Engine No. 40 Celebrates its 90th Birthday!

Ninety years ago this month, in August 1920, Steam Engine No. 40 was built by the AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY, at their Brooks Works in Dunkirk, NY.

No. 40 had a long and interesting career prior to its arrival at Essex Steam Train & Riverboat. Originally, No. 40 was one of 3 identical engines constructed for the new Portland, Astoria & Pacific Railroad, however, the company building the PA&P went bankrupt before the line was finished. For over a year, the locomotive sat on the docks at Portland until it was purchased by the Minarets & Western Railway to haul loads of logs and lumber. When that railroad could not pay its debts, the locomotive was given to the Southern Pacific Railroad and then sold to a used locomotive dealer. Eventually, No. 40 was bought by The Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad in North Carolina.


On the A&R, Engine No. 40 pulled freight and passenger trains and was involved in one major derailment where it came to rest on its side (above photo). Around 1950, No. 40 was replaced by a diesel locomotive, retired and stored in a small shed. Finally, in 1977, No. 40 was discovered by an employee of The Valley Railroad Company, purchased and loaded onto flat cars for its trip to Essex, CT...and a new career pulling trainloads of tourists aboard the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat.

Today, No. 40 is one of less than 200 operable steam locomotives in the United States, versus the roughly 180,000 steam engines in operation at the height of the steam era. Each day it runs, No. 40 burns about 2 tons of low sulfur coal for fuel and evaporates about 6000 gallons of water, pulling a 400-ton train a total of 50 miles. This is pretty much the same distance that No. 40 has run for most of its life.

Happy Anniversary to the Pride of the Rails

It’s only fitting that we recognize the Great Republic's 80th Birthday early in the 2010 season. Certainly this unique Parlor Car is deserving of a season-long celebration...it happens to be 1 of only 14 Pullman cars built for the Yankee Clipper, the fastest, Boston-New York express train of its day on the New Haven Railroad.

The Yankee Clipper, named in acknowledgment of the gallant clipper ships that carried America to its peak in sail powered commerce, made its first duo run between New York and Boston on March 18th, 1930. The 4-hour and 45-minute excursion was 15 minutes quicker than any previously scheduled train on the New Haven Railroad. Each of the 14 coaches was named for a famous clipper ship; the Great Republic commemorates the largest clipper ship ever built.

The Yankee Clipper included the most advanced equipment and technology of its time. Luxurious interior furnishings included mohair-covered plush seating and Georgian walnut paneling, tables and trim. The quality of the workmanship was outstanding; the bottom of every table and chair had the car name carved into the wood. Individual lamps and call buttons were provided. Each car had 1 or more Pullman attendants, serving beverages at the passengers’ seats.

The Yankee Clipper service lasted for 20 years, but by the 1960’s, the original cars were being scrapped. That’s when a postal employee named Jim Bradley, who lived near the Amtrak line in Stonington, Connecticut, decided to save some of the Yankee Clipper’s railroad heritage. In 1962 - 1964, Jim purchased 6 cars marked for destruction. Bradley built a spur track on his property and maintained the equipment for 30 years. By keeping roofs and windows weather tight, each car became a time capsule from an earlier era.

Upon Jim’s death, the Valley Railroad purchased the Great Republic from his nephew, David Bradley. Valley Railroad employees and “Friends” volunteers spent thousands of hours making extensive exterior and interior renovations to restore the Great Republic to as close to its original condition.

In 1991, when cinema director Spike Lee was preparing to film his movie “Malcolm X", the Valley Railroad was contacted for the use of a car that would resemble the Pullman on which Malcolm Little worked as a young man. Spike Lee's crew had come to the right railroad...the Great Republic was most likely one of the actual cars Malcolm was a porter on for the New Haven Railroad. With some fast cosmetic work by the movie’s creative team, the Great Republic was taken to 125^th Street Station in New York for filming.

Today, the Great Republic proudly carries thousands of visitors aboard the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat. This first-class Parlor Car features individual swivel seats for maximum comfort and viewing pleasure of the beautiful Connecticut River Valley. It also continues to be a highly sought backdrop for for movie shoots, magazine layouts and wedding photography, as depicted in this stunning photo by Melani Lust.

Hop on board the Great Republic to relax in style, sip a cool beverage, and revel in the stunning vistas...all while enjoying a piece of rail and maritime history. For a modest extra fare of $5.00 per person, the Parlor Car is the way the way to celebrate...anyone's birthday or anniversary!

All Aboard,

~ Susan

3025 Progress, December 2009

Kevin grinding old weld from rear tube sheet

While most of our efforts have been focused on "The North Pole Express" (read: keeping Nos. 40 & 97 plus all the coaches running), in our spare time we have gotten some work accomplished on "the big project".
Work on the boiler continued with Ken Blandina and Kevin Narin grinding on the front and rear tube sheets preparing them for die penetrant inspection. Meanwhile, Wayne Hebert constructed a new, additional dome liner. The need for an additional liner was one of the results of our Mechanical Engineer, Pete Fredrickson's recalculation of the boiler stresses.

Wayne running the radial arm drill press

Bill Wolf and Scott Dimartino continued dismantling the driving gear, etc. preparing parts for inspection, measuring each parts and recording their findings. The condition and size of each part must be determined for us to decide which must be replaced or repaired to insure that once we have finished our work the locomotive will operate trouble free during its' next term of service.

Scott dismantling and inspecting lubricator lines

Bill measuring cylinder bore diameters

January we'll be occupied with Annual Inspections on Nos. 40 & 97, but once those are finished and various annual maintenance items attended to, we'll be in a position to return to "The Big Project".

Slip Sliding Away...

Time certainly has a way of slipping by. It has been over two months since my last posting, not because there hasn't been much happening, rather too much (read: we have been busy).
Our new steam cleaner and its operator, Scott DiMartino have been hard at it cleaning years of road dirt off the frame of No. 3025 and its running gear. Wayne Hebert (assisted at times by Ken Blandina) has begun the 1472 day inspection of the boiler. Thus far, the superheater units have been removed and all of the superheater flues have been cut.
The driving, lead and trailing truck wheels are still in Pennsylvania being re-profiled. We expect them to be ready for shipping to Essex next month.
The lack of wheels has not prevented us from bringing the locomotive into the shop. When we unloaded the locomotive, we placed it on two large steel "H" beams which have "flanges" welded onto their bottom sides.




This afternoon, we oiled the rails ahead of No. 3025, coupled onto it with diesel locomotive No. 0901, and slid No. 3025 (on the "H" beams) into the shop. The whole move took a couple of minutes.



Now that No. 3025 is safely inside the shop, the rebuilding phase of the project can begin.

J.David

LOCOMOTIVE QUARTERLY COVER ART

NYO&W No. 405

From 2000 until 2006, New London artist Robert Hauschild provided the paintings which graced the covers of the periodical Locomotive Quarterly. Over 24 of these will be exhibited in our latest show: Locomotive Quarterly Covers, Watercolors by Robert Hauschild.

The show will run from June 25 until October 12, 2009 at our Oliver O. Jensen Gallery inside the River Valley Junction display building adjacent to the Essex depot. Gallery hours will coincide with our normal operating schedule.

There will be an opening reception open to the public from 6:00 until 8:00 the evening of June 25th. Steve Barry, editor of Railfan Magazine will be on hand to make a few remarks on Locomotive Quarterly and to introduce the artist, who will share some recollections about his relationship with the magazine.

Each of the original, watercolor paintings will be available for sale as well as back issues of Locomotive Quarterly.

J. David

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