After a long wait, the 5057 finally went into the shop at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA) shop in Usk, WA. The people at POVA have sent us some photos of the work they have been doing and we are sharing them with you here.
The cab of the locomotive is in particularly bad shape relative to the rest of it. Work has started there. Here you can see some of the rust that is being addressed.
The inner and outer panels on both the fireman and engineer sides of the cab are being replaced with new steel. The photos below show how extensive this work is on the fireman's side of the cab. The bracing between panels is being replaced also, along with the front of the cab on the engineer's side.
The cab window frames are rotted out and we are waiting for an estimate for the cost to fabricate new ones. All the window glass will be replaced because it is very brittle. Here you can see the doors after they were removed.
There was a lot of rust in the steel supporting the cab floor. The rusted metal there was cut out and the floor was re-braced. New plywood was cut to replace the floor. The photos below show the new floor.
The metal corrosion was more extensive than what was expected when the team at POVA gave us a cost estimate for the cosmetic repair work. It will cost more than the $15,000 we were planning, but we do not know how much more yet.
The 5057 has been pulled out of the shop so the POVA staff can work on other projects. When it goes back in next time, we plan to continue work on the cab and also replace the rear pilot plate. We had to borrow a rear pilot plate from the Feather River Rail Society to move the 5057 from Portola, CA. We look forward to sending it back to them and picking up the spare traction motor we purchased from them with the 5057.
Now is a great time to contribute to the 5057 Project! We will need a bit more money to pay for this phase of the project, plus we have the painting and the move to South Cle Elum in the future. The faster we raise funds, the sooner we can bring the 5057 home for people to enjoy. Please make a contribution today if you can.
WOW! Moving forward ... can't wait to see it in the South Cle Elum Rail Yard National Historic District. If locomotives could talk .... :)
ReplyDeleteWhat condition are the prime mover, main generator, and the electrical systems in? The locomotive did operate at the FRRS a few times.
ReplyDeleteJohn, as far as we know, those systems are not in bad shape. We don't plan to assess their condition since we don't plan to operate the 5057. However, our goal is to do what we can to not preclude operation of the locomotive in the future. We'll do what we can to ensure the mechanical systems of the 5057 stay intact. In fact, we plan to replace the bad traction motor with one we purchased from FRRS with the locomotive. We intend to develop an educational exhibit around the bad traction motor.
ReplyDeleteJohn, as far as we know, those systems are not in bad shape. We don't plan to assess their condition since we don't plan to operate the 5057. However, our goal is to do what we can to not preclude operation of the locomotive in the future. We'll do what we can to ensure the mechanical systems of the 5057 stay intact. In fact, we plan to replace the bad traction motor with one we purchased from FRRS with the locomotive. We intend to develop an educational exhibit around the bad traction motor.
ReplyDeleteWhat's happening with it now? The last posting is from 2016, how is it doing in 2017?
ReplyDelete