Primary contractors include:
Steam Operations Corporation is
responsible for work on the cylinder and frame
Listerhill TMC
facility
TVRM
facility
Historic Machinery Services is responsible for the boiler
Back Shop Enterprises is responsible for compressors and pumps
Engineering drawings used by Steam Operations Corp in rebuilding the
cylinders & frame:
(click on the image to get a higher resolution PDF file)
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July 23, 2013 (Sorry for the long delay in updates.) 786 parts were returned to Cedar Park, TX in late April & early May, 2013. Restoration will continue locally as funding allows. Current focus is on protecting the parts from the elements & doing what we can with limited funding. We will be working toward the next major milestone of getting the frame mounted on the drivers.
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March 8, 2012 The fully machined cylinders are now permanently installed on the frame!
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December 22, 2011 Final mounting of the cylinder-saddle to the frame is nearly complete.
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April 4, 2011 Machining of the cylinder-saddle casting is now complete!! Final mounting to the frame is the next major step.
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November 15, 2010 On October 26-27, the completed boiler was moved from Historic Machinery's shop in Steele, AL to the Steam Operations shop at Listerhill TMC in Muscle Shoals, AL. The boiler will be stored indoors until it's time to mount it onto the frame & cylinder saddle.
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May 3, 2010 These are some photos contributed by Jason Lamb, an employee at Historic Machinery. He documented some of the more interesting final stages of completing 786's boiler
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   Photo: Jason Lamb |
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November 23, 2009 The boiler is complete and passed hydro test!
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.JPG) Photo: John Mandell |
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September 7, 2009 Work on cylinders, heads, crossheads, wrist pins and drawbar center casting.
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.JPG) .JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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August 24, 2009 More machining work. Photos of work on new cylinder heads and Crosshead.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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August 13, 2009 Lots of machining work going on. New driver bearing boxes are being machined. The cylinders are being prepared for the fitting to the frame, and side & intermediate rods are completed.
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.JPG) .JPG) .JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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August 1, 2009 Boiler update and more details on the Knuckle Pin machining.
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.jpg) .jpg) .JPG) Photo: Historic Machinery Services, Steam Operations Corporation |
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July 27, 2009 The freshly poured drawbar center casting just out of the mold at a foundry in Chattanooga, TN. The first of several updates on this interesting new piece of steel.
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.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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July 26, 2009 In Steele, AL, the new Smoke Box bottom is being fitted to the boiler. In Muscle Shoals, AL, cleaning up the side rods for a proper fit has begun. |
.jpg) .JPG) Photo: Historic Machinery Services, Steam Operations Corporation |
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June 2, 2009 New cylinder heads have arrived at TMC and are ready for machining. Pistons are readied for new rings.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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April 27, 2009 Cylinder saddle: upper frame rail machining continues. Work begins on building patterns for new/improved front & rear cylinder heads.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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April 16, 2009 Cylinder saddle: completion of drilled & tapped holes and beginning of work to create the "slots" through the casting webs for the upper frame rail to seat into. Work begins on fitting the eccentric cranks & side rods to the newly machined/quartered drivers & crank pins.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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April 9, 2009 Work continues on the rear cylinder head faces. All the stud holes are drilled, ready for tapping. Work has also begun on the assessment & design of the rods
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.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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March 28, 2009 Work continues on the cylinder head faces. These are trial cuts to validate the design. The faces will be cut to final length later.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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March 18, 2009 Many detailed machining operations need to be completed before the cylinder can be finally mounted to the frame. These photos show the cylinders mounted vertically for several machining locations.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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March 5, 2009 Inspection, cleaning & repair of pilot truck. Work has begun on replacing the cylinder heads.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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February 11, 2009 More activity on the frame, spring rigging and linkages
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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February 10, 2009 The Trailing Truck is the final, large shipment to Muscle Shoals. Robert Stubbs, Fairfield Trucking, prepares the wide load for the trip. Greg Duepner assists the Crocker Crane operator. |
.jpg) .jpg) Photo: John Mandell |
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February 6, 2009 A new smoke box bottom was rolled from 1/2" plate and a successful trial fit to the cylinder saddle was made. After all the openings and mounting holes are complete, this piece will be welded to the existing upper half of the smoke box on the boiler. Later, this becomes the main attachment point of the boiler to the frame Pistons & cross heads are assembled and measured. These dimensions will be used to precisely locate the cylinder saddle onto the frame.
