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  • 3640 Restoration Project

  • Discussion Related to the Reading Company 1833-1976 and it's predecessors Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway.
Discussion Related to the Reading Company 1833-1976 and it's predecessors Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway.

Moderator: Franklin Gowen

 #608549  by Otto Vondrak
 
I can't believe the amount of work you've done on this engine. "You mean you just don't put new paint on it and call it 'restored?'"

What's the projected timeline for this unit? Will it be out working, or will it stay at the museum?

-otto-
 #608789  by RDG Diesel
 
Unfortunately with our current resources and facility to work on the unit its very hard to set a time line, I would definitely say we are past the half way point. There are a few theories toward restorations, to me this project is a restoration where almost every system on the locomotive is gone over and any worn out parts are either rebuilt or replaced. We could have simply slapped a coat of paint on 3640 and called it a a day but as you can see by the body work done to the unit we would have had areas of rust with in 2-5 years so we decided to take the route you see. Not to say there is anything wrong with simply painting things its just not the route we chose to take, to me this method is a renovation not a restoration.

The rear side panels of the 3640 are a prime example of the restoration method. From the outside they were not rusted through however it was obvious there were going to be problems with them in the future. Here is what we found after torching off the rear panel. You can see how the rust built up between the outer skin and the car body frame.

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How is this situation remedied we Needle Scaled the entire area took thickness measurements of the support to see if it was also in need of replacement (It was not)

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Then the entire area including the inside of the new panels was coated with a rust inhibitor.

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After it was fit it was fully welded in place by yours truly (Certified Contortionist)

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After that and some feathering of the welds on the outside there is a new panel installed that nobody can tell was replaced.

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As for operations it is currently planned to operate the unit at the various events the RCT&HS hosts and attends. We are still working on rewiring the unit so for now no new update pics.
 #608799  by RDG Diesel
 
The Front Pilot also shows the difference between renovation and restoration. The pilots on a locomotive all get battle scars and modifications over the years 3640 was no different there were numerous visual changes done to it and even an area that for some reason was torched out. We could have simply painted it but thats not up to the standards we set for the 3640.

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We first started by removing the Pilot

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This view should say it all you can see how the bottom was completely bent up and you can also see the mounts Conrail put on for the cab signal equipment.

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Next the entire bottom was torched off and the cab signal mounts were removed. (The RDG did not have cab signals on this unit nor do we have a use for them)

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The new bottom is fit into place

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The piece on the top of the pilot in the center that was mysteriously cut out was replaced

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Even the brace that was removed was reinstalled

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Some finish grinding after fully welding the entire thing, the entire pilot is constructed from 1/4" thick steel.

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On the front there were hose hangers welded on the pilot these were also torched off at some point so they too were replaced

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After the inside was Needle Scaled it was primed

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And finish painted

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Before

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After

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The mating surfaces on the locomotive were Needle Scaled, primed and painted

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And finally the pilot was re-hung

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The before again

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And with some luck we will see something like this in the near future

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I have plenty of older shots of the restoration I can post if there is interest. Thanks for supporting the RCT&HS and its projects.