Steam & Excursion > Queen Of The Mother Lode....(Railtown 1897 Update)

That's how the Sierra Railroad/Railway is often described.

Quick update:

Today we pulled the lid off SRY #28's (1922 Baldwin 2-8-0) steam dome in preparation of her annual inspection. A cursatory glance into the boiler inards looked pretty good. All the regular work should proceed as planned- boiler washout, inspection and hydro which will put us in great shape for the 2006 season.

Shop forces were also at work machining new valve cylinder liners for the #28. These are scheduled to be replaced in early 2007. Shop crews also prepared the tender to have it's trucks centerplates replaced. These plates are already made and will be installed in the coming weeks. The tender will also have some routine maintenance performed.

Sierra Railway #2 (1922 Lima 102 ton, 3-truck Shay) also is undergoing extensive repairs to it's cylinders, valves and rods. The work here is very tedious and difficult but the shop crews have been doing a great job. This engine could be ready by opening day this April.

Sierra Railway #3 is still awaiting the 'go ahead' so work can proceed with it's restoration. Currently it is protected inside the historic Sierra Railroad's roundhouse located within Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, CA

I will try to get some pictures online as this work continues so those in the steam community can see the work featuring the almost 'lost craft' of steam locomotive maintenance. This pic is of SRY #28's gauge cluster from the last time I fired the engine in late November 2005.


SV



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/10 16:01 by SandingValve.

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Thanks for the News and photo. Will it be the state of Ca. (Museum) that gives the final OK for #3's restoration? Or is some other party involved?
Glad to hear your planning to post photos and news on 28's work progress. That shop/roundhouse at Jamestown is like a time machine...What a cool place to call work.
Dave

Hey Eric, what about the privately owned loco there. or is it gone?

dmaffei Wrote:
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> Will it be the state of Ca. (Museum)
> that gives the final OK for #3's restoration?
> Or is some other party involved?

Since Railtown 1897 falls under the California Dept. of State Parks, namely the California State Railroad Museum, that is ultimately where the 'final OK' comes from as far as restoration work for any of the historic pieces at either Railtown 1897 or the CSRM in Sacramento. Occasionally the CSRM will contract out restoration work, but only when time and cost effectiveness warrants. Most of the work performed at both locations is done by volunteers, such as myself. This is my 12th year at Railrown 1897 having started out doing trackwork and progressing into the maintenance and operating departments. Currently the CSRM is in the process of securing the funding neccesary to restore Sierra Railway #3. I'm not at the liberty to discuss all the details, but I will say that it looks more promising than it has for the last several years. Let's keep our fingers crossed and make sure you tell everyone you know to 'Get down to Railtown!!

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CPRR Wrote:

> Hey Eric, what about the privately owned loco
> there. or is it gone?

If you are referring to Sierra Railroad #34, yes it is still in the roundhouse shown here in March 2003 and still the same as of February 2006. The #34 has been in the same spot where it has been since the last fire was dropped after 1979. Although protected from the elements, #34 needs extensive work to the boiler and running gear. Years of deferred maintenance combined with the new regulations for operating steam locomotives make this a substantial project which is why nothing has been done to the #34 for over 25 years. Until some kind of agreement is made between the #34's current owner and the CSRM, the #34 will remain privately owned which may be a hinderance to it's restoration. At least for now, the #34 is still on 'home rails' unlike several other unfortunate Sierra locomotives.

The other privately owned locomotive is Pickering Lumber's #7, Lima 3-truck Shay. For years it sat near the Jamestown turntable and now sits on the remainder of the Angel's Branch along with several hopper cars and ancient side-dump cars. At one time the Pacific Locomotive Association was involved with this locomotive. It does not appear that anything in the near future will take place with Pickering's #7 other than to slow the locomotives deterioration. It would require a massive effort to get #7 to operating condition which at this time is very unlikely to occur.


SV



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/10 16:02 by SandingValve.

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> If you are referring to Sierra Railroad #34, yes
> it is still in the roundhouse shown here in March
> 2003 and still the same as of February 2006. The
> #34 has been in the same spot where it has been
> since the last fire was dropped after 1979.
> Although protected from the elements, #34 needs
> extensive work to the boiler and running gear.
> Years of deferred maintenance combined with the
> new regulations for operating steam locomotives
> make this a substantial project which is why
> nothing has been done to the #34 for over 25
> years. Until some kind of agreement is made
> between the #34's current owner and the CSRM, the
> #34 will remain privately owned which may be a
> hinderance to it's restoration. At least for now,
> the #34 is still on 'home rails' unlike several
> other unfortunate Sierra locomotives.
>
> The other privately owned locomotive is Pickering
> Lumber's #7, Lima 3-truck Shay. For years it sat
> near the Jamestown turntable and now sits on the
> remainder of the Angel's Branch along with several
> hopper cars and ancient side-dump cars. At one
> time the Pacific Locomotive Association was
> involved with this locomotive. It does not appear
> that anything in the near future will take place
> with Pickering's #7 other than to slow the
> locomotives deterioration. It would require a
> massive effort to get #7 to operating condition
> which at this time is very unlikely to occur.
>
>
> Erik A. Young
> Engineer/Fireman/Conductor
> Railtown 1897 SHP
> Jamestown, CA
>
>
Erik, thanks for the info. I hope to get up there this year and do some chasing, and riding. BTW how much$$$ for the #7?

