Re: 3/16 Day?

Everett Lueck Wrote:
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> Kevin, T&P 316 has firebox issues which have been
> dealt with at length in other posts, but basically
> result from the fact that the new boiler built for
> the engine was built by a company that built
> stationary power plant boilers, rather than
> locomotive boilers. Thus the crownsheet is
> dangerously steam cut around the staybolts and not
> safe. Supposedly money was raised to pay for the
> rebuilding of the firebox by gathering and selling
> a lot of scrap along the RR and from the Rusk
> Yard, but apparently that money has vanished into
> the rabbit hole that is Iowa Pacific's corporate
> finances, and if you are following what is going
> on, you will see that there is absolutely now
> chance of that money ever returning to the TSRR.
>
> If the railroad selects a better operator, from
> those actively courting it right now, maybe at
> some point, they will do the work, but each day
> that the engine sits, more of the 1472 days are
> gone.
>
> Personally, no engine better typifies what TSRR is
> and ought to be is the 316, even if #7 and #28 are
> better suited to the actual day to day operations.

Hi Everett,

Thanks for the detailed response! That's a scary story. It sounds like a major engineering faux pas. I seem to read about a fair number of incidents of this type at various places (new boiler built....didn't fit, running gear overhaul....now bearings run hot, etc. etc.). One would think that the contractors that did some of this apparently faulty work would bear some responsibility to at least make it right, but for whatever reason, they are never held to account for it.

Anyway, sorry to hear about 316. I would still like to see a photo freight down there. That's been on my to-do list for a while and was hoping that perhaps this would be my year.

/Kevin Madore