# What I've Been Up To Recently



## santafe158

My postings here have been somewhat less frequent recently due to a pretty crazy schedule. Partially to blame is the volunteer position I've been working in at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, working on some real train stuff.

So far I'm basically a shop apprentice and occasionally a student fireman on the railroad. We have 3 operating steam locomotives. We have an 1873 Mason 0-6-4T (Oldest operating steam locomotive in the country, and the last Mason bogie in existence), an 1897 Baldwin 4-4-0 (recently put into service after sitting for over 80 years as a static display and a long restoration to operation) and a sort of "kitbashed" 4-4-0 which was built in the Ford Rouge locomotive shops in 1932 out of a late 1800's Manchester 0-4-0 and it's tender (parts date back to 1868). There are a couple non steam locomotives as well; a 1942 GE 45 tonner (had 5 tons of weight added by the Navy, so is now a 50 tonner) as well as a 14(?) ton 1927 Plymouth gasoline switcher.


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## DonR

Jake

At last, something the Rivet Counters can appreciate. :appl:

You gotta be in heaven.

One Question: Have they been converted to DCC? 

Don


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## santafe158

DonR said:


> Jake
> 
> At last, something the Rivet Counters can appreciate. :appl:
> 
> You gotta be in heaven.
> 
> One Question: Have they been converted to DCC?
> 
> Don


Oh I'm having a lot of fun and learning a ton of stuff.

DCC? What's that? :dunno: 

I spent my Sunday this past weekend working on the smaller 4-4-0. She had a boiler wash in the morning and I spent a bunch of time cleaning the build up of cinders out of the smokebox (a real dirty job). Then I sat with her all afternoon getting her up to pressure to run this week.


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## Carl

Free labor???????? Looks you had a lot of fun.


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## Southern

That number 7 awesome!


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## Southern

Thanks for posting and please keep them coming.


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## santafe158

Carl said:


> Free labor???????? Looks you had a lot of fun.


Free labor, but working my way into a paying position (hopefully) at some point. All the experience I've been getting is worth the cost of gas though


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## santafe158

A few more shots





This was a staged shot.


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## Carl

That is a great shot of the steamer and the old car.


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## mkear

Awesome pictures, thanks for sharing!


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## Big Ed

Cool dude. :smilie_daumenpos:

All the trains look like new! :smilie_daumenpos:

A little history on them? :dunno:
Or are you going to make me search? :smokin:

Cool job to have!
How did you happen to get into that, did you know someone?


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## santafe158

big ed said:


> Cool dude. :smilie_daumenpos:
> 
> All the trains look like new! :smilie_daumenpos:
> 
> A little history on them? :dunno:
> Or are you going to make me search? :smokin:
> 
> Cool job to have!
> How did you happen to get into that, did you know someone?



I'm out of town right now and don't have computer access. The full story will take forever to type on my phone, so I'll get back to you in a couple days


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## santafe158

OK Ed, I've got a keyboard to type on now 

Anyway, yes. I knew somebody that works there part time. I actually met him through youtube (he was a fan of my videos that I took while visiting there) before I met him in person. We got to talking and sending emails back and forth and eventually he helped me get set up with the volunteer position. Technically he's responsible for teaching me things, but I've been learning things from everybody in the shop and the engine crews.

I took my rules/signal test last week and I'm planning on going in on Wednesday or Friday and then Sunday this week. Hopefully the results will be OK 

And I guess you'd like some history on the locomotives I work on...

Our 0-6-4T Mason Bogie named "Torch Lake" is (arguably) the oldest operating/regularly operating locomotive in the country. She was built by Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Mass in 1873 for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company's Hecla and Torch Lake railroad. She's the last of her kind. Mason Bogies are actually articulated locomotives (the original articulated design?) and the entire power "truck" is on a swivel under the boiler, which allow them to operate on tighter curves than conventional locomotives. She is also a tank engine in that her tender is a part of the locomotive. She was retired in the mid 1930's, and sat in storage until around 1969 when she was cosmetically restored for one of the company anniversary celebrations, and soon after came out to the village where she was rebuilt to operate on the newly constructed railroad (the complete loop was completed in 1972, before that it was a short back and forth operation). The H&TLRR was originally a narrow gauge line. The Torch Lake was damaged in an engine house fire in the late 1800's/early 1900's (I always get it confused), and was rebuilt and regauged around 1910(?). She weighs around 35 tons




