Engine 557 Restoration Company
Progress Report January 2025

Alaska Railroad’s Golden Spike Returns Home!

There has been a lot of ink thrown at this story over the past week. Here is the real story from
John Combs, 557 Board Member and host of our 557 Web site.

Golden Spike Picture of the Week

A note recently crossed my desk, “House Compressor is repaired.” It’s great working with people who can pick up any challenge and get the job done. Terry Douglas noticed the pressure regulator was running against the relief valve and not shutting the compressor down. Working with Paul Dalleska the regulator was removed and he researched a replacement from Grainger. I made the order and four days later Terry and Ken Elmore completed the install.

This reminds us that 13 years ago we had a locomotive and a bare shop floor. Today we are fairly self sufficient in our 557 Engine House shop. The compressor was one of the first donations.

The NEW YEAR brought greetings along with some last minute donations, all of which get matched.

Paul Steven Dunsday of Dorset, U.K. sent a crisp $5.00 bill in a note, “Please receive this $5.00 note for restoration of Engine 557 as seen on website.”

Bill Cox of Anchorage, “Happy New Year with thanks to all, who worked to return #557 to full operation!”

Kirk and Linda Hastain of Anchorage, “Congratulations for approaching the final stage.”

If I included all the nice comments it would fill the report. So here a few more of note:

Jacob T Malbouef, Assistant Manager Railroad Operations Henry Ford Museum. “I’ve been following this project via Facebook for some time. You guys have made some impressive progress in the restoration! Greatly looking forward to seeing the first videos of the fruits of your labor and updates on the ongoing restoration/maintenance work.”

From Mark Bassett, President of Nevada Northern, “It is so good to hear from you! I have been following your progress with the 557, impressive!”

Another famous artist who goes by just Matthias sent us his renderings of Ol’ 556 our sister locomotive.

Visitors this month have been many. Some leave an indelible impression. On December 15th, 2024, Palmer resident, Mickael Funke brought his son and grand kids for a visit and we spent a lot of time together. Mickael told me he helps organizations with computer …. stuff way beyond my understanding. He was impressed enough with our 100 year old technology that Michael Funk returned with John Cranston his brother-in-law on January 4, 2025. John worked at NASA for years in their shops designing and building things like the heat shade for the James Webb telescope. Just never know who is coming through that door next. We spent nearly 3 hours exploring 557 technology and the upgrades we have made. John comes from an old time manufacturing family in the Willamet Valley of Oregon. Next month we will tell you about his “MOON PROJECT”.

The week day crews are working with Consultant Paul Dalleska to complete all air and steam delivery lines Nearly all of these are new schedule 80 pipe and Paul uses all three of our Greenly pipe benders to get the job done. After fit up, the crew strips all the paint and scale to bare metal and Terry Douglas paints each piece with Clova prime and then Armor shield outside in a 20 foot Connex with temporary heat. James Keene is a regular Thursday fixture in the shop picking up what ever job needs to be done, as in plumbing with Paul.

One 5 gallon bucket at a time, CMO Jeff DeBroeck is placing the KS-4V Plus castable refractory as the base course in the fire box. This will be covered by fire brick and then capped with another layer of the refractory. It is a very stiff mixture and takes some work to place it.

Tom Walker was timing the mixer for 7 minutes before the nearly dry contents are transferred to 5 gallon buckets. The 55 pound bag when properly mixed with water weighs 63 pounds. The mask is REQUIRED as the dust is not nice to your lungs. Terry Douglas and Tom tag team this project to keep the product going into the firebox for Jeff. Our in-kind supporters at Sun Belt Rentals donated use of the mortar mixer. It proved to be just the right size for the job.

CMO Jeff DeBroeck completed application of the first coat of castable refractory on the fire pan and horizontal spaces in the fire box. The insulation fabric on the vertical sides is held in place with magnets for now. The fire bricks were dry stacked in the rear corner and at the front around the burner hole to show our brick layers the pattern for installation as the next step. Bricks will lay up against the fabric which isolates them from the metal surface behind it. In future inspections, those bricks can be removed as needed. Our new wet saw will make cutting the brick to fill the voids efficient.

Castable Refractory is from Harbison Walker International KS-4V PLUS in 55 lb bags with very specific instructions, MIX 5 MIN minimum. Our local supplier, Distribution International in Anchorage, has provided all our firebox materials.

Just suppose you are steaming along and suddenly your steam engine and tender are upside down in the ditch. Just suppose you have put a gasket on the oil bunker hatch so it cannot leak or for that matter, breath. So you have equipped the top of the fuel bunker with a bung and cap for gauging the tank with a calibrated stick. Then you added a 1" breather vent and now it is running a steady stream of oil out of the overturned bunker. Well CMO Jeff DeBroeck had that supposition and turned to Terry Douglas for a solution which is a 1 inch spring loaded ball cock in line with the breather vent. Pull the cable and the cock closes. Looking forward from the T shaped Breather vent is the gauging bung with cap and a rubber bumper for the hatch to rest against.

Pulling this cable is done in conjunction with pulling the emergency shut off for oil delivery with the white handle which trips a spring loaded plug valve in the bottom of the tank. The second handle is for the condensate valve and is normally closed in operation.. Of note at the left front edge of the bunker is the air line feeding the bubbler that stirs the oil in the tank. Next is the steam heater (safety valve laid aside) to keep the oil warm. The A frame is to keep the emergency shut off cable above heads on the gangway. That cable has an orange (for fuel) handle overhead in the gangway, another orange handle is inside the back left cab corner as the cable passes down through a hole to the final orange handle about head high to be reached from the ground.

Alaska Roteq (recently borrowed our 721 loader to move a very large addition to their machine shop. They are just up the hill from 557. In trade they donated a milling machine and surface grinder to our growing collection of machine tools. Truly a gift, not a trade, we will put the mill in service quickly. CMO Jeff DeBroeck secured a trailer from work and the load out was in our yard shortly. Jerry Cunnington met them with the 721 loader in the 5° degree weather. The grinder came in from the cold.

New machine tools require new power drops so I called Kodiak Breakers for a quote on a pair of 480 3 phase breakers and included a photo of 557. Got this email back, “No need.  I see what you guys are doing out there!  I have them placed in will call.” from Kyle Frost, Kodiak Breakers & Supplies, Inc. They will shortly appear on our in-kind wall of honor.

Our bell is undergoing some modifications, while we transfer a 1906 Alco Brass bell into a 1943 Baldwin base so it will fit the original location on the side of the smoke box. First, get everything square. Next, prepare to weld the fabrication together. The next time you see this yoke, it will look like a 100 year old casting.

Another milestone was being met as this was being written! The first Super Heater Element was being installed by CMO Jeff DeBroeck and Jeff Loffert. They lead the Saturday crew with Jerry Cunnington, Terry Douglas and Dean Sawyer in this effort.  All the preparation of the header and the element ends paid off and in about 3 hours they had most of the two top rows of heater elements in place.  Note the plywood floor which we installed early on to facilitate work in the smoke box.

We did not forget the weather report. Warm and rain and no snow from December until the last week of January. A little snow and 5° F for the last 6 days. Plowed once back in November. The surrounding mountains are growing a heavy snow pack.

My grand daughter came by to apply for a volunteer position and I had to tell her to come back in 17 years. She was disappointed.

Thank you to everyone who stepped up with a contribution to our year end 557 fund raiser. Dick Morris lead this campaign with a goal of $85,000. At last count we still had a little money left in Matching Challenges so your last minute gifts can still be matched even though we have made our goal.

Wish you a great year chasing trains in 2025.

Patrick Durand
President Engine 557 Restoration Company

 

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