On Tuesday, the railroads announced that while they are confident the locomotive will be repaired in a timely manner they were canceling an upcoming excursion with the 3-foot-gauge locomotive scheduled for May 18 and 19.
Baldwin No. 18, also known as the “Slim Princess,” has been on lease to the Durango & Silverton this year so the popular Colorado tourist railroad can train its crews on an oil-fired locomotive. The Durango & Silverton is converting one of its Denver & Rio Grande Western 2-8-2s to burn oil.
On April 9, No. 18 was hauling an excursion to Cascade Canyon when the right-side piston failed, punching a hole in the front of the cylinder head. Durango & Silverton Chief Mechanical Officer Randy Babcock says it is possible the failure was the result of a decades-old repair. Rumors that the failure was the result of the water the locomotive was using or a faulty lubricator have been unfounded.
“Although impossible to tell with 100% certainty, what likely occurred was either a failure of the piston itself where it had been previously repaired by the Southern Pacific, or a plug located within the piston came out,” Babcock says. “Either way, the resulting loose piece became trapped, and damaged the piston, and collaterally, the cylinder head.”
Babcock says the locomotive is “fully repairable” and the effort is aided by the fact that the cylinder bore escaped damage. The Durango & Silverton is working with the Carson & Colorado to repair the right-side piston as well as the left-side piston rod.
The locomotive was originally expected to return to its home base in California this summer, but the lease has been extended to September.
“The D&SNGRR will swiftly repair SP18, which involves the fabrication and installation of new rings, pistons, and piston rods on both sides of the locomotive, and devote the necessary resources to restore this important engine to safe, operable condition,” General Manager Jeff Johnson says. “While this work will take some time, especially since the company is currently readying its fleet of locomotives for the upcoming Silverton season beginning May 4, we are committed to completing these repairs on the shortest timetable possible, and putting SP18 back on the line so it may have additional successful runs this summer before returning home to Inyo County, Calif. in September.”
A spokesperson for the Durango & Silverton says an exact summer excursion schedule for No. 18 has not yet been finalized. People who had tickets aboard the May 18 and 19 excursions will receive a full refund.
Happy to read that the needed repairs, while substantial, are well within the capabilities of the DSNG staff.