Steam locomotive 1246 returns home!

The 1246 has arrived!

In the last TrainMuseum blog post, details of the locomotive and its acquisition were revealed. Now it has arrived in Snoqualmie, returning to the Puget Sound region after an absence of more than 40 years!

The Great Northern Railway 1246 is popularly known as the Woodland Park Zoo steam locomotive.  Displayed near the south entry to the park from 1953 until 1980, this Baldwin built Consolidation locomotive thrilled thousands of children of all ages.

On Tuesday, April 25, the 1246 was bifurcated - the locomotive boiler was removed from the steam engine and drivers - and each was set on a heavy haul truck.

As heavy and robust as a locomotive may be, it must be handled with care or else critical components could be damaged.  The boiler was carefully rigged to prevent damage.

The 1246 is a freight locomotive and it is heavy - more than 130 tons when paired and operating with a tender.  Local crane company Imhoff recently sold to Campanoli Crane but the 1246 move allowed their large conventional crane to return to Snoqualmie for a few days.

Steven Butler from Morton Locomotive and Machine Works coordinated the move from Merrill, Ore to Snoqualmie, and the entire move went off without a hitch.

Please consider a contribution to the Northwest Railway Museum to help offset the more than $88,000 cost of repatriating this amazing artifact.

A Consolidation of efforts for the 1246

The 1246 has returning to Washington State and is making its new home at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie.  Help defray the cost of bringing it home by making a contribution right now!

What is the 1246?  It is a steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1907 featuring a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement commonly known as a Consolidation.

People of a certain age who grew up in the Seattle area may fondly remember the Woodland Park Zoo steam locomotive that was on display at the south entrance.  Donated to the City of Seattle in June 1953 by the Great Northern Railway, the 1246 was placed on a plinth for children of all ages to enjoy.  Check out this promotional video from 1953:

In the late 1970s, the Woodland Park Zoo evolved into a wildlife conservation organization and soon it was apparent that an iron horse did not fit in their collection.  A plan was developed to move the locomotive to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), but the more than $100,000 cost exceeding the available funding.

In 1980 the City of Seattle held a locomotive auction.  Collectors from across the region expressed interest - as did the Northwest Railway Museum - but the successful bid was submitted by Fred Kepner of Klamath Falls, Oregon who planned to build a railway museum.  Mr. Kepner moved the locomotive to the much drier climate of eastern Oregon where it has aged much better than in a coastal climate. Unfortunately, his plans to build a museum did not materialize.  

After his passing in 2021, the locomotive and several others were acquired by the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Tillamook, Oregon.  In the fall of 2022, the Northwest Railway Museum and the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad penned a deal to exchange locomotives.  The Northwest Railway Museum transferred the Union Pacific (Oregon Short Line) locomotive 529 (also a consolidation) to the Oregon Coast group and acquired ownership of the Great Northern 1246 in exchange.  

Locomotive 1246 moved to the Northwest Railway Museum in late April 2023; please consider a contribution to help defray the costs, which exceed $88,000.

Thank you to Mr. Martin Hansen of Bend, Oregon for the use of photos from his collection, and for his recollections on the history of the 1246.

Thank you to the leadership at the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad for seeing the merits in the exchange of artifacts that strengthens the collection of both institutions.  

Locomotive 924 gets rods and more

The  worldwide pandemic is causing significant disruption in nearly everyone's lives throughout the Puget Sound Region, but a core group of dedicated specialists is continuing to work on locomotive 924.  They are practicing social distancing, and limiting the number of workers in the shop at once, but still achieving success.  Until this week, that meant not more than ten people at a time.  However, now the Governor has ordered non-essential workers (and pretty much all volunteers) to stay at home for at least the next two weeks.  So this seems like a great opportunity to reflect on and highlight recent progress, and what all the public donations have supported.

