I would like to give super thanks to all the depraved souls who "chipped in" (or off) on the tender prep work, including Ken, Burr, Dave A., Erik, City of Portola, and especially Kirk and Charlie.
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| Kirk and Dave work at needle chipping in the coal space prior to sandblasting. |
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| Thanks to the City of Portola for the loan of the air compressor! |
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| Dick tends to the hose while Roger sprays the bottom of the cistern black. |
Roger spent several days getting the WP derrick running so we could use it for the lift, but due to circumstances "beyond our control" we were not allowed to use it. Consequently, we brought in a hydraulic crane from Reno at additional cost to the Museum.
Steve brought back a machined steam dome lid ready to go up when needed.
Roger and Erin continued working on the cab sheet metal, we now have an enclosed well ready for boards. This project is coming along nicely. Roger also "rescued" an air motor suitable for driving a tube roller from an old oil tank next to the Edenwold. After cleaning it up it ran as good as new and is ready for action. Good going Roger!
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| Channing spent some time cleaning up holes in the front tube sheet. |
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| Steve bolts up the air brake distributing valve while Chris admires his work. |
Eric and Channing spent most of the weekend annealing tube ends in preparation for rolling them in, hopefully soon. This is a necessary albeit monotonous task and we thank them for taking it on. They should be up sometime before winter to finish the up the rest of the 2" diameter tubes.
Severn, Scott and Dave R. spent their time threading the remaining rigid stays, 13 of them, and fitting them into the side sheet of the firebox where we had previously welded in a patch. They stuck with it, got it done, and they are now ready to be driven.
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| Master machinist Severn hard at work turning stays. |
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| Severn works while Scott looks on. |
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| Fresh stays ready for trimming & driving. |
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| Cistern and frame reunited at last |
It is our hope that sometime before the Spring work session Roger will get back up and finish painting the tender and cab. It will be nice to have the engine start looking black and shiny again. After paint, tubes can go in and we can continue the march toward a successful hydrostatic test on the boiler. Thanks again to everyone who helped us make forward progress this year! A special thanks to Bob and James for continuing to be very generous with their monetary donations! - JCA
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| Master blaster Ken Chapin. |
