A New Bottom For Becky Thatcher

Derecktor Shipyard workers fitting up new hull bottom.

EST&R photo by Wayne Hebert

Those of us who work our locomotives and cars as they come in and out of the Engine House seldom think of the other major piece of equipment the Company operates: m/v "Becky Thatcher" our 69 foot long, 237 person capacity riverboat which usually lives at our dock at Deep River.

Built in 1961 at Ft. Lauderdale, FL, by Captain Albert Starts; the boat was originally named "Southern Belle". It came north in the 1970s' and has handled the service out of Deep River ever since. When our former sister company, Deep River Navigation, ceased operation after the 2003 season, we acquired the "Becky" along with a highly competent crew (a good thing as we knew nothing about boats).

Since "Becky" operates in fresh water, the Coast Guard regulations call for it to be hauled out of the water for inspection every 5 years. This time around, we chose Dereckor Shipyard at Bridgeport, CT to do the work. A rather modern yard, they use a huge carry lift machine to pick vessels out of the water and move them around their yard rather than the traditional "drydock" or "marine railway".

A typical Coast Guard inspection includes "UT" (ultra sonic) testing to determine the thickness of the hull. After testing we found that it was going to cost nearly the same amount to patch sections of the hull as to replace the entire bottom of the boat. So, we chose the later, even though the work would take longer and possibly wouldn't be done until after our opening day.

What to do! Well, a couple of things. Our opening weekend is usually "Neighbor Appreciation Days" (free tickets for residents of towns along our line). This year we'll operate three trips per day (May 2nd and 3rd) with steam power from Essex all the way to Haddam (some of this trackage seldom sees steam) making all station stops along the way. The balance of the month (or until "Becky" is finished) our riverboat service will use m/v"Martha Washington" which we have leased from Boston Harbor Cruises.

Meanwhile, Paul Horgan and Wayne Hebert have been assisting EST&R Port Engineer Charlie Pike with removing wiring and piping to facilitate the installation of the new 5/16" steel bottom. They also have removed sections of the drive shaft for Bill Wolf to repair here at the Engine House.

J.David

90 Year Old Coach Receives "Modern" (well, 1950's era) Roller Bearings

Wayne Hebert operates the hoist as Charlie Pike and Bill Wolf rig the truck.

Coach 503 (built in 1914 for the Lackawanna) has been "re-wheeled" using like new roller bearing wheel sets which we recently purchased from railroad car wheel expert, Bruce Moore.
The other cars in our fleet all have friction bearings, a type of bearing commonly used from the early days of railroads up until the adoption of roller bearings in the mid-20th Century.
A friction bearing rides directly on the axle, typically lubricated via wool yarn or cotton waste packed under the axle and saturated with oil. The yarn or waste had to be carefully arranged into little bundles called "mice". These "mice" in turn had to be carefully "packed" into the journal box, making sure their "tails" (the loose ends of the yarn or waste) were carefully folded under and not dangling. If one of the "tails" were to come loose and get caught between the axle and the bearing as the axle was turning, a "waste grab" would occur, a "mouse nest" would form and an over heated bearing or "hot box" would result. In extreme cases, a "hot box" could cause the end of the axle to fail, usually resulting in a derailment. Waste became obsolete as foam rubber filled "journal pads" found favor. These pads look rather like a mop head and require less skill to install and maintain.
The roller bearing is a series of highly polished cylindrical or tapered steel rollers which run between highly polished "races" the inner of which is pressed onto the bearing end of the axle, the outer of which is in contact with the journal box. This type of bearing requires less energy to get it turning than a friction bearing. The journal box is sealed so the oil or grease used to lubricate the bearing can't run out. The roller bearing requires minimal maintenance.


Coach 503 truck, roller bearing wheel set to the right, friction bearing to the left. In the forground is a friction bearing journal box with a bearing on the tray behind it.

J.David

Annual Coach Work - 2009

About this time each year, our attention turns to those big green things with seats in them that our beloved locomotives haul up and down the line. While we spend a lot of time (and money) on the locomotives, we occationally lose sight of the fact that the fannies that sit in those seats actually pay for everything.

