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Fillmore & Western Railway bought a 1913 Baldwin Steam 2-8-0 engine, #14, in 2000. It traveled aboard a flat car from Dodge City, Kansas and has been slowly under renovation ever since. # 14 has been out of service for over 41 years and presented many challenges in the restoration process. It is quite an undertaking to restore, renovate, refurbish and bring back to life a broken down worn out old Steam Locomotive. You can't just go to the parts store and replace a damaged, broken or missing part for an engine manufactured in 1913. We have to commission a tool shop to manufacture an outdated and much of the time, a missing or damaged part, that has to be described precisely in order for it to fit and perform its proper function. An equally important component of the restoration process is the team that comes together to research and perform the necessary labor. Finding experts in these fields gets harder as time moves on because so do the ages of the experts. The restoration process on a 90-100 year old steam locomotive is an extremely expensive and lengthy undertaking. One of the challenges Fillmore & Western faces in restoring the steam engine is to convert it from burning coal (its original source of fuel) to burning fuel oil. The process is called a fuel-oil conversion. Both are burned to create steam, which powers the engine. A vast amount of research and time has to be devoted to finding the exact specifications that missing or broken parts have to conform to reassemble. We were able to obtain a set of original construction prints from the Baldwin Locomotive Works that were held by the Southern Methodist University's DeGolyer Library in Dallas, Texas. The staff was able to furnish excellent copies of the boiler and engine, plus other requested drawings to convert from coal to fuel oil. It was thought that all this information had been lost when the Baldwin Locomotive Works closed its doors. Safety is of the utmost concern when working on a steam engine of any kind, but particularly one as large as a steam engine boiler. The nature of a steam engine is highly volatile, and is treated with the utmost respect and care by its' handlers. The main attractions of steam locomotives are their rarity and their history. Fillmore & Western is proud and privileged to own a piece of history and with care is preserving and restoring it to its original glory. It is our intent to pass the experience of riding on a vintage train pulled by a 90 year old steam locomotive to those who remember riding behind one as a youngster and also to their children and grandchildren. We also have an 1891 H.K. Porter logging steam engine 0-4-0T, the #1 Sespe, which is still in need of some repairs. Recently the boiler was worked on & cleaned out, now it is waiting for the hydro test and inspection. The bottom valve gear & assemblies were cleaned and serviced, the steam dome is being reassembled, and the gauges have been re-calibrated. You might wonder since that is a pretty long list of what has been done, what could possibly be left? Unfortunately there is still quite a bit that could be done, which we are hoping to raise funds for. You are probably curious, why do we want it to run in the first place? We use the "Sespe" to help raise funds for Santa Clara River Valley Railroad Historical Society and California Locomotive Preserve, both of which are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. The restoration list is not lengthy but costly; bumpers need to be replaced, the air compressor for air brakes needs to be replaced, a set of rings for the steam chest (cylinders) and a finally a new fire box. If you would like to help on either
or both steam engines and help bring them back to their former
glory, (No donation is too small, it all adds up) donations can
be made to: |
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