Ferroequinology: More Running Boards

Saturday, I revisited SERM to spend some time on A&WP 290. The previous visit, we cleared several brackets and attached steam and air pipes to expose a nearly clear boiler shell. In preparation for Ultrasonic Thickness testing, a grid over each course of the shell must be arranged and test points ground to expose bare metal. To access the entire shell, running boards on the fireman's (left) side of the locomotive needed to be installed.

Installing the fireman's side running boards used all of the mounting hardware remaining and, to our chagrin, exposed mistakes in mounting the engineer's side running boards. This image depicts the two large castings that support both running boards and compressed air tanks. Each of the four castings is distinct, not correctly labeled, and not easily positioned even with a crane (of which I have become a precise and efficient operator).



Ultimately, we had to remove the engineer's side running boards, remove what we guessed was the incorrectly placed bracket, place a different bracket, reinstall the running board, install that bracket on the other side in both possible locations, and hopefully achieve the best fit. Moreover, studs can be bent so it's a matter of luck and judgment to determine whether a part doesn't fit because it's not the correct part or because you're not using a large enough hammer.

By end of day, with many possible combinations attempted, all air tank brackets were soundly mounted, running boards placed, and the boiler now accessible from all sides. During the next disassembly, we'll surely stamp each casting and avoid confusion in the future... ha.

Up next, ultrasonic thickness measurement over every square foot of a 37ft pressure vessel with working pressure 201 psi and operational temperature of 450 degF.