Our coach fleet is just as antiquated as the locomotive and just as needy when it comes to maintenance. All the cars are inspected over the winter. We measure the wear on the wheels and couplers, the height of the buffers and replace or adjust as needed. During this time, annual (or bi-annual) servicing is done on the air brake systems. The heating and PA systems are inspected and general repairs are made. Every other year we either repair & re-coat roofs or touch up paint and wax the carbodies. This year we are consumed with the latter.

Scott DeMartino heads up the work on the carbodies (assisted here by Charlie Pike).

Car Foreman Paul Horgan "beds in" new quarter round window moulding in caulk.

Mike Camera repaints the exterior window sash on former Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter coach No. 1000 (the only coach on the Valley to retain it's original number).

Master Mechanic Bill Wolf makes a part for a door latch on our "Hendey" engine lathe.

As of now we have completed work on kitchen car "Colonial Hearth" and coaches 501, 502, 602 and 1000. Most work on open car 600 "Riverview" has already been completed. Ken Blandina is refinishing it's wooded seat slats and window sills for reinstallation later this month. The next car scheduled to come into the shop is dining car "Meriden". The "new" roller bearing wheel sets for coach 503 have arrived and ought to be installed later this month. Next month we plan to work on dining car "Wallingford", parlor car "Great Republic" and coach 1002. Once these are done (whew) coach 1001 will return for more steel work and eventually repainting.

J.David

Inside Work

Inside No. 40's Boiler

We saw the last of Santa (finally) on December 29th after the final North Pole Express of the season. After putting away the Christmas lights, etc. for another year, we have moved inside the (relative) comfort of the Engine House and have turned our attention to preparing for the 2009 season.

The first order of business is usually the annual inspection of the steam locomotives by the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) and our inspectors. We try to have the boilers tight and dry well before the big day. Cab valves and the like are ground in and all fittings are made tight so there are no drips or damp spots. The boilers must be warmed so that they are between 70 and 120 degrees during the hydrostatic pressure test. To do this test the boiler must be completely filled with warm water. Then (while the inspector is watching) the boiler is pressurized to 25% above it's MAWP (Maximum Allowed Working Pressure) by means of a small pump. Once the test pressure is reached the inspectors make a minute examination of the boiler and firebox looking for any leaks or other signs of distress. Typically the final testing takes about an hour. Of course, we will have tested the boiler ourselves days before the FRA arrives. It would be embrassing to have something leaking. Once the hydro has been done, we drain the water and remove the domecap from the steam dome so we can get down inside to make the required internal inspection. Happily, both Nos. 40 and 97 passed their tests and will be operating during the 2009 season. Soon, repairs and betterments on the locomotives will be finished so they can be winterized for outside storage until we begin operations again in April.

Next: the coach fleet comes in (one or two at a time). More on that later. Stay warm!

J.David

Essex, the Phoenix Has Landed...

No. 3025 at Essex, 12/19/08

Well, it took long enough, but Barber Trucking Inc. was finally successful in obtaining the permits needed from the Connecticut Department of Transportation to bring our locomotive to it's new home at Essex. It had sat at the Smith Hauling, Inc. yard in Oliveburg, PA for several weeks, but on the 17th, the permits were granted: good for 3 days, including the 17th. Oh, and by the way, the load had to be ready to cross the Newburgh-Becon Bridge between 10:00 and 11:00 AM on the morning of the 18th. Quickly, the locomotive was re-loaded and on it's way.

3025 at Newburgh, NY 12/18/08 - Bob Loitsch photo

After crossing the bridge at about 11:00AM, the load proceeded on to Connecticut. At Waterbury the route left Interstate 84 and sort of wandered via Meriden to Route 9, rolling into Essex at about 2:00PM. Since we had North Pole Express trains running that night (and therefore needing the parking lot/unloading area, not to mention several hundred customers to deal with) the trailer was parked until the next morning.

a-quick pick Crane Service, inc. was on hand bright and early on the 19th. The rear of the trailer was backed partially into the shop so the locomotive would "land" just outside the building. After rigging as we had done in Kane, the locomotive was gently lifted and the trailer driven out from under it. The "H" beam skids that had been previously used during No. 40's rebuilding were positioned under the locomotive's frame and it was lowered down to them. After "squaring up" the locomotive on the skids, it was placed and the cranes unhooked.