Packing - Mechanical packing seals the gap around the piston rod where it penetrates the steam cylinder.  The packing has to be installed before the rod is inserted into the cross head.  So Jay was busy assembling this puzzle on a Saturday morning earlier this month as everyone else was preparing to install the rods.  There is more to this than meets the eye - the packing gland has to be able to resist 185 lbs of saturated steam without leaking.

Radius rods - Meanwhile, Paul and Larry were cleaning up the radius rods for the valve gear, which with Stephenson motion are located between the lead and main drivers.  It is an awkward place to reach, but the Museum's Conservation and Restoration Center has pits 60 inches deep, providing ample room to work from below.

Eccentric straps - Over on the work bench, David and Vic were cleaning and preparing the eccentric rods or straps in advance of their reinstallation.  These rods fasten around the main driver axle on an eccentric (offset center) and as the axle turns they convert rotary motion into a longitudinal oscillating displacement (back and forth motion) to move valves that control steam entering and exiting the cylinders.

Cross head - After Jay completed tightening of the packing, the piston rods were inserted into the cross heads.  The cross head is the assembly that most observers will recognize on a steam locomotive.  It is the component that moves back and forth with each rotation of the main driver, and at high speeds might appear to some to be just a blur.  The rod has a taper and fits just about perfectly into the cross head - so there is no movement between the two parts.  Then a tapered key or keeper fits through the cross head and the end of the piston rod to ensure they remain tightly in position.

Main rod - Installing the main rod is a delicate dance.  This forged assembly is - even on a light locomotive such as the 924 - amazingly heavy.  Fingers or toes that are in the wrong place will be effortlessly and mercilessly removed.  So with the aid of a wheeled hydraulic table to adjust the height and position of the rod, the work was performed with just three workers.  The first milestone was installation of the little end into the cross head.  It is attached with a pin just behind the piston rod end.

The next step was to raise the big end of the rod into position ahead of the main rod crank pin.  This involved another form of dance as the entire cross head, piston and rod assembly was gently moved forth and back until it was in just the right place.  And yes, there was a great deal of careful measurement and calculation, too.  Otherwise when the bearing brasses were installed and wedges tightened to hold them in place, the rod would be either too long or too short, causing catastrophic failure.  

With the rod in the correct position, the bearing brasses, wedge, and a large fitted bolt were applied to hold everything in the correct position. Lyle was careful to apply anti seize coatings on all the components prior to assembly.

The resurrection of Northern Pacific locomotive 924 is continuing to take shape at the Northwest Railway Museum.  Support from 4Culture, Washington Heritage Capital , Schwab Fund, Microsoft, Osberg Family Foundation, Boeing, Emery Rail Heritage Trust, more than hundred individual donors, several awesomely skilled employees, and dozens of dedicated volunteers is making this work possible.  Additional progress will be described in another article that will appear in early April.

Project 924 continues to welcome your support!  To make a donation online, please visit the Northwest Railway Museum donation portal and select "steam locomotive."

Pressure builds on the 924 project!

If "bake a cake" is old railroad slang for building up steam in a locomotive, then you could say that the restoration crew at the Northwest Railway Museum has been mixing a lot of batter lately.  With major boiler issues either already addressed or with a plan to mitigate, preparations for the first pressure test of the boiler are nearing completion.

Over the past several weeks, the dry pipe has been "lapped" with the throttle body and the branch pipe manifold, the throttle valve has been lapped, and the components reassembled inside the boiler.  (Lapping is the process of grinding and polishing the mating surfaces to allow them to fit together without leaking.)  Then the boiler was filled with water to check for leaks.  Some minor leaking was detected around several new rivets and some of the new stay bolts, but nothing serious.

Gary James is a shipwright who usually leads the work on coaches and other wood projects, but he has a very diverse skill set, and some great tools, too.  His borescope displays an image on his phone and was inserted into the dry pipe to check for any leaks.  He found the assembly leak-free, at least under atmospheric pressure.

