Railroad Forums 

  • Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1495269  by John Smythe
 
The boiler tubes would certainly cost more today than they did 20 years ago. Because of " NEW " FRA CFR 49 Codes that went into effect at the start of 2000 the work that was done prior to that would have to come out and be re-done along with numerous other " NEW " requirements such as ultrasonic testing of the boiler barrel, etc. The boiler tubes we purchased were made in Delaware or Maryland, Made in USA. I'm sure the new replacement tubes will be American made as well.

After what The 470 club went through with that joker boiler maker from R.I. 20 years ago, things will be done right this time around. The perfect con-man, charged the club a lot of money & could not deliver the desired result. Jesus what a mess he left behind.
 #1495276  by Mikejf
 
With the boiler tubes being shorter than they were supposed to be in 501, the extra stress caused by the installation could have led to a failure at some point. I agree with Cosmo that they now have the right company doing the work.
 #1495297  by b&m 1566
 
Mikejf wrote:With the boiler tubes being shorter than they were supposed to be in 501, the extra stress caused by the installation could have led to a failure at some point. I agree with Cosmo that they now have the right company doing the work.
Since Maine Locomotive & Machine Works, will being finishing up the work on 7470, I assume that they will also be the company inspecting the 501?


Also is there a location update on the dome car?
 #1495355  by Jonathan
 
Their website has a page entitled What's new for 2019 and beyond. Even though there's nothing on that webpage, it still begs the question: Besides the return of steam and the new dome car, what, if anything will be new for CSRX in 2019? I'm opening the floor for answers from you guys on here.
 #1495374  by b&m 1566
 
One things for certain the broucher will be advertising the extra stop off at Attitash and the overnight stay at the AMC Highland Center at Crawford's. Both added mid-season last year, so they were kind of at a disadvantage marketing wise for both of those services. I'll be curious to see if there will be tweaks made to the operating schedule.
I do have one question, has anyone ever thought of taken advantage of the 15 to 20 minute layover at Fabyan Station for takeout? It's been over 6 years since I last rode the notch train to Fabyan's. My wife and I were going to call the restaurant shortly before departure at Crawford's and pickup food upon our arrival but we ended up just getting food from the snack bar in the dome.
 #1495384  by b&m 1566
 
I just saw a picture of the dome car on a Pan Am freight train taken earlier today. It was on the Lowell Branch, so I suppose its possible the Conway Scenic, could potentially be picking up the dome car this weekend maybe?
 #1495494  by John Smythe
 
Responding to several of you guys & your comments, all I can say is yes The 470 railroad Club did get swindled by a smooth talking boiler man from R.I. & not only did he loose all his NBIC Stamps & licences he was sued by many of his clients which he built expensive boilers for steam rollers, traction engines, motor boal boilers, etc, he even filed for bankruptcy himself & changed the name of his company then finally as I heard about it went out of business.

Yes I believe that at some point in time the tube sheet would have failed from all the pre-stressed parts that never should have been in the situation to begin with from the start. The man who owned the company told me when I was first started working for him that he would teach me a new trade, however all he taught me was how to do things wrong, I wanted to do things the right way but by trusting the wrong person to teach me how was I to learn the proper way. Thus is how the mess that came about happened. Nobody can learn the right way to do things if the teacher doesn't know himself, I too was fooled & took the fall as well.
 #1495509  by John Smythe
 
Mikejf wrote:With the boiler tubes being shorter than they were supposed to be in 501, the extra stress caused by the installation could have led to a failure at some point. I agree with Cosmo that they now have the right company doing the work.
The Flue Tubes which are significantly more larger & thicker than common boiler tubes were only measured from outside to outside front / rear tube sheet length. Not taken into consideration was the extra length that was required to both expand the metal behind the tube sheets ( water side ) and roll over both ends & bead them for welding to the non pressurized sides ( firebox & smokebox ends ) probably a extra 2" would have done it. Always easier to make anything shorter than longer from the existing piece on hand that is found wanting. I also agree with Cosmo that now a more reputable company has been found to undertake this type of work. I'm so sorry I ever allowed myself to be taken in by Pete Bouley from R. I. from the start. The 470 RR Club was just one of dozens upon dozens of dissatisfied clients that ended up not being able to operate their equipment that he had involved himself with. I hated to even answer the phone at his shop when I was there alone & put up with the yelling & screaming from those who had their licences to operate boilers that he'd worked on. no with no insurance coverage & having a insurance company rep come & chisel off the " Boiler Stamps " that were affixed to the different items he'd worked on. What a mess. it even included a Walt Disney steam locomotive shipped all the way from california that after I had departed as a employee, sherriffs with a court order entered his property in R.I. & removed everything and hauled it back to California. That's a sample of how bad things got.
  • 1
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 247