DDoug:
Thanks for posting the article about the Climax locomotive restoration. I find it interesting that Climax used the boiler design they did, given the time period the locomotive was built. I believe the boiler is called a 'boot top' boiler, given the shape of the firebox and wrapper. When I saw the lapped longitudinal seam, I immediately wondered if that boiler could be placed back in steam legally. I did note the remains of dye penetrant around the rivets on the long seam on the boiler barrel. Likely is that between the lapped seam and overall condition of the boiler, the only viable option is a new boiler. I did not see any 'grid' laid out on the boiler, which is usually done (using soapstone or chalk lines or paint markers) to take ultrasonic thickness readings on a regular pattern. Who knows the history on the boiler ? Could have been taken off the locomotive frame (it is a small boiler) and used to provide steam for some other use (sawmill, or low pressure heating boiler being common uses for old loco boilers). Little or no effort made to do any kind of water analysis and provide proper water treatment was almost a certainty over the working life of the boiler. The result is likely considerable 'wastage' (loss of metal thru corrosion), oxygen pitting, and embrittlement/cracking at rivets.
Ot reminds me of an old railroad story that goes as follows: a railroad was running its steam locomotives well beyond the point where the locomotives should have been put into the back shop for overhaul and repairs. One hard-used locomotive was finally run into the back shop and the foreman took a look at the report the engineer running that locomotive had submitted. It was succinct: "Jack up her whistle and run a new locomotive under it". With the whistle for this Climax locomotive on the nearby table, this is the case with this project.
My guess is the new boiler will likely be fabricated using welding rather than riveting. With insulation and jacketing on the boiler, very little of the riveted construction would be visible. I've done some design work on locomotive boilers requiring extensive repairs or alterations. These were riveted boilers. I've used a combination of old and new practices. I've called for flanging the sheets (plate steel used in a boiler made into parts of the boiler is referred to as a 'sheet', such as "door sheet, front tube sheet, inner door sheet, crown sheet, etc). The flanging makes a nicer job than simply butting the corners and gives a much better design in terms of stress distribution and performance/maintenance of the boiler. However, I have called for welded seams on flanged sheets. Old meets new. One job I did years ago was on Steamtown Locomotive 26, their Baldwin 0-6-0. The boiler needed a new firebox. The original firebox was built using riveted construction. When a locomotive boiler is built, the firebox is riveted together out on the shop floor, and the 'wrapper' (sheets surrounding the firebox creating a water space) and barrel are then build around the firebox.
With riveted construction, to replace a firebox would mean separating the barrel from the wrapper sheets or separating the backhead from the wrapper to remove the firebox. This was a 'wagon top' firebox, so could not be 'dropped' out the bottom of the wrapper (aka mud leg). I designed the new firebox using flanged sheets and welded construction. The boiler with the wrapper intact, minus the foundation (or 'mud') ring, was put up on timber cribbing. The old firebox was cut in pieces and dropped out the bottom. The new firebox sheets went in like a kind of 3-D puzzle. The inner door sheet and rear tube sheet had to go in turned 90 degrees, then were rotated 90 degrees to get them correctly oriented. The crownsheet went up first and was hung on temporary studbolts (where the crown staybolts would eventually go). Once the firebox was assembled, it was located using temporary studbolts in the staybolt holes, joints fitted, and all seams got CJP (complete Joint Penetration) welds using stick welding. Made a nice sound job, and FRA (Federal RR Administration was happy with it).
Another locomotive boiler I've been working on (kind of a protracted thing due to the pandemic) is Arcade & Attica RR's number 18. Her boiler needs extensive repairs. Once again, it's a combination of old meets new as far as methods for fabrication and joining the seams goes. Aside from flanging the replacement sheets and using welded seams where possible, CNC laser and CNC waterjet cutting are being used to produce new tubesheets. Why spend endless hours laying out holes in tubesheets and drilling them when the CNC cutting processes can do it neater and more accurately with less labor ?
My guess is the gang restoring this Climax locomotive will use the same line of thinking we use on riveted boiler repairs and alterations. There is (or was) an old boiler shop in Punxsatawney, PA (no relation to the groundhog) which was still able to do riveted boiler repairs and flanging of sheets. Wonder if the gang in Erie contacted them.
Climax is an interesting firm. They made the logging and industrial locomotives, but got into a number of other things. Well into the 1960's and 70's, they were still offering a twin cylinder steam engine for driving wood veneer lathes. These engines were fully enclosed, had roller bearings on the crankshafts, and were massive little engines. Climax also built a line of gas and gasoline engines. Many of them were one lungers of large size, built for service in oil fields running pump jacks.
Climax built some multi-cylinder gasoline engines, and I believe I saw one in an ancient highway/road snowplow rig at a hit-and-miss group's grounds in Hudson, NY.I do recall seeing Climax pump jack engines out in Wyoming when I worked there years ago. There may still be some of those one-lung Climax engines running in the various oil patches.
The Climx locomotive was an articulated truck steam locomotive. It was, to my way of thinking, a better design than the Shay. Lima Locomotive Works was a major player in the building of steam locomotives, and Lima built many of the Shays. Climax was a smaller firm and locomotives were not their mainstay, so probably a very small number were built. This little locomotive is a survivor of sorts. Kind of like the fellow who showed an axe to another guy, saying: "This was my grandpa's axe... been in use in our family forever.... it's only had 5 new handles, 6 new wedges and one new head..."
