Air Drying the 9's (Three truck Shay) steam cylinders

As part of the yearly preparation for long term storage, the MCRR staff tries to eliminate as much water as possible from the passageways within the locomotive. By running the 9 on compressed air, nearly all of the condensed water can be forced out of the steam pipes, air compressor, and steam cylinders.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• MCRR
• steam
• railroad
• narrow
• gauge
• Iowa
• Mt.
• Pleasant
• Shay
• Lima

[CGiordano464]

whta pressure that at? like 80

[steamairman]

The gasoline twin screw compressor runs a bit over 100PSI, but I am not sure of the exact pressure. Consider that the boiler usually runs at 175PSI, the "low" pressure from the compressor works adequately for this task.

[applejak2000]

@steamairman

That's an absolutely fabulous Shay !! Ranks right up there with Cass No.5 shop number 1503, built 1905; 80 ton-3 truck. Are you familiar with her? It's my favorite. But MCRR #9 is pretty nice! I'm also glad to see that youall got the original number plate back! Excellent!! Right now I'm building a Live Steam 1 1/2" scale three truck Climax, but after that, I hope to build a 1 1/2" scale three truck Shay, most likely after Cass #5 (because I live closest to that Shay)