Steam & Excursion > Testing EBT 16

We came into Rockhill to find coal smoke wafting from one of the smoke jacks of the East Broad Top roundhouse.  We had missed the day's show, which had found Mikado #16 making a test run by tying onto a cut of coal hoppers and a combine that simulated a freight train of days gone by.  Well, crap.

The crew was happy with the locomotive's performance, as the bearing that ran hot at the end of August was right where they wanted it to be.  In the meantime, they wanted to tweak the locomotive's spring rigging while they were working on it.  So it was that the morning of Friday, September 27th, found the locomotive hot and ready to do some test running.  While diesel M-7 would head up the regular passenger trains to Colgate Grove, #16 would head south along recently restored trackage that until very recently had not seen a train since 1956.

Here are a few shots of #16 on that rainy Friday making if not the first, then one of the first, runs of a steam locomotive south of Rockhill since the East Broad Top closed its doors as a common carrier over 68 years before.

Consider this a preview of great things to come!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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very nice

Excellent video, good camera work with nice ambience !

 

I love it!

Thanks for taking us along Mary. Glad you were in the right place at the right time. I'm looking forward to seeing more and more of the 6 steamers retored to service. Ross Rowland 

Fantastic video! Wonder what that rhythmic "squeak" is.

I was also wondering where the little birdie was chirping.  Wish we had that rain here.

That big pile of black dirt never looked so beautiful and it smells great too burning in the locomotive. The joy of just running into a unscheduled steam event.  Excellent video on new rare trackage. Thanks for sharing. 

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was also wondering where the little birdie was
> chirping.  Wish we had that rain here.

Reading and Northern 425 had a similar squeak to it at one time. Valve work in 2014 cleared it right up. Could be the same situation. But that's just a guess on my part.

Posted from Android

Chris Bost
Leesport, PA

1522 had a chirp in the exhaust under lighter throttle that we never found.  We thought there was somethimg in the exhaust passage in the cylinder casting.  Annoyed me to no end.

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 1522 had a chirp in the exhaust under lighter
> throttle that we never found.  We thought there
> was somethimg in the exhaust passage in the
> cylinder casting.  Annoyed me to no end.

I know the chirp of which you speak.  Gave her character!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Frisco1522 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 1522 had a chirp in the exhaust under lighter
> > throttle that we never found.  We thought
> there
> > was somethimg in the exhaust passage in the
> > cylinder casting.  Annoyed me to no end.
>
> I know the chirp of which you speak.  Gave her
> character!

Just my opinion but, leaking valve packing generally does NOT give "character".

Sounds to me like valve ring leakage at port edges of the 
valve bushing.   Also the sharpness, character of the noise seems to 
reduce as time passes, later in the video.

The spring-loaded valve rings can sing like a harmonica, if boiler 
steam can leak-by.  Also it's common that after extensive work that 
involved partial dissembly,  the original 'seating' between the rings
and the ports in the valve bushing have to re-seat to each other --- 
During the re-seating process, you're going to hear gradual improvement 
and, later, the elimination of the annoying 'steam-blow'

As long as there is a pattern of reducing noise intensity and 'character', 
you're making progress..... however, if you detect no change, or reduced 
evidence of improvement, or increased loudness, then you need to examine
further for evidence of wear or broken ring damage, etc.

She sounds healthy.  Best thing for it now, is putting it to work & hauling 
cars.  the nearer to boiler pressure ( at the pistons) the greater the benefit 
towards aiding the final "seating-process";  the process, by design, is intended 
to use boiler pressure to aid in shortening the seating process.
With a 'light engine' ( RRer term for a loco running with no cars),
you can't build up,,,'

​W.

( As long as there is apparent reduction in blowing noises,
   you don't have to disassemble every thing ---- that will simply
   start a new wearing-pair, and change of position, as they again,
   get to be re-seated and silent...)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/24 12:21 by wcamp1472.

Nice video!!