Southern 630 Test Run - Removed Rods

Shouldn't have been a problem since "track speed" for the 630 was probably under 45MPH. It should not have been a big deal to simply remove the side rod between number 3 and number 4 drive, on both sides.

I wasn't there, so I can't say anything about what happened to 630 specifically.

But generally speaking, it's not unprecedented.  At least one of the Northwestern Steel & Wire 0-8-0s that ran in Illinois into the 1970s worked that way for months or years (they weren't regulated by the ICC).  And I can think of a couple of incidences where one siderod failed, and the crew dropped the opposite siderod and limped home.  (I know of one crew who found out the hard way not to leave one siderod on when the opposite rod fails.)

So, while it's a defect, it's not particularly unsafe to the crew if the locomotive is sound otherwise, and not operated at high speeds.  I'm not aware of anything in the FRA regs that would forbid limping home - engines have been limped home on one cylinder when a cylinder head failed, for example.

The biggest impact is that of the counterweight.  The counterweight balances some of the weight of the now-removed rod, so the engine will be somewhat out of balance.  

The front and rear drivers carry the least amount of counterweight, because they each only balance about half of the siderod.  (On 630, driver no. 2 carries some of the weight of the first and second siderods, and no. 3 carries some of the second, some of the third, and some of the main rod.)  

I think the situation would have been different if the offending pin brass was on the no. 2, and of course if it had been on the main a rescue engine would probably have been needed.

Speed would not exceed 40 mph, maximum. That's been a hard, fast rule for steam locomotives on NS for many years.

Evidently they had an issue with the #4 axle crankpin bearing and removed the connecting rod between the #3 and #4 drivers to get home. That's good, creative thinking to solve a tough and unusual problem. It's not that big a deal as far as balance is concerned, because of the relatively slow speeds involved.

The TVRM crew is dealing with a very tough issue with the 630. It was involved in a wreck many years ago and the frame is no longer true. Consequently the blueprints are almost useless when it comes to measuring and fitting rod brasses, shoes, wedges and crown brass. They have had to take measurements, produce a bearing, fit it up and see how it runs, with only a distant relationship to the actual print.

There are so many variables in the setup of steam locomotive running gear that this job can quickly become a nightmare. I hope they get things all fitted properly and she makes a lot of good runs this summer.

Scroll down to about 12:30 into this video and you'll see the 2-6-0 in action.

Many thanks for the detailed responces. I didn't relize how minor of a worry it is running with the rods between the #3 & #4 drivers removed. 

The video Rich posted is one I originally saw...towards the end, it is obvious the #4 drivers are out of quarter (?) with the rest of the drivers....how would that be fixed? Just jack up that end of the engine slightly and spin that axle until in the correct position and put the rods back on or is there more to it? 

Thanks again.  

That's about it...

I'm just waiting for Southern 4501 to come back to life and then we'll have some good NS steam!

I give them alot of credit, as Rich said creative thinking helped them in a big way.  I admire the effort they are making and wish them success.

Actually, there could even be less to it.  I was involved in reinstalling a driver once - after we raised it into the frame jaws with the pit jack and replaced the binders, we moved the locomotive back to where we were working on it.  We then positioned a journal jack under the counterweight on one side, and rotated the wheel by extending the jack (obviously, the tire slipped on the rail).  Not the most elegant or fastest solution, but it worked.

The mandatory fireman's promotion exam on the CNR/GTW/CV had a question regarding the failure of a side rod.  The proper answer was remove the rod opposite the failed rod.  Needed to answer how to remove the rod and continue the trip.  On older locomotives whose rods were most prone to break they were relatively small.

Was sent on the road with a machinist to remove a main-rod.  Brought the locomotive home on one-side.  Light engine of course and operating at extremely slow speed.  The engineer need to make sure that he did not stop on dead center.  When he did, we had to use a car-mover bar to get the locomotive started again.

NKP 765 will be operating over 3,000 miles on NS this year.

Does that qualify as "...good NS steam..."? 

Oops! I apologize Rich! I just spoke Heresy! I will be more than happy to see 765 on the Horseshoe Curve this year. Maybe you guys can place bets like the crew of the 759 did too see if the fireman can keep two pop off valves on at once while going around. You could win some serious coin. Although I realize you are wasting fuel.