Steam & Excursion > ATSF 3415: Season 2

A few shots from the May 15 shakedown.

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Those guys did an awesome job to get that loco restored given the limited resourses avail. Here's a shot from the first wknd she ran.

cw.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/10 01:49 by locohntr.

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I'm making a trip out there at some point this summer when I have the extra time.

It's ALWAYS great to see a steam engine come back to life and the crew definitely did an outstanding job. If I may give one touch of criticism, not a fan of the "white walls". I think it gives a toy like appearance to the locomotive. Thanks for sharing

The white walls were how it came out of the Topeka shops in (I don't remember the year.) The great thing is she is back breathing. The wheels can be changed (painted) in minutes compared to the hours the volunteers put in on the engine overall.

Mike

Mike, I totally agree with you. Thanks again.

Fine work on a fine locomotive, great to have live steam in the heart of Kansas. Have you guys considered hosting a whistle swap of some sort? I have a couple of steam whistles that I'd love to hear on real steam. Some locations in the country have organized whistle meets where folks can bring theirs from their personal collection and for an entry fee can hear it as God and Baldwin, Nathan, Alco, Hancock, Star Brass, and other railroad-shop-built examples intended it.

Thanks

Dan

superfleet Wrote:
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> Fine work on a fine locomotive, great to have live
> steam in the heart of Kansas. Have you guys
> considered hosting a whistle swap of some sort? I
> have a couple of steam whistles that I'd love to
> hear on real steam. Some locations in the country
> have organized whistle meets where folks can bring
> theirs from their personal collection and for an
> entry fee can hear it as God and Baldwin, Nathan,
> Alco, Hancock, Star Brass, and other
> railroad-shop-built examples intended it.
>
> Thanks
>
> Dan

And don't for get LFM at Atchison, KS. I've had this whistle for almost 40 years, and have never heard it make a sound. I think it's just like the one on 3415 anyway, but would love to hear it just once. (Baby Jane's ready to go to, but I'd leave her home)

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superfleet Wrote:
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> Have you guys considered hosting a whistle swap of some sort?

Someone asked about this last year. We would need to install a cutoff valve below the whistle mount, which shouldn't be that big a deal. There was a question of whether or not all whistles have the same threads. That could pose a problem if they don't. I would think they would be standard for each builder. Can you put an Alco whistle on a Baldwin without any plumbing modifications?

Yes, some railroads, including the ATSF, used special threads on their whistles and some other boiler fittings to make sure that you couldn't use lighter weight standard pipe fittings on boilers due to their lighter gauge and inability to take high pressures. I'm sure the guys that have turned wrenches on the 3415 are aware of the unusual/specific threads in various areas of their engine. The way you get around this is to use an adapter that is threaded on one end to fit the ATSF-specific threads and has standard NPT threads on the other end, or you plumb in another outlet for steam that uses standard NPT threads. I'm like the other poster, I have an ATSF 5-chime whistle too that I'd love to hear on steam and it would fit on 3415 easily. My other whistle though has standard threads so it would need an adapter. I can't speak to how many railroads used unique threads, ATSF was one that did, but SP, Rock Island, CB&Q, Cotton Belt to name a few did not as far as I know.

The plumbing can be done, it's just a matter of time and priorities. Perhaps the 3415 folks will have the time and inclination once they get all their current priorities taken care of. I'm sure it is not a pressing item for them, just an idea for the future to continue to build attraction to their great engine.

Dan Decker
Wichita

Boiler thread is "usually" 12 threads per inch. But that's what they are on the Baldwin i work on.

Fantastic locomotive, i would love to see her high stepping down a mainline....

Did they ever get the number boxes fabricated & installed?

RE: Whistle swap.

That is something that would have to be discussed in detail. Since we are located adjacent to the Eisenhower Presidential Library I don't know that they would care for this. We have different horns on our main diesel (Alco S-1) for "in-town" signaling due to this, and then go back to the big 5 chime in the country. Enterprise could be another problem, as the engineers would let the kids blow the smaller horn on the diesels while viewing the cab in the past. We received a letter from the City of Enterprise requesting that we only use the horn for operation (crossings/brake test, etc).

There are local events going on from time to time such as the Chisolm Trail Days in October at the Heritage Center that might be a possibility. Even though this is still somewhat adjacent to the Presidential Library it might be the perfect time as the steam carousel, saw mill, etc are running at this time also.

I will bring this up at the next board meeting in a few weeks and see if there is any thoughts/ideas on possibly doing this type of thing in the future.

Mike

Switchlock, that's a great shot of the 3415 pulling out of the enginehouse. I'm planning on coming down Labor Day weekend. Any recommendations for campgrounds in the area?

Jeff Terry

Covered Wagon Campground, phone 785-263-2343. This is the one just a couple blocks south of the train. You need to get reservations in early as they seem to keep full.

There also is Four Seasons Campground east, about six miles on I-70. Phone 785-598-2221.

ddg Wrote:
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> Did they ever get the number boxes fabricated &
> installed?

This project is in progress and hopefully we'll have em on before the end of the season.

unclebob Wrote:
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> RE: Whistle swap.
>
> That is something that would have to be discussed
> in detail. Since we are located adjacent to the
> Eisenhower Presidential Library I don't know that
> they would care for this. We have different horns
> on our main diesel (Alco S-1) for "in-town"
> signaling due to this, and then go back to the big
> 5 chime in the country.

If you are under FRA jurisdiction, the horn or whistle you use must be compliant with the respective CFR. The town can complain all it wants, but if you hit a car or person at a crossing, and it is determined you were not using a horn meeting the minimum required decibels, you guys will be taken to the cleaners by a lawyer. The engineer may even face being named separately for not using the proper device if it was available to them.

While it is nice to keep the peace with the neighbors, always keep your liability in mind and adhere to the regulations governing your operation.

Yes, we do understand the rules, and yes we are compliant. IN FACT we just tested all of the horns/whistles on all of our equipment with a db meter last month, and all passed without a problem.

Mike

Instead of having the whistle on the engine and running down the track, is there someplace out in the country, easily assibile for people to get to and just switch them around out there and blow them so people can hear them and not offend the town people? upkpfan