Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

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Kimball McGinley
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by Kimball McGinley »

Redneck; thanks for the reply on my SS and not weld joint, good to know!
redneckalbertan
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by redneckalbertan »

Kimball McGinley wrote:Redneck; thanks for the reply on my SS and not weld joint, good to know!
Happy I could help!
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Another morning outside early, trying to beat the heat. Got the firebox door ring all welded into the inner firebox.
Firebox door ring in place
Firebox door ring in place
After talking with a few other builders at our RR last Saturday, we determined that the top row of stays is unnecessary. I used the material I had already cut for those stays and made plugs out of them and welded all the holes up, inside and out.
Finished inner firebox and boiler tube with finished stay locations
Finished inner firebox and boiler tube with finished stay locations
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Today involved clamping the firebox into the boiler and aligning it so I could transfer punch the stays.
Lots of clamps!
Lots of clamps!
Once punched, the holes were drilled and tapped 1/2-20 for the stays.
Firebox with all but the front and rear stay holes drilled and tapped.
Firebox with all but the front and rear stay holes drilled and tapped.
I need to put it back in the boiler and align everything again for more holes... I forgot to transfer punch the two stays in the throat sheet. The two stays in the backhead will get drilled and tapped later.
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Doesn't look like much got done, but there was a lot of cleanup to the boiler tube and the firebox today, preparing to weld it all up. I cleaned out the inside as best I could with rags and acetone so very little oil, grit, etc., is left inside before it gets all closed in. Started making up the stays and getting them started into the firebox while lining everything up and, again, clamping here and there.
Making stays and getting the firebox ready to weld in
Making stays and getting the firebox ready to weld in
A few more stays to finish up and then it'll be time to tack it all together and make sure everything is in the right place.
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

After a much needed vacation to the beach I'm back at it.

All the stays, sans the two in the backhead, are welded in. Root pass and the first cover pass on the backhead is done. Root passes and the first two cover passes are done in the mud ring. I'm done sweltering for the day!
Lots more welding
Lots more welding
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Got a lot done the last couple days.

All the major welding is finished on the new boiler. Finished up the backhead today.
Major welding done
Major welding done
The old boiler has a piece of angle with expansion slots for supporting the rear end to the frame. Was easier to fab up a new one than to try to chop the original one off the old boiler.
Bracket on rear of old boiler
Bracket on rear of old boiler
New bracket
New bracket
Once I get the support bracket welded on I'll tackle the smokebox attachment. It's three threaded holes 60deg apart in the front of the boiler tube. The smokebox slips over the tube and is held by three bolts. Once that's done it'll be time to drop the new boiler on the chassis and see how she fits.

I'll be borrowing a reamer and tube roller next week. If all goes well putting the flues in I'll be doing the initial hydro on Saturday the 15th!
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Got the smokebox lined up and mated with the boiler tube and lifted the whole shebang up onto the chassis this morning using an engine hoist (too much for me to pick up at this point!).

Everything lines up nicely, so I mounted the rear angle bracket and TIG'd it on. Once I pull the boiler back off I'll finish welding it on along the sides and bottom. Plenty of room for the boiler to expand and contract with the slots in that angle.

The four (my error, not three) mounting holes for the smokebox are transfer punched and ready to be drilled and tapped.

It's really nice to see this thing sitting on the chassis. Even nicer that everything, thus far, has lined up perfectly!
New boiler on chassis for the first time.
New boiler on chassis for the first time.
Because the new boiler has washouts in the rear of the side sheets, something the original one never had, I had to hack out some of the brackets that hold the cab floor. Still need to clean these up and get them painted:
Cutouts for the rear washout plugs.
Cutouts for the rear washout plugs.
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Got the tube sheets reamed today. Then cleaned up the burrs on the inside and outside of the sheets, washed out as much oil and chips as I could inside the boiler, and she's ready for the tubes to be rolled in.
Tube sheets reamed
Tube sheets reamed
Tomorrow I'll put the tubes in, plug all the fittings, and make a temporary supply pipe stub and seal it with packing in the front sheet so I can do the initial hydro on Saturday morning.
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Got everything done today that I set out to do. The boiler is ready for its initial hydro first thing tomorrow morning.
Rolling tubes in the front
Rolling tubes in the front
Rolling tubes in the back
Rolling tubes in the back
(I had forgotten about the darn steam dome lid until late today. That would have been quite the leak during a hydro ...)
Making the steam dome lid
Making the steam dome lid
Ready for some pressure!
Ready for some pressure!
Time for a beer!
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Back from the hydro. Everything went great, only a couple weepy stays to fix up once it dries out for a few days.

Hydro'd it at 300psi, normal operating pressure for this will be 125psi.
Fill 'er up!
Fill 'er up!
300psi for initial hydro
300psi for initial hydro
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John_S
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Re: Rebuilding the Central of Georgia #408

Post by John_S »

Repaired the couple of leaky stay bolts this morning, drilled and tapped the four holes for mounting the smokebox, made the hinges and latch for the firebox door (brought over from the original boiler), and got it all cleaned up and primed with high-temp paint.

Gotta try and get as much done as I can this week because on Friday I won life's lottery and must have a hernia repaired*. Don't think I'll be picking up this 142lbs boiler by myself anymore!
Firebox door installed
Firebox door installed

* hernia not caused by lifting this boiler!
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