Our "baby" 4-4-0 Edison was originally built by Manchester as an 0-4-0 around 1868. I've been hearing some debate as to where she operated, but the usual story is that she worked in a cement plant owned by Thomas Edison before being donated/bought for the museum in 1932. Henry Ford had wanted an 1860's Mason built 4-4-0 for the museum, but couldn't find any available at the time. He had the Manchester locomotive rebuilt in the Rouge factory locomotive shop into the appearance of a Mason 4-4-0. Pieces of two other locomotives were also used in the conversion. The tender, I believe some of the valve gear and I think the drive wheel center's are the main pieces original to the 0-4-0 locomotive. Currently she weighs about 25 tons. She was on display in the museum from 1932 through around 1969, when she was rebuilt to operation for the railroad.

Obviously her looks have been changed over the years.












Our big 4-4-0, former Detroit and Lima Northern and later Detroit Toledo and Ironton #7, was built by Baldwin in 1897. When Henry Ford bought the DT&I, she was the first to go through the shop for a rebuild as the start of a "standardization"/modernization program. She also became his "baby", and he frequently operated her (under supervision of course) on the line. She was also used to pull his private car "Fairlane". I also heard a story that when the Model A automobiles were being tested, they were driven on roads along the DT&I, and #7 pulled Ford's private car alongside making station stops to get operating reports from the drivers. Whether that's true or not I'm not certain.

Ford sold the railroad in the late 1920's, had #7 restored mostly back to her original appearance and placed on display in the museum, where she sat from 1929 until around 1987 when she was placed in storage. The roundhouse was built in 2000, and #7 made the trip into one of the stalls, where not much happened until 2008 when the overhaul really took off. She made her first test runs just a couple months ago and officially placed into service a few weeks ago. Outside of a few issues that have mostly been corrected (some of which aren't really issues, but differences in operation that we all need to get used to), she runs like a champ.

Builders photo









A shot with Henry Ford in the cab









This shot was taken during her third day of evening test runs. She was placed in service two days later.


Our GE 45/50 tonner was built in 1942 for the US Naval Ammunition Depot in Charleston, SC as a 45 tonner. The Navy welded steel plates to the frame to increase it's weight by 5 tons for more tractive effort. I believe it came to the village in the 1980's from a scrap yard in Detroit that it had been using it as a switching locomotive. It was restored to be used as a backup locomotive for when one of the steamers was out of service (and still is in a pinch), as well as some switching work in our yard area. Now that we have three operating locomotives and have our coal delivered by truck, she mostly sits alone outside of the old locomotive shop. We normally have one steam locomotive fired up at a time, so if an issue comes up early in the morning, the Diesel will pull trains that day (it takes 4-6 hours to warm a cold steam locomotive up safely).

This shot was taken while we were using it to switch our passenger cars around to their normal operating configuration after the weekend's "Day out with Thomas" event


Our smallest locomotive is our 1927 Plymouth gasoline locomotive. I believe it weighs between 10 and 14 tons. It is our shop switcher and is used to move our cold steam locomotives around to different areas of the shop when needed. I seem to remember hearing it was used as a switcher at a power plant, but I'm not 100% sure about that.











We also have a 1914 Baldwin 0-6-0 switching locomotive that was originally built for the Michigan Alkali company. It was later used by the Detroit and Mackinac railroad for special events before coming to the Village. She was last used in 1998 as a stationary boiler to supply steam to our 1913 Bay Works wreck crane (which is now occasionally hooked up to the "Torch Lake" for special events). Years of sitting outdoors have taken their toll on her appearance, and she currently waits in our yard for her turn in the shop for a major restoration to operation that will hopefully come someday. A hydro test a few years ago showed that the boiler is in good shape, but she will require a whole new frame.


Here are some links to some blog posts by one of our curators with a slightly more detailed history

http://blog.thehenryford.org/2013/04/greenfield-villages-one-way-railroad/

http://blog.thehenryford.org/2013/06/greenfield-village-perimeter-railroad-adding-elements/

http://blog.thehenryford.org/2013/05/greenfield-village-perimeter-railroad-completing-the-plan/

http://blog.thehenryford.org/2013/05/greenfield-village-perimeter-railroad-from-concept-to-reality/


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