Steam & Excursion > Santa Fe 2926 .... who knew?

Santa Fe 2926 at Albuquerque New Mexico, 28 April 1998. Never in a million years did I guess that she would be restored to operation. Her long slumber is about to be over. Kudos to the NMSL&RHS for accomplishing the seemingly impossible. BUT, they have had a minor setback with the rails. According to their website “We have had a partial derailment of the trailing truck, right over the rear of the pit, with structural damage to the pit I-beam on the fireman side.” Fixing this is going to delay the first steam up and is going to require additional funds. I humbly submit they are worthy of your support.

http://www.nmslrhs.org/

Regard,
Burlington John

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Oh, that is a beautiful photo!! What a locomotive!

Margaret_SP_fan Wrote:
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> Oh, that is a beautiful photo!! What a
> locomotive!
I agree but where will she run? Is she on a regional or short-line railroad?

John

Raton Pass would be nice.

I believe we've related the fact several dozen times that the live rail connection is to the State of
New Mexico owned trackage devoted to the RailRunner intercity trains. So somewhere between Belen and
Santa Fe (a fair number of miles) the 2926 could be utilized.

Out

Running the engine depends on three things, all of which are related to Amtrak:

1. Keeping the Southwest Chief route open through New Mexico. Amtrak is making noises about shutting it down because it only has two trains a day, #3 and #4. and is too expensive to maintain. They have held up the newest Tiger grant for rehabing the Raton subdivision saying all money to complete the job must be identified and encumbered before they will authorize Tiger grant money to be spent. Also, they want PTC on the route, even though that stretch has a FRA waiver. Without PTC they may limit their trains to 20 mph or so that would greatly reduce passenger use and allow Amtrak to make a case for elimination.

2. Amtrak's March 28 actions have cancelled 22 Amtrak approved and sponsored charters this year. That includes all charters with steam engines (261, 4449) when Amtrak participation is necessary for insurance purposes. Without this, charters would have to pay such a substantial policy premium as to make them completely unaffordable.

3. Along with sponsored charters, Amtrak has prohibited private cars from moving on their trains except from terminal to terminal, and has restricted the cars being maintained at Amtrak maintenance locations (e.g. no wheels turned, no non-safety items worked on (e.g. A/C, electrical, etc.)). Charges for private car maintenance are paid by the owners and add to Amtrak's bottom line. With cars not being available because of location or maintenance, passenger consists for excursions will be severely limited, again making ticket prices prohibitive.

Edit: Based on a very recent private reply, it appears that the April 18, 2018 Amtrak maintenance restrictions mentioned in #3 above are in flux and hopefully less severe limitations will prevail.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/18 16:36 by Cumbresfan.

callum_out Wrote:
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> I believe we've related the fact several dozen
> times that the live rail connection is to the
> State of
> New Mexico owned trackage devoted to the
> RailRunner intercity trains. So somewhere between
> Belen and
> Santa Fe (a fair number of miles) the 2926 could
> be utilized.
>
> Out

It will never run to Santa Fe as 1) there is no place to turn the engine and 2) NM DOT is requiring it to have Amtrak insurance to run passengers on NM DOT tracks. They are currently between a rock and a hard place which is why it is so important to have Amtrak's draconian policies removed and replaced. Contact your local and state representatives and explain how these new edits are so damaging and are hurting economic efforts in communities across the country.

In the face of this latest setback and Amtrak's decisions, they are moving ahead to make the engine ready for service in the hope that the political winds will change and Amtrak once again will become hospitable to activities which add economically to their financial bottom line.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/18 15:08 by Cumbresfan.

Would BNSF allow her to do a break in run on their track somewhere around Albuquerque? Any wyes still around on the Transcon?

Posted from iPhone

A break in run on the Transcon?? No and no. Becasue of immense volume of freight traffic and legal issues (engine is an attractive nuisance). BUT, not withstanding NMDOT insurance issues with passenger rides, there may be an opportunity to see non-passenger break ins if non-Amtrak insurance problems can be ironed out. If the DOT requires full Amtrak insurance for break in runs, the same problem results.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/18 15:41 by Cumbresfan.

Recent photo of the engine.
(Photo by Erich Varnes)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/18 15:49 by Cumbresfan.

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We're going to end up with TWO restored Santa Fe Northerns that have no place to run.

Gee.......and I was waiting for a doubleheader.

Never say never. Keep the faith. People are working on the issues.

I predict the two Santa Fe engines will prevail and will put on quite a show.

Cumbresfan Wrote:
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> 3. Along with sponsored charters, Amtrak has
> prohibited private cars from moving on their
> trains except from terminal to terminal, and has
> restricted the cars being maintained at Amtrak
> maintenance locations (e.g. no wheels turned, no
> non-safety items worked on (e.g. A/C, electrical,
> etc.)). Charges for private car maintenance are
> paid by the owners and add to Amtrak's bottom
> line. With cars not being available because of
> location or maintenance, passenger consists for
> excursions will be severely limited, again making
> ticket prices prohibitive.

Amtrak has not so far prohibited private car owners from working on their own cars and has actually made eminently reasonable accommodations so that we can fix issues that come up with the cars, at least in Los Angeles. Amtrak has said that it perform repairs beyond FRA-required repairs to safety appliances while in a train. I don't know what the means exactly. Some more recent information has indicated that they may still replace wheelsets and true them on Amtrak wheel lathes as needed.

It should be remembered that prior to the rule changes, very little of the work done on private cars was actually handled by Amtrak employees. Generally, the work Amtrak performed was limited to very heavy repairs of trucks and couplers. For example, In January and February, I completed a COT&S for Tioga Pass in Los Angeles. That included changing the brake valves, removing and servicing eight brake cylinders, replacement of all undercar hoses, and a variety of other tasks.

Following the annual inspection, I remedied several defects noted ranging from minor (a missing plastic cap in the end of a bearing) to moderate (a cutout cock handle that wouldn't open all the way due to incorrect orientation). Amtrak's shops repaired other major problems, such as rolling out the A-end truck to insert 1/2" of shims under the center plate to raise the end of the car to the correct height. That was the first time Amtrak had done such work in a couple of years.

The problem will come if Amtrak will no longer perform the running gear repairs they have in the past. That would mean working in the dirt to jack up a car (if that can be done on site) while only steps away from a fully equipped and staffed shop. That's neither the safest nor the most economical option.

Latest I heard, very soon, 2926 was to make inaugural round-trip tourist runs, Abq to Las Vegas, NM, 132 miles away, then 79 more miles to the nearest turning wye at French, the former York Canyon mine spur.
There's a rickety, tight-radius wye on the way at Lamy Junction serving a spur from Santa Fe, would not chance using it.

Running a heavy steamer backwards fast I've heard is asking for a derailment.
And sometimes, backing up at 1 mph gives problems.

From pics, it looks like the WF rail support beam on the fireman's side got over-stressed, bent outwards just enough, pulling the opposite truck wheel(s) slightly into the gauge, off the rail. The rails themselves look intact.
I think this is the first time engine and tender were carrying lots of fuel and water over the pit.

Uncoupling the tender is work in itself...the two mega-drawbars weigh at least 500 pounds each, their hard-to-maneuver swivel pins are 90 heavy pounds apiece, having helped put one back in once.
Apparently, Hulcher Services is to carefully move '26 off the pit area with side-boom Cats, just as were used to get '26 out of Coronado Park and onto a nearby siding years ago.

And it looks like its back to the drawing board for pit repairs and improvements.
Good luck.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/18 21:47 by Abqfoamer.