Meanwhile, the copper gasket for the steam dome was annealed by heating it with a torch and quenching it in cold water.  This makes the copper soft and prepares it to take shape as the dome lid is tightened down.  This thin ring of copper provides the steam seal.

Lastly, the dome lid was replaced and tightened down.  Machinist Gerry Petitjean did the honors and verified the lid was pulled evenly against the gasket.  The water was filled all the way to the top and the last of the air was exhausted so the entire vessel could be inspected for leaks.  

What is next?  In the coming weeks water in the boiler will be heated to around 30 degrees C.  Then a small hand pump will be used to raise the pressure in the boiler to approximately 200 psi.  This process will identify any remaining leaks, or other issues that need to be addressed.  When all the remaining leaks are repaired, the hydro-static test will be repeated for the Federal inspector.

The Museum is grateful for 4Culture, Washington Heritage Capital Fund, Schwab Fund, Osberg Family Trust, Emery Rail Heritage Trust, Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association, and more than 100 individuals for their support in funding the restoration of the 924.

Want to see and learn more?  Join us for the Snoqualmie Wine Train on Saturday, April 27 beginning at 2:30 PM in the Snoqualmie Depot.  Your Wine Train experience will include a visit to the Conservation and Restoration Center to see locomotive 924.

A friend's anniversary

The 15 runs around the train at Ruth as
it prepares for a return to Chehalis.

There are a variety of interesting and ambitious projects underway at the Northwest Railway Museum, but there are many great noteworthy happenings at other area museums too. The Northwest Railway Museum is delighted to share a shout out for the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum, located about two hours drive from Snoqualmie. They have just marked a milestone event and Spike is honored to have been invited.  

On Saturday, September 17, 2016  the Chehalis-Centralia group celebrated the 100th anniversary of their star attraction, steam locomotive 15. The 15 is the Cowlitz, Chehalis and Cascade No. 15, a Baldwin-built 2-8-2 “Mikado” type steam locomotive.  Surviving 100 years for any railroad artifact is an achievement in its own right, but keeping it running is an even greater achievement.  Just this year the 15 returned to service after some major repairs and already has delighted thousands of visitors.  The group will operate the 15 on Saturdays through the end of September, at Halloween and again before Christmas.  Congratulations to the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum!

Tubing the 924

It has been a busy two weeks at the Conservation and Restoration Center with great progress shown in the rehabilitation of Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924.

The last Blog article highlighted the work required to prepare the locomotive for its Federal Railroad Administration internal inspection and approval.  Now, the time had come for tubing the boiler.  Some may ask if this process is premature as the FRA mandates that the 15 year boiler clock begins one year after the first tube is placed or first fire, whichever comes first.  A great deal of work remains on NP 924, including a full running gear rebuild, and by committing to a tube job at this time, it means that completion must be reached within the next year otherwise federal boiler time is wasted.  Although this concern is valid, the rebuild of NP 924 is on an expedited timeline, with rehabilitation to service if not complete in one year, will be mostly so.

In order expedite the project, it was time to protect the internal surfaces of the pressure vessel from deterioration in service by the application of a product called Apexior, produced by Dampney.  Often referred to as a boiler paint, Apexior is actually a Bitumen coating that prevents rust, scale, and other unwanted byproducts from boiling water from forming or adhering to the interior sheets of the boiler.  An interesting fact about this product is that this same product has been continuously produced by the same company since the steam era on American railroads.  Therefore this product not only makes sense from an artifact care and investment standpoint, but also as a period-appropriate material and technique.  

At the same time as Apexior was being applied, the boiler tubes were being prepared for installation.  This process involved the removal of mill scale from the exterior and interior ends of the tubes.  By removing this oxide coating, the bare steel of the tube can be rolled into the hole in the tube sheets, assuring a tight seal with no contamination.  Following this step, the tubes were cut to length and ready to install.  Although the tube sheets in 924 were straightened as much as possible, any locomotive will exhibit variation in the lengths of various tubes.  The 238 tubes in locomotive 924 were no exception, which required every tube hole to be measured for length so that every single tube could be custom cut to fit.  

