-Tank #5 Restoration-
Help Restore West Side Lumber Co. Oil Tank Car # 5!
In September 2005, this unique piece of logging history became the focus of a restoration effort, with a mandate to rebuild tank car #5 into an operational piece of SVRR rolling stock. Full documentation of the cars remains were started, and in October 2005, the oil tank was carefully lifted from the rotted flat car deck. There are no salvageable wooden flat car parts, but most of the iron parts are reusable. The oil tank, though still structurally sound, has rust holes around the perimeter and desperately needs to have the rust stabilized inside and out. There are some flat car and truck parts missing, too.
A large amount of time, resources, and funds will be required to make this restoration as accurate and correct as possible. Historical information, and especially period West Side pictures of tank #5, would help tremendously in the restoration effort. The SVRR would like to restore tank #5 to a watertight condition, to allow demonstrations of the old steam powered pump that was used during its fire car duties out in the woods. CLICK HERE for more history.
If you would like to be part of this project, please contact Mike Roberts at 360 834-4638 or e-mail him at: tank5_mike@yahoo.com.
If you'd prefer to contribute to the restoration project in another way, donations are needed and always appreciated.A tax-deductible donation may be sent to the following address, please earmark for the "Oil Tank Car #5 Restoration":
Sumpter Valley Railroad
P.O. Box 389
Baker City, OR 97814-0389.
Tank #5 News
| October 2009 | |
|---|---|
| The first two 'A' end deck board are fitted to the tank #5 frame. Note the holes in the bottom of the second board that will fit over the bolt heads and washers on the frame. | |
| SVRR Restoration Manager Tim Bain checks out the 26 new 3 inch thick deck boards. Widths vary from 11.5 inches to 14 inches, just like the originals. The 4 inch gap two boards from the 'B' end is also duplicated, and a filler board will be cut to fit. On the 'A' end, the opening in the deck boards due to a bolster repair will not be duplicated. | |
| The fourth 'A' end deck board is nailed down. There is lots of cutting and fitting to do on the bottoms of the deck boards. New 60d nails hold them down. Only two nails on each outer end are used per the originals. | |
| The only frame bolts that come up through the deck boards are for the air brake cylinder and brackets. Relief holes just like the originals are chiseled into the top of the deck boards to countersink the bolt heads and 3 inch cast washers. | |
| Half of the deck bards were fitted and nailed down when we ran out of time. The tank is being put on the frame for the winter to keep it dry. | |
| Tank #5 has not looked like this since year 2000. There is still a lot to do before she is completed. Next spring (April 2010) we will finish the deck, and start the tank repair survey. | |
| September 2009 | |
| The first pressure test of the main airline wasn't good. There were several pin holes and leaky fittings in the original piping. About half of the original parts were replaced. | |
| After the main air line was repaired and pressure tested, we put in the flat car bolster truss rods and bars. The third rod on the ‘B’ end is being hammered into place. To give some scale, the 7/8" rod is around 29" long. The flat bars tie the rods together, and nuts on the ends of the rods provide the tensioning. | |
| The completed 'B' end bolster trusses. | |
| It's amazing how tight the fit was for the bolster trusses. The beams are 8" apart for reference. The main air line is to the right, and the long main truss rod passes to the left. Both are supported by a spacer block. | |
| The other side of the car shows the same close clearances. The main truss rod is to the right, and the 1" straight air line passes under the spacer block. Next month we can start on the flat car decking. | |
| August 2009 | |
| A new 'B' truck brake rod takes shape. This ties the two brake beams together on the truck. Thanks to Mike Stewart (Canby, OR) for his welding and bending expertise. | |
| Three new brake rod pivot pins also had to be fabricated. The end on this new pin will be welded shut to form the pin's cotter key slot, matching the original pin to the right. The cotter keys are formed out of half-inch wide sheet metal. | |
| A new brake beam support bar for the 'B' truck was fabricated in Bend, OR. A big 'Thank You' to Jeremy Lewis, owner of Raven Forge, and SVRR member Dennis Jones. | |
| Holes are being drilled in the new brake beam support bar. | |
| Balanced on a truck in front and a steel sawhorse in back, the finished frame is readied for the big move the next day. | |
| Bolted back down to the steel sawhorses that it was assembled on, Tank #5's new flat car frame is readied for the 'Big Flip'. | |
| Supported and lifted by the sawhorses, the frame is slowly being tilted over. | |
| Half way there! | |
| The frame is almost all the way over... | |
| Again using the steel sawhorses, the uprighted frame is readied for its lift onto the trucks. | |
| Tank #5's new flatcar frame is on its rebuilt trucks for the first time! Many thanks to SVRR member Jerry Huck for his finesse with the the forklift. | |
| Test runs were made to seat the rebabbitted bearings, and make sure there were no clearance problems on sharp curves. The coupler height was also checked against the original SVRy caboose #3. | |
| The 'B' end truck is temporarily back out to mount the new brake beam support bar, the brake beam obtained from the SPCRR group in CA., and the new short brake rod and pins. | |
| Both trucks are now complete, less the brake shoes and pins. Seven new brake shoes will be cast for us by the SPCRR group using original West Side pattern. | |
| The truss rods were loosened to let the frame settle into place for a month. | |
| July 2009 | |
| The 'B' end coupler has been sandblasted and primed. | |
