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From: MDelvec952 mdelvec952 AT aol DOT com
Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 01:06:08 -0400
Subject: DL&W F3 Volunteer -- We're back for 2011
"Tri-State_F3_Scranton_5-15-2011_small_004.jpg" - image/jpeg, 1389x1042 (24bit)



Welcome all. I know many have been wondering about recent progress with the now famous Lackawanna F3s. The F-Troop has been back in Scranton over the past few months and working hard. We just wrapped up two hot, exhausting yet fulfilling and successful days. Things have been changing and moving so quickly that it's been difficult to keep up with it all. We're planning to run the two F3s together on a Steamtown train on Sunday June 5th, so the push has been on. More on the trip and riding it later. Rather than me ramble, here's a photo taken yesterday grabbed from the Steamtown NHS facebook page by ARHS-er Jeff Benetsky: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_81351641754¬if_t=group_activity#!/home.php?sk=group_81351641754¬if_t=group_activity




This photo shows Tri-State's 663 leaving the DL&W roundhouse on its move to the back shop to make use of the drop table for some necessary work on the rear truck. Notice a few changes: new steel on the pilot to get its height from the railhead to within required limits -- it was too high owing to the new wheels. The portholes are back in New Jersey having the glass installed professionally. We cannot run without the porthole glass. While last year these e-mails showed great amounts of visible progress, this year we've made just as much progess though most is impossible to detect since they are either small, inside the carbody or under it.

The big news is the hoped-for first excursion. The Anthracite Railroads Historical Society Convention is this coming weekend, June 3-5, 2011; Sunday will feature a diesel-powered excursion up to Winton Siding with photo stops at Nay Aug tunnel, Bridge 60 and elsewhere. The train will be pulled solo by the F3s if we can get them running, repaired and all hundred-or-so items on the FRA inspection list checked as compliant or within acceptable limits. The 663 needs more attention than 664, as has been the case throughout this project, so we've been operating accordingly.

To ride or see the excursion, visit the ARHS web site. The trip is $48 plus the Steamtown admission. It will depart Scranton at 8:00 a.m. and will return by 11:00 a.m. or so to be positioned on a roundhouse radial track. Here is a link to the ARHS convention information: http://www.anthraciterailroads.org/convention.php I'm told that Tri-Staters can purchase tickets without the full convention registration.a I haven't yet registered so I can't answer questions about the process. Disclaimer: The 663 is not yet finished and without the 663 it's quite possible that neither unit will make the trip. We're working over and above the call while enlisting the best help on the planet within the best equipped shop in all of railway preservation. Things look good as of today, but there's still a long way to go and a short time to get there. And I'd hate for members and supporters to miss the trip. You now have all of the information. Rest assured we truly want both units on t
his trip.

This Convention is extra special to the ARHS as it will be the first time all of its restored locomotives will be together; the Reading RS3 and Lehigh Valley C420 will be in the core complex along with the brand new restoration of CNJ RS3 1554, just out of the paint shop yesterday. The Delaware-Lackawanna shop team has done a magnificent restoration on this RS3, likely the most complete rebuild of an RS3 ever undertaken. And the terrific mechanical rebuild has been topped off with a spectacular paint job. CMO Don Colangelo in his past life worked for Dupont's industrial coatings business and is among the most knowledgeable people on matters of paint and painting and locomotives. Quite a job. Congratulations to the DL.

Just after the excursion the ARHS is planning to christen DL&W 664 in the memory of its past president Ross Chapin at 12:30 Sunday in a planned ceremony that will have all of the ARHS units lined up. The 663 won't be part of the line-up and may not be in the core complex according to the schedules, track space and position plans that I've seen so far.

We'll follow up with more newsletters outlining some of the work sessions and notices of future sessions and plans. We're running over budget on much of this year's work and we still have more to do; a barrel of lube oil is more than $400; some additional welding and fabricating had to be hired out, the port hole glass needs professional help and more. Any contributions are a huge help. We are so close. Contributions can go to our account at www.ticketurtle.com. We've hit a snag re-activating our old paypal account. If anyone can help make it work again, please contact me.

On a sad note, missing from the distribution here is the e-mail address for Jim Boyd. We lost Jim late in December 2010. He loved this project and was an important supporter from the beginning. In 1984 one of the people who had addressed the Tri-State Board trying to convince it to purchase an F3, and to purchase a complete one as a couple were missing prime movers. It was a bold move back then when no other railroad groups in New Jersey owned equipment, let alone a locomotive. As editor of Railfan & Railroad Jim made sure to publish any and all news about the F3s and to enlist industry professionals to help with issues. During this project, as bad as Jim's legs and feet bothered him, he would often venture to Scranton to watch and see the progress. Our very first F-Troop crew photo was taken by Jim in March of last year. I miss sharing the tid bits and images of our progress with Jim, and I'm sad that he didn't see them run in this paint scheme. When they do run he will be
thought about. I know that right now Jim is trackside watching F-units meeting Illinois Central 4-8-2s at speed somewhere south of Kankakee.

Meanwhile, some photos of the recent work in progress ....Mike Del Vecchio
---------------------------

Below: Craig Ealey is working between the 663 and 664 in the DL&W roundhouse on May 15th as he fabricates a clever invention that will retain the drippage from the air box drains that is inherent in EMD locomotives. Steamtown is environmentally conscious and we're voluntarily doing our best to keep the grounds clean. Meanwhile, during the couple of weeks this work was going on was the first time the two F3s were positioned side by side. Two days previous the 664 was the near locomotive -- the two were taken outside for a staged Pete Lerro night shot as part of Railfan & Railroad's Spring Training event, the proceeds benefiting the National Railway Historical Society's Heritage Grant program. We are proud to have played a part. Also, in this position on Sunday 5/22, the 663 was prelubed and fire up, its prime mover humming for the first time after the carbody restoration. It's alive.




Below: As part of Spring Training, Darryl Rule lensed this timeless scene with the 664; without the road number it would be tough to tell which year this image would be. Could it be the nocturnal "Pioneer" that departed with auto-boxcars out of Jersey City long before dawn? Could it be one of the BH freights getting orders to wrong-rail around some trackwork west of Binghamton? The mind wanders... Nice image, Darryl.




This is the real thing. The diesel shop in Scranton was designed by EMD specifically for the maintenance of F-units. Here is the 663 as the first of the DL&W F3s to visit this area that is the authentic service area for the cab units. The rear truck is on the drop table. While here, working with a pit allows much of the running gear and underbody work to be done at a comfortable level. Work that would be difficult at best and very time consuming out on yard tracks was accomplished in just an hour of two. Note the great welding job by Mike Bast on the pilot. On shop air we were able to get all of the accessories in shape, such as the sanders, horns, bell, windshield wipers and brakes.





Among the dozens of items getting remedial attention as required by the FRA are the ground lights, badly rusted and loose. These original bases are still manufactured and a nearby supplier had them in stock. Dave Lindstrum and Tom Kelcec are meticulously drilling out the old screws and tapping threads for new ones to support the new bases. These lights are near the cab ladders and are a necessity for crews attempting to board the units in the dark.




Below: ARHS's Davis Palmer is looking inside one of the traction motor ports on April 28th. During this phase Tri-State and ARHS volunteers broke into teams to do this messy job under a locomotive. The covers had to be removed, the brushes and armatures had to be inspected, cleaned or replaced as necessary. This is the pit in the roundhouse where the earlier photos had been taken, and the confines are tight. Few people get to see this part of a locomotive and its maintenance process.
--15107bc6-98ff-4fab-9677-27f23769865e

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