I had a pleasant visit with Steve Sandberg at Harrison Street this morning regarding their progress on the 261. They were working on loading the main driver into the 450 ton wheel press that was custom built for them when I drove up. The wheel press comes in pieces and has to be assembled for use. Here's Sandberg on a fork lift loading the driver and axle into the wheel press.



According to Steve the main drivers had become oval shaped and it was necessary to get the wheels off to inspect the roller bearings. The wheels were turned to roundness but have not yet been fully profiled. In the near future the other driver will be pressed on, and the wheel set returned to the company who is doing the turning and preparation on all the drivers.

According to Steve, virtually all the boiler work is done, a small firebox patch has been done by the boilermakers from Xcel Energy in Minneapolis, and reassembly of the locomotive has begun. The flues are not in the boiler yet, but are on site. Steve described the installation of the flues as "relatively trivial".



The image above is of the right side of the locomotive's frame. Steve indicated that the frame is going to be repainted with an especially hard paint that will resist chipping in operation.

Additionally, the crew has installed a set of permanent inspection lights under the locomotive along the centerline of the frame. One of these can be seen in the image below.



The locomotive's lubrication system has been completely redone, with all tubing and brackets replaced. A class job, which can be seen in the image below.



Among other upgrades, the locomotive is going to acquire an MU stand to allow the control of diesel locomotives in its consist.

The lights are an excellent idea! The tubing is too neat and something will bend it all up.

Just curious, but why not use high power LED's for inspection lights instead of incandescents? LEDs are much lower powered and will last for almost ever as long as they have a good regulator attached. They are also lower profiled, so they won't get in the way of anything. Is is because there is already a 120V system or just no one thought of it? Like I said, just curious.

LEDs do not last forever.
White LEDs in particular are essentially a fluorescent light. Actually a near ultraviolet LED that pumps a white phosphor. Some are better than others, but I found out the hard way some loose over 50 percent of their brightness in less than a year.
For work lights I have found that quality compact fluorescent bulbs (Sylvania and GE) are not only better on lumens per watt but also tougher than rough service incandescent.

Probably because they're intended for use only when the locomotive is over the pit for inspection and maintenance, as there's a ready supply of 120v power, plus the location of those lights is out of the way of the roller bearing casings, brake rigging, suspension, etc. anyway.

Are we sure they aren't 32V bulbs that will run from the locomotive's existing electrical system? Or perhaps 72V to operate from the radio circuit?

Just a thought... I'm sure the 261 folks can answer this simple question for us.

Best,
Mike

The lighting is 120v right now. We're not too sure how long incandescent bulbs will last on the road, but it works pretty good for what it's being used for right now.

I'm betting that rough service bulbs would be robust enough to last a reasonable amount of time...