We thank Smith Hauling, Inc., Barber Trucking Inc. and a-quick pick Crane Service, inc. for their safe and careful handling of this large, yet fragile object. All these firms were great to deal with and brought the job in on time and within budget. They are to be commended (and recommended) for their work.

Once the annual work on the coaches and Essex Clipper Dinner Train has been completed this spring, we'll grease up the rails and slide No. 3025 into the shop. After it has been leveled properly, we'll remove the pistons and valves and begin "tramming" the frame. More on this later...

J.David

"Old 97 Saves the Day"

The original illustrations created by artist Gretchen Hatfield for the new Children's book: Old 97 Saves the Day are on display at the Oliver O. Jensen Gallery at the River Valley Junction display building adjacent to the Essex Depot. The gallery will be open during operating hours on days when Holiday Trains are running (see schedule).

In the book, two children on Christmas vacation discover an abandoned railroad complete with roundhouse, a steam locomotive (Old 97) and a mysterious old man who asks for their help getting the locomotive running. Along the way the children learn about railroads and how a steam locomotive works and help repair Old 97 before going on a magical trip to the North Pole and back.

The book is soft bound, measures 7" X 9" and has 27 pages, each with a full color illustration as well as color covers.

Individual copies of the book are available at our Gift Shop at the depot priced at $12.00. Single copies are also are also available by phone or Internet for $12.00 plus $2.00 shipping.

Bulk orders (5 or more copies) can be obtained by mail from the publisher: Steam Locomotive Services, 23 Blake St. Ivoryton, CT 06442-1130 for $8.00 each, shipping charges added to invoice.

J.David

3025 UPDATE

After several days work dismantling the locomotive to lighten it's weight and lower it's height, No. 3025 was lifted off it's wheels and loaded onto a trailer truck on November 25, 2008.



Wayne Hebert and Kjell Benner made two trips to remove the brake rigging, valve gear and rods as well as remove all the fasteners on the spring rigging, etc. prior to returning on November 23rd with Bill Wolf and Dave Conrad for the final preparations. On the 25th, as cranes from Smith Hauling were positioned, the driver pedestal binders were removed. The locomotive was slung front and back. Once a test lift of a couple of inches had been made, the locomotive was lifted about 6 inches and the trailing truck was rolled back to free the tongue. Finally the locomotive was lifted up about 5 feet to clear the driving wheels. It was then swung to the side and set on blocking so the binders could be safely re-installed. The lead and trailing trucks were disassembled sufficiently to remove the wheels. All the wheels were loaded for shipment to a wheel shop for turning.



Once the loading area had been clear of snow (again) by former Knox & Kane employees John Hafer and Chris Slater (who also helped with the dismantling), a heavy hauling "beam" trailer from Barber Trucking was backed into position. The locomotive (sans wheels) was again lifted, swung and lowered onto the trailer. After a bit of repositioning, it was chained down and the cranes were disconnected. The next day it was moved to Barber's yard for final weighing, possibly another repositioning and final measuring for clearances. It is hoped that it will be delivered to Essex before the end of the year.

Special thanks are due to all of the fine people who helped us and were so nice to us while we were in the Kane area including: John Hafer and Chris Slater formerly of the Knox & Kane Railroad, Steve and the crew from Smith Hauling, Tom and John from Barber Trucking, Sterling Watts (who let us use his frontend loader AND installed a furnace in his store room so we could warm up now and then), Bob from Peete M&A Services (who moved, hauled and loaded tons of spare parts for us), Margi and Warren from the Kaneview Motel (who sheltered us), all of the waitresses at Texas Hot Lunch (who kept us fed) and the staff at SUBWAY (who even Wayne couldn't get a laugh out of), (but he kept trying).

J.David

NYNH&H No. 3025?

The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad never had a steam locomotive No. 3025. Their class J-1 Mikado 2-8-2s were numbered from 3000 to 3024 and none survive, in fact, no New Haven steam locomotive escaped the scrappers torch. But what if the New Haven had purchased one more steam locomotive and what if it had been saved? It might look like this concept drawing courtesy of former New Haven Railroad Historical Society President Alvin Lawrence.

