Posts tagged USS 148
U.S. Sugar Christens Historic Steam Locomotive
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CLEWISTON, FL - Members of the Glades communities, local elected officials, pastors and the people of U.S. Sugar celebrated today the beginning of the company’s 90th harvest season at a dedication event for its historic steam locomotive Engine No. 148, which hauled the season’s first sugarcane train from field to mill. FMW was retained in early 2019 to complete the restoration of this historic locomotive, and we are honored to have played a role in this historic dedication.

“Our company has great respect for the hard, admirable work that brought this piece of history back to life,” said U.S. Sugar President and CEO Robert Buker. “We are proud to finally be able to show everyone this amazing artifact of American ingenuity, innovation and industrial know-how.”

The steam engine was christened with a champagne bottle of sugar, broken by Barbara Buker, wife of U.S. Sugar president and CEO Robert Buker. 

The steam engine was christened with a champagne bottle of sugar, broken by Barbara Buker, wife of U.S. Sugar president and CEO Robert Buker.

Everyone safely gathered around the century old locomotive as it came to halt on the tracks before them and Mr. and Mrs. Buker smashed a champagne bottle of pure cane sugar over its coupler to christen the “Sugar Express” before sending the train on toward the mill. The Clewiston Tigers High School Marching Band was also on hand to play “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” as the steam locomotive was dedicated.

“On behalf of my colleagues, I must thanks U.S. Sugar, and Mr. Buker, for the trust that placed in our firm to complete the restoration of No. 148,” said FMW President Davidson Ward. “About a dozen FMW team members worked alongside U.S. Sugar to see No. 148 returned to operation. It is thanks to everyone’s hard work that we are able to see her in service today.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event was not open to the public; however, the City of Clewiston invited local residents and rail fans to view the train from a secure, pre-determined location as it chugged through town.  The newly restored steam engine was also displayed for several hours at the U.S. Sugar Locomotive North Shop for individuals to take photographs and videos.

“Ninety years ago, our founder, Charles Stewart Mott first laid out his vision for U.S. Sugar to become a leader in innovation,” said Ken McDuffie, Senior VP of Sugarcane Operations at U.S. Sugar. “Part of that innovation was developing the only large-scale rail network for trains to haul harvested cane to a sugar mill.”

“While most steam locomotives originally ran on coal, U.S. Sugar’s fleet used cleaner burning fuel oil.  And because we’re always looking for innovation and sustainability, this steam engine has been designed to run on recycled vegetable oil,” said Buker.

U.S. Sugar plans to add passenger cars to Engine No. 148 in the future so visitors can see their farms and learn more about the company’s rich history and food production from a very unique perspective.  The Sugar Express also is expected to help draw more visitors to America’s Sweetest Town as they come to experience a ride on a genuine steam locomotive.

U.S. Sugar Steam Locomotive No. 148 Hauls Sugarcane Train to Mill Ending Harvest Season, New “Sugar Express” Launched
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For the first time in more than 50 years, a steam locomotive hauled a train of harvested sugarcane from the field to U.S. Sugar’s mill. To mark the end of U.S. Sugar’s annual harvest and the completion of a multi-year restoration of its 100-year-old steam locomotive known as Engine No. 148, the company called upon the vintage locomotive to haul cane on the last day of the season. The 2019-20 harvest lasted 239 days, and despite drier than normal spring conditions and the global COVID-19 pandemic, was completed safely as scheduled.

 “Seeing No. 148 under steam and back on her home track is a heartwarming sight to see,’’ said Judy Sanchez, Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for U.S. Sugar.

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Locomotive No. 148 was built in 1920 by the American Locomotive Company for use on the Florida East Coast Railway. In 1952, the locomotive was sold to U.S. Sugar to haul sugarcane trains from field-to-mill for processing raw sugar. As diesel locomotives became popular, Engine No. 148 was sold by U.S. Sugar into private ownership in the 1960s. The steam engine spent a few years hauling passenger excursions, then it was moved across the country, finally landing in Monte Vista, Colorado. Thanks to the vision of U.S. Sugar CEO Robert H. Buker, Jr., the locomotive was re-purchased by U.S. Sugar in 2016, kick starting this restoration. Railroad mechanical contractor FMW Solutions LLC, working alongside more than two dozen U.S. Sugar employees, completed the restoration of No. 148 in late April.

