Machine Work Done On No. 2 Engine

I stopped by the engine house this morning to talk to Keith Berry. Other than Sam Thomson, Bill Rodgers and Harold Tilton, it seems Keith and several other key volunteers were AWOL. My intent was to talk to Keith and then return home and complete a few projects.

I found Sam hunched over the No. 2 cylinder -- his usual posture these days. As I soon discovered, he had started the laborious task of disassembling the valve shaper from the No. 2 cylinder.

I walked into the machine shop to check on Bill and Harold. Bill was machining a spacer for the middle eccentric on the drive shaft while Harold was milling one of the slip joints (and here). It was at that point that Bill told me Sam had reached a milestone. He had finished resurfacing the valve facing to No. 2 cylinder last Saturday.

So I walked over to the engine house and asked Sam about the project. Yes it was true. He completed the last course last weekend.

Sam asked me to jump in the cab. That can only mean one thing -- he need a helper to raise and lower the slide on the shaper as he disassembled it.

As we worked, I asked a few questions. Our exchange went something like this:

"What do you have to say about the No. 2?"

"Finito! No. 3 is next." Sam pointing to the "3" painted on the cylinder head. "See, I can tell. It's that one."

The machine work is done on No. 2, Sam explained. He pointed out that some handwork remains.

"How long will it take to resurface No. 3 cyliner?"

It took eight months to completely resurface No. 2 cylinder.

"I'm not finished with No. 2 yet," Sam responded. "I've got to get this thing (Sam's Rube Goldberg or valve shaper) off. I know for a fact that's not going to be easy."

For the next hour, Sam struggled to fit his hand and the Allen wrench into the confined space between the No. 2 and No. 3 cylinders. Tight work space and low light conditions have plagued him since he put the shaper to work last March.

I didn't get a prediction out of Sam. But I'm certain he can shave two months off the time it took to resurface the No. 2 cyliners.

A note: I'll post photos as soon as I can. My laptop -- that's were the images are archived -- is heading for the shop.

Valve Shaper is Working

Lead machinist Sam Thompson watches the valve shaper Saturday as the cutting tool moves up and down. It was cutting one of the inside vertical surfaces in the no. 2 cylinder. Sam spent the past two Saturdays dialing in his valve facing shaper. He was aligning the shaper so the cutting tool will travel across the valve surface without binding.

Bill Rodgers has assisted Sam since the project's inception. It takes two people to accomplish this task. Bill moved the cutting head up and down by hand as Sam made his adjustments. The no. 2 cylinder is the most challenging because of the lack of clearance.

Tags: Shay locomotive, steam locomotive, Diamond & Caldor, logging railroad, trains, railfan, narrow gauge, El Dorado County, El Dorado County Historical Museum

Saturday Work Day

Yesterday was a normal work day at the engine house of the El Dorado Western Railway, located at the El Dorado County Historical Museum, 104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, California. Six volunteers gathered around 8 a.m. to work on the Shay and other projects.

Here's an idea of what we worked on:

Keith Berry, Eric Stohl and Dale Mace discuss the hinge arrangement for the lid to the oil tanks. I took the photo from the deck of the Shay where I was helping Sam at the time.

Dale and Eric heat a strap for the Diamond & Caldor Railbus No. 10. Last week Dale cut four such straps. The straps will be used to hold steps on the front bumper to the railbus.

Everything worked well until we realized that the extra tank of gas was empty. Work stopped on this project since the local welding supply store is closed on the weekend.

Sam Thompson adjusts the valve shaper on the no. 2 engine. The reddish hue on the engines and manifold is not rust. The color is off on these pictures. (I used the automatic white balance setting for these photos.)

Bill Rodgers assisted Sam until he left for work late in the morning.

I spent an hour assisting Sam from inside the cab. Since I couldn't take pictures of myself, here's one of the backhead.

A Productive Week

The crew of the El Dorado Western Railway capped a productive week with a hearty meal yesterday. It began with the donation of 1,500 feet of rail to the railway Monday. The meal was a reward for an action-filled week.

Nine crewmen gathered at the engine house to continue work on two locomotives. The railway is currently in possession of three engines, as follows:

• Diamond & Caldor No. 4, 2-truck Shay (CN 1896), built in 1907
• Arnold Z, the Plymouth, switcher from Glenn Bell's West Side & Cherry Valley Railroad (possibly the No. 11 according to John Barnhill)
• Michigan-California Lumber Co. No. 6, a 0-4-0T Porter (CN 2044), built in 1899

A fourth, the Diamond & Caldor Tally Ho No. 10 railbus, is owned by the El Dorado County Historical Museum. EDWRF Vice-President Keith Berry announced Saturday that the El Dorado County Museum Commission approved funding to restore the railbus to its original Diamond & Caldor configuration.

