Re: Steam Locomotive Maintenance - Avoiding the total rebuild?

kcsivils Wrote:
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> My question is it possible through careful
> planning to prevent a total rebuild by addressing
> certain issues at each major overhaul?

I don't think that one needs to be a steam locomotive expert to address this question. If you own and maintain a car, the principles are much the same....except perhaps for the Federal regulation. The two extremes are these:

1. Run it like you hate it, and never do any major maintenance until something breaks.

2. Adopt good operating practices, watch the machinery closely, and perform heavy maintenance on a regular schedule, to proactively prevent things from breaking.

The 1,472-Service Day Inspection, which is required of US Steam Locomotives that operate on Federally-regulated railroads, IS NOT an "overhaul" or "rebuild." It's a boiler inspection. It only becomes something more if some part of the boiler does not pass inspection, or if there are additional things wrong with the locomotive that have been deferred until the inspection is due. I have visited dozens of steam operations in the US. It strikes me that the best ones adopt good operating practices, train their people well, and address heavy maintenance issues a little at a time, during annual maintenance windows, such as the period from January to April, when few tourist operations are running. Outfits that do this sort of thing rarely have locomotives out of service for years at a time for what some might call a "major overhaul." Other operations, which have poor operating practices, and/or poorly trained people, and/or which continually defer heavy maintenance do indeed end up with engines that are down for years......because by the time the 1,472-SDI is due, the engine needs a lot more than just a boiler inspection.

As the saying goes, "you can pay me now, or pay me later." The way to avoid long-term down-time is to take good care of your stuff, keep a close eye on things, and repair them as they begin to wear out.....not after they break down.

/Kevin Madore



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2018 03:46PM by KevinM.