising calendar available online in the next couple weeks. Look for my announcement. Until then have a great Fall season! - JCA

A Boxcar for the Steam Department Arrives

2010-10-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Eventual appearance of boxcar 62962, as an O-scale model from the Mullet River Model Works website.

After two years of fundraising, planning, and even a couple false starts, our 1909-built D&RGW house car 62962 arrived in Portola Tuesday, October 5th, 2010. The move from the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista, California to WPRM Portola took all day, and the carbody was placed back on its trucks Wednesday morning. Thanks to the professionals: Steve, Chris and Rick at Mongomery Contractors the move was made safely and efficiently.

The Sunday prior I was joined by Eugene Vicnair, Chris Kaprielian, Nathan Osborn, James Cowdery, Craig Ferguson, and Friend (sorry I’m not great with names!). Paul Zaborsky with WRM operated the forklift for us. The underbody was stripped of brake gear to get it as low as possible on the flatbed. Items being donated to us by WRM, including the WP's train scheduling stringboard, and parts not necessary for their period restoration of SN caboose 1632 were secured inside the car by Eugene and Chris. Rod McClure's Oakland yard office sign was also included and will be hung in the WPRM Gift Shop after a couple of decades adorning the wall of the shop at Rio Vista.

The crew arrives at Rio Vista Junction to prep the car.

Eugene and Chris securing the contents.

So much was accomplished on Sunday thanks to the great turnout, I was able to take Monday off, and travel with my dad up to Woodland to visit steam team member Roger Stabler. After a quick tour of his railcar, P/V Two Rivers we had a nice BBQ lunch at Ludys downtown. Returning back to the Sierra Northern shop we met up with Dave Magaw, President of the SNRR. He and Roger surprised us with the donation of two Sharon couplers for the 165. These couplers were originally from an 0-4-0 they owned together. Our current tender coupler is badly cracked; we can now replace it and still have a spare. Thanks again to Dave and Roger for their continued support.

James Cowdery before bravely climbing up on the roof to nail down battens.

Tuesday morning Mongomery Contractors arrived promptly at 07:30. They worked fast to jack the carbody off the trucks, and we were loaded and on the road by 11:00. By 16:00 the car was inside the gate at Portola.

Carefully backing the trailer under the carbody on jacks.

D&RGW 62962 back on its wheels in Portola, safe and sound.

The roof on the 62962 is not in the best shape, so the car will spend it’s first winter at Portola in the diesel shop. Come spring we will attend to the roof and put the brake rigging back up. Then we can stabilize the exterior and start moving tools and supplies in.

Thanks to the guys at WRM: David Johnson, Al Stangenberger and Paul Zaborsky for their assistance and patience. Thanks also to FRRS Treasurer James Mason for handling the financials, and to Rod McClure, Steve Habeck, Cody Wilson, Charlie Spikes, and David Epling for the assistance unloading and getting the car put away when it got home to Portola. And last but not least to Nathan Osborn and James Cowdery for their generous donations that made this move possible.

I will update everyone from time to time as we make strides in getting this car back in the “useful” category. - JCA

Summer 2010 Work Weekend Report

2010-08-08T12:37:00.001-07:00

Our first day of work for the summer session, Thursday July 29th saw the return of prodigal son Erin Swain, FRRS life member currently residing in Flagstaff, AZ, and myself ready to tackle the nastier tasks we have been putting off. Erin jumped in by getting himself into the firebox and continuing the grind on the rear tube sheet. The seal welds on the tubes at the rear were applied so as to minimize leakage when cold air was inadvertently sucked in due to the fire going out, or inattentive firemen etc. To replace the tubes these welds must be ground flush with the sheet and the small bit of tube end remaining must be driven out. Not the most glamorous job but one that needs to get done despite all the tiny grind burns we are both nursing.

Charlie Chris and Hank work on removing a bolt at the tender buffer.

Hank Stiles removed the rear cab brace sheet with a bit of help from all concerned and placed it out with the cab to hopefully be sandblasted later in the summer. In the process the buffer that bears against the tender front beam can now be tightened up since it was integral with the cab brace. The brake cylinders were also dissassembled. They are both in fine condition and will hopefully be reassembled with new seals in the fall.

Working at removing the cab support plate.

Charlie checks in on Mike and Joseph Brehm during cab wood removal.

After Erin’s turn was done in the firebox he and Charlie (Welcome back Charlie!) spent the lion’s share of the next two days needle-scaling on the valve gear arms and various other castings.

I would like to welcome new members Mike and Joseph Brehm from Phoenix, AZ. (Fun fact: Arizona was well represented this time, even the 165 started its career in Jerome, Arizona). Mike and Joe made their very first trip to Portola this time, and were immediately tasked with removing the cab woodwork in preparation for sandblasting the cab sheet metal. The T&G boards in the headliner and the ancillary wood was carefully removed, numbered and documented prior to storing it in our boxcar for future reference. New material will replace this woodwork, but the old will serve as a pattern for replacement. Thanks to both these guys for their perseverance and seeing the job through.

Erin waits for the power reverse to drain.

By Friday we were in full force and were joined by Nathan Osborn and Mike Mucklin. More needle-gun work was the order of the day and the din was jarring, but progress was made. Mike continued his photo documentation of work on the project. Mikes fine work is featured in this post. More of this work session can be viewed online here.

By Saturday Erin was getting tired of chipping paint and decided to check out the power reverse, which has been overlooked up to this point. We are happy he did because on removing the rear drain plug he got over five gallons of water out of the cylinder. The little drains were of course plugged and we are lucky it didn’t freeze up and crack something expensive to replace. One thing led to another and we decided that a proper rebuild was best done on the bench so it was dropped down and loaded in Erin’s truck to be rebuilt in his home shop. We are confident it will come back to us in better-than-new condition.

Director Parker finally made it in Saturday afternoon. It would have been sooner but the railroad had different plans for him. Matt spent a good couple of hours chipping away inside the boiler shell. Yet another task everyone hates but one that needs doing.

Matt Parker looks very serious.

The power reverse comes off.

Thanks to everyone who came out this time. Each time we literally and figuratively “chip away” at the task, and one day it will lead to steam returning to Portola. Thanks to unsung hero Norm Holmes who made sure we had full welding bottles, and for finalizing the tube sale with the V&T, as well as our new FRRS treasurer James Mason who is helping us figure out the steam department finances. James' efforts will allow us to finally bring our boxcar home from Rio Vista in September.

Our friends in Cheyenne also deserve our gratitude for their continued assistance and advice.

Also, a big thanks to Bob Sims for his continued generosity. Bob donated another $1000.00 to the cause, as well as some vintage WP oil and kero cans that will look great and be quite handy when we get steaming.

The cab and tender signage is just about done as of this writing. We could still use another $500.00 to complete the funding of this sub-project. Sean of Starr Studios in Big Bear City, CA has done an exemplary job of replicating the originals. These should be on display somewhere in the shop area by next spring. Thanks to all of you that have donated to this signage, your generosity will soon be on display for all to see, and will instill a great deal of pride in our WP heritage. A separate blog post outlining the entire process will be up soon, thanks to Sean who has been sending progress photos of the entire job.

One of the new tender signs almost ready.

Have a great summer! See you in the fall.- JCA

Spring 2010 Workweek Report

2010-04-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

I soon realized that one benefit of my new gig in Fillmore, California was the ability to be on the correct side of LA when I began my trip north for the spring workweek. Having gotten in one whole day of work on the D&NE 14 Monday, I awoke in my palatial digs in ATSF superintendent car 409, got dressed and got out. I was soon over the Grapevine for points north. After arriving at my parent’s house in Concord I relaxed a bit, and loaded up what remained of poor Dana’s life in the bed of my truck. Thanks to Craig Ferguson and Martin for bringing it all over to my folks house. I think my Dad was glad to have the floor space in his garage cleared up.

Hank Stiles and Steve Cope started cleaning up Wednesday in preparation for the work. Steve spent a good deal of time cleaning the pit, which doubles as the cats litter box. By the time Roger and I arrived that afternoon the engine was accessible and the floor was clear of detritus. Thanks to you guys for the effort and sorry again about the small mix up as to when I was going to get to the property.

Roger set about chipping a great deal of scale and rust from the roof sheet under where the rear sand dome sits. This is one spot where the jacket rusted through and water seeped into the insulation. The result was a good amount of wastage on the boiler sheet. Roger’s handy ultrasonic tester confirmed that there were pitted spots well in excess of what could be built back up. We decided to remove two sections of the sheet for renewal. This stayed area amounts to approximately two by three feet of shell.

The denuded boiler shell, about as far down as it can go.

Hank, Roger and Steve hard at it.

In the meantime Hank started the removal of flexible staybolt caps, which is required at intervals by the Federal Railroad Administration, or FRA. Removing the caps allows the railroad to inspect the bolts for breakage or any other condition that would require replacement. There are a large number of them, so Hank was at it for a couple days with Roger’s impact gun. Sadly the gun gave up the ghost and is back in Woodland for repairs. Happily Hank was able to remove enough caps to fill a five gallon bucket to overflowing. Steve helped out Hank and kept the area clean and safe, which we greatly appreciate.