The commission released the initial $1,000 to purchase metal to restore the steel cab and frame. Future funds will be available to rebuild the Waukesha engine and redesign a new brake system. (I mistakenly reported the engine as a Waukesha. See this post and this one.)

The Plymouth crew of Garrett, Ken and Scott continued work on Arnold. They were able to move both wheel sets to spot where we can load them on one of the pick up trucks. Garrett has working with a few Sacramento machine shops to turn the wheels. They closed the day chipping and priming one side of the locomotive's large steel frame.

Welder Dale continued building another set of saw horses. This set will stand 4 feet above ground level. We plan to use this set to access the high points on the No. 4.

Dale also built a second chop saw stand. Since the railway has a large stock of old boiler flues, we plan to build several saw horse sets for our supporters. If interested, please contact me at my email address (Steve -at- SeabeeCook.com). President Eric Stohl has not set a donation price yet.

Sam's "Rube Goldberg" valve shaper is nearing completion after 15 months of trail and error design and construction. Sam and Bill spent Saturday installing the pneumatic controls to the shaper. We expect a test run soon.

Housekeeping work also continued. Keith vacuumed about 10 pounds of bead material from the bead blaster. He then poured a fresh 50-pound bag into the machine. His next project is to clean the brake parts to the flat car.

I have more news, including the donation of 1,500-feet of high-grade rail to the foundation. I'll post more news through the week.

Designing the Valve Shaper "On the Fly"

This blog comes in real time ...

Bill Rodgers (left) and Sam Thompson discuss the drive mechanism for the shaper head to Sam's "Rube Goldburg" valve shaping tool. This morning they cut the handle off of a ratchet gear wrench. They'll use the wrench to turn the screw that'll advance one of the shaping mechanisms. The discussion around the piece that will advance the wrench head.

About 10:30 this morning I asked Sam how the piece would work. He said he could best show me in the machine shop. As we walked, Sam asked, "You know how a shaper works?" I struggled for words. I have a basic idea, but am always afraid that I'll get it wrong.

"It's the same idea in the machine shop," Sam responded. He explained how how a ram travels back and forth, shaving a thin layer of metal off with each pass. I understood. You can see the wrench head that Sam placed on the nut in the lower right corner of the photo (red arrow). Sam and Bill are now designing the mechanism that will advance the nut and screw to the right.

Rube Goldberg Update

Real time from inside the machine shop ...

Lead machinist Sam Thompson continued working on his "Rube Goldberg" valve shaping machine all morning after the boiler meeting.

A few minutes ago I asked him how the project was going. "Oh, I'm scratching my head," responded Sam. I didn't ask the nature of his dilemma. I'm confident he'll work it out.

Treasure and board member Bill Rodgers was helping Sam earlier this today. Bill has since left for a retirement job with one of the Apple Hill growers.

Inside the Machine Shop

I stopped by the machine shop around 10:30 yesterday morning. EDWRF treasurer and machinist-in-training, Bill Rogers (left), had just completed six holes into a heavy steel billet that was used to pull the bearings off of Arnold Z.
The bearing puller is a simple tool, reminiscent of those made by railroad machinists in decades past. It took four hours for the guys on the Arnold team to pull the first bearing yesterday.

Sam Thompson, our lead machinist, has been building a special tool since the fall. According to the spring issue of The Dispatcher, Sam is building a "very complex portable metal shaper -- a one-of-a-kind -- to shape the valve faces in-place on the No. 4 steam engine assembly."

So I asked Sam (right) how long until he completes the assembly? "A month or two get it up on the engines," responded Sam. "But then I need to build a feedback mechanism and a counter weight."

Sam doesn't see the tool being anywhere near operation until this fall. That sounds like a long time to build even the most complex tool. But remember that we work one day each week. There's only 15 working days until Labor Day!

My next question was more practical, at least in my mind. What are you going to call the thing? "A valve shaper," offered Sam with a chuckle. "I'll have to make something up here -- a Rube Goldberg."

Dave Spohr rounds out the team in the machine shop. Although Dave didn't work this weekend, you'll usually find him shaping the drive shafts to the Diamond & Caldor No. 4 Shay. We'll have more to say on this process later.