With tubes sitting at the ready, it was time to start inserting the tubes into the boiler.  This seems an easy task until one realizes the steam delivery pipes leading to the cylinders cover approximately 1/3rd of the front tube sheet, making simple insertion of many of the tubes impossible.  To complete this job, tubes had to be inserted through a hole near its final location in the front tube sheet, cross several holes over into the rear sheet, be pushed inside the front sheet, then manipulated with a bar to line up with the appropriate hole in the front sheet, then pushed forward into the hole.  Sometimes this had to be done several times to reach the final placement of a tube.

This task being completed, it was time to roll the tubes into the sheets. A tube roller, consists of three hardened steel rollers in a cage, driven by a central tapered pin.  This taper pin is rotated by an air motor which serves to expand the tube into the hole in the sheet, crushing it into the hole and forming a pressure tight seal.  The rolling process requires a great deal of judgment as it is possible to over-roll a tube and thin it to the point it would fail prematurely.  Many specialists in the steam locomotive rehabilitation field say the best rolled tube is the one that weeps just barely on its first hydrostatic test.

Although the seal formed by rolling is critical, it is not by any means the end of tubing a locomotive.  Structurally, the most important step is the next process known as beading.  Beading uses a special tool and small air hammer to roll the edge of the tube sticking out of the tube sheets over against the sheet.  This process turns every tube into a hollow rivet by forming a head that prevents the sheet from pushing off the rolled end of the tube.  This work is intensely physical, but makes for a much stronger product, and is historic.  Another important result of the beading process is that it makes the tubes much less prone to fire cracking and burning away of the steel.

Related to this prevention of fire cracking and burning, seal welding of the firebox end of the tubes is also critical.  The term "seal welding" is actually a bit of a misstatement as the weld is not intended to prevent leaking as the roll should provide adequate sealing.  Instead, a small weld is made around the circumference of the bead on the rear sheet in order to pull heat away from the thin tube, and allow it to flow into the much thicker tube sheet.  This prevents the tube ends from overheating and burning away or cracking to an even greater degree than just a bead alone.  In addition, this process was also historically used on steam locomotives, particularly on locomotives that burned oil rather than coal. Following seal welding, the tubes are lightly rerolled front and back to assure the seal was not disturbed during the beading and welding processes, and then the job was complete!

Substantially completing the boiler work on locomotive 924 involved many facets.  First and foremost, funding was secured.  King County 4Culture awarded a Landmarks Capital grant to fund purchase of the new 2 inch boiler tubes, seal welding rod, and new staybolt material.  Second, an awesome team of volunteers performed much of the cleaning, cutting, and tube installation.  Third, Curator Pappas' pressure vessel skills allowed quick and efficient completion of the work, including the rolling, beading and welding.

The next task is to install the blast nozzle in the smoke box, and reapply the smoke box front. After this, the running gear rebuild will begin.  So stay tuned for another update!

--Photos in this post by Dave Honan and Spike.  Used with permission.

Engineering the 924 boiler

In September 2015 another major milestone was passed in the rehabilitation to service of Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924. 

In November 2014, the boiler tubes were removed from the locomotive and a preliminary engineering package was created based upon the thicknesses and geometries of the existing vessel.  During this time, a complete ultrasonic thickness grid was laid out and measured from the water and fire side of the boiler sheets, and the results were more than encouraging.  However, for the locomotive pressure vessel to be legal under the regulations of the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”), the exterior jacketing and lagging had to be removed.  This allowed for a visual inspection and for documentation of the final ultrasonic thickness measurements of any critical areas that were not possible to reach from the inside of the boiler.  So following the abatement of the asbestos lagging in late July and early August, it was time to finalize the form 4 engineering package, external visual inspection, and ultrasonic grid. 

