[Steam-engine] Dismantling the IR Steam Compressor Day 1

[Todengine at aol.com]

Well wouldn't you know it the heavy snows finally came last night, and 
completely covered the compressor engine!  

The dismantling crew (myself and my wife Zara) arrived at the Park drop 
forging plant in Cleveland about 12:30 pm, and I started to work removing misc. 
small parts including the exhaust steam lines, lube lines and mechanical 
lubricators, piping etc.  I started to remove the throttle valve and governor but as 
usually happens one of the nuts stripped out, so more drastic measures will be 
taken on it later.  I also removed the nuts holding the air crossover pipe and 
the main bearing caps nuts.  By 2:30 pm I was frozen solid and we left the 
plant to head back home with a pickup load of steam engine goodies.

I'll be back at the plant tommorrow afternoon to continue the work.  I hope 
to be able to hijack a forlkift and operator for a few minutes to take off the 
air crossover pipe, and pull the flywheel and crankshaft out.  I also hope to 
crib up under the compressor end of the main bedplate to support that end so I 
can remove the air lines underneath the compressor cylinders, and to get the 
compressor cylinders themselves ready to pull off.

Assuming things go according to plan tommorrow I'll be back on Friday to move 
more parts to Youngstown.  

As I was packing up to leave one of the maintenance men was getting into his 
car and mantioned that "someone from the Smithsonian had looked at the 
compressor at one time". If I had a dollar for each time I have heard that phrase 
when it comes to old machinery I would be rich by now!  He also said that it was 
a good running machine and worked when they stopped using it.  If that is so 
then why are one set of eccentric rods disconnected and tied up out oif the way 
and the packing glands on the valve rods missing?  I think it was running on 
one cylinder at the end of its career.  I just hope I don't find any major 
problems inside.  But if so, heck I work at a foundry and we have a lathe and 
milling machine so there isn't anything we couldn't remake! 

More phjotos of todays work are online at 
http://community.webshots.com/user/todengine

Rick Rowlands
Executive Director
Tod Steam Engine Historic Landmark
William Tod 34" x 68" x 60" Cross Compound Steam Engine
Youngstown, OH
www.todengine.org