Steam & Excursion > EBT #16 Delayed Return To Steam in 2024

East Broad Top steam engine will be delayed in return to steam this year.  16 returned to steam in 2023, and performed extremely last year.  Crews were were doing follow up work and discovered a cracked driver.  There is no predicted return to service but the Facebook post makes it sound like EBT will be diesel for much of the summer.  That is a real shame.  So many good things going with EBT.   

EBT #16 last May on a photo charter
Her Diesel Replacement

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Better to find it in the shop. Rather than on the road.

Nice shots!  Thanks for the view.

Run without the driver - there are 3 more! 

Kidding aside, sorry to hear, but wondering how much
work it is to swap out a dirver with one of the other
locomotives in the roundhouse?  Not suggesting to do
it, but instead, wondering what would be the scope of
the work if possible?

/Mitch

Where is the driver center cracked? If the crack is in a spoke, then that is repairable by welding.

Yes, they have multiple choices.

They will review, in detail, all their options.
Depending on the location of tte crack(s) in the wheel center,
will dictate a method of repair.

One thing to keep in mind is, keeping the drivers of similar diameters 
all matched on the same engine.  If drivers are swapped. the replacement 
driver must have an identical circumference, to the other drivers...on the same 
engine. 

Or, you might bite the bullet. and decide to apply 8 new 
driver tires ...

​W.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/24 17:21 by wcamp1472.

Ah schucks. But I'm hoping to get out there in the future when they've got at least two steamers running.

Victor Baird

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/24 10:08 by wabash2800.

What is the status of #15, which has been undergoing restoration?

Posted from Android

Have faith brothers, Linn Moedinger, retired CMO of Strasburg, has been leading the charge down there on this steam fleet for many years, as he had the confidence of Joe K.

If anybody actually knows what they are doing here, it's Linn.  Not his first rodeo.

And I was STUNNED when I saw what was done with one stall of the old roundhouse to make it into a very creditable, well-lit and clean shop.

I believe the old roundhouse has also been fitted with fire suppression and lighting protection features.  Not always visible, but very important.

I'll bet up to $ 500 ( even money) that the first rate team at the EBT will have the locomotive back in service by July 11th. or sooner. Brad Esposito the GM, and Linn Moedinger are world class pros and very experienced in keeping these priceless tea kettles running. Anyone wanting the other side of the bet please PM me. 

   Thanks, Ross Rowland 

If Linn can't fix it, its really broke.  A first class welder can fix a lot of stuff.  We arc aired out a couple of partial cracks on 1522's drivers and our nuclear welder made them like new.
If its a crack radiating from the axle bore though, that would be bad.

Agreed; a crack radiating from the axle bore would be 
 major problem..

​W..

Nuclear welding certificate is like the PhD of welding, right?

That cert is difficult to get and we employed a couple of contract people with those papers from tiime
to time and even back in the 80's they were pulling $250/hr.

Out 

Surprised they didn't find the cracked driver during the initial overhaul.

Earlk Wrote:
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> Surprised they didn't find the cracked driver
> during the initial overhaul.

And you have irrefutable direct knowledge that the crack was there during the overhaul and should have been expected to have been seen/found at that time?

It's possible that the crack existed for some time.
Its possible that there was physical gap in the molecular structure,
which would not have been visible.  We're talking about castings here,
and not about steel used in construction.  The locomotive tires are steel, 
the wheel center is a casting.

The recent operation of the engine applied compression/expansion
cyclic events that allowed the crack to become visible as a result frequent use.

Revolving forces, under the influence of the two-directional piston thrusts,
and the combined vertical pounding, as a result of rolling across gaps at
switch frogs and other track uneven characteristics.

Over time, varying cyclic pressures allowed the gap to become visible.
Its also the reason why X-ray technology of weldments is used in manufacturing
for revealing concealed cracks or crack-inducing imperfections.  

Certified weldors get $250/hr. because their welding techniques have been
certified by X-ray technology.   And his personal 'stamp' at the weldments are traceable.
But in manufacturing, where contracturally-required, all weldments are X-rayed,
regardless of 'certifications'.

So, yes, the crack might have existed, at the molecular level, for an indeterminate 
time before becoming visibly detectable.

​W.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/24 10:09 by wcamp1472.

And to the two comments and especially Earl's, I think it would safe to say that if the crack was
visible during overhaul it would have been caught. At a customer's request we had a press
head x-rayed during rebuild that came up clean and cracked six months later. Wes is very 
correct in saying that castings can crack.

Out 

Welcome to the REAL WORLD of steam loco operations.
Its part of why diesel-ization happened so rapidly.

You could have a whole fleet of steamers, with maybe 25% out 
of commision, and needing expensive repairs..  The remaining 
75% were also gradually being depleted... it was a constant 
battle keeping-up.  Jerry-rigged steamers that made it through 
WW2 with temporary repairs, soon became inoperable..

And, increased labor costs, made it easy to buy diesels that needed 
fewer 'shop-crafts' ---  the principal crafts needed for a diesel fleet
were electricians & machinists ( boilermakers for wreck-repairs).
Steamers were supported by up to 13 or 14 separate crafts.

Again, a major 'corporate tax' was the entire payroll withholding 
( cash) was & is required to be sent to the IRS, every 90-days.  
That was millions of dollars for some railroads.

That couldn't last long, with so many union crafts...

​W.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/24 16:09 by wcamp1472.