Donation of portable welder

The El Dorado Western Railroad thanks businessman George Turnboo for his donation of a portable welder to the railroad. The railroad has already placed the portable gas powered Miller welder in service.

George owns and operates George's Pit Stop in the town of El Dorado. The business is located at 6234 Pleasant Valley Road.

"This landmark auto repair business, owned and operated by George Turnboo for 35 years, is located at the intersection of Highway 49 and Pleasant Valley Road," states the description of his auto repair shop on the Historic Town of El Dorado website. "Services for foreign and domestic automobiles and trucks include brakes, tune-ups, electrical and diagnostic repairs. George's is an official licensed smog test & repair station. Need service? Call George: (530) 626-4845."

Work progresses on the Fairmont A-car

Yesterday the Saturday work crew gathered at the shop to continue work on the Fairmont A-4D gang car. Since the A-car, as we affectionately call it, came to the El Dorado Western Railroad in an operable condition, most work is cosmetic in nature. Until April, the car was used on the Richmond Pacific Railroad.

The A-car will be ready to haul passengers on Sunday, June 26, 2011, in the historic town of El Dorado, California. Please see our Facebook events page for details. The railroad will offer train rides from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Chef Steven Karoly prepared chili con carne with beans for the crew yesterday. Jeremy McCormack cleared a work bench so he could set up chili, cornbread, chipotle cole slaw, chips, salsa and fixin's for the crew.

The father and son team of Ed and Ben Cunha have handled most of the body work on recent acquisitions. Here Ed grinds away excess metal from the side panel after Ben welded a hole closed.

Ben welds a hole closed on the front panel of the car body. The body of the A-car is almost ready to be primed and painted.

Getting ready for floor boards

Wayne Thorley welds the floorboard retaining strip to the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10 with assistance from Mark Bruto. Mark isn't sleeping standing up. He's shielding his eyes from the welding flash.

Call for the oven man

My culinary skills were put to work for the first time since joining the El Dorado Western Railway. Although my occasional meals please its volunteers, they're a side benefit. Demonstration railroads don't need a cook to renovate locomotives and rolling stock.

I was asked to check a standard home oven at the engine house last Saturday. Machinist Sam Thompson wanted to use the oven to pre-heat three cast iron valves for the Diamond and Caldor No. 4 Shay locomotive.

At about 9 a.m., I watched welder Harold Tilton wheel the oven into the engine house on a hand truck. He planned to plug it into the shop's 240-volt receptacle, which is normally used to power the electric arc welder.

Other than a mental note, the fact that Harold was moving the oven didn't register in my brain. Acquired several years ago, the oven hadn't been used to date. I have often though that it could be become the centerpiece of a shop kitchen.

"I had just sat down to preview photographs of the morning's activities when I heard my name.

Where's the oven man?" called Harold. "We need the cook."

I walked into the engine house and looked at the oven, which was set up in the narrow isle between the 39-ton locomotive and a tool cabinet.

"All I can do is to play with the dial." I explained to Harold that my next move has always been to call the kitchen maintenance man in to repair the problem.

As I walked up to the oven, I saw Bill Rodgers, the railway "kitchen maintenance" man, at work. Once we determined that the oven had no power, Bill quickly assessed that the wrong receptacle was connected to the 240-volt power supply.

Bill is our millwright, a jack-of-all-trades shop maintenance man. We've come to depend on his capability to repair almost any piece of shop equipment, including older General Electric electric ovens.

Once Bill repaired the oven, I asked Sam (pictured above, watching Bill repair the receptacle) what he planned to "cook" in the oven.

"As you know," explained Sam, cast iron cracks when intense, local heat is applied to the cold metal. Instead, Sam set the cold valves inside a cold oven. He then turned the oven dial to about 250 degrees.

Once hot, Harold removed each valve one-by-one and braized a layer of brass on each side of the valve. Sam will later machine the valves to the proper specification.

I may use the oven as long as Sam doesn't intend on cooking toxic compounds inside it. The oven and rangetop will come in handy this winter during inclement weather.

