Radiator assembly

These are some of the great volunteers at the Saturday morning paper recycling at the Train museum. It was a cold windy 33 degree March morning in Norh East, Pennsylvania.

I got the new TitanX radiator core from the station. After removing one of the test tanks from the end of the core, I got a group of volunteers who were working on the gift shop in the station. We lifted the core up by hand and put it in place on the bottom tank.

While they went back to work, Charley and I put in some of the bolts that connect the core to the bottom tank. I removed the other test tank from the top and got the guys again to help with the top tank. We found that the top tank weighed more than the core and we needed to get the tractor with fork lift to get the top tank up to a level where Charles and I could move it over in place on top of the core.
When we got it in place it didn’t fit right. The radiator needs to be disassembled and a seam on the top and bottom of the core ground down and re-soldered then reassembled.

Chris and the guys from TitanX finished building the radiator core. The sheet metal man at TitanX did a beautiful job of fabricating test tanks so that the core could be sealed up and air tested. Two small leaks were repaired and the core was ready for delivery. Ryan transported the radiator core up to the museum. Now Hank and I have to get up there and install it.

I took advantage of a break in the weather in January to go up to the museum and check on the Whitcomb. Everything was in order. The Polar Summit was getting a broken spring replaced. I posted a picture that I took this fall of NS dropping off ties. The train was moving along while the excavator was running on top of the gondola cars. Two men were walking along directing the excavator operator where to drop the ties. It was interesting to watch.

Happy Holidays. We just had 3 feet of snow in December. I need to think back to warmer days like Memorial day, May 2010 when the LSRHS crew moved the Little Joe. Part of the move involved putting the refer on the Clifstar track. This required something like a flying switch. Watch the video below.

Titanx Radiator Core

Chris Bohn works for Titanx. Chris decided to take on the project of making a radiator core for the museum’s Whitcomb locomotive. Even though Titanx makes radiators for trucks and buses, they did not have a stock core big enough for the Whitcomb locomotive. Company president, Matt Moore, gave permission to build a super radiator using Titanx company resources, as time permitted.
The top and bottom pieces of the core are called the headers. Hollow tubes are soldered between the headers to make the core. Special headers were made by splicing two standard headers together. This was done with special wire in the Titanx sample shop. The new core should be completed in November.

Window Work

I have replaced most of the windows in the loco with clear plastic from Home Depot. The windows are made with a C channel frame. The top comes off so that the glass can be inserted. they fit in a larger steel C channel tracks at the top and bottom of the window. The bottom of the windows rusted out. I wanted to find some C channel to replace the bottom frame of the windows. That C channel is no longer available. Hank suggested 1/4 inch square tubing. Hank milled out one side making 1/4 inch C channel. I welded the channel to the bottom of the widow frames. The top track is removed by breaking off all the old screws. The new windows are placed in the bottom track, the top track is placed on top of the windows and the assembly is pushed back in the frame.

Working on the Radiator

The top and bottom cast iron pieces of the radiator are called tanks. The bottom tank was broken by ice many years ago. A piece broke out of the top tank when Hank and I disassembled the radiator. I transported the radiator tanks to J&M welding in Rock Creek Ohio. Joe did a beautiful job of welding the 5 foot long tanks. Back home I bought a piece of neoprene and cut 5 foot strips for a gasket. I coated the top tank with sealer to slow down rust. I took the tanks back up to the museum and put them on the Whitcomb.
Chris Bohn from TitanX is making final measurements and drilling holes in the brass header plates of the new core.