Cab ride in Big Red

The Whitcomb boys were treated to a cab ride in the museums 25 ton GE locomotive. Thank you engineer Steve. We love the Whitcomb but were very impressed with the simplicity and smoothness of the diesel electric. See a short video here.

Winterizing the engine

October 19th Hank and I went to the museum to winterize the Whitcomb. We wanted to run the Whitcomb so we got the water hose from the station and put 4 hoses together to reach the Whitcomb radiator.. With water overflowing the radiator, I started the Whitcomb. We ran it for about 15 minutes and then shut it off and went to lunch. After lunch Hank said ‘start it up’. It came back to life and I moved it back and forth a couple times. Then it was time to winterize it. We drained the radiator. There were drains on the exhaust and intake manifolds. There is a drain on each of the 3 blocks and the air compressor cylinder. We put RV antifreeze in the water pump and the exhaust manifold. We went back to work the next day and the GE locomotive was open. Steve gave us cab rides and I took video. After operating the Whitcomb the day before I was just amazed at how well the GE ran and operated

Fall colors: Red, Orange and Yellow

It happens all the time on your model railroad; You assemble the train and start out when, Oh crap it came uncoupled. A full size prototype exists for that. We loaded up the caboose with people for a ride and started out, the two engines left the rest of the train behind. (how embarrassing - not really). A little adjustment on the coupler and we had no trouble after that. It was cold and rainy Saturday but cleared up Sunday afternoon.

I met my son at the museum at 9:30 am to paint the body of the Whitcomb. I used a wire wheel on my angle grinder and knocked off the loose scale and rust. My son painted the upper portion of the cab red as it was originally. I rolled the cab and hood. We went over the louvers with a brush. We took a break about 2:30 and got lunch at Burger King. We finished up about 4. Later my daughter painted the number on the side. We plan to put a logo on the cab sides and safety strioes on the front and back. Ray and Steve coupled the Whitcomb behind the GE 25 ton for wine festival weekend

Whitcomb starting

Here is video of the whitcomb starting.

Sad news

The radiator core on the Whitcomb needs to be replaced. That's water running down the front of the radiator on the whole right side.
I put 4 buckets of water in to see how the patch on the bottom was doing. There was a place in the rear of the core where 4 tubes are leaking badly. I decided to fill it up and see if there were other leaks. I connected all the radiator hoses and filled up the radiator. The whole top header of the core is leaking badly. Water poured over the front of the radiator.
Replacing the radiator is a big deal. It needs to be removed with a crane and put on a flat bed truck. It is too big for a pickup truck. The tanks need removed and taken to a shop and welded up. A new core needs to be custom made ($$$). The top and bottom tanks need bolted on. Then the radiator and hood need replaced using a crane.

First start up

Well here’s the good news. After nearly 3 years of work the 200 hp LeRoi engine started. I put gas in the spark plug holes and cranked it over and it started up, didn’t stay running, but it started. The single carriage battery turns it over. It had great oil pressure. and the air compressor pumped air. There are many adjustments to make and the radiator is still leaking, but the engine is running.
Wed July 29 I sealed off the bottom radiator hose and put some water in the radiator. It leaked a little.
Thur July 30 I cranked it over with a tire iron in the ring gear and saw the timing was off. The impulse on the magneto was happening too soon. I unbolted and slid the water pump, distributor and magneto out from the timing gears and rotated the gear 1 tooth clockwise (retarded). This was an improvement but it needed more. I moved it 2 more teeth. Almost correct now I moved it one more tooth.
Friday July 31 I filled the torque converter with hydraulic oil.
Saturday Aug 1 My nephew, who repairs machinery in the steel mill in Pittsburgh, came to visit. He was a good heavy machinery mechanic would be a good one to help me on the first firing. We put gas in the spark plug holes and put the plugs back. It started right up but wouldn’t stay running. It wasn’t getting gas. The fuel drum was set up right and the fuel pump wouldn’t pull the fuel up the 3/8 pipe. We tried to prime the pump but the engine wouldn’t stay running.
Sun Aug 2 We ran a single 3/8 copper line from the fuel pump in to the drum. The engine started but the fuel pump wouldn’t hold the prime.
Mon Aug 3 I made a rack or stand and turned the fuel drum on its side. Gas now ran gravity flow to the fuel pump. The engine started and ran but fuel pored out the front carburator. The float valve was stuck open.
Wed Aug 5th I took the bottom plate off the radiator and put water in it. I saw where the leaks were. I bought more epoxy and spread it over the leaks. I disassembled the front carburator and adjusted the float valve. I will grind notches in the radiator plate to fit better.