RMLI - Anthything new on the 39?

[Paul]

Anything going on with the bidding?

[jayrmli]

There was a problem with the bid that had taken place in March, and the prospective bidders did not place a bid.

Most of the problem resulted in the county bidding process, and prevailing wage requirements and the subsequent accounting and paperwork that would have been required.

Due to the uniqueness of this project, a revised procedure has been implemented by the county and the project will be re-bid. Stay tuned.

Jay

[badneighbor]

Jay- how many suitable commercial bidders are in existance for a job as unique as this? there isnt exactly Ed's Locomotive Service around the corner... who bids this stuff??

[jayrmli]

Believe it or not, there are quite a few locomotive rebuilders qualified in this field. The obvious one would be Strasburg, as they actively attract contract work. Most other tourist lines also look for the work as extra income for their operations.

There were probably about 50 different rebuilders who may or may not have been interested in doing the project. Reasons can be anything from lack of capacity at their shops, too much contract work, distance from the locomotive, etc.

Jay

[ATK]

Question: when the contract is awarded to the winning bidder, would that contractor rebuild the locomotive in place in Riverhead, or would the engine be moved off site to that contractor's shop? Or maybe to another location?

[jayrmli]

The contract specifies that the work be done in Riverhead, however, there may be certain items that may have to be done elsewhere due to the complexity of the project. If possible, however, the work will be done on Long Island.

Jay

[JoeLIRR]

any updates on the bidding. whats going on with the star atraction

[n2qhvRMLI]

Hello All,

“Anything new on the 39?” Well, on Saturday, September 4th, eleven RMLI members, under the direction of our Consulting Engineer/Project Manager, and with the generous assistance of a crane and operator donated by North Fork Welding, removed the last fourteen 5-inch boiler tubes and started cutting out 2-inch tubes.

Two years ago, members worked for several days removing 5-inch boiler tubes in preparation for a vendor’s inspection and walk-through leading up to bidding for the restoration work on #39. Due to job responsibilities and time limitations, we never finished!

This fall, an inspection and walk-through of the RMLI site and Engine 39 will take place once again for potential bidders in the restoration of #39. It’s a benefit to get the tubes out of the way now, before the inspection. It allows the vendors an opportunity to view conditions inside the boiler and it should save money in the restoration process since that work and labor will have been done by members of the Museum at no charge.

So the call went out for a work party on Saturday. I’m pleased to report that eleven members of the Museum were on hand to get the job done. Another crew of RMLI members worked at our visitor’s center, moving new furniture and filing systems/cabinets into our new Library/Archive. As all of this was taking place, museum docents were giving tours and operating the World’s Fair Train for our patrons. The place was hopping.

“Enfinite” and “Redlands Paul” posted some of the photos that Jared, “NIMBYkiller”, took at the work session. I’ll give a quick rundown of what you’re seeing in the photos. As I don’t have the computer savvy to attach photos of the correct size to this Forum yet, you’ll have to match my comments to the photos in another post – sorry!

1. That’s the whole cover of #39’s smokebox hanging on the crane cable. This was our first order of the day. Remove the entire smokebox cover to make it safe and easy to remove the boiler tubes.

2. Next we pulled the heavy cast iron cover from the steam dome. This is where the steam valve resides that allows the engineer to send steam from the boiler through the delivery tubes to the pistons. The steam valve has been removed and put away for restoration so once the cover is off, you can drop down the hatch and work on the boiler from inside.

3. Our Consulting Engineer, Rob, is taking ultrasound measurements of the firebox. These “soundings” determine the thickness of the walls of the Belpaire Firebox. This is where we threw “NIMBY” so he could get some fine photos and a first hand education on the mechanics of a steam engine.

4. Here’s Chris, cutting the 5-inch tubes at the front of #39.

5. Here, Nobby, cuts the 5-inch tubes from the firebox. Rob, Nobby and NIMBY are all in there working and there is room for more in the firebox. It’s a big space!

6. This is a creative shot taken from the smokebox looking at Nobby’s torch working at the far end of the boiler.

7. Bruce, on the left, and me on the right, extract a 5-inch tube from the boiler.

8. The tube is swung out of the boiler by the crane and set down to the left under the guidance of Craig, Ken and Rich.

Joe, Paul, help me out Brothers! Post the photos below this – with thanks from your technology ignorant buddy!

de Don
n2qhvRMLI

[emfinite]

1. That’s the whole cover of #39’s smokebox hanging on the crane cable. This was our first order of the day. Remove the entire smokebox cover to make it safe and easy to remove the boiler tubes.


2. Next we pulled the heavy cast iron cover from the steam dome. This is where the steam valve resides that allows the engineer to send steam from the boiler through the delivery tubes to the pistons. The steam valve has been removed and put away for restoration so once the cover is off, you can drop down the hatch and work on the boiler from inside.


3. Our Consulting Engineer, Rob, is taking ultrasound measurements of the firebox. These “soundings” determine the thickness of the walls of the Belpaire Firebox. This is where we threw “NIMBY” so he could get some fine photos and a first hand education on the mechanics of a steam engine.


4. Here’s Chris, cutting the 5-inch tubes at the front of #39.


5. Here, Nobby, cuts the 5-inch tubes from the firebox. Rob, Nobby and NIMBY are all in there working and there is room for more in the firebox. It’s a big space!


6. This is a creative shot taken from the smokebox looking at Nobby’s torch working at the far end of the boiler.


7. Bruce, on the left, and Don on the right, extract a 5-inch tube from the boiler.


8. The tube is swung out of the boiler by the crane and set down to the left under the guidance of Craig, Ken and Rich.


Joe

[Mr rt]

Great report & photos, enjoyed it all.