# Vulcan Iron Works Lokie



## Don F

As I mentioned in a few posts on the Huber Breaker Preservation Society Mine Car Restoration thread, we are trying to acquire a Vulcan 0-4-0 steam locomotive that was used by the Glen Alden Coal Co. parent of Blue Coal in Ashley. I had applied for two grants, one from Luzerne Co. and one from Williams Pipeline. We didn't receive either grant. A bit of a setback and disappointment, especially the one from Luzerne Co. 
The young member of our group, Matt is working on a project to produce a model of the recently restored mine car, and the lokie we're trying to get. I have also sent an e mail to one of our State reps, for leads on non matching grants. I'm not very good at cimage skills, so I included a link that has an image of the Vulcan Lokie.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...ujeAhXImeAKHQiHDIcQMwg4KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8


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## Don F

This is a link to some color pics of a Vulcan Lokie
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...ujeAhXImeAKHQiHDIcQMwhIKBAwEA&iact=mrc&uact=8


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## Don F

Here is the video link:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...ujeAhXImeAKHQiHDIcQMwhxKCwwLA&iact=mrc&uact=8


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## Don F

https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/...seeks-to-secure-historic-mine-lokie-1.2418308


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## Don F

We are in the process of filling out another grant application to acquire funding to purchase, transport and begin restoration on the Lokie. This is promising, as we have the backing of our state rep. This is a Local Share Account grant that is funded by casino tax revenue. Since Luzerne County PA has the biggest casino in the state, I assume the funding is equally abundant, at least I hope so. Most of the arrangements have been made; a set purchase price has been determined by the owner, and transport costs are all but complete. A professional estimate of restoration costs is needed to justify grant funds in addition to the other costs. We are requesting $15,000.00 for phase one. Being approved would be a nice belated Christmas gift for the society.


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## Magic

Good luck with the grant, hope it all works out.

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Good luck with the grant, hope it all works out.
> 
> Magic


Thank you! We are excited, and are building a substantial support network of sponsors and volunteers.


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## Don F

Don Kane Jr.
4 mins · 
The Huber Breaker Preservation Society of Ashley PA is sponsoring a Go Fund Me page to raise money for our biggest project to date, the return of a Vulcan Iron Works 0-4-0 steam locomotive that was used in Wanamie, and the Loomis Colliery in Nanticoke. The engine is currently privately owned and resides in Michigan. The current owner would like to see #9 return home. Grants are being sought, and other fundraisers are in the works. Our goal is to restore the Lokie to full operation. Plans include layig track along the west border of the park to run the lokie. Projects that have been completed include a concrete shanty, used to shelter a switchman and to relay track alignment instructions to the switchman. A Central RR of New Jersey mast signal, used to control train movement has also been restored. This past year, a mine car used to haul raw coal from under ground to the processing facility was restored as well. all three are prominently displayed at Miners' Memorial Heritage Park at 101 S Main Street in Ashley. Anyone interested in donating can do so by clicking on the link below. Thank you.
https://www.gofundme.com/help-resto...board_a&rcid=ea6a23d9134145228b39d4fdcc07cc3b


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## Big Ed

WOW, I was only kidding when I asked when were you going to redo an old Locomotive. 

That would make a awesome addition to the park.:smilie_daumenpos:

That will keep you busy for a few weeks !