For two evenings Roger primer painted the new cab and tender plates that will replace the originals on the locomotive. Thanks to Roger for the donation of the paint and thanks to Eugene Vicknair, Bob Sims, James Mason, Norm Holmes, and Steve Habeck for their donations to the fundraiser. We were able to meet our goal, and the plates will be going to the sign shop next week. All of these gentlemen embody the spirit that will allow us to get steam up in Portola again one day.

The replica sign plates in primer paint.

By Friday it was the proverbial beehive of activity. Dave Wallace showed up ready to work. He and I set ourselves upon removing the steam dome studs in preparation for replacing them with new. These being quite numerous, it took a great deal of time to slowly worry each one out with an accursed heavy pipe wrench, first one way then the other. By the end of the exercise we were both feeling our age. Dave and I, back in the 80s at Rio Vista could do stuff like that all day, but sadly those days are behind us. My hope is David’s twin boys, Patrick and William, will take a shine to working on this old stuff when they are older, and we will only have to supervise from our easy chairs.

The ever affable Matt Parker joined the fray, and needleguns rang out like angry hornets for the remainder of the weekend. I would like to welcome William “Burr” Wilson and his son Alex to the party. They arrived Saturday and made great progress needle scaling the front pilot beam, coupler and pilot deck. I was impressed by their tenacity and hope they can come back and join us in July.

Eugene Vicknair was the loneliest of our lot, banished to outside the shop documenting the cab woodwork. The wood headliner, window rails, etc. need to be removed prior to sandblasting. Eugene has graciously offered to complete an exhaustive study and draw up what needs to be replaced at a later date. A sandblasting contractor showed up to look at the cab and the interior of the boiler shell. The quote is forthcoming. With any luck sandblasting will save many hours of painstaking needlescaler work, if we can secure the funding.

Saturday night at the board meeting we were visited by Charlie Spikes, who seems to be healing nicely. We look forward to having him back and wish him a speedy recovery. Maybe he can cheer us on, or just yell at us to work faster at the next work session in July.

Everyone at the end of another long day.

News of an impending snowstorm on Saturday night spooked me, so I was out and back down to Concord by ten pm. Negotiating Donner Pass with the storm clouds ripping across the sky at sunset was spectacular. At dusk you could just make out the snow sheds above Donner Lake, a dark stripe on a snowy field of white. The view brought to mind thoughts of those men who pushed their 4-4-0s, and later the massive Cab-aheads through those sheds and back down into Nevada. Moving the fruit blocks and limiteds of old while keeping their massive shiny engines in motion were huge endeavors to be sure, but not as big as the men that braved that hill on a daily basis, and still do.

See you all back in Portola July 29th-31st, 2010. -JCA

WP 165 Sign Plate Fundraiser

2010-02-28T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here is your chance to donate in a rather conspicuous way to the Western Pacific locomotive 165 restoration at WPRM Portola. I am in the process of replicating the enameled number plates that are bolted to the side of the cab, as well as the large Western Pacific “Feather River Route” trademarks that reside on each side of the tender.

Each of the six individual 24” tall number plates requires a sponsor at the $100.00 level. If the donor wishes I will stamp his/her initials into the plate, as long as the donation is received by April 10th, 2010. Update: Still need three more number plate sponsors!

The same did go for the 40”x 45” rectangular tender trademark logo plates. Eugene Vicknair has generously kicked off the fundraiser by donating the initial amount for the first tender logo. Update: Both tender logos have been claimed! Thanks to Eugene and James Mason!
To donate simply mail a check to:

WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD MUSEUM - WP 165 SIGN FUND
PO BOX 608, PORTOLA CA 96122

Important: Please note “WP 165 SIGNS” in the memo line of your check.

I you prefer to donate via Paypal Click here.

One set of original number plates removed prior to being put in storage. - Mike Mucklin photo

Tender trademark plate returned to the 165 after many years in private hands.

Some of you may wonder why we are not utilizing the original number plates or the tender logo recently returned. Simply put, these are wonderful artifacts, but due to the abuse they have taken, restorative measures would alter their current appearance (patina if you will). This would irreparably damage their value as museum artifacts. Replicas are much better suited to long-term display as well, given the value of the originals to certain less-than-reputable “collectors”. The replicas will be marked as such and no attempt to pass them off as originals will be made.

Thanks again to Eugene for preparing the artwork and overseeing the quality control on our new plates. As a donor you will be proud that you helped give the 165 its distinctive “WP Look” when they are reapplied near the end of the restoration.
I cannot thank all of you enough for your past and future support. Without you, the “Willing People”, WP history would simply pass into obscurity! - JCA

Donations to date:

Eugene Vicknair - $450.00

Norman Holmes - $100.00

James Mason - $350.00

Bob Sims - $200.00 + $1000.oo to the 165 Steam Fund

A New Year, a New Tube Sheet.

2010-01-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2010, which promises to be a year of significant progress for our project. I am happy to report that thanks to the generosity of G.W. Redman of Redman Equipment & Manufacturing we have a new section of front tubesheet ready to go. This donation of time on the Redman machinery would otherwise take us, with our limited resources, several days of effort on a conventional drill press. The accuracy of the holes in size and location is unparalleled as well. The hole layout is significantly more uniform than ALCo was able to achieve back in the day. Thanks also go to longtime friend of the project, Paul Boschan, Redman's code compliance officer, who facilitated the donation. Paul also helps us out with his sage advice pertaining to boiler matters and related issues from time to time.

The CNC "Quick Drill" machine making holes.

This part of the pressure vessel was replaced due to the deteriorated condition of the existing piece, having been over-rolled, cracked and welded through the bridges repeatedly over the years. We could have used the original front tubesheet as is, but the amount of work it would have taken to keep it serviceable would be frustrating and tedious.

Approximately 120 holes drilled precisely.

Thanks also go to Nathan Osborn who measured the original and generated the cut pattern and drilling plan into AutoCAD. During the Fall work session Nathan brought up a printout of the tubesheet patch in full size, which we matched to the existing piece to verify accuracy.

Paul Boschan and G.W. Redman with the new sheet section.

Section ready to be loaded for the trip north.

The tubesheet will come up to Portola in the Spring for the work session, April 5th-10th. Until then it's ensconced in the garage, tucked out of the way. It will be welded in after the boiler is completely scaled out inside, and we are sure that most of the work in the shell interior is complete. With the lower portion of the sheet removed access to the water space is much easier than dropping in through the dome, at least for us older chunkier individuals!

Our next fundraising drive will raise cash to have replica cab numbers and two WP feather heralds for the tender done. I am happy to report that our intrepid FRRS Secretary and board member Eugene Vicknair has donated $350.00 for the first tender insignia. Thanks Eugene for your continued generosity! More on this fund-raising effort in a later post.

For now I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2010. Please continue to follow our progress here and on our Facebook page, for those of you so inclined. We are over 200 "fans" so far and growing fast! - JCA

Fall 2009 Workweek Report

2009-11-03T12:26:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, October 21- I again successfully escape my fetters and hastily drive back north, over the Grapevine. Happily, another uneventful trip would clear my head. Since the truck bed was to be relatively empty, I took a load of lockers for the shower car, provided by our good friend and member John Hachey of Ontario, California. A stop for lunch in Sacramento was in order with Paul Zaborsky, old pal and currently a director at Bay Area Electric Railway Association. Paul looks and feels much better now after his recent transplant surgery. For the first time in his life he is no longer diabetic, and we wish him the best with the replacement parts. Another leg of the drive over Donner Pass, with the fall colors in their full glory, and a mid afternoon arrival back in Portola, again. Peace and quiet at last. I enjoyed at least ten hours of sleep in the Pullman, after vacuuming up the cat hair. Cat hair and I don’t get along. A generous application of Febreze® didn’t hurt either.

Nathan “Maverick” Osborn and James “insert nickname here” Cowdery arrived Thursday and immediately started taking readings on the wrapper side sheets. As of this writing they have completed the first one thousand or so readings, with quite a few left to go. Suffice to say they have the process down. Mike Mucklin checked in and began photographing the goings on. Some of his and Nathan’s excellent photos are included in this post. More of Mikes photos from the week can be viewed here. Thanks again guys! He also made a nifty plywood template to match the curve of the roof sheet, the top of the wrapper sheet, at the location of a needed patch under the rear sand dome, to be utilized when the new piece of steel is rolled.

I'm holding the rolling template made by Mike Mucklin for the wrapper patch.

Nathan "Maverick" Osborn noting shell thickness readings.

The shiny dots are where readings were taken on the side sheets.

James Cowdrey carefully removes the rust prior to taking ultrasound readings.

