Last week I took my wife back to Eureka Springs, AR for our 10th anniversary. (Time out...I noticed an old steam engine on the south bound side of US 65 between Harrison & Clinton numbered #4. It was sitting in someone's front yard. Any info on it? Time in...) It was our first trip back to Eureka Springs since our honeymoon. Of course we rode the ES&NA again. I already knew there was no steam but it was still sad... kind of like going to a "steam cemetary" or at least a "steam nursing home." We arrived early for the 10:30am excursion. Their quota is 8 tickets/passengers. At 10:30 we had to wait for more people to show up to meet the quota. That's all I needed to understand why the ES&NA is for sale. It appears to be a nice expensive hobby. The economic downturn has closed a few businesses their...resturants, tourism businesses, etc. Also, I saw a brosure for a longer excursion now in service from the Fayetteville area to the Fort Smith area (I think). That can't be helping the ES&NA. However, since it is also diesel powered, I think more people would come back to the 4 mi. long ES&NA to see live steam. Which leads me to my question... If I recall correctly, SLSF 1522 was re-retired due to the expense of boiler inspections required by the US Dept. of Transportation and for other reasons. I understand no one wanting a boiler to explode and kill someone thus the need for inspections, BUT WHY ARE THEY SO EXPENSIVE? For the people who restored steam locomotives to throw in the towel, it makes me wonder what all a boiler inspection consist of. How often do boilers have to be inspected? Who inspects them? How much does it cost? I hate to admit it, but I got to see why diesels stole the show in the mid 1900's. The brakemen for the ES&NA started the circa 1942 diesel loco like any diesel truck as opposed to building a fire for 1.5 hours to build steam in the wood burner on another track. Still there's nothing like the sights and sounds of live steam!
Hey Brandon, How was your trip to Eureka Springs?? The Steam Locomotive #4 south of Harrison, Ark., is a 0-4-0 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1919, for The Petosky Portland Cement Co., Petosky, MI., it was old #10 when its was there. Its was sold to Penn-Dixie Cement Co. as #10 as The Petosky Portlant Cement Co., was merged with The Penn-Dixie Cement Co., 1955. Then its was sold again to M.K. Stanaback at Grand Rapids, MI., in 1965. Its was sold again to Reat Younger for operation on The Eureka Springs Railroad in Beaver, Ark., 1982. Its was sold again to someone in Branson, Mo., and its was sold agian to Rusty Wheel Old Engine Club Fairground in Harrison, Ark., They own its as of today. They don't run it anymore dues to the boiler need rebuild. How was your ride on The ES&NA RR?? I hope you enjoy yourself. With your other questions I can't answer them, I hope someone else can answer them for you. Brian Waller Railroads Historian
Brandon, Don Wirth or others can probably address specifics on 1522's re-retirement. While I've never worked for a boiler insurer, I do know that boilers of all shapes and sizes typically have to be separately and individually insured against the peril of explosion (many of the commercial property policies I've seen exclude damage resulting from boiler explosions). Government safety regulations notwithstanding, any underwriter worth his/her salt will not insure a boiler that has not been inspected. I also recall reading that BNSF was requiring a pretty hefty General Liability insurance limit for even pulling 1522 onto their right-of-way: maybe a minimum $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 limit?
Here is a bit more about the Baldwin you saw on Highway 65.The Eureka Springs Railroad was a standard gauge tourist railroad located at Beaver, AR. The railroad was a labor of love by the well-known railroad historians Reat and Dreat Younger. The railroad featured a bridge across the White River at Beaver that formerly was in use at Table Rock Lake. The bridge was rebuilt by volunteers. The railroad had a museum, the Missouri & Arkansas Railroad Museum, that was housed in a drover’s caboose on the property. The line operated fitfully for short periods in the late 1970s and early 1980’s. In 1982 the line operated a full tourist season. The line initially provided free rides but later sold tickets. The railroad used two steam locomotives, a Davenport 0-4-0 tank engine and a 1919 0-4-0 Baldwin, that belonged to a third party. The railroad had a combination baggage-passenger car and a caboose. The railroad’s financial problems likely worsened when the steam-powered Eureka Springs & North Arkansas, a tourist line, began operations in nearby Eureka Springs, AR in March 1981. Flooding in 1985 damaged the White River bridge and tracks and caused a cessation of operations. The Eureka Springs Railroad still lives in a scene from the 1982 TV mini series, The Blue and the Gray. One of the leads delivered a speech standing on the rear platform of the baggage-passenger car. In 1987 control of the railroad was sold to interests who moved the operation to the Krazy Horse Ranch near Branson, MO. The engine saw service at Petoskey, MI, not Petosky, MI.