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## Don F

So far, the grant application has been one giant headache after another. For starters, we had some bad intel on the purchase price by the young fellow spearheading the project. Apparently he thought he had a selling price of $5,00.00 from the owner, and we were basing the grant funding on that figure. The purchase price is 3+ times that figure. Then he had a truck lined up to do the move gratis, and that fell through due to interstate contract issues. By December 24th, we had gotten a new estimate to transport from Michigan to Ashley of over $5,000.00, without crane service at either end. The grant will pay for 85% of the total cost, but we had already been committed to a 15,000.00 request. As if all this additional cost wasn't enough, while I was away in Ocean City MD, the grant coordinator left a message stating that the grant was submitted to the wrong county. Somehow, half way through the application, the county designation changed. I was working with our borough on New Years eve, the deadline to file the grant, and again halfway through the ap, a different county mysteriously appeared. Frustrated, I gave up on the refile, and left a message for the woman handling the grants in Harrisburg, explaining our situation. Fast forward to today, and she is working at her end to modify the original grant, but required a letter from Ashley Borough with all its info as the grant writer and sponsor. Apparently, there is a stipulation in Luzerne Co. that requires the host municipality to apply, and not stated in the instructions. Again, another trip to the borough office with a short letter I typed up for the manager to attach the borough info and his signature to. He e mailed it to the woman directly from his office, so hopefully it will be accepted. If not, I will have to mail a copy and hope that this is the end of this debacle. Sometimes I wonder if these things are intentional to discourage the weak?! If our application is finally accepted, it will be a waiting game until February or March before grants are announced. Sheesh!


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## Magic

Sounds like you're having fun Don. 

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Sounds like you're having fun Don.
> 
> Magic


Yah, I've probably aged ten years in the last week or so! I just mailed a copy of the borough sponsorship letter in case the e mailed version isn't acceptable.


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## Don F

Latest update on the grant application. After finally getting the grant written for the correct county, we got word from Harrisburg that we can apply for the full amount of our estimated cost of purchase and transport, which is $21,950.00. We had to request an updated resolution from Ashley Borough, and rescind the previous resolution for the $15,000.00 reflecting a 15% match. We also had to submit an approval letter from the planning commission, which was basically non existent due to borough oversight regarding expiration of several terms, and the death of another member. We had to include the financial statement of the borough. Fortunately, this was all done via e mail on Wednesday February 13th, which was the date the state gave for final revision submission. We also received a commitment for an additional $5,000.00 from a local business pending grant approval, and an additional $5,000.00 at a later date.


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## Magic

Sounds like this project is moving ahead at "government speed".
Which makes a snail seem fast.
Good luck with it, hope it all works out.
You have much more patience than I do.


Magic


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## wvgca

thanks for the GoFundMe link


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Sounds like this project is moving ahead at "government speed".
> Which makes a snail seem fast.
> Good luck with it, hope it all works out.
> You have much more patience than I do.
> 
> 
> Magic


I have no choice but to be patient, after all the time and frustration. The real kick in the backside would be not getting the grant.


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## Don F

wvgca said:


> thanks for the GoFundMe link


You're welcome.Thanks for looking.


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## Don F

I received word from Ashley Borough this afternoon that our grant was approved; now the fun begins!


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## Magic

Some good news, looks like your patience has paid off.

Magic


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## GNfan

Nice work. :appl: As "GNfan", I guess it's my job to know that the other existing Vulcan is rusting away at the same "train graveyard" in Oregon as the Great Northern steamer that was "stuffed and mounted" at the zoo in Seattle in my childhood.


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## Don F

GNfan said:


> Nice work. :appl: As "GNfan", I guess it's my job to know that the other existing Vulcan is rusting away at the same "train graveyard" in Oregon as the Great Northern steamer that was "stuffed and mounted" at the zoo in Seattle in my childhood.


I heard that the one in Oregon was sold.


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## Don F

On Tuesday, we received a $5,000.00 donation from a local business owner, and this morning, our young project manager was heading to Strasburg to purchase the blue prints from the PA Railroad Museum. He is in the process of arranging transportation to Youngstown for the rebuild.


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## GNfan

Congrats on the donation. 

I suppose its possible that Wanamie 4 (the Vulcan Iron Works locomotive in Merrill, Oregon) has been sold, bur I couldn't find any mention of it. I followed the link you posted, and then googled "Merrill Oregon trains". The impression I get (from old posts on railfan message boards) is that there is a rather large "graveyard" of old railroad equipment there owned by a collector who would rather watch his collection rust away than sell any of it.


