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.