Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

A question on drawing annotations, possibly unique to Australia and circa 1950 -

I found drawings for our safety valve in the Tasmanian Railroad collection of the Tasmanian Information and Research Service (i.e., government archives). (Who would have thought that possible the only copy of the drawings for a U.S. safety valve that still remained would be found in Tasmania?) In several places it includes the annotation pictured below. What does it mean?
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M2 all over.jpg
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Ben_A
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Ben_A »

Are there any countersunk holes in the safety valve?
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

No countersunk holes.
Ben_A
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Ben_A »

Any welding?
JJG Koopmans
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by JJG Koopmans »

What about M2 tool steel?
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LVRR2095
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by LVRR2095 »

"Machine" all over????

Keith
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

Keith, I don't know. There is no welding and the material called out for the various parts is either MS or GM (I'm assuming mild steel or gun metal).
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Harold_V
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Harold_V »

I'm not the least bit familiar with print conventions from that part of the world, but prints I used to see had a similar marking, with a number above. The marking was the typical check mark with which we are all familiar (like this: √), with a number presented above the V of the mark. The number which would be one of many, such as 16, 32, 63, 125, 250 designated the allowable surface finish, imply the number of microinches. The indicated finish was the roughest finish that was acceptable, and better was not an issue. I expect (but could be wrong) that the M2 designation relates to the numbers used here in the States, bolstered by the term "all over".

I'm basing my comment on the assumption that the drawing in question had been drawn out of the US, with local protocol replacing those used in the US (which are now different). I stand to be corrected if I'm wrong, and welcome the correction.

Harold
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

Harold,

That was my guess guess. The M2 annotation appears several times on the drawing, sometimes with "all over" and sometimes and it appears that it is for a surface. I've looked more closely at the drawing and there are also some annotations saying M1. Where the annotation refers to the bottom of the part on a drawing, the "V" is beneath the part and is inverted, apparently pointing at the surface. Looking at the places where the annotation is used, I don't understand what the rationale would be for a special surface treatment on areas indicated.

I just had a thought - I only have three of the drawings from a four drawing set. The archive has the other one but I didn't notice that it was missing until I started studying the drawings. I'm hoping to get the other one the first of next week. Maybe the annotation refers to a numbered note on the drawing I don't have?

The drawings were done in Tasmania in 1950 but it's an American design that may be 30 or 40 years older. I'm guessing they were tracings of the manufacturer's drawings. It appears that it would have been tough to reverse engineer if the only information source was the safety valve itself.

Anyway, thanks to those who are helping me puzzle this out.
david griner
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by david griner »

A search on the infamous "Google", brought up this paper (noted below) that indicates the notation shown on your drawing is an obsolete method of identifying machine surface condition.(see page 9)

http://user.engineering.uiowa.edu/~mie0 ... s_full.pdf

Hope this is of some help.

Dave
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

Thanks. That may be it. I went through a good number of Google hits but this one didn't turn up.
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Dick_Morris
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Re: Steam railroading to return to Alaska!

Post by Dick_Morris »

The overhaul continues at a steady pace. The August status update has been posted at http://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former-l ... index.html

Progress is hard to see for the casual observer. However, those doing the work know a lot of tedious sand blasting, needle scaling, and priming is being done. We are taking advantage of the final days of fall to do this dirty work before 557 moves back inside for the winter.

Included in the report is a link to a news report carried on the local TV station.
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