Mike got dirty later in the week, and took a bit of a “love kiss” while needlescaling on the frame; just a bit of a scrape really. Matt Parker joined the party later in the day. He was able to tape up Maverick’s full scale tube sheet replacement drawing in place to verify that the new boilerplate misses all the parts we want it to, and that the tube locations are correct. A few minor modifications were noted, but all in all, nice work by Mav. Matt was given a quick lesson by me on cutting torch operation (sorry Rod) after which he began removing the cotter pins on the pedestal binder nuts. He then took the opportunity to burn off the grease from the nuts, etc and apply some Kroil® to ease removal of them sometime next year. An excellent first day was had by all. I enjoyed dinner at the Mexican place with Nathan and James, some quiet reading time in the Edenwold, and back into my rack.

The bottom portion of the front tube sheet is removed.

Matt Parker having a good time in the pit.

Friday October 23- Matt Parker was back for more abuse, so I put him on freeing the cab from its floor, a process Charlie Spikes already had a pretty good start on by this point. The ever-dependable Charlie torched out the portion of the front tube sheet that will be replaced, we now have a spacious entranceway to the interior of the boiler shell, no more snaking ourselves through the dome and past the throttle drypipe for a while. The cab floor was freed from the cab itself, and the whole assembly was levered up a couple inches so we could see any potential trouble spots. There were a few, but the cutting torch took care of them in short order. Rod McClure and Mr. Noodle brought the mighty “Little Giant” truck crane into the shop. We rigged for the “pick” and the cab came up with little resistance. This event drew quite a number of onlookers, a veritable “peanut gallery”. The spectator- members viewing from the floor donned their shiny hardhats. The multicolored spectacle looked from above, where I was directing the crane, like a deranged Easter egg hunt.

Mike Mucklin and I consult on rigging the cab prior to the "pick".

After a few turns jockeying the crane, boom, Rod and Mr. Noodle around, the cab was finally off and down on the ground. Eugene Vicknair and I helped guide it to its final resting place outside of the shop. The woodwork can now be removed and cataloged, and the cab sandblasted and primered prior to starting the body work. Roger Stabler arrived just as we were wrapping up. He spent the day down in Woodland fixing our invaluable porta-power ram, which no longer squirts hydraulic oil at you when under load. Another case of what you may perceive as a small job taking the whole day. My old friend Jim Blake returned for another visit. Jim is active with the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society in Pennsylvania, and now thanks to cheap airfares, with us. The Wallace family also turned up Friday night to work on their Santa Fe caboose. Everyone ended up going their separate ways, and I had dinner at the former Log Cabin, (which is now a “Roadhouse”) with Roger and Jim. I enjoyed a pretty decent piece of prime rib roast and good conversation. Later a bit of time coalescing with David Wallace in his waycar rounded out the evening.

Rod "EP" McClure handily manipulates the "Little Giant".

Eugene Vicknair guides the cab out to it's temporary resting place.

Saturday October 24- With the cab removed access to areas of the boiler shell was made easier in spots. Charlie and Duane became men possessed; parts of the cab floor and cab support came flying off at a frightening speed. They made some great progress and got to areas of the engine that are in desperate need of cleaning, scraping and chipping. Jim Blake tried to keep up by sweeping the floors of any detritus and tripping hazards, and did a good job of it. There was a lot of rust, grease and etc. that came down. The cab floor plates will need to be replaced. Roger managed to get the blowdown valve off, which has been a thorn in our side for some time. He also was able to run down the driving box wedges in preparation for freeing up the driving boxes at some point.

The two James- Blake and Cowdery amid the clutter on Saturday.

Duane and Charlie lay into the cab floor.

Roger Stabler argues with a stubborn blowdown valve.

The 165- now resembling a submarine, missing it's cab.

After wrapping things up we made our regular trek into town for pizza, and as luck would have it the local kiddy football team showed up just as we did, so it was a slow, noisy dinner, but we persevered. That evening I parted ways with most of the crew. Sunday morning I said goodbye to Roger and Jim and was back on the road headed home. The fall colors going through Sierraville were brilliant. -JCA

P.S.: Everyone please consider the purchase of a 2010 WPRM Steam Dept. Fundraising Calendar; your generosity will go a long way toward bringing steam back to Portola! It’s also the only Western Pacific calendar available for 2010. CLICK HERE.

WPRM Steam Dept. dates for 2010

2009-10-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

The following are the WPRM Steam Dept. work session dates for 2010:

April 5th-10th
July 29th-31st
October 21st-23rd

As always please contact David Epling, our Museum Manager at (530)832-4131 if you would like to take advantage of the accomodations in the Pullman Car. Additional dates will be added for the boxcar move and as we ramp up the momentum on the locomotive restoration. Let's make 2010 our most productive year yet! -JCA

Summer 2009 Workweek Report

2009-08-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Pre-dawn on Saturday morning, July 25th, 2009. I made my usual run across LA in an attempt to get to the Grapevine while traffic is light and the temps are still cool, in this case, in the low 70’s. Quite a few finished locomotive components were packed for the trip, and given the size of my garage shop; it was good to reclaim the space for new endeavors. After the requisite stop at Harris Ranch for a restroom break, the next stop was the 15” gauge Redwood Valley Railway in the Berkeley hills. The RVRy is where my little 0-4-0 is currently stored, and whenever I pass through town I stop to tinker a bit on it. Dana was to meet me here for lunch, but he was not up to it. Sadly, he passed away the next day. My eulogy, which most of you have already read, is here. I received word of his passing from Craig Ferguson Sunday night at my parent’s house. Shocked doesn’t begin to describe how I felt.

Monday morning, and the week is beginning with a pall of sadness at Dana’s passing. Not much a person can do at that point but press ahead. It doesn’t pay to dwell on such things; there will be plenty of time for mourning in the weeks to come. I met Roger Stabler in Woodland, and took a quick tour of his progress on the restoration of his private railcar, the Two Rivers. He has to renew a good deal of steel around the windows on the car, a tedious process to say the least. I admire him for his persistence. We stopped to pick up a new refrigerator for the shower car at the Stabler families appliance store (another generous donation by Roger and Gloria, let’s hope it stays CLEAN!) and we were off up the hill. Just about every road to Portola was being paved, poured or otherwise being ripped to shreds so it took a bit longer than normal, but we did make it eventually. Steve and Charlie had already moved the wood caboose out of the shop by the time we arrived. This allowed us to roll the engine back and forth a bit, and get the siderods off. Not a bad start to the work week. Charlie left for home soon after, and Roger and I dined at the Mexican place, plenty of cold beers to go around.

Needlescaling progress on the brake cylinders and frame.

Tuesday we got the jacks under the frame and lifted some of the weight off the spring rigging. The idea was to get one of the leaf spring packs out so Roger could take it down to his “spring guy” for estimates on rebuilding and/or replacement. The engine was in the air; unfortunately the driving boxes went right up with the frame. In order for the spring rigging to go loose the boxes would have to drop. Roger spent the next two days in the pit running down the wedges on the rear driverset so the boxes would come down. They were quite stubborn, but after lots of heat, porta-power applications, and Kroil, the wedges submitted. In the end the two rear springs were removed, or at least what was left of them. That evening a brisk thunderstorm blew through and cooled us off a bit, which was welcome. Later Matt Parker joined Roger and me on the deck for my beer brats. They started talking Union Pacific-speak, so I left them to it and retired into the air-conditioning and my comfy berth.

Nathan (call sign “Maverick”) made it up on Wednesday, he was a welcome sight. His compatriot, James, had to attend a wedding the next weekend so he was, regrettably, absent. We will make sure he takes double needle-scaling chores next time! Just kidding, Nathan and James have been making extra trips to the Museum to further the progress on the thickness mapping of the boiler shell. To date they have completed the first and second courses, as well as the steam dome. Good work, guys! Roger had to get back to his life and the railroad on Wednesday night, so he left us. Thanks to him for spending three full days, in which time a great deal of progress was made. The two Bills, Bill Jackson and Bill Clark, spent lots of time during the session needle-scaling paint off the driver centers and frame. Nathan joined in later and scaled the brake cylinders. Thanks to those guys the 165 is finally starting to look like an engine under restoration. Even better, more of that accursed blue trim paint from the fairgrounds has “left the building”. We look forward to seeing both Bills back again soon for more fun with air tools.

A rare view of the tender outdoors.

By Thursday the heat was on. Nathan took the opportunity to photo-document the tender while it was outside and in the sunlight. Thanks go to Charlie who had previously pumped out around 300 gallons of oil, which will help weight-wise when we go to lift the bunker off the frame. Mid-morning I decided to drive over to Quincy and have lunch with my old friend Rick Mugele, a BNSF engineer who was in town on his rest. It was nice to see him and catch up a bit. Rick and I worked together at the now defunct Westside and Cherry Valley Railway in Tuolumne, California back in the early ‘80s. It was a neat little narrow-gauge operation that ran on the mill grounds of the old Westside Lumber Company. Nowadays Tuolumne is an Indian Casino, and the railway and mill are but faded memories.

