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    Home » Restoration Shop » Steam Engine Update

    Steam Engine Update

    The Waterloo Central Railway, through its parent organization SOLRS, has access to three steam engines, none of which are currently operational.

    Engine #9

    May 8, 2012

    Engine Number 9 in St. Jacobs in 2007

    Number 9 will be test-fired for the first time since it went out of service this coming Saturday, May 12. This will confirm that the boiler is ready to be wrapped with insulation and it’s boiler jacket. Keep your eyes peeled this Saturday as, if all goes well,  it may even poke its nose out of the shop to stretch it’s wheels.

    More details can be read in this text taken from a flyer mailed out to St. Jacobs residents.

    April 19, 2012

    The steam team has been working very, very hard over the winter. Among other things, the wheels have been dropped, repaired and put back in. Steam Locomotive Foreman Irvon Weber noted that when they had to move Number 9 by hand before the bearings were repaired, they could barely move it. After the bearings were repaired, two guys could move it easily. The following To-Do list is what’s left. It is only a partial list of all the work that has been done in the past 6-8 months (not to mention since 2007)

    The upcoming Number 9 To-Do list includes:

    - Manufacture 6 cellars for the wheels
    - Install oil lines and filler cups
    - Install side rods
    - Hydro test the air tanks
    - Complete superheater installation
    - Put the smokebox back together
    - Air test the boiler
    - Fix the tri cocks
    - Repair the injector check valves
    - Test fire and shake down
    - Install lagging

    March 10, 2012 Update

    Two out of three of the wheelsets have now been turned and put back in place. The final set of wheels have been dropped into the pit for service. Every other part of the engine is being cleaned, repaired and put back into place.

    January 8, 2012 Update

    Santa Claus didn’t bring us too many spare parts this Christmas, but he did bring us a whole lot of volunteers to lend a hand as part of our Dirty Hands Club.

    November 25, 2011 Update

    We are pleased to announce that Number 9 passed its final round of boiler tests with the TSSA. The boiler is now cleared for service and the work begins on the mechanical issues.

    October 7, 2011 Update

    Ex-Essex Terminal Railway #9 0-6-0 is currently in our St. Jacobs shop undergoing boiler testing. It last steamed in 2008 at the end of its ten-year boiler ticket. The current testing will recertify the boiler for another ten-year period. Once the boiler tests are complete, work will begin on other required maintenance on the engine.

    Engine #124

    Engine 124 is also in our St. Jacobs shop actively undergoing restoration.

    Engine #54465 “Tom Thumb”

    The Bluewater Chapter is undertaking restoration of Tom Thumb, Engine #54465, a 0-4-0 tank engine, in Paisley, Ontario.