| The 'B' end of the frame car has been completed, including the long brake wheel rod and chain. The new brake staff will be machined after the frame has been flipped upright. | |
| Detail view of the brake wheel spool, chain, and brake rod end. | |
| The brake rigging is almost complete. The truck brake rods will be added after the frame has been flipped. One rod will have to be fabricated. | |
| The replacement brake beam cleaned up very well. This original West Side brake beam was obtained from the SPCRR group at the Ardenwood Historic Farm (Fremont, CA). A big 'Thanks' to SPCRR Curator Randy Hees for making it available to us. Randy also determined which original West Side pattern we will use for casting the new brake shoes. A very special 'Thank You' to SVRR member Keith Masterson for purchasing the brake beam, hauling it to Oregon, and donating it to the project. | |
| The 'A' end truck now has the its rebabbitted bearings and packing in place. Quite an oily, messy job! | |
Keith and Ken are 'supervised' by Jerry Huck as the trucks are readied for the rebabbitted bearings. All traces of rust-resistant primer were scrubbed from the axle ends to avoid damaging the bearings. The August 7 - 9 work weekend will see a milestone in the rebuilding of Tank #5. The frame will be carefully flipped upright and placed on the trucks. We hope to get some video of the flip and the first test movement of the car on live rail since it was moved to the SVRR from Roaring Camp in 2000. |
|
| June 2009 | |
| The 'A' end coupler and hardware has been installed. | |
| The 'A' end lower support strap has been installed. The 'A' end of the frame has been completed. | |
| The rebuilt AB brake cylinder has been sandblasted, primed, and weathered. A rebuilt triple valve and release valve are on site. | |
| Smitty has finished rebabbitting the original truck bearings. Installation should be in July. | |
| Freshly machined by Dennis Jones, the new ratchet gear and pawl sit on the original upper brake shaft bracket. The 1-1/8" rod for the new brake staff is also on site. | |
| Getting the brake cylinder positioned took some time. Arnie, Ken, and Keith are shimming the cylinder for heighth. | |
| The cylinder has been bolted into position. The truss rod had to be repositioned slightly for clearance. | |
| The brake cylinder and truss rod are ready to go. The triple valve and release valve will be installed after the frame is flipped onto the trucks. | |
| All of the bare wood surfaces on the frame have been coated with preservative. Still waiting for a repaired draft gear casting to wrap up the 'B' end. | |
| May 2009 | |
| The 'B' end buffer block begins to take shape. Note that the inner truss rod goes through the block. | |
| The 'A' end buffer block in place. The reinforcement plate and bolts are done, and the four holes for the lower coupler bracket will be drilled in June. | |
| The 'B' end buffer block is now bolted in place, and the hole for the brake staff has been drilled. Note that the 1" filler board has been trimmed back to fit the brake chain spool. | |
| The 'A' end coupler has been sandblasted and primed. The unmarked coupler will accept Climax coupler parts. The coupler will be mounted in June. | |
| April 2009 | |
| The 'B' end draft timbers are receiving their coat of preservative and paint prior to final assembly. | |
| The inner two truss rods have been installed, and the 'A' end truck bolster is being guided into its 12" X 1/2" dados by Ken Hittle and Mike Stewart. | |
| The 'A' end truck bolster has been bolted in place on the frame. | |
| At the end of the work weekend, the new frame for tank #5 is nearing completion. Viewed from the 'B' end, the four spacer blocks can be seen that hold the truss rods in place over the truck bolsters. One of the 'B' end coupler support castings needs to be repaired before the draft gear pocket is completed. The two buffer blocks have been cut to rough dimensions and will be installed in May. | |
| March 2009 | |
| A big thank you Russ Simpson (Placerville, CA) for donating an original West Side upper brake staff bracket. Now we need to find or fabricate a ratchet gear and pawl to finish this up. | |
| February 2009 | |
| SVRR Trainmaster Dan Denham has volunteered to rebuild the K brake air cylinder for Tank #5. Disassembly was easier than expected - just like the rest of the car. | |
| The brake cylinder and air reservoir have been separated, exposing the face of the brake piston in the cylinder. Lots of grease - a very good sign! | |
| The brake piston has been removed from the cylinder. With all of the grease, there was no rust or pitting in the cylinder bore - we are very lucky. Dan found that the passage leading to the triple valve was 50 percent plugged by excess grease, too. | |
| Even the brake piston spring and piston sleeve are in good shape with little or no rust. A light honing and a new rubber cup is all that is needed internally. The cylinder will be reassembled and cleaned up by Dan in Bend, OR., and we hope to have the cylinder reinstalled on the tank car frame in June. | |
| December 2008 | |
Last work weekend of the year. The 'A' and 'B' end 1/2" X 12" dados for the truck bolsters are completed. In the background are the 10 new filler blocks for the truck bolster truss rod pads and air pipe supports. |
|
| 'B' end draft timbers start to take shape. The mortised areas in the draft timbers and the inner main beams hold cast iron blocks with 3/4" through bolts that keep the draft timbers from shifting under load. | |
| 'B' end steel reinforcement plates are bolted into place, and the draft timbers need just a little more chisel work before they are bolted into place. We still need to fit the coupler support bracket and buffer block to finish up this end. | |
| The fitted 'A' end coupler support bracket. The long bolts will go through the new buffer block. The 2 new buffer blocks will the last frame timbers to be cut.