Preparing the pressure vessel for an external inspection and for ultrasonic measurements involved a variety of tasks.  First, the boiler shell was stripped of rust and scale, as well as any other appurtenances that obstructed the exterior of the boiler.  Then, a grid pattern was laid out with data points polished to bright steel so as to allow the ultrasonic transducer to couple with the material and give an accurate reading.  Any areas found to exhibit additional pitting or deterioration were also tested to find the thinnest points in each boiler component. 

Preliminary calculations indicated the pressure vessel to be in good shape, especially following the installation of new firebox side sheets in January.  However, visual inspection found questionable rivets and some cracking present in the steam dome barrel near these rivet holes.  The original design of the dome also included a longitudinal lap seam, which although legal to remain in service, would require additional inspection and care in service.  The dome ring at the top of the steam dome was also found to be cast iron, which was not a good choice for pressure vessel use due to its lack of ductility and low tensile strength.  Curator Stathi Pappas made the decision to replace the steam dome with a new fabrication using A-516-70 steel and butt strap riveted construction to provide for both safety and longevity of service. 

At this point, Curator Pappas brought in friend and colleague Jon Brewster - who is an expert in boiler calculations - to run the final numbers and determine the health of the pressure vessel with the alterations and repairs as noted above.  Although locomotives may operate with severely derated boiler pressures, these locomotives are often but shadows of their former selves in capability, power, and economy.  In order to be true living history, philosophically, locomotives should be rebuilt to behave as they would have in their period of significance.  This being the case, Northwest Railway Museum is pleased to announce that NP 924 will once again be legal for her original full working pressure of 180 psi, just as Rogers intended!!!

Following this achievement, no time was wasted in beginning the construction of the new steam dome.  A new upper ring was machined on the Museum’s 48” Bullard Spiral Drive vertical turret lathe from a 5.5” thick plate of A-516-70 steel to match the original.  This machine was able to bore the center hole removing up to 1” of material in one pass.  Now that is mid-century American machine tools being used as intended!  At the same time a new dome barrel was rolled by Liberty Metal in Portland, Oregon out of A-516-70 steel.  By mid September, the new ring and rolled round were fitted together and welded preparatory to riveting.  Although the rivets are more than strong enough to support the joints in this new dome, Curator Pappas (who is a certified 6G welder) welded the dome for additional strength, prevention of leaking seams, and dimensional stability during the riveting process.  By using appropriate riveted construction and welding, this dome may even outlast the rest of the pressure vessel.  During this time, the old dome was removed and all rivets from the dome saddle removed preparatory to installation of the new dome. 

Fall 2015 will see the completion and installation of this new dome on the 924. Following this achievement, the stay bolt work on the new side sheets can them be completed, tube sheets prepped, and the vessel will be ready for tubes and a hydrostatic pressure test. 

Stay tuned for continuing developments from the Northwest Railway Museum Conservation and Restoration Center!

 

 

"Engineering the 924 boiler" was a guest post by Northwest Railway Museum Curator Stathi Pappas.

Steam trains return July 4 & 5!

Steam trains are returning to the Northwest Railway Museum on July 4 and 5, 2015!  The first departure is at 11:30 AM from Snoqualmie.  Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $12 for children.  You can purchase tickets in advance and pickup them up at will call prior to boarding the train. There is no service charge for using the Museum's online ticketing system, and it will reserve space for you and your family!  So why wait?  Order here today!

 

Trains will be pulled by Santa Cruz Portland Cement steam locomotive 2.  There will be departures from Snoqualmie each day at 11:30 AM, 1:00 PM, 2:30 PM, and 4:00 PM.  Just a year into service after years of effort were expended restoring this early 20th Century gem, "The Chiggen" is ready to steam for the weekend. This will be the last weekend of regular trains before Thomas the Tank Engine visits Snoqualmie so come and ride the line in style, behind SCPC 2!

Give BIG on Tuesday, May 5!