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## Don F

Hopefully, the ball is rolling for the lokie project. There has been an interesting development that has changed the dynamic of the project; the HBPS board voted to turn the lokie project over to Ashley Borough. Their reasoning, the borough being the host municipality for the LSA Grant, (Local Share Account, state gambling revenue), the borough is considered by the state as the grant applicant, therefore the lokie after purchase with state funds is the property of the borough. In a perfect world, this would not be an issue, but in Ashley Borough, there is grave concern on my part and that some council members. As of my last discussion with the council president, the purchase agreement paperwork was in the borough solicitor's office for certification. This is one of the state mandated requirements for release of funds. The state holds all monies until the requirements are met. We, Matt Stegura and I are working closely with state representative Ed Pashinski who pushed for the grant approval, and whose father operated this locomotive. He gave us several guidelines, including written documentation on all aspects of the project. I requested this documentation from the borough council president, but that remains to be seen if the borough will comply. Representative Pashinski has also contacted a former owner of the lokie in New Jersey run by the state and now defunct, to acquire parts that still remain on the site where the it was kept. It was some type of preservation society similar to ours. Hopefully, politics will not rear its ugly head in this worthwhile endeavor.


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## Don F

Here is the latest update on the Lokie Project: After months of e mails, phone calls, meetings with the state representative, and borough council meetings, a down payment was finally sent to the proprietor in Michigan. Some council members were alleged to be quietly trying to derail the project, and recently a pro lokie councilman told me the mayor and borough manager are trying to thwart the efforts. 
A location at Miners' Memorial Park has been selected and approved by the Huber Breaker Preservation Society Board. A recent trek through former CNJ yard has yielded more then enough ties to lay thirty feet of rail needed to place the lokie in the selected location. One hundred and twenty feet of rail has been unearthed, and bolts and splice plates removed, and are awaiting transport to the lokie site by a volunteer who owns a trucking company. We only need a thirty foot section for the lokie, so the remaining rails will be stored for use to move the lokie in and out of a pavilion that will be erected once the lokie is in place. A second grant has been applied for to crane the lokie in Michigan and Ashley, and for the pavilion. Once the rail is in place, arrangements will be made to transport the lokie back to Pa.


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## Don F

A big thank you to Gerry Maldonado, for donating 120 feet of rail for the lokie. And a big thank you to John Halliday and his team from John Halliday Trucking of Ashley, for volunteering his time, manpower and equipment to move the rail to Miners' Memorial Park. Last week, a small crew of HBPS members exposed and dismantled the rail, and today, it was safely and expeditiously moved to the park, and stored near the proposed site of the lokie. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any photos of the removal process, but I did get several of the off loading.

On Wednesday March 18th, we will be meeting to discuss reorganizing and renaming the society. Since preservation of the breaker is no longer the mission, it was recommended by board president George Lehman, that the society meet to discuss the changes of our mission, and the future of the society. He also strongly encouraged all members to recruit new members in order to keep the society moving forward. I would encourage anyone who has an interest in the Mining, Railroad and other industries of Ashley's storied past, to attend the meeting. we meet in the Earth Conservancy Building, (the former Blue Coal offices), at 101 S Main Street at 6:30 PM.

We are currently in the process of acquiring and transporting Wanamie number 9 steam lokie to Miners' memorial Park. The lokie was used at Wanamie and Loomis in Hanover Twp. to transfer mine cars from the slope to the processing facilities. We have completed several steps in the process, including securing grants to purchase and transport the lokie,
and acquisition of the rail. We have located a sufficient amount of ties, which is next on the list. A location has been proposed and approved, and preparation of the area will begin shortly. This will include leveling and compacting the site, and then laying the ties and rail.

Volunteers are always welcome, and can contact Don Kane Jr at 570 824 3499, or any member of the society.