Almost immediately upon my arrival back from Quincy, an old friend from even further back in my life stopped by. Jim and his daughter Christine were out from Pennsylvania visiting family in the Bay Area. I gave him the tour, he joined up, and we went over to the Log Cabin for dinner. Jim is a long time member of the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society, which is the only other privately funded all-volunteer group in the US dedicated to preservation of a single class one railroad, in addition to the Feather River Rail Society. He marveled at our facility, especially the diesel house. Jim wished they had something similar. He was also interested to see our boxcab diesel on the flatcar, evidently the Reading Company had a similar locomotive from this builder on their roster at one point. Jim's remarks remind us that we are lucky to have what we have. All in all Thursday was not a big day as far as progress on the engine was concerned, but certainly good for my spirit to see so many old friends and recount so many good memories.

My friend Jim and I take a break.

The Wallace boys, David, along with his sons Patrick and William were up Friday to work on their Santa Fe caboose. I have mentioned in previous posts that David is, like me, a former Rio Vista steam department member, dating from the days when we were running the Western Pacific 94, a ten-wheeler, and restoring the Robert Dollar 3, a 2-6-2T that now resides at Niles Canyon. David got some floor torn up in his car, as well as the diesel tank removed. The strong fuel odor in the car is starting to dissipate; he is in the market for a coal-burning caboose stove if anyone has any leads. Charlie soldiered on and got some needle-scaling done in the interior of the boiler shell, as well as applying a new head to the model-T railcar engine, and of course taking up the slack running locomotive rentals. He was a busy guy, but still managed to smoke his delicious ribs on the deck, which we did scarf down during the Friday evening feast.

By Saturday we were all fairly crisp from the heat. I was down to the last of my clean laundry. David and the boys went over to the city pool for a dunk which was easier than talking the boys into bathing. Nathan continued the needle-scaling on the frame and brake cylinders. I gave my report at the board meeting which began with a moment of silence for our fallen comrade Dana. Nathan and I also did some layout on the piece of the front tube sheet that is in need of replacement. The lower portion below the superheater flues has numerous cracks and welds from over-rolling. In the short term, removing this piece will give us better access to the shell interior. Many measurements and photos were taken so it can be drawn up on CAD and “hopefully” be cut out on a waterjet cutter, saving untold hours with the magnetic drill press. Our traditional Saturday night dinner at the Pizza Factory was followed by cocktails in the Pullman car with David, Seth and Nathan. Thank you again to the management for the air conditioning!

Charlie during a quiet moment on the shower car deck.

Nathan finally got a picture of Roger Stabler from the front!

The cleanup Sunday morning went quickly thanks to our combined efforts, and I was out by 08:30. No major obstacles other than an overturned Honda pickup on I-5. I was home by dinner. Thanks again to everyone who made for a week of good progress and camaraderie! And thanks to Nathan for the photos used in this post. See you all in October! -JCA

Saying Goodbye to Our Friend Dana.

2009-08-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

WPRM Steam team member and good friend Dana Greeley passed away suddenly Sunday, July 26th, 2009. He was 49 years old. Cause is yet to be determined. His only surviving family is his brother, Doug. I spoke with Dana that Saturday before, and he was feeling poorly. I urged him to get to a clinic but he was determined to put his doctor visit off until Monday. I could be angry at him for being so stubborn, but that would be fruitless. Dana’s stubbornness was actually one of his more endearing qualities. His being argumentative and opinionated led me to more thoughtful decisions, or just shook me out of my supposed “Tree of Knowledge” at which point I would land on my butt, which would in turn cause me to rethink whatever I thought I was doing.

Dana and I met in the late 1970’s at the then California Railway Museum, now the Western Railway Museum near Rio Vista, California. I was involved in the steam program there, and he was primarily involved in maintaining the diesels. Of course in an environment like that, with so few volunteers, everyone did everything, so Dana and I would work together on track projects and the like. In those days Dana seemed a bit brusque. That might be attributed to the museum environment, youthful exuberance, or many other things; however later in life, removed from the Museum we became great pals. I would look forward to our driving trips over the mountain to Portola, or the gatherings in our friend’s backyards watching G-Scale trains going in circles.

Back in the day we really did think we were immortal. Shoving cuts of cars around with electric locomotives in the dark gave us a sense of empowerment, I suppose. Now we know this not to be true. Dana’s passing is a moment of great sadness for all of us, not only do we mourn this great guy, but also the passing of our youth.

David Wallace related the following: “Dana left this world within 20 feet of where he entered it....he was the only person I met who was born in his parent’s living room!”

No doubt his parents were there to welcome him back home. Goodbye old friend. - JCA

WP 165 Family Album

2009-06-21T14:54:00.001-07:00

I present a few images generously provided by Martin Hansen. Our number 165 was one of four in the S-34 class that were purchased by the Western Pacific in 1927. The 164 currently resides in Hewitt Park in Oroville, California. The 163 and 166 were off the roster by 1953 and 1956, respectively.

Thanks to Martin for this peek into the past. - JCA

A Whistle for the 165.

2009-05-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Through the generousity of Norman Holmes, we now have a whistle for our locomotive. This five-chime was originally carried on the WP 166, an identical sister to our 165.

For the time being, it is mounted on a display base until it's time for it to go up on the engine. According to Norman, it was last used a few years ago on V&T #29 at Virginia City for a day or two.

The WP 166 did not escape the scrappers torch, but at least her voice will survive to echo around the hills of Portola once again.

Thanks again to Norm, for this and for offering to bring a headlight down to Oroville for the WP Historical Society Convention. Unfortunately my truck was uncooperative so I did not make it. Maybe next year...

Don't forget our next steam work session takes place July 28th-August 1st, 2009. Please let David or me know if you will be requiring space in the Pullman. Have a great summer and stay safe. - JCA

Spring 2009 Workweek Report

2009-04-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new year for steam work in Portola and another trip for me up the I-5. It is always good for me to clear my head for a few days and get away from the mental fog that is life in the greater Los Angeles area. The date was Tuesday, April 14th, and I was on my way north to the Bay Area to spend an evening with my parents. Unfortunately they were headed south to Palmdale to make my Grandmother’s funeral arrangements, (she lived to be 100, by gaud!) so consequently I got to hang out with my sisters Mary and Patty, which I hardly ever do anymore.

I stopped briefly in Hayward to visit my friend Gary, and his current project, the Cortez Mines Porter locomotive restoration. This diminutive little three foot gauge 0-4-0T locomotive languished out in front of a casino near Boulder City, Nevada for many years, and it was good to see it coming back together again for operation. Noted FRRS director Eugene Vicknair joined us for lunch and we talked of Zephyrs, steam regs, and other topics. We wish the best of luck to Gary and his partner Tom on getting the little Porter out and steaming again for our enjoyment!

Wednesday morning Dana Greely parked his luxury vehicle in my parent’s driveway and we headed east for the climb over the Sierra. After a stop at at Cabela's sporting goods store just across the Nevada border in Verdi, (enough guns to arm the northern Nevada militia, even pink rifles for the ladies!) we overshot Reno by a few miles so that we might witness Union Pacific steam locomotive 844 literally blasting into town. After catching up with them in Sparks, I had to opportunity to meet UP Steam Dept. boss Steve Lee in person, and thank him for his moral support and advice on our project in Portola. Steve is a very down-to-earth guy considering the challenges he meets every day to keep the last US mainline Class 1 railroad steam program functional and relevant. Our FRRS president Rod McClure fired the locomotive the first half of the day out of Winnemucca, we found him riding in the luxury of the tail car coming into Sparks. Hopefully by the end of this tour for the 844 Rod will be a fully promoted steam fireman.

UP 844 westbound a few minutes out of Sparks, Nevada.

As luck would have it, steam team member Roger Stabler was laying over at the Nugget just next door to the UP yard, so we were able to dine with him that evening prior to continuing on to Portola. Once again Roger invited me aboard his private railcar “Two Rivers” the next weekend, and once again I had to decline due to prior commitments. Maybe someday I will get to ride with him. Until then I have to work on my timing, which stinks. Dana and I arrived in Portola and moved into the Pullman, visited with Steve Habeck for an hour or so, and turned in.

Charlie and Steve had switched cars for six hours or so Wednesday so that Thursday we would have access to the 165. Charlie and Dana moved in a steel staircase and placed it at the rear of the cab as a work platform, which made getting in and out of the firebox safer. The remainder of that day and Friday were spent removing tube ends from the front and rear tube sheets, and needlescaling the interior of the boiler shell.

Bill and Duane removing cotter pins in the brake rigging.

Charlie (just his hat visible) in the pit cutting cotter pins.

Dana grinds seal welds on rear tube sheet

Sadly our pals Nathan and James were not able to attend this session due to having to attend a trade show in Las Vegas. They promise to come up during the summer and continue taking ultrasonic readings on the boiler, which we hope to have completed by the end of this season. Roger Stabler was also not available to us this time due to his company moving his vacation around. We do however owe Roger a debt of gratitude for another generous monetary donation to the project. Bob Simms also sent in a check for $1000 and we thank him as well. Without the continued support of fine gentlemen like these our work would come to a halt. Thanks also to John Belluomini for the donation of the magnetic work light. Grinding in the firebox is much easier now that you can actually see what you are doing!

