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Weekly News October 21, 2013Description
Steam Car Tour to “Mason-Dixon” Country, 1970: This tour was mentioned in last week’s story describing the 1969 tour to lower Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It should have been mentioned that Earle and Agnes Eckel accompanied me in the Model 87 on the ’69 tour.
Marvin Klair, Weldin Stumpf, and I ran a sequel to the 1969 SACA progressive tour over a different route, enlisting the help of Sterling Walsh for the western portion. Again it was in September, starting Thursday about noon and terminating Sunday afternoon from and to Auburn Heights. Most participants from the ’69 tour took part, with the exception of Frank Gardner, George Hughes, and Bob Way. Bob Garlock, a neighbor of Carl Amsley, was along with his Mountain Wagon, and Carl had an almost-matching “Wagon,” later owned by Brent Campbell, Frank Hix, Phil Lewis, and finally Mike May. A man named Carver from South Hill, Virginia, drove his nicely restored Model 740, although he didn’t know much about it. Brent Campbell had his Model 76 again, Abner Devilbiss entered his Model 728 (last week I called it a Model 730 but was corrected by Bill Barnes, whose father has owned the car for many years). Stumpf and Klair had their Models 77 and 735, respectively. I drove our Model 725, again with the Eckels as my passengers.
Marvin Klair arranged Thursday’s tour, taking us through four covered bridges between Yorklyn and Strasburg, Pennsylvania. We stayed at a small motel on the main street at the east edge of town and really messed up the parking lot with oil drippings from the Stanleys. We rode the Strasburg Railroad, but the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania had not yet been built. On Friday, our route took us westward across the southern portions of Lancaster and York Counties, with an afternoon visit at the home of Clarence Lintz on the border with Maryland. Lintz, an old steam man who owned a very early coffin-nose Stanley that didn’t run, had dammed up the stream that ran through his property and generated his electricity from water power. By nightfall, we had arrived at our headquarters for two nights at Westminster, Maryland. It was on this Friday afternoon run that Brent Campbell, having discovered a pond where he could siphon water considerably lower than the road, made his way down the slope and filled his tank. The grade back to the road was too steep to get traction, however, and someone came to his rescue to tow him out. Water is usually not this expensive.
On Saturday, Sterling Walsh had arranged for us to visit a county museum in an old Alms House at Westminster and to travel 10 or 12 miles to the Steam Traction Engine Show at Arcadia, Maryland, similar to but much smaller than Kinzers. On Sunday, we crossed the northern part of scenic Baltimore County to Edgewood on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, where Victor Fowler and his wife entertained us royally at their riverside home. Vic Fowler had bought a 1922 Pierce Arrow from my father, had restored it beautifully, and had three or four other cars of similar quality, and the Fowlers enjoyed participating in the annual Glidden Tours. He also bought a 2-6-4 steam locomotive of 7½ ” track gauge from my dad, along with some tiny passenger-carrying cars, and built a track loop around his grounds for the enjoyment of his grandchildren and his neighbors. Around this loop were all kinds of fairy tale buildings, including King Arthur’s castle, and I had hopes of building structures of similar design for the Auburn Valley Railroad, soon to open as the Magic Age of Steam in 1971. Fowler and his sons attempted to fire up the little steamer for our enjoyment, but when they couldn’t get water in the boiler, I recommended that the rides be given behind a small gasoline locomotive that was also available. A private yacht also gave us rides from his dock up and down the Bush River and under the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge, now part of the Northeast Corridor.
Since I-95 had been opened several years before, a ride up the old Route 40 to Elkton and on to Auburn Heights completed an enjoyable tour. The Model 725, very seldom operated during the previous 20 years, performed flawlessly.
Work Report: On Tuesday, October 15, the following 10 volunteers were on hand: Steve Bryce (in charge), Gerhard Maute, Eugene Maute, Richard Bernard, Dave Leon, Bill Schwoebel, Bob Jordan, Butch Cannard, Bill Rule, and Tom Marshall. The original tubing carrying acetylene to the headlamps on the Model 607 was thoroughly cleaned with the expectation of re-using it. Also on the 607 project, the truss rod under the rear axle was removed for straightening.
The electric generator and flood lamps owned by the state were returned to their storage location in the back building, and the rebuilt engine for our Model 87 was put in storage upstairs in the museum. After completion of alternate piping in our water system near the former location of the removed 750-gallon tank, the plywood partition enclosing the toilet room was strengthened and stabilized.
On Thursday, October 17, there were 12 volunteers on hand, viz: Tim Ward (in charge), Tim Nolan, Steve Bryce, Bill Schwoebel, Dave Leon, Jim Personti, Geoff Fallows, Bob Jordan, Bob Stransky, Mark Russell, Dennis Dragon, and Tom Marshall.
On the Model 607, an attempted installation of the rear-axle truss rod, having been straightened and repainted, was not successful as the rod was too long for proper alignment without separating the axle, and the female left-hand threads in the housing on the right wheel gave trouble. Correction of a persistent fuel leak in the tubing near the fuel automatic was addressed but not successfully sealed. It was determined that these lines were copper but were of 9/32” diameter, telling us they were undoubtedly original. The steering tie rod, having been successfully lengthened and repaired, was installed and the toe-in checked at 3/16.” The original 1/8” headlight tubing was found defective and not re-usable.
Attempting to re-pack the hand and power fuel pumps on the Model EX, it was discovered that the plunger on the power pump was badly worn, so a new plunger was made and installed, after which both pumps were packed. Locomotive drawings were studied to determine what lies ahead in improving the valve gear on #401, spring and spring-hanger work on #402, and brake work on both engines.
On Friday and Saturday, two things were accomplished on the Model 607: the rear axle truss was properly installed by cutting 3/8” off both ends of the rod, and the old 9/32” tubing near the fuel automatic was replaced with new 5/16.” It appears both jobs are completed satisfactorily.
Three personal happenings are of special note: Jerry Koss was married for the second time on October 19 at the age of 72. Congratulations, Jerry! Ted Kamen’s hand operation was apparently successful, and he hopes to be able to be back with us after November 1. Dave Leon goes in the hospital for a major heart procedure on October 25 and will be out of commission for several weeks. We wish these three special volunteers our very best.
