WRC Projects

WRC crews have spent a great deal of time in Switzerland working on 141 R 568. During the late 2009 inaugural runs the 568 encountered a few problems. WRC is working to repair such items as the feed water heater system, minor boiler repairs and more. We expect 568 be back out and running for early fall and possible mid summer excursions behind the William Cook Rail Swiss Classic Train. You can see the train and read it’s history here at the Swiss Classic Train web page.

Wasatch Railroad Contractors is pleased to announce that the Swanton Pacific Railroad has elected to install new boilers on what could be all of their historic locomotive fleet. This monumental project begins with Locomotive 1913. This beautiful 19 inch gauge 4-6-2 Pacific has been out of service for a number years.  Having had some boiler repairs made, and owing to the fact that even more repairs were needed, the staff at the SPRR has elected to make a big step in terms of preservation by purchasing new locomotive boilers.

WRC will build a new boiler for locomotive No. 1913 at our Cheyenne, WY facility. The new boiler will be installed on the 1913’s frame and running gear in Wyoming.  Once complete, the boiler and frame will be sent back to California for final assembly. This first boiler is expected to take between 6 to 8 months to complete.

No. 1913 is one of three 19 inch gauge locomotives operated by the SPRR which were originally built in the early 20th Century to operate at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.

The locomotive and container departed California on Friday, April 9, 2010 and arrived in Wyoming on Monday, April 12, 2010.

Work is progressing quite well on our prototype Cagney Class D boiler. We have been able to assemble many of the major components, which includes the boiler barrel, smoke box, front tube sheet, wrapper sheets, firebox, mud ring, and back head. At this point, we still have the staybolts and tubes to install.

If you will notice in the picture of the smoke box, the pattern for tube arrangement is not the same as in original Class D boilers. This arrangement provides for a total of 26 tubes and will make a considerable increase in the overall heating surface area of the boiler.

Welds joining the wrapper sheets and back head will be polished smooth in the final product.

The prototype boiler still requires the installation of tubes, staybolts, and a few other items, as well as heat treatment, hydrostatic tests, and final inspection.

Once the prototype boiler is completed, designs for the boiler will be finalized and production on duplicate boilers will commence.

12►

The WRC team attended the Train Mountain Triennial Meet from June 20 to June 28, 2009. Mike Lewis and his family arrived at the largest miniature railroad on Saturday, June 20, to begin an early setup of the WRC vendor display. CEO John Rimmasch, accompanied by his father, Dwight, arrived a little later in the week after fulfilling other WRC projects in progress.

For those that may not know, Train Mountain has been highlighted in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Longest Miniature Hobby Railroad. It currently has over 22 real miles of 7½ inch gauge track spread over a little more than 2,000 acres of forest land near Chiloquin, OR.

Several attendees came from all over the world for the meet. WRC had the opportunity to meet and talk with people from Switzerland, Australia, England, and Canada, as well as the many, many people from all over the United States.

While many attendees were already on site, more and more arrived each day throughout the week. WRC was the only vendor present offering boiler services for maintenance and construction, and we were very happy to talk to the many people who stopped by our booth to ask questions. The questions presented ranged from boiler basics (like, “How exactly does a boiler work?” or “What’s inside a boiler?”) to more technical questions relating to ASME/NBIC Code construction and repairs. To facilitate answering the many questions, WRC brought two boilers for show: The retired boiler from John Rimmasch’s 15-inch gauge Cagney (which has sections cut out to allow visitors to see the inside), and an incomplete, new construction Code boiler WRC is building for a client.

Additionally, the WRC team presented two scheduled seminars during the week. On Tuesday, June 23, Mike Lewis presented an overview of the company, its involvement with a variety of full-scale boiler projects (i.e. UP 844, SNCF 141 R 568, etc.), and other company background information.

This was followed up on Thursday morning with a complete presentation by John Rimmasch about the ASME Code for steam boilers. Time went very quickly, and because of the large interest for discussion during this session, an impromptu session was scheduled for later that afternoon. The discussion also covered basic boiler maintenance, types of materials used in construction, how the ASME Code relates to codes and standards established in other countries, and what the advantages are of getting a Code boiler.

John Rimmasch also had the opportunity to visit with many of the live steam operators and their locomotives, and even offer some suggestions and answer questions with their boiler operation and maintenance. As a result, WRC even left the event with two extra boilers in the back of the truck to be worked on at the shop in Cheyenne, WY.

The team had fun too. Mike Lewis’ family enjoyed several train rides around the Mountain throughout the week, and the WRC team was treated to a late evening ride by members of the Assiniboine Valley Railway, visiting from Manitoba, Canada.