Water Tank Braces

I stopped by the engine house this afternoon after I spotted Doug's truck in the parking lot. Doug and Keith are meeting tonight for a few hours to discuss the placement and riveting of the braces. They plan to do it in the next few months.

Doug showed me the location of each of the four braces. Two are installed on back end of the water tank. The other two braces, which secure the water tank to the locomotive frame, are located inside the cab.

In the photo, the lefthand brace is visible above the grinder. Unfortunately, this is the only photo that I've taken of the water tank. I'll take a few shots of the brace detail this weekend.

The bottom of the "L" on the brace sits about two inches above the deck, just above the rivet line on the tank. Doug said the water tank will settle once the locomotive starts operation. Approximately 20,000 pounds of water and oil (the oil tank sets on top of water tank) and the motion of the Shay will encourage the underside rivets to dig into the wood deck.