Something borrowed, something new...

We are starting to send back parts we borrowed from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in order to move the 5057 to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad shop in Usk, WA.

This week, composite brake shoes and a P2-A brake application valve are being removed from the 5057 and returned.

The P2-A brake application valve

Next, we need to fabricate a replacement for the missing rear pilot plate.  We used one from Western Pacific 501, an EMC SW1, to get the 5057 back to Washington.  It fit pretty well, but we are contacting the Illinois Railway Museum to request the dimensions of the rear pilot plate on the 5056 so we can duplicate it.  The 5056 is the other surviving Milwaukee Road U25B. 

You can see the gap under the coupler where the rear pilot plate should be.

Since the restoration work on the 5057 and 5056 will face many similar challenges, we hope to build a good working relationship with the Illinois Railway Museum. 

In the meantime, we are still working with staff at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad to develop a plan for the restoration work on the 5057.  Stay tuned!