The basis for the above is, of course, the Valley Railroad's "new" locomotive, recently purchased at an auction in Pennsylvania. While planning the rebuilding of the "new" locomotive, a number of employees and volunteers suggested that since we must build a new cab anyway, why not build a typical "US" style cab and while we're at it, make it look like a New Haven cab with the classic arched windows, and how about putting a New Haven "Sunbeam" headlight on it, and, and, and.

So, the plan is to modify the appearance of our "new" locomotive to resemble a New Haven class J-1 and incorporate as many "New Havenisms" as we can manage. Some of the J-1s even had "clear vision" tenders like ours (we'll modify the sides of ours to suit). When finished, No. 3025 will be a decent representation of New Haven steam power and right at home on a former New Haven branch line.

J.David

GOING, GOING, GONE - SOLD TO VALLEY RAILROAD

Auctioneer Mike Peterson in action

After a two year search (and a number of dead ends and nearly "done deals"), The Valley Railroad Co. has purchased an additional steam locomotive.

Former Knox & Kane Railroad No. 58, a 2-8-2 built by Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works in July 1989 (construction number SY1658M) was purchased by the Company on October 10, 2008 at the liquidation auction of the K&K along with 10 tons of spare parts. Why buy another locomotive? Why now? A bit of background on the motive power situation at The Essex Steam Train.

As our business name implies, one of our missions is to operate trains powered by steam locomotives. Steam locomotives are inherently expensive: to operate, to maintain and to restore. Under Federal Railroad Administration rules(49CFR, part 230), each steam locomotive can operate no more than 1472 "service days" within a period of 15 calender years. Our No. 40 will come due for it's "1472" in May 2014 (or sooner if we use up it's "service days). Our No. 97 will come due in March 2011, so we really have only the balence of this year and the next two before it comes due (as of last month, it had accumulated 1271 "service days). We'll use up those 201 "service days" and then No. 97 will be due. But the "1472" on No. 97 will entail a good deal more rebuilding than usual, we estimate that with the size of our crew, facilities and resources, the work will take 4 or 5 years to accomplish if all goes well. Should the project not go according to schedule we could have a motive power crisis in 2014 when No. 40 comes due. Rather than risk not having two steam locomotives available (remember, they must be inspected and maintained during their "term of service" and being old machines are subject to failures) we decided add a third steam locomotive to our roster.

Some readers will recall that in May 1989 the Company purchased a brand new steam locomotive from Tangshan, our No. 1647. It had a beautiful all welded boiler (equivelent toASME standards), well made running and driving gear which proved easy to maintain and was economical to operate. Unfortunately, we sold it in 1992 due to a number of factors (a banking crisis, cash flow, lack of resources AND someone who had an immediate need for a "new" steam locomotive). The locomotive just purchased was built to the same specifications as ours and arrived on the same boat.

Knox & Kane No.58 too is due for a "1472" plus a good deal of cosmetic work having been in a building that burned earlier this year. Early this month, a VRR team of Wayne Hebert, Kjell Benner and Dave Conrad spent two days inspecting the locomotive and tender inside and out.

Our immediate plans are to stabilize the locomotive and tender prior to moving them to Essex. Our near term plan is to begin work on the restoration once the annual inspections of Nos. 40 & 97 have been completed in January/February 2009.

We expect to have the locomotive (Valley Railroad running number to be determined) restored, inspected and ready to steam by mid-2011.

Work Begins (again) On Coach 1001

We have begun work on coach 1001 several times over the last few years only to leave it and move to more pressing projects. This time however, we are pretty well committed, having removed all of the windows and seats (not to mention cutting out large sections of the window posts and roof hip corners).



Preparations for this years work began last year when we contracted with Eric Seamans to construct a new set of windows. We chose to make the frames from "sapeli", a species of wood which is very similar to "true" mahogany but a lot cheaper. Eric did all of the millwork, glazed with automotive safety plate and finished (stained and clear coated one side, primed and double coat painted the other side).







Most of the original latches are being transferred to the new windows. For the balance of the latches, reproduction window latch patterns were supplied by Jim Case and castings produced by Mystic River Foundry. Machine work, fitting and polishing is being done in house.



The H.R.Hillary company has supplied formed steel sections for use as patching material for window posts, etc. while roof patches have been formed "in house" with our sheet metal roller and new press brake.

We'll continue to post on this project as work progresses.

J.David