During the work week we were treated to temperatures in the low ‘70s, quite unexpected for this time of year. We didn’t complain. The balmy weather was welcomed by our new steam team members, the Wallace Family of Corte Madera, California. Dave Wallace brought his dynamic family: his vivacious wife Pam, and their twin boys Patrick and William, up to scrub on their new acquisition, Santa Fe caboose 999197, formerly a fixture in the Museum’s caboose train. This car will serve as a cabin for the Wallace’s and an ongoing project, a labor of love. I met Dave (aka “Eldee”) during our time on the steam crew at Rio Vista, maintaining and operating Western Pacific steam locomotive 94. He is a top-shelf machinist, specializing in vintage race car engines, and an excellent mechanic. The entire Wallace Family's talents and spirit of camaraderie are welcome additions to our team!

The Wallace Family aboard their new (to them) caboose.

Dave Wallace suits up for steam work!

Suffice to say the week passed too quickly. Although we did not get to accomplish any of our “big” goals this week due to our small number, we did get the job further along with the removal of the brake rigging, all the tube ends out of the front tube sheet, and over half of the rear tube sheet seal welds ground down by Dana, whose efforts were tenacious. Thanks to Charlie Spikes (and his coffee!), Dana Greely, Craig Ferguson, Bill Clark, Duane Vanderveen, Steve Habeck, and Dave Wallace for their efforts on site. Also thanks to Roger Stabler, Nathan Osborn (aka “Maverick”) and James Cowdery for their continued moral support and desire to be there despite their job responsibilities.

Craig Ferguson cleans up after us.

Come on up and join the steam “family” for the next work session, July 28th-August 1st 2009. After work there is always "social hour" and dinner; either a BBQ on the deck, or dinner at the Pizza Factory (or some other trendy location).

For those attending the 2009 WPHS Convention in Oroville on May 29-30, I will have a table displaying a few of the components that have been restored, so please stop by and say hello. - JCA

Progress continues down south.

2009-03-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

Not a lot can happen on site in Portola this time of year, given that we are not Polar Bears. Despite this, we continue to move forward here in my Lakewood shop, approximately nine hours drive south of the Museum.

The 165's bell has been cleaned up, polished and painted. Every chance I get to eradicate that accursed blue trim applied to the engine at the Alameda Fairgrounds is a victory. A new rope arm fabrication was made to replace the original that was broken off I assume after the horizontal-piston air ringer was applied. I hope to bring it to the WP Historical Convention in Oroville on May 29-30. There a few more people will be able to hear our engine's "voice" once again.

Another item that has been restored is the throttle valve handle. The original lever was "liberated" while on display, this one was donated by our rich Uncle, and modified to suit our needs. Thanks again Uncle!

We will once again be in Portola for our Spring work week April 16th - 19th. Stop by and we will put you to work! Until then take care and stay safe. - JCA

A Boxcar for the Steam Department.

2009-02-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here is some background and an update on the progress to get the D&RGW 62962 moved to Portola for preservation, hopefully in the spring of this year.

This historic car has been offered to WPRM on a no-charge, no strings attached basis by the Bay Area Electric Railway Association. It is currently stored outdoors at Rio Vista Junction.

D&RGW 62962 – Current photo:

The 62962 was retired by the Denver and Rio Grande in the late 1930’s. Wood-bodied cars were fast being replaced by less maintenance intensive and higher capacity steel cars. Our car was later acquired by the War Department after the deadly explosion that took place on July 17, 1944 at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine. This car and many others were to replace those railcars damaged in this terrible tragedy.

The car came to Rio Vista in the ‘70s from the now-renamed Concord Naval Weapons Station, along with several others, for storage purposes. Another identical D&RGW car is being retained by BAERA for their permanent collection, consequently this one has been deemed surplus.

The car is complete and in fair condition. It needs to be painted as most of the Navy paint has peeled off leaving the body free of any paint.
The Collections Committee and subsequently the WPRM Board of Directors have approved this acquisition to be included into the permanent collection, based on key determinations:

· The 62962 is complete and intact, and representative of “steam era” railcars of the mid 1920’s up to post World War II, of which there is a noticeable gap in the WPRM collection.
· This boxcar was built by AC&F in 1909, the same year that the Western Pacific was completed.
· The Denver and Rio Grande was the driving force and financier in the construction of the WP, which ties this car directly into our mission.

D&RGW 62962 high brake wheel:

Estimated outlay in the amount of $5000.00-$6000.00 will cover movement by truck to Portola. To date Nathan Osborn, James Cowdery and I have donated $3000.00, which is an excellent start. We are well on our way to our goal.

This car is to be utilized by the newly formed Steam Department to house a modest machine shop and office. Members of the Steam Dept. will perform initial conservatory measures to arrest any decay at the outset, but any major work such as roof or siding replacement will be delayed until the 165 steam locomotive restoration is substantially complete.

I would ask that you help us to preserve this piece of history by donating toward the move and eventual restoration. Any amount will help us toward preserving this significant artifact of western railroading, as a tribute to American craftsmanship, and as a reminder of what once moved our great Country.

Please send your donation to:

Western Pacific Railroad Museum- DRGW 62962 Boxcar Fund

PO BOX 608

Portola, CA 96122-0608

Make sure to note: DRGW 62962 Boxcar Fund on the memo line of your check!

You may also follow the link below to donate via Paypal:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2973379

Drawings from the collection of the Denver Public Library have already been acquired which will help us to accurately restore this car to its post 1925 livery:

Thank you for supporting rail preservation in Portola! (And thanks to Nathan for providing the photos!)

Chris Allan, FRRS Steam Program Coordinator

A bit of winter warmth for Hotbox.

2009-01-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a cellphone pic taken by Charlie Spikes yesterday, 1/17, of our shop cat, Hotbox, sunning herself on the running board of the 165.

No doubt this feline will appreciate the coming of Spring. So will we, when steam restoration work commences again in Portola.- JCA

Winter slumber.

2009-01-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

As Portola currently slumbers under a blanket of snow, I offer this view taken in 1959 by our friend Tom Moungovan. Number 165 is relegated to the garden tracks at the Stockton roundhouse, her career for the Western Pacific now over. Two years later the engine will be taken to San Leandro, on the San Francisco Bay, for permanent display. The rest as they say, is history...-JCA

A Glimpse into the Past III

2008-12-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

In this view provided to us through the generosity of Brent MacGregor, we see the WP 165 in it's previous role as United Verde Copper #87. This was likely taken just months after delivery at Jerome, Arizona. Notice the second air pump on the right side, this was necessary due to the large amount of compressed air needed to make the air dump cars function. This pump was later removed by the Western Pacific and a power reverse put in it's place.

An air dump car such as those pictured is preserved in our collection at Portola.

Here is a bonus pic, also graciously provided by Brent of another WP 0-6-0, this time the number 158, performing it's day to day activities switching industries in what is likely Oakland or San Francisco:

The brakeman, oblivious to the photographer, walks a bit ahead of the movement. Scenes like this were commonplace, and I am sure very little of what is pictured remains. The 158 and sister 156 were sold in May of 1951 to U.S. Gypsum in Gerlach, Nevada. Both returned to the Bay Area for scrap in 1955. -JCA

Fall 2008 Workweek Report

2008-11-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

On October 23rd, 2008 we once again met to continue the ongoing effort to restore our 0-6-0. First task undertaken: get our new boiler tubes into the steam boxcar. Charlie, Nathan and I spent the better part of the morning passing tubes up and piling them in neat orderly rows. Of course the rows became less orderly as the morning progressed. Thankfully they are now in, and just in time, as the first snow flew that next weekend. Thanks to the continued generosity of Roger Stabler and James Mason we are now able to settle our debt with the V&T and Tom Gray. Also thanks to Norm and Rod for arranging and finallizing the purchase.

The tender was parted from the engine to allow us to jack it up a bit in an attempt to take some weight off the spring rigging. The engine is now in a semi-permanent location up against the Silver Hostel which will allow the diesel guys to utilize the west end of the pit. The rear of the engine was jacked up to see what would shake out. The #6 driving box seems to be wedged too tightly to drop down, so this situation needs to be remedied prior to a complete lift in the Spring. Roger, Hank and Tom spent most of the day in the pit fighting the wedged box, and removal of some brake rigging.

Nathan "Maverick" Osborn and James Cowdrey continued taking readings on the boiler shell, then downloading those numbers into the database. Around two-thirds of the first two courses are done, they will be back in the Spring for more. Everyone took a turn inside the shell needlescaling, not a particularly pleasant job, but a necessary one.

Nathan "Maverick" Osborn preps a surface for the ultrasonic tester. - pic by Dana.

