Sunday, September 17, 2023

Traction motor installations on GP-9 number 72 at Conway Scenic Railroad on 9/17/23

 

Today overall crane helped Wayne Allen , Adam Bartley, Cory Fothergill, and  Ryan Fothergill install two traction motor combos into GP9 72. This project included building a combo from scratch , as well as installing one that the club received from the Mass Bay Grant. Special thanks to Dave Swirk and Andrew Seeley for helping operate equipment as well.





Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Train Video September 2023



 

Thanks to Videographer Dana T. Lindsey of the Maine 3Railers

Monday, September 11, 2023

Repair Work and Traction Motor Preparation for GP-9 #72 on September 9-10, 2023

 

This weekend Jm Hamlin helped clean out the rotted metal from the short hood of 72. Once this section is cleaned we can see what needs to be cut out (if anything is left 😉). We will weld in new metal to the
sub floor, reattach the number 1 traction motor and fix the bathroom floor. Wayne Allen finished removing old cab heater piping and wiring . He removed the remaining truck brake rigging in prep for traction motor installation. Cory Fothergill finished polishing the rear axle that will have a traction motor added to it next weekend. A bad voltage regulator was replaced as well.

Cleaning out under the  Short Hood of GP-9 #72


Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Work on GP-9 72 (1741) Track Motor Blower on on September 2-3 2023

 

Cory Fothergill and Wayne Allen continued work on 72 (1741) this weekend. A traction motor blower had been making some noise, first motor #4 was changed out, as it was the loudest. The housing was full of dry oil, fuel, and sand mixed together. The locomotive was restarted but found that there was a similar noise coming from the other side. At that point motor 3 was removed, found to have bad bearings and also full of oil and crap from years of neglect. At the end of the day both traction motor blowers are quiet and doing their job now. The traction motor blowers on our F units and GP9 are ac motors that spin a cage to provide cool air to the traction motors to keep them from overheating and receiving damage. Each locomotive has 4 of these ac blowers. 72 was also moved to put more oil in it, and the rear axle was worked on again for prep to have a traction motor installed in a few weeks. We hope to have all 4 traction motors installed by winter. 

Here is 72 on the turntable at North Conway

72 Moving on the Turntable

Monday, August 28, 2023

Water Cab Heater and Brake Work on GP-9 #72 on August 27-28

 This weekend Wayne Allen and Cory continued work on the 72. The old water cab heaters have been removed from the cab and all plumbing removed as well. These heaters will be replaced with electric heater once the new cab floor is installed. One of the biggest challenges in keeping locomotives “healthy” is keeping water, oil, and electricity where they should be at all times. The water cab heaters had leaks and require lots of attention so as almost every other GP7/9 have been updated we will do the same. The brake rigging has been partially removed and rear axle has been polished to get ready to install traction motors

GP-9 No 72 Side View Video

GP-9 NO 72 Top View Video

Sunday, August 27, 2023

New Brunswick to Rockland Passenger Service by Midcoast Rail

Midcoast Rail and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) have started new passenger service between Brunswick and Rockland.  They are operating the service with self-propelled Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDC) 


New Passenger Service to Rockland


Coastliner Trips to Rockland

Monday, August 21, 2023

GP-9 1741 Additional Work on August 19-20

 

This weekend Wayne Allen and Cory Fothergill got a chance to do some more work on locomotive 1741/72. Leaking water lines on the air compressor were replaced, a new engine protector device was installed, the traction motor duct boots have begun to be replaced as well as cleaning axles for traction motor installation. The main generator brush holders were cleaned up and she was started for several tests. There is a small hole in an exhaust stack that will be corrected which is the noise you hear in the video. Otherwise the 1741/72 motor runs clean . Work will continue in the following weeks.