The year 2000 was the first year that the WW&F Railway Museum
owned an operable steam engine, rather than borrowing one from other
museums. In July 1999 the Museum purchased a 1904 Vulcan steam
locomotive and gave it the number 10. After some mechanical work on it
during the winter of 2000, it was ready for steam up in April of that
year.
| #10 on its first fire-up of 2000, on April 22. This was a test fire-up to check on the various mechanical issues that had been worked on the previous winter. The locomotive was also fired-up the next weekend. |
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The Annual Meeting on May 6 was the first time the engine had officially hauled paying passengers. The first few trips were with just Coach #3 and Caboose 320. Trips after the meeting adjourned hauled every car on the railroad.
| #10 grinds upgrade with four cars behind her. The engine's sharp stack barks carried a long way as it fought its way to the top of the hill. |
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The next operation of the engine was for the Memorial Day
weekend. The weekend was bright and clear most days, with fair
attendance every day. One fly in the ointment was the discovery of two
leaking tubes late Saturday evening. These tubes were plugged on
Sunday, and the rest of the weekend ran without incident, although the
engine was "babied" somewhat by pulling only the coach, which was more
than ample seating for the patronage.
| The first trip of Saturday morning, the 27th of May. No, you do not see a model, this is the real thing, taken at the power lines at the northern end of the line. |
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| Coaling up, Sunday evening. This engine is extremely economical on coal. |
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Father's Day weekend was the next fire-up event. This was done with some trepidation as to whether any more tubes would begin to leak, but none did. Some coal was brought by Bob Longo and Steve Knobloch of New York. The last steam-up in June was for the Lincoln County Regional Fair, June 26 and 27. There were no hitches to her operation and no more leaking tubes.
Because of fears that the tubes would go, #10 was not fired up again until the Annual Picnic, in the middle of August. The picnic was a great success, with #10 pulling numbered trains ranging from passenger consists to mixed freights.
Picnic preparations began Friday morning, with the steam-up of #10. Trains were scheduled for that evening, and a good number of people showed up to take advantage of that. While the trains were running, the Alna Fire Department was setting up for cooking the following day.
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Saturday dawned partly cloudy. Mobs of people descended on the Museum that day, and every train went out full or mostly full. In addition to the steam trains, Model-T railcars were available for rides in between times. Not only was the SR&RL #2 railcar there, but the SR&RL Vose inspection car was present as well. Not since Sandy River days have these two cars run together.
Boothbay Railway Museum provided a Model-T automobile for "stagecoach" service between one of the private railroad crossings and Sheepscot Station. Also present were a number of operating antique gas engines, provided by Roger Whitney and Richard Verney. All-in-all at times it got interesting, with the noise of one-lungers and old engines chuffing away on one side, the sound of Model-T motors rattling on another, and the whine of a steam generator on a third side.
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Sunday was cloudy all day and threatened rain, but fortunately it held off. Crowds were much smaller than Saturday. Richard Verney's antique engines were back, as well as the Model-T auto and railcars.
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A big "thank you" must go out to all those who helped make this possible: the volunteers, the Alna Fire Department, Boothbay Railway Village, Owl's Head Transportation Museum, Maine Narrow Gauge, and especially the fans and visitors of the railroad.
#10 was also fired up on Labor Day Weekend, for what was the last time in 2000. The engine proved once again that she is most economical on coal. The crowds as well as the volunteers enjoyed this year's last public running of the engine.
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The very next day, Labor Day, a crew of five or six began stripping the engine of all extra equipment, such as running boards, external plumbing, and sand dome, in order to facilitate removal of the asbestos insulation for boiler inspection and tube replacement.
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By the following Saturday the asbestos abatement crew left behind a very naked-looking locomotive. Crews continued the work of removing items from the engine to get ready for tube removal and boiler repair. By mid-month ultrasounds had been done of various spots on the boiler, with numbers chalked by the spots, and the front of the cab had been removed for easier access.
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The last tube came out October 21.
On January 15, 2001, welders were present to repair some thin spots in the boiler, leaving the way open to begin installing the tubes once they left. As January progressed into February, the boiler tubes were installed, rolled, and beaded. The railroad's master mechanic and other volunteers spent many cold days first preparing the boiler and the tubes for installation, then installing them.
| One of the volunteers rolls the tubes from the smokebox end. "Rolling" involves squeezing the tube wall out until it is snug against the wall of the tube sheet. |
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| Installation for fifty-two rolled and beaded tubes is complete in the firebox end of the locomotive. "Beading" is where the tube ends are flattened against the tube sheet wall. It is now time to begin the process of hydro-testing. |
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Once the installation of the tubes were complete at the end of February, the locomotive underwent a series of hydrostatic tests in March. A hydrostatic test involves pumping water into the boiler and applying pressure to the boiler to see if there are any leaks at the joints between the tubes and the boiler wall. Predicatably enough, the first test found many leaks. Subsequent tests found fewer and fewer leaks until the official hydro at the end of March.
With the passing of the last hydro test, reassembly of the engine began.
| March 31: The boiler has been painted in high-temperature paint, the lube lines to the cylinders are in, and the bell bracket and sand dome are back on. |
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| April 15: Insulation has been wrapped around the boiler, and the job of fitting the boiler jacket is well in hand, but it's not complete yet. |
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| April 22: The new jacket gleams in the bright of day. The bell's been shined and re-installed. |
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| May 12: Work is underway inside the smoke box to remove the broken-off bolts from the previous steam pipes |
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| May 12: A close-up of the cab reveals insulation of the boiler in the cab, piping is nearly complete, and a steel sheet that will serve as part of the front of the cab has been installed. |
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| May 19: Vernon peers down the stack at something in the smokebox. Cab front replacement pieces are nearly all in place. The tender tank has been re-lettered (in chalk, temporarily), based on a 1907 lettering style. There's still just a little more work in the smokebox before fire-up. |
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After many late nights after work and busy weekends, the crew were rewarded with a test fire-up on Sunday May 20th, just one week before Memorial Day weekend. Nearly everything went smoothly.
In the week between the fire-up and Memorial Day weekend, the locomotive was painted, relettered, and re-windowed. Many non-essential details were left until the last minute, such as running boards which were installed between runs on Saturday.
| #10 steams up-grade on Memorial Day weekend. One problem with many two-foot gauge engine cabs is that quarters are really tight! |
| #10 pulls into Sheepscot, past Boxcar 309, on Saturday May 26, with Tom at the throttle. |
On June 23, #10 was fired up early in the morning for work train service, hauling a flatcar full of ballast to the end of the line. The engine was used on the work train until just before 10 AM, when it was returned to passenger service.
| #10 heads a short ballast train on June 23rd, early in the morning, much like the railroads of old would do for new track. |
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The engine was used for several weekends that summer.