Dana arrived Friday night and cooked up some roast beast. Portola nights were quite cool, bordering on cold. For me it was nice; real "Fall" weather is something we don't seem to get here in LA. As I type this it is close to 90 degrees here in Lakewood and I'm watching continuous wildfire coverage on the news.

Saturday was truncated due to a family obligation in Palmdale on Sunday I needed to attend, so I was out by 11:00. Dana helped out Nathan and James with shell readings, and went home late. All in all a productive session. Thanks again to everyone who pitched in, especially Charlie, who once again saved us by getting the coffee done first thing in the morning.

Please make sure to purchase one of our Steam Dept. Calendars for 2009. A portion goes toward the restoration. Have a safe and happy Holiday Season!

-JCA

WP Lives!

2009 Steam Dept. Calendar now available.

2008-10-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Click the calendar to order!

The 2009 edition of the WPRM Steam Department calendar, featuring a vintage photo by retired WP employee Carl Walker is now available through CafePress.

This year's calendar is a one-sheet for $6.00 + shipping. A portion of each sale goes to benefit the Steam Department and the restoration of our WP 165.

Thanks again to everyone supporting our efforts! We look forward to a memorable 2009, the Centennial of the completion of the Western Pacific Railroad. - JCA

Tubes arrive, a tender emblem returns.

2008-10-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Over the Labor Day weekend, Dana Greeley and his friend Chris Parsons picked up a set of new 2" diameter SA-178 boiler tubes for the 165. These were surplus to the Virginia & Truckee tourist operation in Virginia City, Nevada, and are being sold to the WPRM at a reduced rate thanks to the generosity of Bob and Tom Gray. Also thanks to Norm Holmes for his work to broker the deal on behalf of the Steam Dept. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to offset the cost of these tubes! The next major expenditure will be the 5 1/2" diameter superheater flues.

Our new friend Chris Parsons loaned us his truck and trailer.

Chris and Dana unload the new tubes onto the forklift.

Member Vic Neves generously offered to trade one of the 165's original enameled tender emblems back to us. Recently, it arrived and was temporarily mounted back in place for photos. In it's current condition it will require some conservatory work, but should clean up quite nicely. This emblem now joins one of the original steam gauges as "lost" items that have been returned to the project. Thanks to Vic for getting it back to us, and Rod McClure for facilitating it's return.

Update: Tonight Norman Holmes informed me that he will donate another tender emblem for the opposite side, this one off of WP #40, a 2-8-0 scrapped in the '50s. Thanks Norm!

Thanks to Wayne for the following pictures:

Steve Habeck, Wayne Monger, and Vic Neves display the repatriated emblem in place on the tender.

WP Emblem back on the tender.

Thanks again to everyone involved in these accomplishments. The project is gaining momentum so let's keep it going! Our next work session in Portola will be Oct. 23rd-25th, 2008. - JCA

WPRM Steam Dept. dates for 2009.

2008-09-29T18:23:00.001-07:00

The following are the WPRM Steam Dept. work session dates for 2009:

April 16th-19th
July 28th-August 1st
October 22nd-24th

As always please RSVP to me: wpsteam@wplives.org or the Museum Manager at(530)832-4131 if you would like to take advantage of the accomodations in the Pullman Car. Together we accomplished a great deal in 2008, so let's keep up the momentum and get even more done in 2009! -JCA

A Glimpse into the Past II

2008-09-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

The above view taken by George Manley in 1959 shows the WP 165 and 94 in stationary boiler service at a cannery in Escalon, California. This is likely the last time the 165 was steamed. Note the main rods have been dropped to prevent the locomotive from inadvertantly trying to leave should the throttle or the drypipe develop a leak. The track adjancent to the locomotives was the mainline of the Tidewater Southern, a former electric interurban railway, then a subsidiary of the Western Pacific.

Another of George's photos shows the WP 94 providing steam to the cannery. If you look closely you can just make out the lettering on the tender which reads: "Watertown and Eastern R.R.". This fictious railroad name was applied for the engine's appearance in the 1960 Disney film "Pollyanna". Filming took place on the Southern Pacific's Napa Branch.

Thanks again to George Manley for allowing us to post these great photos! -JCA

Summer 2008 Workweek Report

2008-08-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 28th- Predawn 04:30 in Los Angeles is a commuters dream. Most of the time at least. Lucky for me I got to the Grapevine at full speed and made my escape toward the north and onto my first stop, Sacramento. I had breakfast with my pal from the old days, Paul Zaborsky, at a nice little bistro near his four-square Victorian downtown. We talked a little business, then about his upcoming nuptials and all the craziness involved with wedding planning, even at our age. Congratulations to Paul and Linda, I hope they have a long and happy life together.

Onto the gas stop at the Rocklin Sam’s Club, and the assault on Donner. Arrival at the Museum was around 15:30. Nathan Osborn had arrived earlier in the day, and was busy preparing for the thickness mapping of the boiler shell. Thanks to Yardmaster Steve the 165 was in position on track one. After checking in and moving into the Pullman, dinner was at the Mexican place in town, not too remarkable, but the Margarita was refreshing.

Charlie had coffee ready Tuesday morning by the time I woke up. Gotta love that! For the next two days it would be just the three of us. We accomplished quite a bit in that time, including removing the front sand dome using the devil’s own air hoist on track one. The hoist lived up to its reputation again by blowing a hose fitting and scaring Nathan quite completely. Luckily he had his hand on the shutoff valve the whole time I was operating the thing, so he was out of the way of the resulting backlash. Charlie spent the rest of the day cutting the 5 ½” flues in half so we could pass them out through the steam dome. He was really happy that we acquired the Porta-band; doing this job in such close quarters with a torch would have been miserable. All but three were removed by the end of the day. Enough was enough, so we retired to the deck and I cooked up some burgers which due to a small miscalculation on my part ended up being the size of my head. No one complained in any event.

Pallets of tubes and flues removed from the 165.

Wednesday we hit the ground running and removed the remaining flues in short order. Nathan found an empty 55 gallon drum and we started bucketing the scale and detritus from the bottom of the boiler barrel. About a drum and a half was hauled out, 5 gallons at a time. No unrepairable conditions were found in the boiler’s belly and subsequent test readings with the Ultrasound tester confirmed that there was only a minor amount of wastage. Another testament to the Western Pacific’s exceptional maintenance and the pride the shop crews took in their locomotives. Later we managed to remove the cross compound pump, and got it put away for restoration at a later date. Wednesday was Nathan’s night to cook dinner, so we wound up at the Chinese restaurant, again with too much food.

Dana Greely and Craig Ferguson arrived sometime around 02:00 Thursday morning. I was a bit restless until they arrived, but thankfully they made it safe and sound. We all crashed for a few more hours and accepted our scolding from Charlie for getting up so late. James Cowdry also arrived on Thursday and immediately began wire brushing and needlescaling the barrel belly exterior. Not the most fun job in locomotive restoration, but fun is where you find it I suppose. Nathan began re-gridding the top halves of the first and second courses, and got set up with the laptop and the tester. Previously he wrote a program to accept the tester’s input directly into the laptop, which will save a great deal of time in the long run. When complete, we will have a map of the whole boiler with sheet thicknesses at regular intervals. We will use this data when we develop the required Federal Railroad Administration Form 4, which calculates stresses on sheets, rivet seams, staybolts, etc. From this document we will be able to obtain our Maximum Allowed Working Pressure, or MAWP.

Dana grinding down the seal welds on the rear tube sheet.

James and Nathan entering thickness readings into the laptop.

Dana and Craig began a wash on Sacramento Northern Railway locomotive 712. Craig was the person responsible for writing the letter to the Union Pacific Railroad asking for its donation to the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista. This engine was acquired by WPRM in a trade with WRM, so it’s now in Portola. Through some amount of prodding and shameless guilt-based manipulation, Dana persuaded Craig to come up and perform some clean up on this locomotive. We are all three former Rio Vista volunteers, and it does our hearts good to see this old beast looking good again, even if it’s a diesel. Thanks to Craig and Dana for the sprucing up. Thanks also to Charlie and David for positioning the 712 where it could be worked on outside the shop. Thursday evening’s dining was a sausage fest provided by Dana, and it really hit the spot.

Craig washes down the 712.

By Friday morning we were beginning to hit our pace. We moved some of the larger components into our second boxcar, so everything is now off the ground and put away. Nathan and James started getting serious about the thickness mapping, and went into production mode. Dana and I started cleaning the tube sheets. Dana took the firebox end and I settled into the smokebox. We did what we could and made some good progress. Thanks to a piece on the local Reno TV news station on the Museum, Charlie was busy with locomotive rentals most of the day. When he wasn’t going back and forth he worked on smoking a few racks of ribs for dinner in his impressive, albeit heavy smoker we moved onto the deck. Kenneth Finnegan and Charlie took turns drilling out staybolt telltale holes, and they got probably 80 percent of them done. Dinner that night was sumptuous, and qualified as the best meal I’ve had in Portola in a long time.

Kenneth clearing telltale holes in the rigid stays.

