Re: Sumpter Valley Number 20

The story is that the 20's boiler was in better shape, but the running gear needed much more work than the 19's, so the 19 was chosen to be the first to be rebuilt.

The current boiler work on the 19 will buy her another 15 years, but after that it may require major firebox work. We are thinking that it may be wise to do a detailed evaluation of the 20's boiler so we can determine which locomotive will be the best investment in the future. As the 20 has her jacket already off we will just need to remove the old tubes, needle scale the interior, clean the firebox, and do an ultrasound.

In the short term we have reacquired the 19's old cab and by using the best parts of both we can come up with one decent looking one. That will improve it's appearance greatly. Further down the line we would also like to back date the tender to it's original appearance and repair the rust damage. Even if it doesn't run, it will be a better display locomotive once the cosmetic work is done.

New volunteer workers are welcome, the above work will not cost much us much out of pocket but will require a fair amount of labor!