The Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Association's Baldwin-built 2-8-2 steam locomotive rumbles down the tracks as it heads to the front of the Polar Express passenger cars prior to leaving the station in December 2014.
An inspector hired by the city of Chehalis says the city’s steam engine isn’t being maintained properly.
The volunteers doing the work say he came too early.
The inspector is sticking to his arguments.
Al Di Paolo, the head of maintenance and chief mechanical officer of the California State Railroad Museum, recently examined the work being done by volunteers at the Chehalis Centralia Railroad & Museum on the Chehalis No. 15 steam locomotive as part of its FRA’s mandated 15-year overall checkup.
The No. 15 is the railway’s only engine, and its touring season is currently on hold until the project is complete.
Di Paolo highlighted several issues he believes are the result of the group cutting corners, or at least aren’t in line with industry best practices. Paulo first made the comments in a draft report released to the city in March, then doubled down on the comments in a final report with photos on Monday.
“Nothing in the wording has changed,” he said. “ ... I think they’re trying to cut corners and not following common practices.”
Di Paolo was paid $65 per hour for roughly 20 hours of work on the report. The city paid for his flight, rental car and hotel. It was the first formal inspection he’d done for a city.
In his report, Di Paolo said, among other things, the boiler hasn’t been properly washed out, which can lead to excessive mineral scaling; the fire tubes inside the boiler are being welded in when they should be rolled in; and the bearings are being lubricated with improper oils. Most critically, he said, the metal firebox has areas that are too thin and should be cut out.
“If you read my conclusion, it says (the locomotive) is receiving minimal maintenance and uninformed maintenance,” Di Paolo said.
“Some of the things he noted that were ‘condemnable defects’ were things we have identified already and planned to work on — many have already been taken care of,” said CCRM Vice President Mike Beehler.
Chehalis owns the locomotive and leases it to the museum. Prior to the release of the final report, the Chehalis City Council reviewed the draft and called on the CCRM board to address the findings during a work session before the May 11 council meeting.
The councilors emphasized the engine’s safety as their top priority, but admittedly knew little about steam engine maintenance. They relied on the board to explain and rebut Di Paolo’s report. They asked for a guarantee of the engine’s safety. The group argued that Di Paolo came too early in the process and his comments would have been different or non-existent had he come later. They maintain that all work being done to the boiler is to FRA standards, and they are awaiting final approval on their plans to repair the boiler.
The group went through his claims point by point with the council and said they had already made most of the repairs he listed. The issues of cleanliness and boiler scaling Di Paolo saw were a result of the group not cleaning the engine at the end of the season in anticipation of the current rebuild, they said. The group maintained to the council that they rebuilt this locomotive 15 years ago and never had a problem with it before.
“When is the last time you heard of one blowing up?” CCRM President Bill Thompson asked the council.
“I watched the city council meeting (on video),” Di Paolo said. “Clearly no one on the council understood the gravity of what I was explaining — through no fault of their own.”
Harold Borovec, CCRM’s chief mechanical officer, is 88 years old and has been working around railroads since he was 16. He spoke highly of the museum that employs Di Paolo. But, he pointed to the group’s success in maintaining the engine for over 25 years. Among other things, he said Di Paolo’s suggestions on how to install the boiler pipes are outdated and some of his recommendations are unnecessary in light of the low speed and light weights moved by the locomotive.
He maintained that the group performs regular maintenance as required by the FRA and emphasized they will have to prove to them that the boiler can withstand four times the amount of normal operating pressure after it’s rebuilt.
“They have the final say,” he said.
However, Di Paolo remains unconvinced.
“I want to see this group succeed and see the engine running, but, gosh darn it, the work has to be done right,” he said. “I intend to send a rebuttal. What they’ll do with it I don’t know, but at least I’ll have cleared my mind of it.”