We were planning on beating our retreat on Sunday morning, so Saturday we pulled the 165 outside and gave the shop floor a sweeping, collected up the tools, and gave the engine its first boiler wash since the 1950’s. Ed Chase joined us for some fun, and loads of scale were pulled out, and a good deal remains. For a first wash it was productive. After cleaning ourselves up a bit we headed over to pizza, and James treated us to another large feast, and several pitchers of brew. After the Board of Directors meeting that evening I was able to visit a bit with my old pals Rod and Gail McClure, President Director and Director, respectively, and Eugene Vicnair, who just came from Eric’s Stevens’ memorial service. Among other things, we discussed where Eric’s ashes are going to ride in the 165. During the week we hoisted more than a few bottles to Eric’s memory.

James, Nathan, Chris, Dana and Charlie. Kenneth, Roger and Ed missing.

Sunday morning we were up early scrubbing down the shower car and vacuuming the Pullman. I made my escape around 08:00. After yet another stop for gas in Rocklin, I paused briefly to drop some stuff off in Woodland at Roger and Gloria Stabler’s. The Union Pacific kept Roger busy during our workweek, and he was sorely missed. Then onto Concord for a visit with the parents, my brother Brian and sister-in-law Kim and family in from Virginia, and a first meeting with my newest nephew, whose name is, what else, Christopher! The visit was too short, but I was getting anxious, so back to LA, the smog and humidity. But not before stopping into Harris Ranch for a pie, a small offering to the family so I might be allowed back into the house.- JCA

Eric's Spirit lives on aboard the 165.

2008-07-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

Long time WPRM member Eric Stephens, ardent supporter of the 165 project, and friend to many, lost his battle with cancer at 9:10PM on July 17th.

Although I never personally had the honor of meeting Eric, I know that he embodied the "WP Spirit" that we hope to perpetuate in everything we do. His work ethic at the Museum and the bravery he possessed in life are an inspiration to us.

I am dedicating the Summer Steam work session July 29th - Aug. 3rd to Eric's memory. We know that from now on Eric will ride with us in his rightful place aboard the 165. - JCA

A Glimpse into the Past

2008-06-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

This scanned slide from the FRRS Collection shows our locomotive number 165 at Stockton, California sometime in the mid 1950's. It is on one of the "garden tracks" off the Stockton roundhouse turntable, most likely in storage after being retired in favor of diesel power. WP #909 A&B, a comparatively new set of General Motors FT series road power, is keeping 165 company, along with Tidewater Southern 70-ton General Electric switcher #742 in the last roundhouse stall. Lima built GS-64 class steam locomotive #486, now also obsolete after less than a decade of service, is coupled to the front pilot of our engine.

Today only the 165 survives. - JCA

Spring 2008 Workweek Report

2008-04-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April the Ninth, 04:30. We piled into the truck and set off into the early morning darkness on another adventure to Portola. A requisite stop at Harris Ranch on Interstate 5 in Coalinga for breakfast assuaged our hunger. Rita met with one of her Caltrans associates in the parking lot to drop off some course materials and we were off again. Next stop at the Redwood Valley Railway in Berkeley to drop off our 15” gauge caboose for meet in June. Then onto another Caltrans office to drop more course materials, then to my folks place in Concord for lunch. There we met up with Steam Team member Dana Greeley who would accompany us up the mountain. After a stop at Sam’s Club in Rocklin for food and fuel, and the last of the burdensome course materials delivered, we struck out for Portola. Hunger was again upon us when we pulled into town; consequently our first stop was the Hong Kong Chinese diner. After we ingested way too much food, we arrived onto the property around 16:30. Owing to the lack of a million streetlamps in Portola it was much darker than when we left LA.

Nathan and James drawing the grid pattern on the boiler shell.

Thursday, April the Tenth. The morning dawned quite chilly, around 18 degrees (F). Our old friend and Steam Team member Charlie Spikes was on hand to let us know that the remainder of the week would be warmer. Those words didn’t help much right at that moment, but they were true. Luckily Charlie and Steve spotted the locomotive outside the day before which was good given the sooty nature of the work at hand. Working in the sun was also beneficial. After breakfast in town with the family I suited up and prepared to blow that troublesome soot forward into the smokebox. Dana set out to access our welding gas situation. Expecting at least one set of full bottles, those expectations were dashed when we learned that all bottles were empty save two that were all but depleted. Resigned to working with what we had on hand, the remainder of the empty bottles were loaded into Charlie’s truck to be refilled in Reno the next morning. Despite our limited resources, Dana and Charlie managed to remove around 50 of the 2” diameter tubes before completely running out of gas, literally and figuratively. All I managed to do was turn myself into a big sooty mess. Our dog Missy, who was tied up too close to the engine, looked like a big furry black flue brush. A dinner of hamburgers and sooty buns, a scrub down in the shower car with the accursed orange cleaner, a shot of single malt, and off to bed.

Roger Stabler cutting tubes on the rear tube sheet.

Friday, April the Eleventh. Having settled into our new surroundings, and acclimating to the elevation, our group actually got a fair amount of sleep Thursday night. The temperature outside was a tad less biting than the morning previous. I ventured over to the mini-mart at the gas station to get coffee; I brought an extra one over for Dana who was slumming in the break room. After Charlie arrived from Reno with a truck full of fresh cylinders (hussah!) Dana was back into the firebox to continue the job. The loan of a straight cutting torch from Paul Boschan made the job a lot easier. In many cases there is not enough room to cut using a torch with a ninety-degree head. We are grateful to Paul for his continued generosity. Rita and the girls left in the truck after Breakfast to go explore Boomtown on the Cal/Neva border. I considered her choice of routing suspect, but I gave it nary a thought. That was until about lunchtime when I got a panicky call on my cell, barely audible, that they somehow got the truck stuck in the snow way above Loyalton on some backcountry almost-road. Roger Stabler arrived at that precise moment, and being the good sport that he is agreed to help with the rescue. Striking off to Loyalton in Roger’s truck, we collected my family at a picnic area approximately 5 miles from where the truck was mired. They had to walk out that far to get a cell signal, most of the way back into town. The Stabler 4WD pulled out our 2WD truck handily, and we hauled an exhausted yet grateful bunch of girls back to Portola, their curtailed adventure now complete.

Pulling out the stuck truck in the high country.

Upon our arrival back at the Museum, two new members of the Steam Team, Nathan and James, were already hard at work wire brushing the boiler shell exterior, which they did with gusto. Two cutting torches were now in use, one at each tube sheet. Three pallets of the 2” tubes were loaded, and the 5 ½” superheater flues could now be attacked. A few of these larger flues were cut down, and most of us broke for dinner. Dana worked tirelessly in the firebox right up to when his steak was ready. The rest of us slaked our thirst with Newcastle Ale provided by Roger. We felt guilty that Dana was still working, but the heady UK brew helped us get over it. Sorry Dana!

Dirty Dana after a day in the firebox.

Saturday, April the Twelfth. This was the last full workday before heading home, and I vowed to have the boiler devoid of tubes and flues before we tied up. Roger, Dana and Charlie took this to heart and by the end of the day the tubesheets were clean. I give kudos to those guys for seeing it through to the end. The flues remain to be cut up into short enough pieces to be passed through the steam dome, but they are down, that was the goal and they met it, by gaud. Nathan and James started the arduous chore of drawing grids on the boiler for thickness mapping with Roger’s Ultrasound tester. Zillions of thickness readings will be taken so that we can ultimately determine the eventual boiler pressure allowed under FRA rules. These guys are going to take this to a whole new level, thanks to their software backgrounds. Nathan is also going to draw the boiler into CAD format, which is also a big job, and no less important. Thanks guys!

Charlie taking a turn at cutting tubes.

During the day I took the opportunity to inspect the new (to us) components donated by a rich uncle. The items include a complete #11 injector, which we will use on the right side, a NOS Nathan hydrostatic lubricator, a throttle lever to replace the purloined one, and gauges, which, after a rebuilding, will be quite shiny. Thanks again to our rich uncle, you know who you are. Another surprise this day was a call from our benevolent leader, Rod McClure, who informed me that one of the tender heralds from this engine, stolen years earlier, had been returned during the WP Convention that was happening in Sacramento. This “prodigal” tender insignia will again grace the side of the locomotive, thanks to FRRS member Vic Neves who located it and arranged for it’s return.

The donated throttle lever is checked for fit - that's me happy if you can believe it.

Our wrap-up dinner was again in town at the Pizza Factory, and thanks again to Roger’s generosity (hussah!), we enjoyed pitchers of our official crew brew, Fat Tire Ale, on tap, thank you very much. The pizza was about the size of an excavator tire, and there was a lot left over for Charlie, who hopefully found the leftovers in the shower car fridge.

Rust and corrosion on one of the removed tubes.

