Bay State DL-109 Restoration Project

[Rufus T. Firefly]

There is a lot more work to restore all this than originally anticipated.

Seems all too common, Goes closely with "What was I thinking?"

[up148]

Whoaaaaa. That is a very interesting drive and by design it's fabrication time when parts wear out. Some owner before you came up with some clever repairs, but wow, this is a monster repair.

[R.K. Maroon]

This is a monster repair

What was I thinking?

The line between a challenge and tedium lies in a different spot for each of us. Needless to say, I find the reincarnation of these dinosaurs to be an enjoyable and satisfying challenge.

Here is the plan for the restoration of the drives and chassis for unit #1:

-- Build up six wheelsets using a combination of new and old components
-- Recondition the journals on the truck sideframes
-- Restore the butchered truck bolster back to its original configuration
-- Clean and paint the chassis and sideframes
-- Service the motors
-- Assemble, wire, and test

I'll tackle these one at a time, starting with the wheelsets. The goal is to have all six wheelsets matched as far as wheels and axles and to recreate the original gearing and metal-chain setup. The existing wheelsets are a mismatched lot. Fortunately, I have new wheelsets of the correct length and wheel, axle, and journal diameters:



As can be seen, new gears are in hand too. This is part luck and part long-term planning. I learned early on that an inventory of gears is all but essential for doorstop restoration, so I squirrel them away any chance I get. But, even with a multi-pound box of gears, I considered it quite fortunate to find NOS Boston Gears that matched the original: 30 tooth axle gear, double-turn worm.

The next step is to salvage the sprockets from the axles. Not all were viable but I had a few spares. Unfortunately, they don't all match:



Off to the lathe!
Jim

[Rufus T. Firefly]

This is a monster repair

What was I thinking?

The line between a challenge and tedium lies in a different spot for each of us. Needless to say, I find the reincarnation of these dinosaurs to be an enjoyable and satisfying challenge.

I will concede that to be true. And in the near future I'll be going forward with that "What was I thinking?" trolley body I picked up in Strasburg, quite probably converting it into a diner after clearing several ongoing projects from the bench to make adequate space.

[up148]

Obviously our comments were compliments to your skillsets and ability.....as it wouldn't be possible for someone with less. The fact you have most, if not all of the parts in stock, is a major plus as fabricating them would be huge. Anyway you cut it, this project is not for the faint of heart and I look forward to your progress Jim. This is the kind of repair/build journey we used to read and see in train magazines......... and I miss them.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

This is the kind of repair/build journey we used to read and see in train magazines......... and I miss them.

Yes, and things could have been different. Poor choices and decisions were made.