Work Continues on the J&L 58 Restoration

We suffered a couple of setbacks earlier in the year that basically shelved the 58 restoration at the J&L Narrow Gauge Railroad in Youngstown, OH for the summer, but now we are back at it trying to get the locomotive finished over the winter. Boilerwork had been completed but after it returned from the boiler shop another bad spot was discovered in the firebox, necessitating a 2" x 3" patch to be welded in . That repair is likely to be completed next week, a few staybolts installed and then the boiler will be ready for inspection and an initial test firing. We are running out of time with the weather and I hope that we can get the test firing done before I have to drain everything for the winter.


During the restoration I designed the 58 to be as modular as possible. The locomotive can quickly be broken down into five major components: Saddle tank, boiler, cab, rear platform and frame/running gear. The only way to access the interior of the firebox for work is to remove it from the frame, so to do that the cab can be lifted off then the boiler unbolted from the saddle and removed.


The area in the firebox where the patch has to go.


In one location the firebox thinned out around a staybolt. It was extremely localized and requires only a small patch to be applied to repair the damaged area. Since this boiler is state certified and not FRA, I need an ASME code welder to make the repair. In this pic the old piece is resting on the plate that will be trimmed and welded in.


I have decided to not use a hydrostatic lubricator but to install this Manzel mechanical lubricator to handle cylinder lubrication. Makes one less thing to have to worry about. The Manzel has about a 2" stroke and will be drien from a crank installed on the end of the radius link shaft.