Sunday morning, April the Thirteenth, 07:30. Rita was up packing even before I woke up. At 09:30 we said our goodbyes and headed out the gate. Back to Concord to reunite Dana with his car, spend some quality time with the folks, siblings, and cousins, etc. and continue south. LA greeted us with intolerable traffic when we got in around 20:00, but we pushed through. Home was a fine site. Missy was so happy to be home she rolled around on the carpet, which is now about as sooty as she was. Go figure. - JCA

Thanks to Our Donors.

2008-02-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Time to single out a couple of outstanding donors to the WPRM's 165 project.

First, our grateful thanks to Paul Boschan of Boschan Boiler in Carson, California.

http://www.boschanboiler.com/

Paul donated 120 feet of one inch diameter staybolt stock- accompanied by the MTRs (Mill Test Reports) which allows us to use it as code material in a pressure vessel, in our case, the 165's boiler. Believe me when I say that code material ain't cheap!

Paul's ongoing generosity has also been extended to including access to his shop for various restoration projects, such as the 165 headlights.

Another one of our key donors is Roger Stabler, of Woodland, California. Not only has Roger donated to the 165 monetarily, but he has been a valued volunteer on site, and never leaves until his goal is met.

Here you can see Roger removing the nozzle casting from the 165:

Unfortunately the above pic is the best view I have of Roger, but that just illustrates the fact that Roger likes to keep his nose to the grindstone, so to speak. Roger is also in the process of being certified as our pressure vessel welder. This will allow us to perform our own repairs, saving untold thousands of dollars.

Individuals like Paul and Roger are rare, to say the least. We are lucky to have them both helping us out. Our thanks may not be enough in some cases, but hopefully they know how much of a difference they are making in the railroad preservation field, as well as helping to keep the Western Pacific legacy alive.

Now if that damned snow would melt we could get back to work! - JCA

Steam Dept. Workday Schedule for 2008

2007-12-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

Dates have been set for the WPRM Steam Department 2008 Work Days:

April 10th – 12th
July 30th- August 2nd
October 23rd – 25th

The boiler is our main concern this year. We will work toward removal of the remaining tubes and flues and continue cleanup of the boiler shell interior and exterior. There are lots of other tasks that can be accomplished at any time. Check with Charlie Spikes and he will point you in the right direction. Jobs at every skill level are available!

Remember that 165 lapel pins and Steam Dept. 2008 calendars are available online and through the Museum gift shop, it’s a great way to show your support for the Steam Program.

If you think you will be able to make any of the above dates please RSVP to me at: wpsteam@wplives.org . If you are planning to stay at the Museum I will need to arrange your space in the Edenwold in advance. Also feel free to contact me at any time for any additional info on the workdays.

Have a safe and prosperous 2008! - JCA

WP 165 in a Former Life.

2007-09-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, our steam locomotive 165 was not originally built for the Western Pacific Railroad. It was built for the United Verde Copper Company of Jerome, Arizona as their number 87. These builders photos were taken at the ALCo factory in Schenectady, New York in November 1919:

In this second photo under close inspection you can just make out the shimmer coming off the copper leaf lettering on the tender, a special request of United Verde.

Also of note was the fact that this engine originally had a cross-compound air pump mounted on each side. Double pumps no doubt due to the fact that it would need to continually pump up air-actuated side dump cars, which carried the copper ore to the crusher at the plant. The next photo shows the cab interior. If you look closely you can make out a third air valve adjacent to the train air valves. This valve was for admitting air into a secondary air line that charged the dump cars. In the upper left side above the fireman's seat you will notice the hydrostatic flange oiler, indicating that this engine was intended to run on sharp curvatures, which no doubt it did:

The engine was originally built as a coal burner. In the photo above you can see two plugs for the arch tubes on either side of the oil shelf above the fire door. These arch tubes held up the arch brick, which forced the heat from the coal fire to curl around to the back of the firebox, heating the space more evenly. After being purchased in 1927 by the WP, the arch tubes were removed and the the engine converted to oil.

Another modification made by the WP was lowering the boiler site glass to the standard 3" above the highest level of the crown sheet. When built the bottom of the glass was 8" above the crown, evidently the copper company wanted the extra measure of safety, or just didn't trust their men to keep water in the glass. I suppose we will never know.

It's interesting (at least to me) that none of the Western Pacific 0-6-0 locomotives were set up to burn coal, even though the eastern portion of the Railroad was dirt-burning. No doubt any switching duties on the east end were performed by road locomotives, or the small handful of coal burning 2-8-0's. - JCA

2007 Steam Work Week Report

2007-08-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

The WPRM steam work week at Portola was productive to say the least. Tons (literally) of parts were removed from the 165 in preparation for boiler shell ultrasound testing. Dana Greeley and I arrived Friday evening July the 27th to find our hero Charlie Spikes removing nuts from the smokebox front. After settling into the Edenwold we joined him in the attempt to remove the curved handrail on the smokebox front. The bolts holding the handrail stanchions were also holding the front on, so I grabbed the trusty pneumatic hammer and laid into them with little success. We grabbed some Chinese food and called it a night.

Boiler front coming off.

Saturday the 28th we awoke to a fresh pot of coffee in the Silver Shower brewed by Charlie, which automatically got him the Hero Award for the day. By the time Dana and I suited up and got into the shop Charlie had the pesky handrail off, and all but a few of the nuts were dealt with. Off came the front. By this time Roger Stabler had made it up from Woodland, and he began removing the exhaust nozzle and the 24 superheater units using his array of air tools. True to character, he stuck with it until all of them were removed, including a few that were still full of water! At that Roger began the task of cutting out the 2 inch diameter boiler tubes, which were full of greasy soot left over from the 165's final use as a stationary boiler. Roger earned his hero badge over the next 2 days cutting out roughly half of the 2" tubes. The carbon left in the tubes tended to blow back on you when cutting the tubes, which is bad enough, however the flame from the torch ignites the soot and you get the upper part of your body covered with tiny flaming specks. The Finnegans were up early on Saturday and removed all of the firebrick in the firebox, thanks to them for seeing the job through. Kenneth spent the rest of the day wire brushing the boiler shell exterior. Dana took turns needle scaling the side sheets and taking some pics, and Eugene wire brushed for a few hours after he finished up in the Hostel. The ever dependable Eddie Chase began cleanup on the left side cylinder casting. Charlie and I removed the throttle valve using the air hoist. Charlie was the first inside the boiler, he performed some initial hammer testing on the stays while he was in there. We had a total of 8 workers on Saturday, which kicked off the week nicely and got the momentum started.

The throttle valve being hoisted out by Charlie and me.

Charlie in the boiler.

Roger heats up the Superheater Unit T-Bolts.

Superheater units removed.

Tubes coming out.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, except that the shop and the workers were getting increasingly carboned up. When we smiled all you could see was teeth. The floor around the rear damper was as black as night. Of course this stuff was tracked all through the shop courtesy of the Steam Dept. Boiler tubes were flying out at a frightening rate. John claimed a pile to use as fence posts. Roger departed our company Sunday night after leaving us another generous monetary donation, thanks again Roger!

On Monday Charlie and Dana removed the air reservoirs from each side to gain access to the boiler shell.

The air reservoirs come off.

The riveted tanks don't hold much hope (or air) so we will have to find or purchase replacements. I took my turn at cutting out tubes, a frustrating task. This was our third straight day of soot. Not much took it off in the shower at night except for that orange cleaner, which also managed to take off a layer of skin as well. I vowed that Tuesday would be a soot-free day for us. Grilled Kielbasa never tasted so good that night.

Tuesday was storage boxcar day. The three of us, Charlie, Dana and I, stacked all the removed parts on pallets and moved them into the steam boxcar. The car was previously cleaned out by Charlie and Don Borden, it took them three days and several dumpsters. As luck would have it Norm was moving out one of his vintage trucks parked right next to the car which made forklift logistics interesting while we both jockeyed for space. In the end everything made it in. Roger came into town on an empty coal train and joined us for dinner at the Pizza place. We all opted for the salad bar as well, since we had been craving roughage all week. Roger introduced me to Fat Tire Ale, which is a meal in itself. Sure beats the other watery stuff I tend to drink. Roger took the van home, and we retired to the Silver Shower's deck and sat full of pizza and watched the stars come out.

Our final work day, Wednesday started again with Charlie's heady brew of coffee. Dana opted to take a turn at tube removal, and managed to get another 20 or so out. We were hoping to save the 5 3/8" superheater flues, but upon further inspection it doesn't look like we will be able to due to their condition. They have already been safe-ended twice and other indications of condition don't make me feel too confident about them. These will be expensive to replace, but we will be happy we did, in the end. Our beloved Pres. showed up in the afternoon and inspected our progress, he seemed happy with what we had accomplished. We certainly have a lot to be proud of, we stuck with the program and got the ball rolling. No unrepairable conditions were discovered in the boiler shell or sheets during tube removal. We will continue the work in the Fall, date TBA. Until then Charlie has his work cut out for him!

Thursday morning, fill out the work reports, say goodbye to Portola. I dropped off Dana in the Bay Area, and continued back to LA. The family was glad to see me home again. I miss the soot already.