Fairbanks Morse engines

[artc]

so far i have seen a complete piston/rod/ring assy, several bearing assemblys, and 2 ring compressors. there is some other stuff i haven't opened for a look yet, but nothing big. oh, and we have the 1938 compressor for starting... someone robbed the honda replacement engine off it.....but we must have something vintage we can attach. we're smiling at this acquisition, for sure

[beaconlight]

First time I looked the pictures did not come up. I see them now. I see the magnitude of what you are doing and can better appreciate it. About the same scale as what we had in the Aleutians.
Only problem with DC is that induction type motors and other stuff does not work on it. Neither do transformers and soldering irons.
I remember my father talking about some of the old hospitals and other old buildings that had their own generation plants when electricity was rare. Years later I had a job on the switchboard at Nickerbocker Hospital up town NY. I opened the back of the switchboard and saw many unsoldered connections and smelled a rat. I asked the operator where the nearest AC outlet was. She said you can stay. The last telephone man blew up 3 soldering irons before we chased him. Then she had their engineer make me up an extension cord. I sent 4 nights on over time resoldering, cleaning and replacing ldirty lamps and caps. Lord that was sweet money and all the coffee I could drink.
Bill

[beaconlight]

I don't see it any where in the thread but don't forget the cosmoline or some such to keep every thing nice and shiney till you reassemble.

Bill

[artc]

we had gotten a price of $1400 per day for crane service from a local company. We are hoping we can do it in a day, but thinking we need to budget for two days, and encumbered that amount in the treasury Tuesday.

just heard that Marino Crane service has offered to donate a crane, operator and rigging hardware for two days!

awesome

[beaconlight]

Bless their hearts! That is very generous of them. I have been wondering how this project is progressing. Don't forget to protect from the weather and cosmoline cosmolnie.
Bill

[artc]

yup, on the cosmoline. in the plans. we're also thinking of buying two of those nylon car type garages (hoop houses). that will allow air circulation around the engines, keep the condensation down. then we will have them for other projects

[artc]

UPDATE: We have located the original concrete drawings when these motors were done in 1940. They indicated 4 voids in the raised concrete base on each engine for the purpose of jacking the motors down onto the base. then these voids were mortored in for housekeeping purposes.
This gave us directions as to where to safely set up jack points and provided a 'cold pour' line to jackhammer up to, which has been completed.
However, the contractor is behind on removing two other buildings and has not done ours. So, we are in wait mode. Winters coming, though.

[artc]

We received word Saturday that the demolition of the buildings that house the engines has commenced. We're keeping our fingers crossed that nothing bad happens while this is going on, like a steel beam falling or something. Several structural I beams have been marked for salvage and use in the rigging of the engines for lifting, so we are hoping that the contractor follows through with his promise to save them.

meanwhile, we have walked our 80 ton Northwest shovel into position at the Farm so that we can use it as a stationary lift. the plan is to back the trailer next to the shovel and with the bucket on the ground (it weighs probably 6 tons with the sticks), the crowd applying some downward pressure on the bucket stick and creating a 'stiff leg' , and then use the bucket lift (disconnected from the bucket) as the pick point. lift the engine enough to clear the trailer, and drive out from under it. set it right there on timbers. then we'll move the shovel for the second engine.

i don't have word yet asto when all this will take place, and Marino crane availability, but it will be a cold weather deal, for sure.

[beaconlight]

God bless you guys and your ambitious project.

Bill

[artc]

the generators were removed from the engines yesterday. today they loaded them onto trailers for transport to the farm.
they are each estimated at nearly 4 tons, so we are at max on the 10,000 # trailers in use. or maybe a tiny bit over

we have determined that the flywheels need to be removed from the engines prior to transport as they are too heavy to remain on the engines during the lift. estimated weight at perhaps 5 tons each.

the contractor has an excavator on site that's performing these smaller lifts for us under the direction of our Millright.

it's happening!

[beaconlight]

Glad to see that you are trying and doing all the right things. Lots of continued luck.

Bill

[artc]

the focus on Saturday was getting the flywheels to move on the crank, so that we can get them off easily when we have an excavator available.

loosened the four bolts that clamp the flywheel to the crankshaft. drove in a couple of wedges in the gap on each side. tried to remove the 1.5 X 1.5 inch foot long keyway using the 5/8 tapped hole in the end.

stood back and regrouped as nothing was working, moving, loosening. no progress, after about 2 hours.

going to rethink our plan to remove them. with the flywheels on, the engine stands nearly 11 feet tall. a 35 ton lowboy is 2 feet to the deck more, so we are getting close on height. going to see what the rigger has to say about the balance of the motors as the lift is happening.