Oil tank truss mounts

The crew of the El Dorado Western Railway continues to complete several small projects on the Diamond and Caldor No. 4 locomotive. Except for a major boiler rebuild, work on the locomotive is nearing completion.

Keith Berry and Marcus, a new volunteer, have been drilling holes in the water tank to mount the braces that hold it to the locomotive deck.

During the past two weeks, Keith and Marcus have drill the holes for two mounds on the rear deck. They still have to drill the holes for the forward mounts. The next step after they drill the holes will be to rivet the water tank to the four braces.

The team has also drilled two pair of holes for the oil tank mount. They were able to complete the task working over two days (a Wednesday and Saturday).

These braces hold the oil tank restraining rod in place. They help to secure the oil tank in place so that it won't shift during movement.

Since the process calls for precision drilling, Keith and Marcus mount the electromagnetic drill press to the side of the water tank.

Once the drill press was hoisted in place with block and tackle, Marcus switched on the magnet. Sam Thompson (not pictured here) then centered the drill bit with Marcus' assistance.

It won't be necessary to rivet the oil tank braces to water tank as these braces are aren't located inside the water tank.