Sunday was definitely an interesting day! Instead of riding the train today, my friend Tim and I did a little something differently. We arrived in Yreka about 9:30 in the morning and our engineer had already fired up the 21. We did a little bit of switching at the south end of the yard then headed to the shops. We were going to pull 19 out of the shop to work on her a bit today and get her ready to be painted. A few minutes later the wheezing of the cylinder cocks filled the air and the 19 was pulled out of the shop for the first time in months. She looked beautiful to say the least. Our job was to prep Pancho for painting. I would be working on the drivers and Tim would be working on the backhead. I started by spraying 2 coats of industrial strength cleaner on the tender trucks, the drivers, and valve gear. Also the same on the backhead. We also cleaned out the cab of tools and such to prep. We then went around all the bearing and siderods with paint scrapers and a waste bucket and got all the grease of those, quite a dirty job and tough in some places with all the valve gear! We broke for lunch and then had a little photo shoot while the cleaner soaked. We fired up the pressure washer, I put on a facemask, Tim got in the cab and we went to work. Quite a job I must say! The trucks were easy, but once you got to the drivers, that took some work. In fact I only got 2 done! I also forgot to mention that Bill Killingon stopped by as well. By the end of the day I was covered in grease, dirt, dirty water, mud, and soot. You know what though......it was awesome. There is just something about working on a steam locomotive that is hard to describe. Even just having her out of the shop was enough to entice people to make the short walk down to the shop to take photos and pose with Pancho. One cool feeling! All in all, it was one heck of a good day and I would have rather done the dirty work then ride the train anyday! Pancho Sitting Outside The Shop, Tim near the cab I Could Definitely Get Used To This! Engineer's Side Drive Wheels 2 "new" (ya new is an overstatement) Southern Pacific commuter Harrimans we acquired recently.
Now, Matt the question is (and I should know this, but I don't,) what the heck was I holding/doing? Was it one of the trash bags? Next weekend we also need to try and get at the frame and spring hangers and the like too, they're all pretty oily and greasy. It'll get the dirt off anyway.
Ya Tim I think you are holding one of those trash bags.........:tb-wink: I am hoping we get the chance to work on Pancho again next weekend. That way I will have more than an hour and a half to work on cleaning the drivers. :tb-biggrin: BTW, I think I should have taken an after photo also, because that rear driver doesn't look as bad now. hehe.
Number 19 The 19 is lookong good. I've rode behind it several times when on the Oregon Pacific & Eastern. The trip there was excellent. The OP&E is now a bike/hike trail. Attached is a photo of the 19 on the OP&E
Mr. SP .. what is that behind the 19? It looks like it may be a Shay. I remember when they brought the 19 back to Yreka with all that silver paint all over everything. The had even painted the main rods and side rods. It took years to get all that paint off. The thing I disliked most about the silver paint is it would get all over your hands while working.
Boxcab, At this point, if work continues to be done, I would say within the next couple of weeks. But again things change rapidly around there so it is hard to say. We can hope for the best.
Here are some shots of Pancho under steam last March when the train was rented for a wedding. I didn't have a camera at the time so these were taken with my cell phone.
