I1sa 4483; What would it take to get her back in steam?

And who would undertake such an operation? I realize that RMPA is hungry to return her to the "Northumberland Collection", where she'd sit static, outdoors, forever, but inclusive as the missing piece. Fact is, she does not belong to them, but to the WNYRHS, who keep her in good shape, considering she's rolled a rail and half on the ground. Still, WNYRHS has a long term goal of seeing her run once more, not in my lifetime, I'm sure.

Where to run her? Who to rebuild her?

Strasburg to rebuild; NS to run her in the region of Horseshoe Curve and the Eastern coal regions of Pennsylvania. My wishes.

Just stretching a fantasy. Any thoughts from others?

THIS IS NOT A RUMOR OF OPERATION. IT"S TOTALLY FANTASY.

She's been stored or displayed outdoors for a LONG time: I went to Turtle Creek (eastern suburb of Pittsburgh, where 4483 spent a number of years on display on the front lawn of a Westinghouse plant) back in the 1970s, and a lot of the sheet metal (outer sheathing, over the lagging) was rusted and split. (Last photo I looked at showed a "naked" boiler (no lagging), so someone seems o have recognized this as a problem. My worry is that corrosion damage may have gone deeper.

Very shortly after 4483 was moved to Hamburg NY the WNYRHS invited Bill Purdie of Southern Steam fame to inspect the engine. He came to Hamburg where he spent at least one day, maybe two, I can't remember exactly, crawling over and inside the locomotive. The WNYRHS has his full report. I was there when he inspected the locomotive as were several other folks associated with the WNYRHS. At that time I was a trustee of the society. And at that time none of the appliances had been removed from the locomotive nor had the boiler jacket been removed.

I recall very clearly that Bill Purdie thought that the engine was definitely restorable. I remember him saying that 4483 was probably not operated much if at all after its last major overhaul. A large chunk was cut out of one crosshead at some point - a solvable problem in his opinion. He said that the boiler and firebox looked quite sound. He was inside the firebox.

The tender attached to 4483 is not usuable because it is no more than a hollow shell, all its innards having been removed by WABCO at Wilmerding. However, the WNYRHS does own a PRR long-haul tender that could be used provided that the deck height could be modified to fit an I-1.

If you throw enough money at any project you can finish it. But, if you did successfully restore 4483 to workingorder, then what? It has NO roller bearings. It is VERY heavy. It would be VERY slow. Of course, you could probably pull a fifty-car excursion train with it at fifteen mph. Where would you run it and how would you get it there? Actually, you would have to solve the transportation problem somehow before you could restore the locomotive because it could never be moved to a shop on its own wheels.

So there you have it, for what it is worth.

Hugh T. Guillaume, former trustee of WNYRHS

H.T. Guillaume--
Thank you for that detailed, if sobering, report!
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The PRR listed the I-1 as having a maximum speed of 50mph, but (i) I'll bet that wasn't attained all that often in practice, (ii) they had a reputation for rough riding. I doubt that a modern engineer would want to do 50mph with one, and I doubt a modern railroad's track people would want to allow it.
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Quick curiosity question. At least some I-1 were built with three pairs of blind drivers (flanges only on the first and fifth driving axles), and at least some had only the centre driver blind later in their career. What does 4483 have? (I have an impression-- not something I can document, and if I'm wrong I hope someone will correct me-- that, because of the long rigid wheelbase of large steam locomotives, railroads in the steam era did their track with more gauge widening on curves than is now standard practice. If so, a locomotive like an I-1 would have more trouble on modern track than on the track it was designed for! ... I personally would very much like to see 4483 in steam again -- my first choice would be to get NS to allow it a "guest appearance" as an Altoona Hill pusher for a day -- but realistically I think I'd better hope for other things!)

4483 has a blind center driver. PRR loco classification books will tell you what degree of curve an I-1 was designed to negotiate. Obviously anything sharper would result in derailment. HTG

Allowing her to pull a freight (or push) up the Curve would be an ideal way to celebrate the Pennsy heritage of NS's ownership. My guess is it would require private financing and a very close involvement with upper echelons of NS brass prior to starting anything. Where she is located currently has not given her the exposure she deserves, but the WNYRHS has done a superb job of maintaining her. Might she be better served being moved to Altoona Railroaders Museum, alongside the K4s?

WNYRHS now has a museum site with rail access to NS. It is called the Heritage Discovery Center. Check their website for info. Plans call for moving all of their rolling stock and locomtives to this location on Lee Street in Buffalo. Moving 4483 may prove to be difficult. The rails have settled significantly under the driving wheels. Moving the locomotive even a few feet may be a problem now. I was in Hamburg this past Sunday. HTG

Supposedly, the big Deck needs to be moved to allow a complete rebuilding of that siding and yard for ethanol trains. She'll require jacking and rail replacement, plus a complete polishing and lubricating of her journals and bearings. What WNYRHS really needs is a truckload of hundred dollar bills.

Most people today probably do not know much if anything about lubricating the wheel bearings on a steam loco. The driver journals are lubricated with grease cakes which must be installed from underneath the loco. This was done when 4483 was moved from Wilmerding to Hamburg but not since them. And when it was done it was discovered that Wabco had sandblasted the loco prior to repainting it. There was sand in the driving wheel journals. It was not possible to remove all of the sand because it was not possible to drop the driving wheels and axles. So 4483 was moved with newly lubricated driving wheel boxes but with boxes contaminated by blasting sand. It is a foregone conclusion that the driving wheel axles were damaged by the sand. 4483 is now so low to the rail and roadbed that there is probably no way to replace the grease cakes in its present location. H.T. Guillaume

Erie2937--
I have no words: imagine me making dismayed-sounding noises!
For a company in the railroad supply industry, Wabco didn't seem to know (or more likely, care) very much about the proper treatment of a locomotive! I remember being saddened when I visited their Wilmerding front lawn back in the 1970s at how they had let the outer sheathing (sheet metal over the lagging) rust through in places. Sand in the axle boxes is... sabotage!

Sadly, I think if she ever feels a fire again, it'll be long after I've done the same. I'd love to know if any planning has been locked down for her return in the future. She's just a great locomotive, and it's really sad to see her idled for over 50 years.
As with any steam locomotive, I really believe a concerted effort to bring her back, in cooperation with the Norfolk - Southern, and no demands being made of that company, could do it. I just wonder if that day is too long gone? Can you imagine her on the point of a revenue coal train, climbing the Curve?