Chris's Worthington Brewery Pump

[crueby]

Will you be lapping all those valves?

 

No, each will get a rubber pad just like the originals used, just a lot thinner.  I have some 0.030" silicon rubber, will cut discs of that to go on the valves. The originals had a thick molded rubber disc. The catalog pages I posted several days ago show them.


 

[cnr6400]

  Stems and discs are looking great Chris! But which of them is Disc O? 

[crueby]

Stems and discs are looking great Chris! But which of them is Disc O? 

The one in the trash!  Ick!

[bent]

" You'd almost think someone was wanting to pass lots of fluid through em... "

Can't get too much beer too fast! 

Valves are checking out okay by me, Chris!  They'll get my seal of approval. 

[crueby]

" You'd almost think someone was wanting to pass lots of fluid through em... "

Can't get too much beer too fast! 

Valves are checking out okay by me, Chris!  They'll get my seal of approval. 

Pun Police! Pickup on aisle three!


 

[cnr6400]

  Anybody know a good bail bondsman that handles pun police arraignments? (askin fer a friend) 

[Sanjay F]

Surely you are not suggesting that the use of puns should be PUNished? 

[crueby]

Surely you are not suggesting that the use of puns should be PUNished? 

Yes, but only by watching old episodes of The Red Green Show to learn more puns!   

[samc88]

I admire your patience making all of those parts Chris, I must admit my motivation is lacking when it comes to even a pair

[crueby]

Just back from the logging museum up in Maine, went up to work on the Lombard Crew driving one of the steam powered and two of the gas powered Lombard log haulers (again). Great fun, amazing weather, huge turnout (1000 on Saturday, 600 Sunday). I don't have many pictures, but here are some videos that Aaron from the museum took at the previous event. Thats me at the throttle on the first two, and at the wheel on the third...
Looks like 'short' videos only come through as the link, follow it to the video...
https://youtube.com/shorts/JD9eC6TTlhE?feature=share


<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfML2pIL6gc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfML2pIL6gc</a>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcta4X0Xao" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcta4X0Xao</a>

[Michael S.]

Hello Chris, you had a lovely weekend 👍.
I'm always amazed at how easy it is to steer this reptile with two wheels in front.

Michael

[crueby]

Hello Chris, you had a lovely weekend 👍.
I'm always amazed at how easy it is to steer this reptile with two wheels in front.

Michael

Its not easy at all, takes a lot of force to turn the wheel, almost impossible  if its not moving. The entire front axle pivots in the center, like a traction engine, but since it has spur gears any rock or hole a wheel hits transfers the force directly back to the steering wheel. Its six or seven turns of the steering wheel from one direction to the  other, and a rock in the road can snap the steering wheel around several turns if it gets out of my grip. Most importantly,  no fingers through between the  spokes or you will lose them in a split second. I am about 200 pounds,and I  get shifted sideways a few inches on the seat a lot! We weighed the front end, there is just about 1 ton on the front wheels, 20 tons on the tracks.
Lombard licensed the design to the Phoenix company in Wisconsin  who made a similar  machine. Two big changes, the cylinders were vertical like Lombards prototype,  and they angled the steering wheel to add a worm gear,making it much easier to steer without the feedback.
Still, a lot of fun to drive! I am in the process of getting my state boiler operating  license,  so I can  operate the throttle and act as fireman and manage the water injectors, even more fun!

[bent]

Lonely job for the steersman out front.  I suppose he has a way of signalling the throttle crew to slow down, other than by bailing out and waving as they go by? 

[crueby]

Lonely job for the steersman out front.  I suppose he has a way of signalling the throttle crew to slow down, other than by bailing out and waving as they go by? 

 


Yes! There are two ropes to the steam whistle, one to the engineer in the cab, one to the front right corner of the smokebox next to the steersman, since they can't  see or hear each other. Two toots to go forward, three for reverse, one for stop. Each is repeated by the other person to acknowledge the  signal. Simpler than the engine room telegraph on a ship, no signal for speed, the engineer can see the log sleds and handles speed, max around 5 to 7 mph on level ground.


I heard a great audio recording of an old steersman  made in the 1960s. He recounted a time when they were going up a grade with a train of sleds behind them. The drive chain on one side broke, so that track lost power. Since there is a differential between the chain sprockets to each track, that meant the differential  just spun, no power to the other track either. Uh oh! The sleds pulled the Lombard back down the hill. The steersman  saw the engineer and fireman in the snow next to the road after they leapt out of the cab. He stayed on the wheel and kept the Lombard out of the trees. Then likely  went for a change of trousers...


And the steersman  was the highest  paid crew member,  he was out front in the cold in the m8ddle of winter, not a lot of heat off the smokebox unlike lots in the cab. Also the steersman is  5he first into the trees in a crash, and if he has 5o jump free he needs to go far enough that the tracks dont squish him...


On Saturday  we had close to 1000 visitors,  so lots of cars in the lots we drive through. I  had to slolom in places with inches to car bumpers on either side. No stress there! At least the ground was dry so no understeer on the corners! The steamer is a lot wider than the has versions which have the tracks under the frame.


In real use, they only ran the steamers in the winter on roads with iced in ruts for the sleds, and iron shod skis instead of the wheels we use in the summer. The tracks are out wide for stability and so the straddle the sled tracks. Amazing piwer in steam engines, the steam log haulers could pull up to 300 tons of log sleds at a time! Up and down grades. Not sure of the max grade. They would spread straw on the ruts on downhill sections to slow the sleds and keep them from over running the hauler. No brakes anywhere. The sleds were specially designed with a pair of runners at each end of every log stack, linked crosswise so eac set would follow in the same place, unlike curving in like if you are dragging a rope.

[crueby]

And got my pictures off the camera (still unpacking from the trip). Here is the Machinery Hall first thing in the morning when we opened the doors, and heard the Lombards all stamping and tooting whistles, ready to go for the day! There are two steamers and three gas powered haulers in there...  Forgive the color cast on these, I think I left the camera on the setting for the workshop lights.   

Good shot of the dump truck Lombard... The other one has a fixed rear bed

This is how the dump bed looks up. There is a power takeoff from the engine that drives a small gear on a long curved rack, really cool...

The engine of it, 6 cylinder.

 The others have huge Sterling 6 cylinder (brand, not the hot-air Sterling Cycle type!) engines in them

There were also four of these 1-horsepower engines pulling the wagons for rides!     One pair Percherons, other pair Belgians.