There's no reason we can't mix some harmless metallurgy with a bit of precision bread baking in the engine house.

Cuttin' torch

Mark Bruto uses a cutting torch to free the exhaust manifold so that we can remove the engine from the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10. Keith Berry assisted Mark perform a few last minute tasks on Friday, May 15, 2009. Volunteers plan to remove the engine today.

One happy welder

"That piece there makes me the happiest in the whole project. It fit in so nice," said welder Wayne Thorley today on the installation of the rear crown panel on the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10.

Wayne estimates one more day and "we're done with the welding." The railbus project team (Wayne, Steve Karoly and Keith Berry) still need to trim out the side windows, trim out the crown panel and mount the handrail mounting brackets.

Alright!

"Alright!" exclaimed Wayne Thorley today.

The wall panel finally fit after 30 minutes of wrangling and grinding. Wayne, lead welder on the railbus project, and Keith Berry first tried to trim a 3/16-inch strip off the 29- by 15-inch panel with the band saw.

Missing and dull teeth made the job precarious at best. The thought of a shattering blade forced them to plan B.

Wayne reverted to the best way he knew how -- to grind the metal strip off with a heavy 7-inch grinder.

Body work on the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10

As I said earlier this week, the crew made a significant amount of progress on the railbus last Saturday. These pictures show the work on the frame and body to the motor car.

We continue working as long as our equipment holds up. Welding stopped today just before noon when the wire feed to the MIG welder malfunctioned. Since a backup welder has been located, we should continue work in the morning.

These pictures show volunteer Wayne Thorley doing the bulk of the work on the railbus, which was built by master mechanic Arle Smith in the Diamond and Caldor shops, circa 1930. Keith Berry provided design and engineering backup to while Steve Karoly helped where needed.

Wayne sets up his next weld. We lifted the Millermatic MIG welder onto the deck of the railbus so Wayne could reach everything.

Wayne welds a piece of angle iron to the coupler pocket. Keith cut the pieces on the chop saw as Wayne prepared the surface for welding.

Wayne cuts a piece of the old window support away from the left side of the railbus. We're returning its configuration back to its 1953 design.

After watching Wayne weld for a day, I'm impressed by his talent.

Progress on the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10

Saturday, three volunteers continued the reconstruction of the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10. Steve Karoly, Keith Berry and Wayne Thorley, put in a full day. Steve and Keith supported Wayne as he welded new roof supports into the frame.

Our goal is to return the motorcar back to its 1953 configuration.

The Tally Ho -- its affectionate name from its glory days in the 1930s and 40s -- was reconfigured sometime between 1953 and the mid-1960s by then owner Hal Wilmunder. He added the outside walls and reconfigured the windows on the cab/housing.

The railbus was lettered as the Camino, Cable and Northern No. 10 and worked on Wilmunder's tourist railroad from 1964 to 1974. Richard Wright, pictured in the "fireman's seat," recently shared this picture of the railbus and two Shay locomotives in Camino. It was taken in May 1970.

The Shay on the right is the Diamond and Caldor No. 4. Wilmunder moved it from the fairgrounds to Camino in the fall of 1966.

"Friday morning (September 30, 1966) the old Caldor Shay engine at the fairgrounds was moved to the Camino, Cable and Northern railroad yards at Caimno, where it will be put back in operating condition and used on the narrow gauge line," said the October 6, 1966 issue of the Mountain Democrat.

In the end, the Shay was not renovated and was returned to the fairgrounds placed back on display.

Steady hand

I'm always amazed at the steady hand of Dale, the lead fabricator on the Talley Ho Railbus No. 10. He's cutting out a piece from this angle iron for the rear coupler pocket to the railbus. Dale and Keith have re-designed the coupler pocket to correct some problems with the original design. Dale is working on the flatcar to the railbus. Both pieces of equipment were built in the shops of the Diamond and Caldor Railway, circa 1929, by master mechanic Arle Smith.

One Project at a Time

We rarely accomplish spectacular gains at the engine house. We tend to measure a successful weekend by the number of small projects the crew was able to finish. We've learned over the years that the Diamond & Caldor No. 4 is being assembled one piece at a time.