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.JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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January 30, 2009 While the cylinder-saddle is the most prominent feature of the frame, there are many elements of the frame restoration that are being worked on in parallel. Below are photographs of several of these projects, including: Box hangers for the spring rigging
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.JPG) .JPG) .JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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January 20, 2009 The last large truck load of parts is delivered to Muscle Shoals by Fairfield Trucking. |
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January 19, 2009 Work is continuing on cylinder saddle, suspension and parts of the frame. Some new frame rails have been initially fabricated, and work is progressing on the drawbar casting & various suspension components.
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_small.JPG) _small.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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January 13, 2009 The cylinder saddle is being layed out & drilled for the floor of the smoke box.
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.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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December 18, 2008 Assembly of the truck center casting and cylinders is progressing at Muscle Shoals.
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.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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December 8, 2008 The new tires are installed on the 786 driver centers. Then the crank pins are quartered, ensuring they are exactly 90 degrees and exactly the same distance from the axle center. The finished drivers have been delivered to Muscle Shoals, ready to be fitted to the frame.
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.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
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December 5, 2008 Steam Operations Corporation, Muscle Shoals, AL: For the first time the new cylinder-saddle has been mated up with the frame, and it fits perfectly. This is only a test fit, and there is more machining to be done, but this is a real milestone!! |
.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
| October 16, 2008 Boiler work in Steele, AL is progressing well. Pretty much all that remains is installation of the tubes & flues. We're not in a particular hurry to complete this task as it's ahead of the cylinder & frame work going on in Muscle Shoals, AL. It would be nice if everything got completed at about the some time so the boiler could be fitted to the frame "just in time". Well, we'll do the best we can with this old machinery and various project competing for shop time.!
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.jpg) Photo: John Mandell |
| November 15, 2008 The Air Compressor and Cold Water pump restoration has been completed and delivered back to Austin. The work was done by Bernie Watts, a long time friend of ASTA, Backshop Enterprises in Wheat Ridge, Colorado (near Denver). (photos coming soon!)
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October 8, 2008 In Muscle Shoals, work on machining the cylinder-saddle is progressing well. There have been the usual delays, but no serious problems. The driver bearing boxes were delivered in late Summer. After cleaning them up, it was discovered that the boxes are not in very good shape and will have to be replaced. Casting new driver boxes is not overly complex, but it is costly and was not anticipated. But, it has to be done and will be worked into the schedule & budget.
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.JPG) hoto: Steam Operations Corporation .JPG) hoto: Steam Operations Corporation |
| September 3, 2008 After several surprises (that happens a lot with old machinery!) and extensive work in the firebox area, work on the boiler had gotten ahead of the cylinder machining. So, when another boiler project came along, we agreed to temporarily suspend work on 786's boiler for 5-6 months. Now, Historic Machinery (Bob Yuill) has just resumed work on the boiler - there is still plenty to do!
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 Photo: Historic Machinery |
| Aug 8, 2008 The Tires have arrived at TVRM in Chattanooga! They look great & and are awaiting the opportunity to heat-shrink them on to the driver centers. After that, the crank pins will be quartered and then the completed drivers will be delivered to Muscle Shoals to be integrated with the frame.
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 Photo: Pat Powers |
| July 8, 2008 Mounting & Machining Cylinder-Saddle Surface July & August will be active months of machining for 786's cylinder castings. The bottom of the cylinders has been machined to fit on the frame. A special machining fixture has been made to hold the cylinders in position for machining on the big horizontal boring mill. The cylinders are mounted on the fixture and aligned with the mill. The next machining step is to cut the 3.5 foot radius that forms the base for the bottom of the boiler's smoke box. By the time the cylinder castings have been completely machined and mounted on the frame, approximately 4,000 pounds of chips will have been removed!
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.JPG) Photo: Steam Operations Corporation |
| April 30, 2008 In April. 2008, volunteers Bill Nash & John Mandell delivered about 8,000 pounds of 786 components to Steam Operations Corporation in Muscle Shoals, AL. The machining of the cylinder-saddle is progressing well as you can see from these photos.
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 Photo: Bill Nash |
Webmaster:
jmandell2@pointech.com