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## Big Ed

Hi Don, nice of the man to donate the heavy equipment and bring the rail there.
Is this lokie running, or do you have to fix that too?

Tell me, the next to the last picture ( and some of the other pictures) what is that mesh like stuff on the ground?
Is that something you lay down, then add rock over the top and it's purpose is to hold the rock in place better? Or is that a base for pouring concrete?

This pictures shows it,








Looking forward to your rebuild.
Wished I lived closer, I am about 3 hours from there.


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## Don F

Ed,
That is a plastic honeycomb type grid, and just as you surmised, it gets laid down and interlocked, and then filled with gravel. It's a nice concept, but there are a few spots the have bubbled up, and I'm not sure what the fix is for that. The weeds are horrendous too!
The lokie is far from operational. It needs a full tear down and a new saddle tank fabricated. It is missing a lot of other parts too. Our goal is to get it operational at some point, but that will be a major expense. Once the lokie is place on the track, a pavilion will be built over it. The pavilion will be able to closed in to become an engine house, but that is well into the future as well.


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## Don F

Two of us from the society picked out 25 ties from a pile along the old CNJ line in Ashley. We had permission from Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority to take them. Fortunately, the pile is near the borough building, and the head of the road department brought the backhoe to sort the good ties and drag them to a more accessible location. We then used tie tongs and loaded 7 at a time into my trailer and drove them the short distance to the park, and staged them near the rails. No photos, as even if I had the camera, we were too busy dragging loading and unloading. The last 2 pics are the proposed site for the lokie.


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## Big Ed

I used to pickup new ties and timber in the early 70's out of Virginia after I delivered our scenic RR material down in the Smokie's. 
This is when they were creosoted. I hated them as they were plenty gooey, and even in the winter the yard was hot because of all the steam they used. The summer was worse. Plus you were always swatting fly's away. Seemed like they were there year round.
Plus being so slippery I had to keep a watchful eye on the load because no matter how tight you binded them down with the chains they would walk out the back from being so gooey. Plus all the chains got coated with the crap.
A lot of time all I could do is tighten the chains up some more and tack a red flag on the back.
And if you happened to get a little creosote on your skin it would burn like acid!

They give you some tie plates and joiner bars and spikes with them? 

Your Lokie should fit nice on a lowboy trailer. 
It can't be much larger then this locomotive?
That would fit on a drop deck trailer nice.


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## Don F

The tie plates that are on many of the ties are for heavier mainline rail. We're using a lighter rail that was from a siding. Unless we can find the narrower tie plates, we'll just spike the rail directly to the ties.


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## Don F

Well, we are almost ready to bring home #9! A suitable site was chosen by our board and the Ashley Borough Recreation Committee. The site was leveled, the track is laid and ballasted, and the final bid for a crane in Michigan will be submitted on Wednesday. This will fulfill the 3 required bids for all phases of the move. Now the ball is in the borough's court to submit a funding request from the state grants. Hopefully, the lokie will be here very soon.


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## Don F

A few more pics with the rails.


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## Big Ed

You forgot the tie plates?
Drilled holes for the spikes? 
The boss I use to deliver the railroad stuff for had a brother up in Albany, NY.
He used to put in new sidings up in the area. He had a Gandy dancer gang, might have been some of the last Gandy workers around. They were all from Birmingham Alabama area, winter came they all went home.
They all moved in unison while singing their songs and went along and spiked the rail down. Let me tell you that they moved right along. Good guys to, funny. Brings back memories. They called me big white boy. Never Ed. 
It was something to watch.


