5057 Fundraising Challenge: 1 = 3!

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3/26 UPDATE: We have raised $650 so far this month. Another $350 is needed by Saturday, March 31 to get the full match of the challenge.

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No, we aren't really bad at math.  We have a fundraising challenge from an anonymous donor. The donor will match up to $1,000 dollars between now and March 31, and their employer will match their donation. For a limited time, each $1 you donate will turn into $3 for the 5057 Project.

Donate now to help us 'paint it black'. And orange too!

About that big orange stripe...

If you are wondering why we talk about painting the 5057 black with a big orange stripe, take a look at this excerpt from the General Electric painting diagram for the Milwaukee Road four-axle locomotives (U25B, U28B and U30B).  As you can see, it describes the body color as black and refers to the orange as a stripe.

Click to enlarge

We were hoping the paint codes shown on the diagram would help us match the original color, but we haven't had any luck with that.  The paint codes are evidently obsolete.

If you would like to see the whole painting diagram you can view it on our research website here or click the image below.

Click to view the PDF of the paint diagram

Paint it black!

The 5057 Project has been quiet this year. Our initial plan when we took the locomotive to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA) shop in Usk, WA was to have them work on the locomotive between other jobs. Fortunately for the folks at POVA, they’ve been extremely busy! The 5057 has only been in the shop once since it arrived.

We recently talked to our friends at POVA and they told us they’d like to bring the 5057 into their shop and do all the cosmetic restoration work at once, including the painting. They anticipate having an opening in their schedule next spring. We have the funds on hand to finish all the work to prepare the locomotive for painting, but we need to raise about $20,000 to cover the actual paint work. This means we need to kick our fundraising into high gear.  Our goal is to have the funds raised by the end of March 2018.  

Click the image to donate

We invite you to sponsor the painting of the 5057. Dividing the cost of the work to be done by the approximately 45 gallons of paint and primer needed, a $505.70 donation will cover a gallon of paint.  A $100 donation will cover about a quart. And a $50.57 donation will cover about a pint. No, we aren’t paying $500 a gallon for paint! The paint we’ll be using is expensive, but the $500 includes all the labor and other materials needed for a high quality paint job.

Click the image to donate

Please consider making a donation today at any level to help cover part of this work.

Finally in the shop!

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. 

Milwaukee Road U25B locomotives - a class act

The U25B locomotives of the Milwaukee Road, like other locomotive models on the roster, were assigned an alphanumeric classification by the railroad.  The U25Bs were class 25G-RS.  The '25' represented 2500 horsepower, the 'G' represented General Electric, and the 'RS' represented road switcher.

The Milwaukee Road typically stenciled the classification of the locomotive on the cab. You can see part of the classification stencil on the 5057 below.

We plan to trace the stencil so we can recreate it when the 5057 is painted.  The remaining part of the classification, the "RS" appeared to be missing.  However, when we visited the 5057 last fall at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad shop in Usk, WA we noticed it could be faintly seen under a coat of paint.

5057 update - the restoration plan

Last month we visited the 5057 at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA) shop in Usk, WA.

Not much has happened since the 5057 arrived there late last year.  Progress has been slow because the shop at POVA has been busy with work for clients that are in a bigger rush than us. In June some of the parts we borrowed from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA were removed and returned.  We are still need to return the rear pilot plate we borrowed from them and are seeking dimensions for the replacement from the 5056 at Illinois Railway Museum.  

Wayne Monger poses by the 5057 in June 2015 while picking up parts to be returned
to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum (photo courtesy of Wayne Monger) 

While we were at POVA, we talked to them about the work we want to do before we repaint the 5057. Based on our conversation, the first task we tackle will be restoring the cab.  This is probably the most extensive portion of the work.  Typical of early GE ‘U-boat’ locomotives, the cab has a lot of corrosion.  In some places, the steel will need to be completely replaced.  We will be matching the existing material as much as possible as we replace things.  New and repaired metal will be primed to protect it until we are ready to paint.  While this will be a lot of work, it is something that can be accomplished a little bit at a time, with the 5057 going in and out of the shop as their schedule permits.

You can see some of the sheet metal corrosion
on the cab that needs to be addressed before the 5057 is painted.

After the cab is finished, we will work on the hood.  Most of the hood doors need to be straightened and many of the latches need to be replaced.  We have a good supply of replacement latches that were acquired from GE by the Western Pacific Railroad Museum and came to us with the 5057.  Another thing we plan to do is replace the missing access door on the cabinet under the walkway at the rear of the locomotive.  This cabinet is where a flange lubricator system was installed after the 5057 was retired by the Milwaukee Road. The flange lubricator will be removed.  We also plan to make some modifications to deter vandals and thieves from damaging the locomotive while it is on display.

This is the flange lubricator that will be removed.  The missing door will be replaced.

One door with a latch, another without a latch.

Overall, we expect the preparation work before painting to cost about $15,000.  The painting itself will be about $20,000.  Right now, we have most but not all of the funds need to complete the preparation work. Please make a donation today to help us get the 5057 looking good again.

5057 is 50!

The 5057 is fifty years old this month!

It entered service for the Milwaukee Road on July 14, 1965 as locomotive number 388.  By the end of the month, it was pulling freight across the system.  The first documented trip in Washington we have identified occurred on July 31, about two weeks after it entered service.

According to this train sheet, the 388 passed Maple Valley, WA at 12:23 a.m. pulling 2,915 tons (25 loads and 58 empty cars) with three other U25B locomotives.  It then passed Black River at 12:50 a.m. on the way to Tacoma. It would have passed through Cle Elum sometime on July 30.

Here is an August 1965 view of the 388 going through Cle Elum, one of the earliest pictures of the locomotive.  Right behind the power, all GE U25B locomotives like the 388, the dynamometer car is collecting data on the performance of these new additions to the fleet.

In honor of the 5057's birthday, consider making a birthday gift donation to the 5057 Project!