MD Ramsey Wrote:
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> Again, not speaking for Jeff.
>
> When the work on the 346 was done at Strasburg,
> the major boiler work that needed to be done was
> done and the rest assessed based on the condition
> and available funding at the time. This included
> the mentioned boiler work (patch, Form 4), tender
> tank, etc., all with the idea that these repairs
> would get many more years of service from the
> locomotive
at the CRRM. There was never any
> intention at the time to rebuild the locomotive
> for service on a FRA regulated railroad, but just
> for the limited service at the CRRM. I am not sure
> how many service days the 346 has had since it
> returned, but it has been many, but certainly less
> than 1472. With that said, various consumable
> items (firebox, running gear, spring rigging,
> valves, etc.) eventually start showing wear after
> use and time. These type of items are normal "wear
> & tear" after years of use and will need to be
> addressed eventually to keep the locomotive safe
> and reliable well into the future.
>
> MD Ramsey
Thanks! Your assessment of what was done in '04 pretty much checks with what I was told at the time. What I didn't understand was just how much service wear and tear might have occurred since then. I will be interested to hear if Jeff has a tally on the service days/miles she's run at the museum. It's difficult for someone like me, who doesn't work on these machines, to equate the wear and tear of running on a short museum loop perhaps a couple of dozen days a year to what one might see at the C&TS or D&S, where the engines run every day, and run a lot of miles at pretty much the design loading. Perhaps all of the short runs, stops and starts are tougher on the machine than they appear.
/Kevin Madore