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## Don F

This isn't mainline rail, so the tie plates are not the right ones. This rail was the end of a siding mostly for cabooses, and wasn't even on ties. It had two rods bolted as spacers. Most of the rail was almost buried. we had to dig it out. I was able to heat the bolts at the joiners and saved enough to add another 30 foot section for our second mine car. This 64 year old drove all but two of the spikes, and yes, I drilled 1/2" pilot holes. Also had to come back and finish driving the spikes on a second day. I don't envy the guys who did this for a living one bit! I remember watching a segment of On the Road with Charles Kuralt that featured Gandy Dancers. It's amazing what men are capable of when we work together! It's getting late, so I will watch the video tomorrow. Here are a few photos














of the finished rail section.


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## Big Ed

I know you don't need the tie plates for what you are planning.

I hear you on the work Don, I tried spiking a few times. It take practice. I can't imagine spiking all day in the heat.
It helps a whole lot if you have a spike maul to hammer with. Made for the job
And most of the time you hit while standing on the opposite side of the rail. If you happen to miss the spike when on the opposite side you may save your leg from being hit.


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## Don F

One of the guys who was working with me has two, but would not bring them, as they are part of his collection. I did work on the opposite side until I ran out of sledge hammer head!. If you notice, there is foam around the handle to protect it. I split a lot of wood with sledge and wedge.


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## Don F

Well, after nearly two years of paperwork, e mails, phone calls, bids, council meetings and board meetings, the lokie preparations are complete. The trucking company, and one of our members will be heading to Grand Rapids to bring #9 back home. Loading will commence at 9 AM on Wednesday June 24. Once the lokie is secure, the truck will depart Michigan and should arrive in Ashley PA sometime in the evening!


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## Magic

Very good news indeed.
Can't wait to see some pictures.
Good luck with the move.

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Very good news indeed.
> Can't wait to see some pictures.
> Good luck with the move.
> 
> Magic


I'm hopeful all will go well. There will be photos for sure!


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## Don F

Matt Stegura, the originator of the Bring #9 Home idea, is inside #9 in Grand Rapids. He'll be prepping her for the journey home, and taking photos and video of the loading tomorrow. She should arrive in Wilkes-Barre sometime tomorrow night, and remain on the truck in the yard until Thursday, when she will be set onto the rails in her new home in Ashley.


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## Don F

Loaded and ready to come home!


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## Big Ed

Looks good sitting on the rig. 
Do you have an estimate of the weight of the locomotive?
Curious as to what the hauling charge is too? Just the hauling charge.
Just in time for the summer heat, you ought to build a tent of some sort over it to protect you from the sun as you work on it.
The shade will drop the temperature a little too. And a couple of fans will keep you cooler.


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## cid

Big Ed said:


> Just in time for the summer heat, you ought to build a tent of some sort over it to protect you from the sun as you work on it.
> The shade will drop the temperature a little too. And a couple of fans will keep you cooler.


Haha, kind of ironic; can you just imagine what it was like to stoke that firebox during the summer??
"shade", "fans", just shoot me...


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## Don F

Big Ed said:


> Looks good sitting on the rig.
> Do you have an estimate of the weight of the locomotive?
> Curious as to what the hauling charge is too? Just the hauling charge.
> Just in time for the summer heat, you ought to build a tent of some sort over it to protect you from the sun as you work on it.
> The shade will drop the temperature a little too. And a couple of fans will keep you cooler.


The crane company used a 50 ton crane. The same company set the lokie in MI. It's live weight when it was in service filled with water, was 27 tons. In its current state, it is missing several parts including the saddle tank. The trucking company, Falzone Towing of Wilkes-Barre gave us a very special price for hauling and setting her on the rails in Ashley, about 1/3 the cost of the other two companies that submitted bids. We have a 20' X 30' pavilion planned to cover her. There will also be an extra 30' of track to pull her out when needed.


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## cid

"The lokie was built in 1915 by Vulcan Iron Works in Wilkes-Barre. It weighs 27 tons when the tank is full of water. 
There is no tender; the lokie coal box would be filled from large chunks of anthracite from piles along the tracks." - The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre)

Like they say, a prototype for everything! 😄 I wish them all success!