 “U.S. Sugar’s restoration of Engine No. 148 has been a tremendous source of pride for our employees, who have worked tirelessly over the past 4 years to bring this steam engine back to life,” said Bob Lawson, general manager for U.S. Sugar Railroad Operations. “We look forward to the day when we can host members of the public on excursions to share our rich history with railroad enthusiasts, Florida residents and children alike.”

 “The pride that U.S. Sugar has in its heritage, and this historic symbol in particular, is something truly exceptional in this day-and-age,” said Shane Meador, FMW Solutions Vice President. “We are honored to have worked with U.S. Sugar to complete the restoration of No. 148 and have been pleased with its performance during recent test runs and yesterday’s historic run.”

To coincide with this momentous occasion, and in support of the expanded mission of operating No. 148, U.S. Sugar is also pleased to announce that it will be operating the steam locomotive under the brand it has dubbed the “Sugar Express.” This new name is in reference both to the locomotive’s heritage at U.S. Sugar and its future role hauling “Express” trains across some of the hundreds of miles of mainline railroad maintained and operated by U.S. Sugar. 

 To learn more about the steam engine, and to stay up to date, visit SugarExpress.com and follow U.S. Sugar No. 148 on its updated Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SugarExpressFL

Locomotive Bearing Box, Crankpin, and Wheel Work on U.S. Sugar No. 148
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FMW was retained to oversee a variety of detailed engineering and fabrication tasks associated with the driving wheels and driving boxes of U.S. Sugar (USS) steam locomotive No. 148 (No. 148). Originally built for the Florida East Coast Railway in 1920, the light 4-6-2 type locomotive is in the midst of an extensive overhaul to operation for use by USS on its Florida sugar plantation railroad. In particular, FMW was tasked with: 1) wheelset work; 2) crankpin work; and 3) driving box work.

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Wheelset Work | FMW’s Shane Meador began its wheelset work with a detailed inspection of each wheel center, including removing the original tires, sandblasting, and dye penetrant testing the wheel centers. This revealed the wheel centers to have cracks from years of use. Employing railroad standard practice from the era, FMW ground out the cracks and weld-repaired the wheel centers. Then, FMW employed a specialty wheel and journal lathe to re-profile the wheel centers, re-profile the journals, and roll burnish the journals to harden the surfaces. Once this work was completed, Meador ordered and installed new tires for all three wheelsets.

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Crankpin Work | FMW burned out the crank pins from each of the wheel centers and undertook quartering of the crank pin bores. This work, as per industry practice, was done after the new tires had been applied to the wheel centers to ensure that the quartering of the bores and pins would not be impacted by the flex associated with the application of new tires. Then, using the original pins as a guide, FMW’s Fengler created new 3D CAD drawings of each of the crank pins. These drawings were used to rough CNC-machine new pins which, after their delivery, were finish machined by Meador to-fit. Finally, once all of the quartering boring and crankpins were completed, Meador used liquid nitrogen to shrink the pins so that they could be inserted into the bores, by hand.

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Driving Box Work | FMW was initially tasked with undertaking an inspection of the existing driving boxes on No. 148. The original boxes were found to be quite worn, thus it was determined that manufacturing new driving boxes would be a better cost benefit than repairing the worn out components that came with the locomotive, and it instructed FMW to undertake that work. FMW reverse-engineered the existing boxes, creating 3D CAD drawings, one each for the main and other than main boxes. As part of this process, FMW took into consideration the request to convert the locomotive from “grease cake” lubrication to a force feed lubrication, as was commonplace with the Southern Pacific Railroad. This force feed oil system was also undertaken by Meador on Southern Railway Nos. 630 and 4501, and it has proven reliable over tens of thousands of miles of operation. This system is also used by SP 4449 which, too, has proven quite reliable on the road.

Once each box design was approved, FMW acquired the raw material (a 12 inch thick slab of steel) and began fabrication. Employing a combination of CNC machining and manual machining, FMW: 1) rough machined the boxes; 2) detail machined the boxes; 3) machined and press-fit new crown brasses and hub liners; 4) applied Babbitt to the journal bearing surface; 5) machined the babbitt to-fit; 6) machined all required lubrication paths on the boxes; and 7) finish machined the wedge/shoe surfaces and spreader plates.