It's not so much a boiler inspection. First, you have to remove all of the jacket and lagging. Then you need to map the whole boiler (except smokebox) in 12" squares and clean off points for ultrasounding the boiler thickness. Next, you remove enough tubes and flues to allow access to the boiler shell inside at all points. Clean the shell down to bare metal and inspect the interior closely for pitting/cracking, etc. An engineer then needs to recalculate everything in order to generate a new FRA Form 4, which is the specification sheets for the boiler. Calculations are made for strength, operating pressure and safety factor using the present thicknesses of the boiler sheets. A sample of each sheet needs to be taken to verify the material. All of the staybolt caps need to be removed and all staybolts inspected for physical defects. All solid staybolts need to be inspected for inpsection hole depth and any signs of leakage as do the crown bolts, which are in the roof sheet of the boiler and hold the top of the firebox in place. If the Gods are smiling upon you and everything works out OK, then you replace the innards and do a hydrostatic test of the boiler, dry pipe superheater units and see that nothing is leaking. The odds of the Gods smiling upon you are somewhere between slim and none. Nature of the beast. In 1522's case, a good deal of roof sheet and crown bolt areas needed serious attention and contracting some of the work would have been extremely expensive. When all of this is done to the satisfaction of the FRA, then the engine is OK'd for 1472 operating days or 15 years, whichever comes first. She is also subject to quarterly and annual inspections. Running gear, appliances, etc also need to meet FRA regs. Add the horrendous cost of insurance, the attitude of the mainline RRs and the need to lease or rent cars at high cost, the difficulty of selling tickets to cover cost and it's easy to see why the 1522 is re-retired.
Brandon, Here is a pictures of the 1919 Baldwin 0-4-0 Locomotive, that I have, that you saw south of Harrison, Ark. I also have pictures of the what is left of The Eureka Springs RR equipments that was located Branson, Mo. But they are longer located in Branson, Mo. One Steam Locomotive, #3, an 0-4-0 , along with the Drover Caboose is now located in Springfield, Mo., at a Photography Studio. The Coaches that was on The ES RR are now gone. What remain are three pieces of equipments. Which I will posted pictures of the remaining 3 equipments. I am sorry if I am taken this Thread and kind of changing the topic. I will try to keep it too a little bit and try to keep it on the topic of what this Thread is really is about. Brian Waller Railroads Historian
All: It seems as if there is enough interest in the North Arkansas lines: The Eureka Springs Railway, the St. Louis & North Arkansas, the Missouri & North Arkansas, the Missouri & Arkansas, the Arkansas & Ozarks, and their descendant, the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas, that it might be prudent at this time to note there is a Yahoogroups list devoted to these roads. I heartily encourage those interested in the above to join in with us at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/northarkansasline/?yguid=330752852 Also, there is a website devoted to the North Arkansas Line at: http://www.northarkansasline.org/ Having also been a fan of all the variations of the North Arkansas line since the mid-seventies, I can attest that it was a fascinating railroad and well worth pursuing a quest of knowledge thereof. At the above Yahoogroups list, us North Arkansas fans can talk it until we're blue in the face and be on topic! Andre Ming
Something makes me doubt thats a real Frisco caboose. Can anyone confirm? I think I'll join the yahoo groups. I more interested in the M&NA than the ES&NA, but I sorta like both. Frisco is my main passion! Ship it on the Frisco!!! Murphy Jenkins
Murphy, The Caboose, as far I know is not an Frisco Caboose, but I am not sure. I join the Yahoo Group for The North Arkansas Line. I have an Yahoo Group for ES&NA RR call "Saving The ES&NA RR". Link is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savingesnarr. Join if you want. Brian Waller Railroads Historian
This is starting to sound a lot like the nuclear world (steam generators) and their inspections. I can see many similarities.
As far as the cost of inspections, Frisco 1522 hit the nail on the head. If anyone would like to the the actual verbage of FRA's CFR part 230, it can be found here: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title49/49cfr230_main_02.tpl Note that any retired locomotive (a loco that hasn't had the paperwork properly filed on an annual basis will be considered retired) has to go through the entire "1472 day" inspection before it can be returned to service. BUT... the ES&NA may not be under FRA so far as the boilers are concerned. I think the litmus test for FRA oversight is a) an interchange with an interstate railroad or tracks within 30 feet of each other and b) crossing a public highway. The ES&NA does not meet either requirement, meaning it would probably be under Arkansas state boiler laws instead of the FRA. I am not familiar with AR boiler laws, but I understood (from secondhand info, so take with a grain of salt) that the state inspector had decreed certain repairs were needed on #201, and I presume a similiar situation exists for the other mogul. Until the state inspector is satisfied, the locos cannot run. These repairs are never cheap as the material and the highly skilled labor to do the job is very expensive. Needless to say, the FRA inspection process as outlined by Frisco 1522 is also pricey. Even if the AR inspection process is somewhat simpler than the FRA, it will certainly still be a costly proposition. Unfortunately, there were valid financial reasons for the railroads converting to diesels... - James
Here is the Arkansas boiler regs in PDF form: http://www.state.ar.us/labor//pdf/boilercodebook.pdf However, when I researched the subject further, it appears that in the last few years the FRA has started asserting its jurisdiction on insular tourist railroads, so it is a safe bet that any ES&NA locos would have to meet FRA regs before returning to service. Just for information, here are the Missouri boiler regs: http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/11csr/11c40-2.pdf - James
