Photo Exhibition Heading to Topeka

The Center for Railroad Photography and Art, John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library and the Coalition for Sustainable Rail are happy to announce the opening of a photo exhibition at the Great Overland Station in Topeka, Kansas this Saturday, July 20.  The exhibition, "View from the Top" showcases the works of seasoned railroad executive John W. Barriger III and were taken during the 1930s and 1940s. 

Photographer John Walker Barriger III (1899-1976) ranks among the 20th century's most significant railroad leaders, having achieved high acclaim for his leadership of federal transportation agencies and private railroad enterprises. Barriger's use of photography in making decisions and prophesies was unusual, but the photographs he took of railroad infrastructure helped him pinpoint what ailed railroads, both in general and specifically. So successful was his problem-solving style from the 1920s into the 1970s that he became known as "the doctor of sick railroads."

CSR Director of Project Management Rob Mangels, a steam locomotive engineer and mechanic with years of experience operating large locomotives over main lines in the U.S., explains that "the work outlined in Barriger's photographs document a time gone by and the raw power of the steam locomotive. Our work with CSR is a new approach to the issue; pursuing the modernization of one traditional locomotive to record data from which truly modern, new-build steam locomotives can be developed."

The exhibition was prepared by the Center for Railroad Photography & Art and the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library. The Center (www.railphoto-art.org) is based in Madison, Wisconsin, and works with institutions around the country to preserve and present significant images of railroading. The library, a special collection of the St. Louis Mercantile Library on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus, stands today as one of North America's largest and finest railroad history collections.

Locomotive 3463 Prepped to Roll

Towards the end of June, CSR completed a successful trip to Topeka to prepare locomotive 3463 for its first big trip in 57 years.   In just a few day's time, the crew drained and inspected all of the locomotive's roller bearing axles and refilled the boxes with new oil.  Following that work, the crew removed key side rods, inspected all of the running gear and cleaned / re-lubricated all necessary parts.

A detailed description of that work performed can be found at this link or by clicking the image at right.  

CSR is in discussions with appropriate parties concerning the move of 3463 out of the Kansas Expocentre Grounds.

For more information, feel free to sign up for the CSR email list. Also keep in mind that, if you donate to CSR and become a Supporter, you will receive updates in advance of the general public as well as knowing you are promoting the mission of CSR.

CSR Sponsored by the American Boiler Manufacturers Association

CSR announces a sponsorship from the American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA), the oldest national manufacturing trade association in the U.S.  Celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2013, this sponsorship speaks to the efficacy and importance of the research CSR is pursuing.  

"To have a trade association of such strong technical and marketplace background excited by and supportive of CSR's research is really an encouraging sign. It is indicative of the growing support our group has garnered since its launching this time last year," said CSR Director of Engineering Shaun T. McMahon. "Not merely a benefit in terms of monetary contribution, the support ABMA and its members are providing CSR is a verification of the efficacy, timeliness and importance of the research our organization pursues."

ABMA President and Chief Executive Officer W. Randall Rawson stated, "As the ABMA enters its 126th year, the work of CSR not only complements ABMA's heritage of boiler-generated, steam-driven locomotion and power generation, it promises meaningful, still-to-come concomitant advances in boiler technology, applications and fuel flexibility. It is something with which ABMA and its member companies need to be associated and actively participate, and we are delighted to become a proud and active contributor to the overall effort."

Project 130 Provides Benefits to Preservation

In a recent letter of support, Railroad Artifact Preservation Society (RAPS), the restoration group undertaking the overhaul of former A.T. & S.F. locomotive 5000, exclaims that they "...would like to commend [CSR] and its efforts to rescue former Santa Fe Railway steam locomotive #3463."  

Aside from providing support for the "rescue" of locomotive 3463 and the actions the Great Overland Station took to see that the locomotive was kept safe, RAPS President Sam D. Teague also complimented CSR on the research it is undertaking.

He writes:

...since your organization is clearly aimed at technological development, two of those advances will have a direct, positive impact on preserving other operable steam locomotives. First, the sustainably‐sourced, carbon‐neutral, low‐ash torrefied biomass fuel will provide a clean, lower cost, and readily substitutable alternative to traditional coal. Second, the advanced water treatment program will vastly increase boiler life.

Though CSR is a research and development organization not a railroad preservation group, the work it is undertaking and the careful way it will modify its 1937-built locomotive provides benefit to railroad preservation overall. That said, CSR is always happy to receive support from preservation groups that forsee a benefit in the work it is pursuing and the technologies it refines.

Click on the image of 5000's number board above or this link to read the entire letter.

Article "Sustainable Steam" Published in Steam Railway Magazine

The final issue of Great Britain's Steam Railway Magazine in 2012 featured a three-page article written by CSR Executives Davidson Ward, Shaun McMahon, Rob Mangels and John Rhodes.  Thanks to the generosity of editor Gary Boyd-Hope, CSR is able to offer that article to view here on the CSR website. Take a look by clicking this link or the image at right.

Steam Railway was also the magazine who featured an article about CSR when the project was announced in May of 2012 labeling locomotive 3463 as a "biofuel-powered monster."  Biofuel-powered it will be; monster it certainly will not!

Memories of Warmer Weather

It's been eight months since CSR announced its project to bring 3463 back to steam... with modernizations and a change of fuel that will make it a world's first.  As part of its preparations prior to announcing the project, CSR sent a crew out to Topeka to scrape rust, chip paint and cover the locomotive in a layer of paint to stop further corrosion prior to its journey to Minnesota for reconstruction.  While that move planning is in full force at this time, CSR thought showing a little timelapse of its efforts in Topeka would be a nice break from the monotony of winter.