On Friday, July 15, 2016, the first major components of 470 were removed and moved to Washington Junction yard in Ellsworth, ME.
The cab was lifted onto the flatbed truck for moving to Washington Junction. The rear cab support plate will serve as a pattern for reproduction, as the original had two welds in it to begin with and an actual tear in 3/16 sheet metal.
Next, the riggers cabled up the cross-compound pump, which weighs in at 1,400 pounds. Nothing was left to chance, and it was carried over to the truck and lowered. The pump will be rebuilt, hopefully in Maine, and hopefully as a donation or for the cost of parts alone.
The truck also carried several other huge castings from outside the firebox, and the booster pump. By 11:00 AM, most of the loading was completed, and the load was being re-adjusted.
Most of this work has been completed with donated services and all of it by volunteers. The donations we receive are being used to purchase tools, acetylene and oxygen, and to pay for the moving of the boiler and frame, yet to come. We were recently saddled with an unexpected asbestos abatement fee, were it hadn't been removed by a crew in the 1980s. Still, today the locomotive is entirely clean, and done so to meet all safety requirements.
It will take about three weeks to get the movers and cranes in place. Expect the completion of 470's next trip to Washington Junction yard in the second week of August.
