Steam & Excursion > SOO 1003 update

Gleaned from a post on the Yahoo WSOR list:

Another FYI, the SOO 1003 is about 65% done. Any one interested can stop by the
museum in Hartford , WI . to see the progress of how the group is doing. The
goal is to do a test run before the real cold hits to see if anything develops.
After that, the engine is going into the WSOR paint shop to be touched up…….

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chico
http://www.heartlandrails.com

Wow! That was fast !!

Awesome news, considering it wasn't that long ago the future was uncertain.

Thanks to all of those involved in the project, my hat is off to you.

Karl

That's great news!

Wolfman Wrote:
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> Wow! That was fast !!

The required 1,472-day inspection is just that, an inspection. How much additional work is required depends on what the inspection reveals.

You're always going to have to do a certain amount of disassembly/reassembly just to perform the inspection (e.g., pull the boiler jacket and insulation), but IF you're lucky (or your periodic maintenance is exemplary), it's possible not to have to tear the thing *completely* apart, as you would on the initial rebuilding.

Question for those in the know: Do the new regs REQUIRE all the flues and superheater tubes to be removed for inspection, or can you do an in-place examination with video and/or ultrasound and only pull the bad ones?

NZ

NebraskaZephyr Wrote:
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> Question for those in the know: Do the new regs
> REQUIRE all the flues and superheater tubes to be
> removed for inspection, or can you do an in-place
> examination with video and/or ultrasound and only
> pull the bad ones?

http://www.steamcentral.com/documents/49cfr230.pdf

§ 230.31 Flues to be removed.

(a) Inspection of the boiler interior.
During the 1472 service day inspection,
the steam locomotive owner and/or
operator shall remove all flues of steam
locomotive boilers in service, except as
provided in paragraph (b) of this
section, for the purpose of inspecting
the entire interior of the boiler and its
bracing. After removing the flues, the
steam locomotive owner and/or operator
shall enter the boiler to remove scale
from the interior and thoroughly clean
and inspect it.

(b) NDE testing. If the boiler can be
thoroughly cleaned and inspected
without removing the superheater flues,
and it can be shown through
appropriate NDE testing methods that
they are safe and suitable for service,
their removal may not be required at
this time. Their removal may be
required, however, if the FRA inspector,
or the steam locomotive owner and/or
operator, considers it necessary due to
identifiable safety concerns.

The reason for removing flues has little to do with the flues themselves. It's about doing an inspection of boiler seams, removing scale, looking for grooving or pitting, inspecting tube plates and the dry pipe, and making sure braces are working properly. To do that, someone has to be able to maneuver inside the boiler.

On a locomotive with a Type A superheater, this can usually be done by removing the 2" flues (sometimes called "tubes"), but leaving the 5" superheater flues in place. These days, the 5" flues are a lot more expensive than the 2" flues (I believe they're only made in Germany now), which is the reason for part (b).

JAC



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/11 06:32 by johnacraft.

Any steam test done this year would be that of a bare boiler, pre-assembly test that is required per the rebuild specs to ensure the boiler's repairs are leak free before being covered up. So no painting this year, but that would be done after reassembly.

The boiler must be completely stripped inside and out to do a 1472 evaluation/rebuild. The evaluation tells the cost associated. There is thickness testing, calculations done on the boiler, preassembly steam testing and other things deemed to be in need of repair. Time consuming process for anyone.