July 16, 2019 Since I last wrote we have been dealing with one leaky flange set on one of the saturated steam pipes from the steam dome to the steam fountain. We are having a new gasket cut and will test it again Wednesday. I had a conversation at length with our tool car inspector. […]

June 26, 2019 These past few weeks we have been waiting for the certified bronze material to arrive for the saturated steam shut-off valve bonnet repair. We received the material on Monday and it was immediately taken to RDM McClintic here in ABQ. It was definitely a challenge to fabricate the bonnet, but John, the […]

June 10, 2019 I don’t have a lot to report on this week since the turret valve repair is holding up several projects. We did locate the certified material for the bonnet repair which cost nearly $800, so send in your “Benjamin’s” (Franklin) if you can. The turret itself is still at the machine shop […]

June 4, 2019 As many of you know we have been having problems with the steam fountain assembly for some time now. The whole assembly was disconnected and the main shut-off valve removed revealing several problems. The thin bonnet threads were in bad condition along with the valve seat. The fountain was taken to our […]

May 22, 2019 Since the last TW3 Madam Secretary, Gail and I left for a week and attended the Golden Spike 150 year anniversary celebration along with the UP 4014 and 844 steam locomotives. There were thousands of people on hand. This past week was spent preparing for the 75th birthday of our own 2926. […]

April 30, 2019 To begin with, this coming Wednesday is May 1st which brings on the summer work hours for those of you that are regular workers. Sessions will begin at 7:30 AM. Last week we removed the injector control valve along with two of it’s male counter parts. They were taken to an expert […]

April 15, 2019 This week was a battle with the elements. Wednesday we started out with a breezy morning and performed an air test on the boiler to check on repairs from last week. We’re still having problems sealing the line from the turret to the injector valve union joints. The rest of the leaks […]

April 8, 2019 Not a whole lot new to report this week as much of the work sessions were fixing leaks found with our last hydro. We did have more electrical conduit and routing completed. The engineer’s seat was removed so the holes for the ATS box could be drilled in the cab floor. Looking […]

April 2, 2019 The root valve was the most difficult task as rethreading dies were manufactured along with a new valve stem retaining nut. We have also been working on the second dynamo to seal a lubricant leak. A high pressure air test revealed small leaks at the sight glass boiler connections. New brass adapters […]

March 11, 2019 This week we enjoyed better working conditions as to the weather. More electrical conduit was installed on both sides of the engine. The forward dynamo was installed and the necessary piping connected. The aft dynamo is not yet ready to be installed. The fuel line from the tender was shortened a bit […]