Steam & Excursion > 765 At Rest

A visit to Steamtown this morning finds NKP 765 resting comfortably next to disabled sister 759. A well deserved rest after tackling the mountains on Reading & Northern's Lehigh Line.
Ed K.

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Ed K.

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Ed K..

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Ed K. cp Laurel Run

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As always, great photos.  What would have to be done to get the 759 back on the road?  A complete rebuild?  It sure would be great to see both of these steamers together in operation, (As I dream on).

The NKP retired the last of their 700's in 1958.  A number of them sat in various roundhouses until they were finally written off of the roster in 1960.  That means that it has been about 55 years since TWO NKP 700's sat side-by-side in the same roundhouse!

ClubCar Wrote:
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> As always, great photos.  What would have to be
> done to get the 759 back on the road?  A complete
> rebuild?  It sure would be great to see both of
> these steamers together in operation, (As I dream
> on).

I would think that the AOS berk has a better chance of a rebuild than 759... Oh and the pics of two sitting side by side awesome!

Posted from iPhone

Love it!!!!!

Both owe their outstanding careers to wonderful volunteers, crews and the founder of The High Iron Co.
Hard to believe that 765 has trod the same tracks that 759 stomped over, lo those many years ago....

Thanks SO MUCH, ED K.

Wes C.

Very cool! Is there any possibility 759 would be taken outside for photoshoots with 765 during the Labor Day Railfest?

Best,
Jonathan

Yes - that is planned.


californiarails Wrote:
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> Very cool! Is there any possibility 759 would be
> taken outside for photoshoots with 765 during the
> Labor Day Railfest?
>
> Best,
> Jonathan

wcamp1472 Wrote:
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> Love it!!!!!
>
> Both owe their outstanding careers to wonderful
> volunteers, crews and the founder of The High Iron
> Co.
> Hard to believe that 765 has trod the same tracks
> that 759 stomped over, lo those many years
> ago....
>
> Thanks SO MUCH, ED K.
Your quite welcome Wes, I too chased, and rode many High Iron trips, used to run into Ross Rowland at our local hobby shop many times.
Ed K.
>
> Wes C.

Why are the smokebox door clamps loosened on the 765?

-Fred-

flyingfred Wrote:
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> Why are the smokebox door clamps loosened on the
> 765?
>
> -Fred-

So that the crew members are able to open the door.

You know, it's tough to say whether our old friend Yager is in Heaven
or in Scranton right now. Hope the 765 boys are able to do a salute
to him.

flyingfred Wrote:
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> Why are the smokebox door clamps loosened on the
> 765?

You are very observant!

They are open so we can do a little inspection and repair work while she's in the house.

Rich Melvin
Columbus, OH
My Web Site



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/15 07:26 by Rich_Melvin.

The smokbox door DOGS are also open on the 759; little more rusty, though...

Wes C

ClubCar Wrote:
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> As always, great photos.  What would have to be
> done to get the 759 back on the road?  A complete
> rebuild? 

I believe there was freeze damage that would have to be repaired. If you search here on TO there's a link to a report by the NPS about the condition. 

Rich_Melvin Wrote:
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> flyingfred Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Why are the smokebox door clamps loosened on
> the
> > 765?
>
> You are very observant!
>
> They are open so we can do a little inspection and
> repair work while she's in the house.

I had figured that the object was to open the smoke box door but I was unsure why being as the engine is just waiting for its next run. Thank you for clearing this up. I would think that the house it is in would be ideal for doing any work that needs to be done.

-Fred-

More info...

The 700s were equipped with an arrangement of plates and heavy gauge woven wire netting.
The arrangement utilizes a broad horizontal plate, extending from one side of the smokebox to the other.
This plate surrounds the vertical exhaust nozzle (that forms a vertical jet from the cylinders....) the jet from the nozzle is in the center of a circular, smoothly-curved inverted cone..... The two large pieces from a Venturi- like drafting arrangement that forms a vacuum in the smokebox.  That vacuum draws air through the firebed, the burning fuel is drawn into the boiler's fire-tubes and up the stack.  This draft varies from virtually NONE ------ to violent winds up the stack, of a couple of hundred MPH.

At the back of the horizontal plate is a vertical wall of steel, entirely across the smokebox.  The smoke, cinders and gasses pass under the table plate, and curves up, in front of the baffles, eventually swirling up the stack.  

However, there are large, incandescent , chunks of carbon and still burning coal bits.  To keep these glowing sparks from setting trackside fires, and worse, the front of the baffle arrangement a forward-leaning wall of the woven wire netting (this 'wall' typically has a rectangular. steel framed, removable section to access the nozzle and blower ring).

The large,glowing, pieces get broken-up ---by the steel netting---- before they go through the stack.  Large chunks are dropped to the bottom of the smokebox ----- however, the gasses are very rapidly moving, and squeezed under the baffles at very high velocity.  This strong wind keeps the cinders from building-up in the bottom of the smokebox.  It becomes a self-cleaning smokebox.  The common variation is called The Master Mechanic's Front-End.

The netting and the draft appliances all must be inspected often, ------ the netting gets worn, and holes sometimes are torn through it.  Other parts are checked for tightness, and no signs of air leaks, etc.

It is altogether correct to be in there when it's cold,---- and inspect, make notes, maybe pics, to point towards future repair planning.

Trying to fix anything in there while its under steam is virtually impossible, unsafe and shows that somebody didn't know what they were doing...

Wes C.

PS,
If you're really interested, research so-called loco "Cyclone Front Ends"....... Very interesting...



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/15 12:42 by wcamp1472.

Thank you for all of youir interesting information, Wes. You are always good at your explanations and I thank you for all of the effort that you take on each one of them. You are a great benefit to the railfan community.

-Fred-