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## Don F

cid, the article you referred to was written by a friend of mine who is retired from the CV, but still writes articles, mostly of historic significance concerning RR's and mining. I just received word from the trucking company that the lokie will arrive sometime around 2 PM this afternoon.


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## Don F

Here is the video of #9 being placed on the rails. I have close to 60 photos, so that will take some time to upload.


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## Don F

I'll post photos in small groups in several posts.


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## Don F

It took some precision driving, and some repositioning from one of the 75 ton wreckers to get the lowboy along side the rails.


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## Big Ed

That is what we used to do when dropping off our RR rail to new sidings going in. When you back up while following the track roadbed 2 miles into the woods you get to a certain point that you have to lift the back of the trailer to position it so you can back up more. Nice equipment Falzone has. And nice of them to give you a good price.
Now the fun begins. 
Pavilion first?
I was thinking.........smoke, grind, grind, smoke,.............. just like us with our layouts, wouldn't it be great in the future to make a loop in the yard so that when you get her running you can ride it around the loop? 
Good for the locomotive. Or something like a switching layout? 
I might have asked before what is the tall stack in the background?
I see nothing else around it unless it is out of site.


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## Don F

Several attempts were made to lift the lokie, but the suspension kept causing the lokie to flex, and the chains slipped causing her to shift and tilt. The chains were removed from around the under frame, and straps were placed around the boiler in front of the cab.









































































Don F said:


> It took some precision driving, and some repositioning from one of the 75 ton wreckers to get the lowboy along side the rails.
> View attachment 544252
> View attachment 544253
> View attachment 544254
> View attachment 544255
> View attachment 544256
> View attachment 544257
> View attachment 544258
> View attachment 544259
> View attachment 544260
> View attachment 544261


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## Don F

Ed.
We've already started some work. One guy cleaned out the cab, and another took one of the window frames to fabricate new ones. On Friday morning, I went with duct tape and expandable foam to seal all the openings where asbestos could fall from. We are working on a plan for some guys from the Asbestos Abatement Union to remove the asbestos. It may not cost us anything, as it may be done as training for apprentices. The stack is from the boiler house from the Blue Coal facility. As for running #9, that has always been a goal. Along the western border with the Blue Coal site, the ground is flat and fairly straight. There is a concrete road that much of the track would sit on. It wouldn't be a loop, but rather point to point.


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## Don F

In the first photo, when the operators set the lokie back on the trailer, the rear flange pierced the deck board on the lowboy. The last photo, touchdown!


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## Don F

It's been a little less then a month since #9 came home. Our small group of key personnel met with our state rep for lunch yesterday to discuss the next phase of the project. This will include erecting a pavilion, (posts and a tin roof) over the lokie. Bids have been secured, and as soon as they are examined, a contractor will be chosen to construct a 20" W X 30" L X 15" H covering. Then the pavilion can be enclosed in plastic so the asbestos, (what little remains), can be removed. This may be done by union apprentices as part of their training at no cost. We also discussed transferring funds from the HBPS to Ashley Borough to be coupled with a transfer of funds from the now disbanded ambulance association to go towards a media and educational center. The building will be designed to replicate the former Huber breaker. We also plan to extend the rails an additional 30 feet to accommodate a second mine car that was rebuilt by students from a local vocational school. The extended trackage will also allow for the lokie to be lulled out of the pavilion for work requiring open space, such as replacing the missing saddle tank. We are also beginning the process to determine restoration costs to return #9 to static operation, and hopefully, at some point, short rides along the park border.


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## cole226

Congrats to all you guys Don. Ya got her back home to the valley 🇺🇸 🇺🇸.


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## Don F

Thanks. I was at the park this afternoon taking some measurements for the rear buffers and cab floor plates. There are parts from her in New Jersey where she was on display years ago. Hopefully, we can get those. Anything we don't have to buy or fabricate is a plus.


