Steam & Excursion > WMSR 1309 News

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, Cumberland, MD
Local radio station WCBC (sponsor of the 2 VRF Cumberland cams) reports that the long-awaited pistons have arrived and 1309 is expected to run to Frostburg on May 2.
Apply whatever level of skepticism seems appropriate.
https://www.wcbcradio.com/?news=wmsr-1309-pistons-are-at-ridgeley-rail-yard
QRRR

 

Promising a date again? You’d think they’d have learned from their past mistakes of setting an operating date for her.

The answer should be she will be done when she's done, and not a moment sooner.

Oh, well, I wish them good luck.

Posted from Android

Under the radar, the 734 rebuild fundraising continues; the PBS guy's $10K has been matched, a week ago, the MD. Historical Trust granted $100K to the 734 project.

Reminds me of that old joke..........there was this guy at the 50th. street station of the IRT subway who kept banging his forhead on the tile wall until it was openly bleeding ....he was asked why he did this and his answer was that " it feels so good when I stop".  

   You'd have sure thought that thw WMSR team would have learned by now, but evidently not.  

    Let's hope that this time they'll prove successful !!   Ross Rowland 

mdogg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Promising a date again? You’d think they’d
> have learned from their past mistakes of setting
> an operating date for her.

Please provide proof that they have promised a return date.

All I find is "expected by" which is not even close to a promise.

longliveSP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mdogg Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Promising a date again? You’d think they’d
> > have learned from their past mistakes of
> setting
> > an operating date for her.
>
> Please provide proof that they have promised a
> return date.
>
> All I find is "expected by" which is not even
> close to a promise.

IMO saying this is promising a date.
From the linked article :
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s 1309 Steam Engine will make its first appearance in over a year leading the Frostburg Flyer, Friday May 2nd



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/25 10:00 by Spoony81.

I'll believe it when I see it.  Good Luck to all involved.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

I hate to be unkind, When you are used to an organization that always seems to under promise and over deliver, WMSR just seems like kind of a clown show in comparison. I would REALLY like to see 1309 in action one of these days, but given their track record, I'm afraid to make an eight hour drive only to be disappointed. 

Rarely, if ever did a railrod replace leaky rod packing with,
with new piston Rods,  that would have been the worst 
advice that could have given....cost-wise..

If there's problems with the surfaces of piston rods 
the proper way is to take the original piston rods, less pistons,
to a machine shop that has Center-Less rod polishing machines.

(  Center-less grinding does NOT use "lathe -centers", to
hold the rod, thus, "center-less")

Costs should be under $400, per rod.  only removes a couple 
of thousdths ---- will bring the surface back to true & Smooth,
within millionths. of an inch.

Talk to a grinding shop that can treat your existing rods,  very smooth polishing
with ZERO  rod-taper. at a WAY cheaper cost.

All that was EVER needed, was fresh rod-packing, or Rod seals.
Your challenge now: how quickly rain will rust your new rods,and 'eat'
your new metallic rod packing ( seals) .

Their crews' inexperience is painful to watch.

W.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/25 06:20 by wcamp1472.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rarely, if ever did a railrod replace leaky rod
> packing with,
> with new piston Rods,  that would have been the
> worst 
> advice cold have given....cost-wise..
>
> If there's problems with the surfaces of piston
> rods 
> the proper way is to take the original piston
> rods, less pistons,
> to a machine shop that has Center-Less rod
> polishing machines.
>
> Costs should be under $400, per rod.  only
> removes a couple 
> of thousdths ---- will bring the surface back to
> true & Smooth,
> within millionths. of an inch.
>
> Talk to a grinding shop that can treat your
> existing rods,  very smooth polishing,
> at a WAY cheaper cost.
>
> All that was EVER needed, was fresh rod-packing,
> or Rod seals.
> Your challenge now: how quickly rain will rust
> your new rods,and 'eat'
> your new metallic rod packing ( seals) .
>
> Their crews' inexperience is painful to watch.
>
> W.

It’s interesting to note how secretive they are about the whole situation.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/25 10:19 by BKLJ611.

2000 mile opinion was that someone did clean up the rods previously and they ended up
undersized to the point that the packing would no longer seal. I 100% agree with Wes,
unless it's economically cheaper to replace you'd always opt to centerless the pieces and
go on with life. You wouldn't grind a hard chrome rod but those rods on the 1309 were
never chromed. 

Out 

BKLJ611 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> It’s interesting to note how secretive they are
> about the whole situation.
>
> Posted from iPhone


"The former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 has been the heritage railroad’s steam power for the last two years after a multi-year, $1 million-plus rebuild at Western Maryland Scenic’s Ridgeley, W.Va., shops. The pistons were not part of that rebuild, but the railroad says it discovered that replacement was needed during operation in December. “Although this was already in the works, the timeframe has become sooner than expected,” the railroad says on the donation page on its website."

Source: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/western-maryland-scenic-begins-fundraising-to-return-steam-locomotives-1309-734-to-operation/

In the past year, steam locomotive #1309, underwent running gear repairs that were intended to prolong the life of its 75-year-old pistons. The pistons were not part of the original restoration process. However, while it was operating in December, we discovered that the piston heads and rods needed to be fully replaced to keep the 1309 running. Although this was already in the works, the timeframe has become sooner than expected. Parts have been ordered, acquired, and are in the process of being machined and reinstalled.