Progress is marked one tie at a time. Until we complete renovation of the Four-spot, we'll have to settle for small, measurable accomplishments. Visually, you don't see much progress from week to week unless you're intimate with the project.

FABRICATING THE OIL TANK LID

We like to see sparks in the engine house! That means someone is working. On a typical Saturday six or seven volunteers gather at the engine house to work on three major projects, which include the Shay, the flatcar and Arnold.

Dale Mace is cleaning the weld on the dip stick for the oil tank. Since Dale joined the project in January 2006, he's become one of the most valuable team members. His skill as a welder and metal fabricator is in much demand during this phase of the restoration of the locomotive.

Jacob Karoly watches Dale install the locking clasp to the new lid for the oil tank. Jacob has been asking me if he can learn to weld. My first response was, "In time ..."

Then on Saturday, Jacob and Dale hit it off. Dale had a helper and Jacob will be able to learn a thing or two about working with metals in the coming months.

Weldin' an A-Frame

This blog come to you in real time ...

This week is devoted to support projects and other work. Welder Dale Mace and El Dorado Western Railway president Eric Stohl are building a large A-frame steel storage rack. Lead machinist Sam Thomson and Bill Rodgers are working on the "Rube Goldberg" while Ken and Scott Romine continue cleaning the journal boxes to Arnold. And young Logan is helping where needed.

Dale use a 14-inch chop saw to cut old boiler tubes into section for the A-frame. The tubes were used in the Diamond & Caldor No. 4 Shay last time it was steamed in 1997. We are using them to build the A-frame because they can no longer be used in the boiler.

Dale and Eric use the first frame as the template for the second. They're welding in the engine house, close to the generator.

Railbus Trailer J-Box Guides

Another blog as the crew works ...

EDWRF welder Dale Mace welds angle iron guides adjacent to one of the Railbus trailer journal boxes. Railway president Eric Stohl said the guides prevent the journal boxes from twisting the wrong way.

The guides only allow up and down motion, according to Eric. Eric and Dale are the primary crew members on the trailer project. EDWRF vice president Keith Berry has been priming and preparing metal surfaces for paining. He is going to use an oil-based pain from Ace Hardware. The color closest to the original is named Royal Red by Ace.

The journal box before Dale installed guides. You can see the damage to the slots as the original journal boxes were allowed to twist from side to side and side up and down. The damage is visible at the base of the rusted spacers.

Removing the Hitch to Railbus No. 10

Another blog as the crew works ...

Late this morning, Dale cut two angle braces away on the Diamond & Caldor Railbus No. 10.

Removal of the hitch is necessary. Our plan is to restore the Railbus to its original configuration.

The extended hitch arrangement was added to the end of the Railbus when it was owned by Hal Wilmunder's Camino, Cable & Northern Railway.

The CC&N was a tourist line that opened in August 1964. Wilmunder rescued the Railbus from the scrapper's torch when the D&C ceased operation in 1953.

CC&N railroad closed in 1974.

Steps hung from both sides of the hitch during the CC&N days in Camino. The hitch has weakened after years of neglect.

EDWRF President Eric Stohl pours water through the rail planks to douse any fires. Junior railroader Logan manned the bucket brigade after Dale completed his cutting.

Railbus Trailer Work

I had another very long day at work. So, I'll post these photographs this evening and return with more on Thursday. Dale Mace, our welder and metal fabricator, and EDWRF President Eric Stohl started work Saturday on the companion trailer to the Diamond & Caldor Railbus No. 10.

Dale's first task Saturday was to replace the two missing truss rod guides. Both missing guides were from the undercarriage.

Next, Eric ground the unthreaded end of the both rods. Dale created a mobile grinding wheel by holding the heavy duty grinder while Eric tapered the rod ends.

The tapered end of the turnbuckle bolt.

Dales uses a piece of angle iron to line the two pieces. He tacks the toe pieces to hold them in place, then completes the weld elsewhere.