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## Big Ed

Don F said:


> Thanks. I was at the park this afternoon taking some measurements for the rear buffers and cab floor plates. There are parts from her in New Jersey where she was on display years ago. Hopefully, we can get those. Anything we don't have to buy or fabricate is a plus.


Where was she in Jersey?
And why did they move her west?
Sounds like she spent more time on the road then on the rails.


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## Don F

Ed,
It was at a preservation society similar to ours, but govt run. It folded, and the lokie went to Iowa. I don't know who owned there, but another company almost bought it to convert it to gas power for excursions or park rides, not really certain. Fortunately, it was saved when Neil "Bud" Vierson bought it and moved it to his boiler repair facility in MI.


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## Don F

We are ready for the next phase of the lokie project. We are getting a grant from the state for $23,000.00 to have a pavilion erected around the lokie. It will be 30 feet wide by 40 feet long, and 15 feet to the ceiling. Future plans include building flys that lit and stand on temporary poles to double the width for meetings, picnics, and educational seminars and historical programs. The money is tied up in Harrisburg, but hopefully, we can get the roof built before the snow flies.


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## cole226

Good luck dealing with Harrisburg. Maybe it won't snow this winter.


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## Don F

Ususally the LSA Grant awards are announced in early spring, but the pandemic delayed that for several months, and then infighting between dems and reps have further delayed the procedure. Our funding is approved, but without an official announcement, everyone waiting on the funding is left in limbo. Funding next year will be reduced substantially because the casinos were shut down fro so long, and capacities are reduced.


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## Don F

Some news to report about our grant for the Lokie pavilion. The grant was finally approved in July. I thought we would have had the pavilion completed by now, but dealing with the borough hasn't been smooth. I was told by a council member that a vote by council was needed to approve construction. This was supposed to be placed on the agenda in September. It didn't make it on the agenda, so it was supposed to be on for the October meeting, which didn't happen either. Finally, at our preservation society meeting, we decided to contact the council president. We now have a meeting scheduled for next Wednesday to discuss moving forward with the project. Bids and contracts will be sent to the borough office in advance of the meeting, and hopefully, the project can get underway. With any luck, the weather will cooperate so holes can be dug and posts set before any hard freezing occurs. 
We also have money remaining from a previous grant to fence the property, but that is another story for another day.


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## Magic

Don, just the other day I was wondering what was happening to this project.
Gotta love how governments work. 😢 
Hopefully things will get moving soon. 

Magic


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## Don F

Magic said:


> Don, just the other day I was wondering what was happening to this project.
> Gotta love how governments work. 😢
> Hopefully things will get moving soon.
> 
> Magic


The whole situation has been a nightmare since the demolition of the breaker and boiler house. I have been working to locate property lines, but when the boiler house was demolished, tons of debris was pushed onto the park property. There are three corner pins that I have been unable to locate. The head of the road department and I worked two weeks ago to remove much of the soil and debris, and will wrap up that project later this morning. A neighbor and borough councilman and I went last week with a metal detector to try and locate the pins without success. The property will now have to be at least partially surveyed. 
On a positive side, we were awarded another grant for a second pavilion. On the down side, we are facing a deadline of June 2022 to complete two of the three projects. The grant covering the fence project was already extended twice. Work to restore the lokie has been progressing slowly and in small steps. Parts that have no affect on the asbestos are being removed and either repaired or replaced. Once the pavilion is complete, the sides can be closed in and asbestos abatement can proceed. The Asbestos Union has agreed to remove the asbestos at no charge.


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## Don F

I was at the park yesterday with the head of the road department. We spent almost four hours; he removing debris and soil covering one of the property lines, as I tried to visualize a sight line to guide him. This was the second day of the project. After he completed a pass, It was determined that more material needed to be moved. Completion will have to wait for another day, as it was just about lunch time, and the machine was low on fuel. About a fifty foot section remains. There are also a few areas that require stump removal and grading.


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