hank Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tom Dittmer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Surely the very skillful and talented staff at
> the
> > Durango Roundhouse have inspected and evaluated
> > the current status of the 42 and have some
> > estimate of what it would take to bring it back
> > into service, and/or completely restore her.
> I'm
> > very curious what they think. A couple years ago
> I
> > remember something about the shop folks
> inspecting
> > everything. I think that contributed to the
> quick
> > restoration of the 476 and now the 493. I think
> > (out side of the 480's ) the 478 may be next.
> I'd
> > bet there is a plan for the railbus and the
> 498.
> > … just curios about the 42. Those guys can
> work
> > miracles.
>
> Last I heard, at 3rd hand from a post here several
> years ago, #42's frame had been broken and welded
> back together roughly that it was beyond farther
> repair and would have to be entirely replaced. I
> also seem to recall that she still has her
> original (1887) lap-seam boiler and that is in
> very poor condition. In short, the only piece in
> really good condition is the cylinder saddle
> (replaced ca 1927) and that other than that it
> would be a case of "Jack up the bell & the cab and
> roll a new engine under them." She was used
> mighty hard for a long time, let her rest.
> hank
The RGS pretty much gave on the 42 in the late 1940's relegating her to "snowplow service" out of Durango. And, even at that she never seemed to go anywhere, with the RGS preferring to rent 464 if they needed to go anywhere when it was snowing.
To get an idea of what 42 would need, just look at the massive undertaking the RGS 20 has become. And......#20 was the RGS' pet, she was in "good" shape.
I have seen documentation that #42 did get a new boiler somewhere in time. She would have been the only C-17 to get such an upgrade. The one of the reasons rest of the class was retired was they still had their original 1887 lap-seam boilers. The Rio Grande in their incredible cheapness didn't reboiler the C-17 because they were built with steel boilers, and therefore could get past the 1911 boiler inspection law running at 145 lbs. The rest of the 2-8-0 fleet were built with iron boilers, which could not meet the new regs, so they had to reboiler them in order to keep running. The new boilers were rated at 160 lbs, which gave them a bit more power, but made them a bit more slippery too.