Here's a shot of Sierra #34 on it's very last day under steam on the Sierra Railroad. Westbound, at Belle Mooney Road, with Fireman Mike Pardina in the cab, May 21, 1980.

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CPRR Wrote:

> BTW how much$$$ for the #7?

By the time ALL the required boiler work, a complete rebuild of the 3 cylinder engine, a complete running gear overhaul (drivelines-splines, universals & gear train) and restoration work to the tender, and that is if you can locate or reconstruct ANY or ALL of the appliances and get them into proper working order you would be well over the $1.5M mark. Just the required machining alone could easily exceed $500K. You just can't go down to the store and buy cylinder crosshead guides for a Shay locomotive. There are numerous parts that are severely worn or missing that would have to be replaced, some of those being specialty castings. Luckily Railtown, who contracted with the now defunct Knights Foundry in Sutter Creek many years ago, had several valve crosshead castings made for SRY #2 (1922 Lima 3-truck Shay) which at that time was undergoing some valve train work. One of those spares is now being machined for installation on the #2.

Restoring Pickering Lumber #7 would require a massive effort and a large checkbook.

SV



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/10 16:02 by SandingValve.

Isn't/wasn't there an ex-Rock Island shop goat there, also privately owned?

Just recently a post here on TO explained to me how some boiler work is done by access through that opening at the top. It requires someone with slim hips and causes skinned elbows and other trauma. No wonder it is called cursatory inspection.
If I would do a more cursatory examination of my checkbook occasionally , maybe it would balance.

What a shame that the #7 has been allowed to deteriorate so. Had it stayed in Niles Canyon with the PLA, it would have been running a long time ago. When I last worked on it at Castro Point, the #7 was very close to operating. Unfortunately, having the U.S. Navy kick the PLA out of Richmond didn't help much and so we had to stuff everything we could back onto the Shay before it could leave the property. It seem to me that Dr. Nickel has posession of most, if not all, of the appurtenances for the #7, but that's a guess.

The last time I was in Jamestown on vacation and had a chance to look her over, I noticed that the tumble bar was missing. That seems an odd item to remove for no reason. Any idea why it was removed? I can't imagine that it would fit the engine on Shay #2, but...?

Brian T. Wise
Benton, KY

speeder3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What a shame that the #7 has been allowed to
> deteriorate so. Had it stayed in Niles Canyon
> with the PLA, it would have been running a long
> time ago. When I last worked on it at Castro
> Point, the #7 was very close to operating.
> Unfortunately, having the U.S. Navy kick the PLA
> out of Richmond didn't help much and so we had to
> stuff everything we could back onto the Shay
> before it could leave the property. It seem to me
> that Dr. Nickel has posession of most, if not all,
> of the appurtenances for the #7, but that's a
> guess.
>
> The last time I was in Jamestown on vacation and
> had a chance to look her over, I noticed that the
> tumble bar was missing. That seems an odd item to
> remove for no reason. Any idea why it was
> removed? I can't imagine that it would fit the
> engine on Shay #2, but...?
>
> Brian T. Wise
> Benton, KY


Well, you young hooligan, you did sign up! Yeh, I agree with you about the 7 spot. When you think how little wear she got after the winter work of '58-'59, I really wonder just how much mechanical work she really needs? Why would someone remove the tumbling shaft? Good question. Al Shelton & I took the 11's apart around '74 or so & made some "joe mcgee" repairs that are still there! I pulled off a couple of the bearing caps last summer just to check.
The 7 is going to waste...what a shame. She was a real puller.

Tom

Belongs to Railtown now. Photo taken July 2004. Has had more cosmetic work done since.

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I'll try to get over to Railtown this weekend and take some pics of the 0-4-0 that was recently given a 'DuPont Overhaul'.

While I'm there I'll get some pics of #28 looking down into the steam dome and what #28 looks like with the tender separated from the engine (just temporarily while the center plates are replaced on the tender). Lastly I'll mosey over to where Pickering Lumber #7 is currently sitting on the remains of the Angel's Branch. Last I heard was that Dr Nickel still had a majority of the parts that are missing. I do know that some effort to prevent further deterioration to the #7 occurred a few years ago (weatherproofing and some paint). But we all know that even with the best efforts, an unused locomotive sitting amongst Mother Nature won't last forever.

Being a Shay fan myself, it sure would be neat if Pickering #7 was able to steam again with a gleaming boiler jacket. Think just for a moment about having Pickering #7 and SRY #2 (decked out in Pickering lettering) double heading a photo special up to Standard with runby's at the Sullivan Creek trestle. A real show stopper for sure.

Oh well, back to reality...
SV