Re: El Dorado Western Foundation #4 shay

First, I don't think that asking for help is inappropriate and I think your attitude is what is wrong with our hobby. If you are offended by a small museum asking for help, then have a close look at yourself and ask why you are so angry.

Secondly, get acquainted with the fact of the situation before shooting off your mouth. A lot has changed and the museum has struggled through a learning curve that it didn't even know existed 15 years ago. But just to set the record straight, the boiler has failed a detailed inspection by two independent experts. One could only certify the boiler for 9psi, the other said it shouldn't even hold water. Why the detail? The EDWRF decided that for safety reasons that the boiler should be subjected to the FRA form 4 requirements. It failed with flying colors.

A short list of defects not detected either by the state inspector of the volunteers 15 years ago:

1. Undocumented welding of wastage on barrel,
2. Failed weld in firebox knuckle, weld done in 30's by SP.
3. Thin sheets and heavy pitting in belly, over 100 sq/in.
4. Unstayed horizontal / flat area of side sheets at crown bars, excessive strain on staybolts.
5. Missing backhead staybraces that were not installed by Lima, this means an over-stressed backhead sheet,

Simply put, add them up and a new boiler is the only realistic option. The boiler cannot be repaired to meet the form 4's, and in the process, the detailed inspection revealed that it has indeed failed the state inspection as well. Get it?