Source: https://wmsr.com/donate

CUMBERLAND, Md. — Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 is poised for reassembly after spending the 2024 season sidelined for planned maintenance work, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad officials say. The Mallet has undergone a laundry list of in-house projects and subcontracted work aimed at positioning the locomotive for long-term operation.The tourist railroad tapped D&G Machine Products of Maine to manage the locomotive’s piston work, while in-house at the railroad’s Ridgeley, W.Va., shops, officials are adjusting the locomotive’s running gear, boring the cylinders, and installing a new brick arch in the firebox.“We are on the home stretch with the cylinder project,” says shop foreman Dan Ferden. “The cylinders are bored out. We are just waiting for the last few parts and pieces to come back from Maine, and the new piston rings to arrive from New York. We have changed out several stay bolts in the boiler this year as well and we did an entirely new brick arch in the firebox,”Ferden says they’ve taken apart the crosshead guides on the rear locomotive, performed re-shimming and re-tramming work, and now they are moving toward a pre-assembly phase.“There’s been a tremendous amount of problem-solving and custom one-off, two-off parts, pieces and tools that have had to be made to get [No. 1309] to the point where it is now,” says Ferden.

Source: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/western-maryland-scenic-no-1309-nears-reassembly/

"The ailment with the engine came in the form of a lubricator issue. We had done a repair (in the summer) on the running gear. But, the lubricator stopped feeding oil to one of the high pressure pistons. And the repair we did, because it ran dry, it undid itself. So now we have to perform the repair again."Heinz said the pistons and rods will receive thorough maintenance while the work is being done.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/western-maryland-scenic-railroad-ridership-141800034.html


 

If Gary Bensman is still involved, I would think he would know what the real deal is.

Victor Baird

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If Gary Bensman is still involved, I would think
> he would know what the real deal is.
>
> Victor Baird

He may indeed know what the real deal is, but he was done there not long after current boss Wes Heinz arrived there in late 2021.
Mr. Bensman may have had a recent health issue, I do not believe he is involved with any steam project.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- 
> Rarely, if ever did a railrod replace leaky rod
> packing with,
> with new piston Rods,  that would have been the
> worst 
> advice that could have given....cost-wise..
>
> If there's problems with the surfaces of piston
> rods 
> the proper way is to take the original piston
> rods, less pistons,
> to a machine shop that has Center-Less rod
> polishing machines.
>
> (  Center-less grinding does NOT use "lathe
> -centers", to
> hold the rod, thus, "center-less")
>
> Costs should be under $400, per rod.  only
> removes a couple 
> of thousdths ---- will bring the surface back to
> true & Smooth,
> within millionths. of an inch.
>
> Talk to a grinding shop that can treat your
> existing rods,  very smooth polishing
> with ZERO  rod-taper. at a WAY cheaper cost.
>
> All that was EVER needed, was fresh rod-packing,
> or Rod seals.
> Your challenge now: how quickly rain will rust
> your new rods,and 'eat'
> your new metallic rod packing ( seals) .
>
> Their crews' inexperience is painful to watch.
>
> W.

Wes, have you communicated this directly to WMSR?

I would think by now, as we used the Internet for everything else
that they would come upon this site, and its many skilled
steam mechanics, that they should have reached out
on day one of 1309's acquisition, to help them on the rebuild
 if they have, many embarrassing situations could have been avoided.
 

Mike6640-2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would think by now, as we used the Internet for
> everything else
> that they would come upon this site, and its many
> skilled
> steam mechanics, that they should have reached
> out
> on day one of 1309's acquisition, to help them on
> the rebuild
>  if they have, many embarrassing situations could
> have been avoided.
Wes Heinz has been aided by the CMOs of 3 operations in Maine, plus 2 people he hired himself since his arrival.
Maybe you could reach out to one of the individuals from Maine and find out the real deal...
You do remember that the 1309 arrived at WMSR over 10 years ago, and there was a totally different admin and CMO? And that the crew changed again in 2016, resulting in Bensman's involvement by 2018?
BTW, don't think Wes Camp was on TO in 2014, what other skilled steam mechanics did you have in mind that might have been a member here at that time?
>  

I really wish them well with the 1309 project and I hope that they can work out all of the problems.  I will be down to support the operation once the locomotive is running.  I would be hesitant to make any donations to the WMSR as they seem to be going in a number of directions with opening up another line and looking at the WM 4-6-2 that is displayed elsewhere.  I will continue to donate strongly to the FEBT as I can see where my funds are going and they have a great organization and I receive a progress report every month through the newsletter that all of the members of the FEBT receive.

Gary Bensman had a recent heart attack and was in the hospital last time I heard.  I wish him a speedy recovery as I have known him for many years!

Ron

I will be 50 feet away fron that locmotive 
while its moving, it may have unschelded disassenbly 
of its running gear anytime soon.

The problem all along has been with the soft-metal piston rod packing
( seals, and a complete packing assembly). Piston rods, if kept from rusting,
are rarely the cause of steam blowing by the soft-metal rod seals.

They simply cleaned-up the rust-pits, applied new rod packing, and her on the way ....

And NEVER did a railroad make a habit of buying new piston rods!,
when blowing steam is coming from worn, damaged soft metal rod packing.

Now, they've got 4 sets of packing they' have yet to get seated.
I never had much luck with using the existing rod packing.

​W.