Dear Small gauge minded Friends,

Help! In the next 6 months or so we will move 61 pieces of rolling stock including 17 Steam Engines, and to place them on track we have to build 586 meters.
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If any of you have heard about the Perus Pirapora it was the last 2ft gauge railroad in Brazil and operated from 1911 till 1986 with Steam hauling the basic mineral from the glory hole mine to the cement factory where the product was loaded on standard gauge to change the shape of Sao Paulo.
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There are other posts here on the group. But for the benefit of everybodies understanding and sympathy, I have uploaded GPS links and pictures of the railroad, shops and locomotives to the Google Earth newgroup. Please take a look it is worth it.

[bbs.keyhole.com]



Also here is a video that I shot on our trip with the speeder on Sunday.






Now for the plea for help, it turns out that as a half portuguese speaking, foreign narrow gauge railfan that has a mechanical engineering degree and alittle steam experience on the Durango & Silverton (I mean what can you learn there they are always breaking down and wearing things out but putting them back together to run day after day, year after year, decade after decade to the delight of everyone, ok hidden complement here people).

Anyway in a group of 10 people I have the most experience and I've been put in charge of preparing the locomotives for the move. This is where I'd like your advice.

My plan is to start with a garden sprayer, to spray diesel or kerosine onto all moving parts, followed by another day any type of oil I can get my hands on, then another day kerosine, and keep alternating until the fateful day comes.

Surprizingly most of the engines have about 90% of there rods, and the most have been sitting under roofs, off the ground and dry. So I figure the main bearings will be rollable, who knows how many rod bearings are not frozen? But I figure the biggest help would to be get the wedges out of the crossheads and try to get the pistons moved to the front of the cylinders.

I really don't want to disassymble more of the running gear need be less the parts get lost or stolen. Of coarse we have to disconnect the tenders and tie up all things that could drag.

For me the most important part is discourage any idea of using cranes. I have seen more damage to small engines with cranes. Almost no one has the right spreader beams or knows where to guess the center of gravity. Besides unloading and loading suspension and driver boxes that have been sitting in dusty, gravel conditions with spring rigging rusting down sounds like an invitation to jam driver boxes and break weak spring rigging. Not to mention that most of the bottom of the smokeboxes are rusted through.

We will most likely have to take what ever flatbed trucks that the owner of the mine gives us. But these days there are tiltbed car carriers that would haul all but the heavest of our 2ft engines. To me rolling and tilting is the best bet to do the least damage.

What do y'all think? It is sad not to have the right tools but it is their damn railroad and they have been fighting since the 80's to save it, I'm just honored to be at the right place at the wrong time.

By the way there may be some parts, locomotive frames, cylinder blocks, wheels, cars and other equipment that is deemed extra and not culturally "protected" that can be "disposed" of...it is amazing that that there are 140 of any one type of 2ft gauge car that still exist...














You all can back channel me anytime.

with great respect for the experience on this group
Thor

Thor Windbergs
Ludwigsburg, Germany

Facebook: Thor Windbergs
Volunteer G&L RR 86-88
Fireman/Engine Watchman D&S 90-94
Member Frankfurter Feldbahn Musuem, feldbahn-ffm.de
Member IFPPC (Society for Preservation of Perus Pirapora Railroad) Brazil www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/brazil54.htm
Member German Standard gauge Group www.eisenbahnfreunde-zollernbahn.de