Tank #5 work weekends will start again in March or April 2009. |
|
| November 2008 | |
| Work continues on the frame hardware. Viewed from the 'A' end, the reconditioned main air line is now installed, and the brake rigging is taking shape. The two outer truss rods are loosely in place. Just out of the picture at the bottom are the mortises for the 'A' end truck bolster. The ten replacement air pipe/truss rod spacer blocks have been cut, eight drilled for truss rod pads, and all got a coat of preservative. | |
| Close up of the 'A' end brake parts. The hole on the left is for the brake rod to the 'A' end truck. Two of the four half-inch square-headed bolts holding down the hangars had to be fabricated. The bolts are also double-nutted just like the originals. | |
| Close up of the unusual air lines on Tank #5. 'A' end needle beam is to the left. Note the loop of main air line at the top. At the bottom left is the strainer tee for the line to the air cylinder. The tee opening would normally be pointing down, and no strainer screen was inside. The straight air line is crossing the car frame here - notice the main beams notched for clearance. The main brake rod is running across the center. The air brake cylinder will be mounted on the second beam from the top, triple valve to the left. There's still a lot of brake hardware to be fitted between the two needle beams. | |
| October 2008 | |
| Lots of 90 degree pipe fittings in tank #5's unusual air line - 4 in this section plus another 2 on the 'B' end pipe section. The section of rusty pipe has a hole in it and will be replaced. All of the pipe and fittings will be taken apart, inspected, and reassembled with new pipe sealer. | |
| Cleaned and primed draft gear parts and the 8 truck bolster truss rod pads. This work weekend saw a lot of sandblasting and cleaning in order to keep the project going into next year. | |
| 'B' end buffer block reinforcement and original brake chain spool have been cleaned and primed. The last of the truck bolster mounting hardware is also ready to go. | |
| The truss rod sets were marked and disassembled, and the two outer truss rod assemblies are ready for primer. Except for the tank and its two straps, all of tank #5's parts are now indoors. | |
| September 2008 | |
| Finished 'B' end tenons. | |
| The finished tenons get a coat of paint just like the originals. | |
| The 'B' end endbeam is now in place. Straps and come-alongs hold the frame assembly together until needle beams, truck bolsters, and truss rods are ready. | |
| Both needle beams are now bolted to the frame. | |
| August 2008 | |
| Final assembly of 'A' end endbeam and draft timbers. | |
| The 28 foot long main beams have developed a twist while drying, and will be bolted down to the sawhorses until the frame is assembled. | |
| Main beams have been successfully bolted down and cut to final length. | |
| July 2008 | |
| Trial fit of 'A' end endbeam - not bad! | |
| 'A' end draft timber assembly. Lots of work went into the fitting. | |
| June 2008 | |
| Moving weekend - most of tank #5's smaller parts are now indoors for the frame's reassembly. | |
| 'A' end tenons take shape. Note that the frame is being built upside down. | |
| May 2008 | |
| Steel 'sawhorses' are being fabricated, and will support the tank car's frame during construction. | |
| Completed sawhorses are 9 feet wide, and weigh around 500 pounds each. | |
| April 2008 | |
| 'A' end draft timbers take shape. | |
| Completed 'A' end draft timbers. | |
| March 2008 | |
| Four new truss rod pads donated by Jeff Petersen from Ridgefield, WA. These are beautifully machined, not cast. We'll roughen them up a bit. | |
| It's cold and snowy, but work continues. The 'B' end needle beam takes form. | |
| 'B' end needle beam. Oblong holes are for the truck and brake wheel brake rods. | |
| 'A' end endbeam has also been completed. | |
CLICK HERE for more Tank #5 news.