May 5 is an opportunity to be a part of something truly remarkable.  May 5 is an opportunity to donate in support of the steam locomotive 924 rehabilitation.

The Seattle Foundation's annual giving event "Give BIG!" is scheduled for May 5 and the Northwest Railway Museum is participating.  This year, contributions will support the steam program, and specifically the efforts to rehabilitate the 1899-built steam locomotive 924 now underway in the Conservation and Restoration Center at the Railway History Center.

The new cistern for 924's tender is

taking shape on the floor of the

Conservation and Restoration Center.

Contributions received between midnight and midnight on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 via the Museum's gateway page on the Seattle Foundation's website will be eligible for a partial match from the Seattle Foundation, and will complete for a one of the "Golden Tickets," which is an additional $1,000 contribution.

Your support truly makes a difference, and will help put locomotive 924 back in steam for its second Century of service.  Make a contribution here on Tuesday, May 5 between midnight and midnight and be a part of something truly remarkable.

Locomotive 924 moves to the Conservation and Restoration Center in this

October 2014 image.

A tender behind?

Historically, steam locomotives consumed large quantities of water and fuel.  The nature of the technology - the state-of-the-art in its day - was essentially a giant tea kettle that boiled water to make steam, allowed the steam to build up pressure, used the pressurized steam to perform work, and exhausting the remaining water vapor to the atmosphere.

Light locomotives such as the SCPC 2 or those that operated with limited range may have used a tank to carry extra water.  Thomas the Tank Engine is another example.  Larger locomotives and those requiring greater range used a tender behind the locomotive.  Which brings us to the point of the story: locomotive 924 is under rehabilitation at the Northwest Railway Museum and is receiving a new tender tank.


The lower half of the original tender

tank is worn thin and will no longer

hold water.

A tender tank carries water.  The inside of any tank is almost always wet and will eventually rust from the inside out.  924's tank was constructed in 1899 and today portions of the sides resemble decorative lace, but are made of iron oxide and steel.  Repairing this type of deterioration is time consuming, and often results in additional water leaks just a few years later.  It is difficult to keep ahead of this type of problem and with the price of water in the Northwest, it can get expensive.


New steel parts for a new tender tank

arrived on a trailer from Portland.

924 is expected to operate reliably and a tender tank that does not hold water without measurable loss will never meet that expectation.  So a new tank - an exact copy - is being fabricated inside the Conservation and Restoration Center. The project team thoroughly documented the tender and created a drawing set.  Then, early in February, all the components arrived from a supplier who cut each piece to size and formed shapes such as the radius on the front of the tank.


Rivets are heated and driven with a

pneumatic rivet gun.  The job is

particularly demanding for the person

holding the buck (at left), which backs

up the rivet gun blows.

The heavy work and time-consuming portion of the new tender fabrication is the assembly.  Each piece was moved into position and then lightly tack-welded using an electric welder.  Holes were drilled where rivets were located on the original tender.  Then staff and volunteers applied (or continue to apply) more than 2,000 rivets.



The original tank was removed with a

large excavator and was placed in

long-term storage in the Museum's

yard.

Meanwhile, castings, fixtures, and any other part that could be reused from the original tank were carefully removed.  The old tank was unfastened from the deck and frame.  A large excavator was used to lift the tank off the deck and frame and set it aside for long-term storage.


The tank fabrication is nearing

completion, but more rivets are

required.

The tank will remain on the shop floor and many more weeks.  The tender frame requires rehabilitation too, and the tank requires are few more rivets, some hardware, and some paint.  It work continues to progress at the current pace, a fully rehabilitated tender - with new tank - will emerge from the Conservation and Restoration Center in late spring or early summer.  Work will continue on 924 for at least the next 18 months, especially because of the awesome volunteers and staff.  And there is an opportunity for you to help support the project by participating in the Seattle Foundation's Give BIG event on May 5!  Stay tuned for more information.