F3 Progress Report

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After a long work day, the two nF3's are basking in the gorgeous afternoon light. This is the position the F3's will be in for a whileuntil Steamtown has other needs for this track. Working here isn't bad as there is nearby water and electricity and a steady flow of interested visitors who like what they are seeing.

After drilling and tapping the screw holes in the carbody, the stainless steel kick plates were attached with a backing of RTV silicone to keep water from gathering behind them. Here, Tom Kelcec is applying the lower plate on the engineer's side. On the fireman's side, new step treads were made to replace deteriorated ones.

A scene from the ARHS convention special on June 5, 2011 by Tom Kelcec. Here, the 663 passes Mattes Street Tower heading westbound on the old freight main. Passenger trains in the steam era would use the line up on the retaining wall to the left in this frame to access the passenger station.

The "Don Ball" scene at Nay Aug tunnel this morning with just a bit of sunlight. The 664 was the leading unit going eastpulling two Lackawanna Boonton Line coaches. The east portal of Nay Aug weeds upn each year, and this year Railpace editor Tom Nemeth led a team of weed whackers to clear the area for today's photographers. This is one of the locations relatively unchanged from DL&W days. Photo by Steve Barry.

The mind could wander back to 1948--is this a helper set heading back to Scranton? Relaxing the eyes could imagine a loaded coal train heading to eastern markets. This is a classic DL&W scene. Photo by Steve Barry.

Westbound the 663 was in the lead. There are many Lackawanna elements in this scene with the special train back in Scranton passing Mattes Street tower with the Railway Express building in the background above the 663. The F3's are fulfilling their ultimate destiny in Scranton, illustrating to the world the steam to diesel transition era. The paint design is all art deco of the times. Inside and out, these units are authentic to the EMD catalog of 1948. These are the oldest operating and unaltered F units in the world, and fututre industrial historians will be able to look at them for their technology. As for the gray anti-climber just above the pilot on the 663 vs. the black on the 664: the Lackawanna had them both in grey and black. Most of them were grey, so we left them grey on the 663 to show the difference and to show that the 663 was the "grey ghost" at the 2010 NRHS convention, similar to an era on the DL&W when it painted F3's solid grey as a cost cutting move. Photo by Steve Barry.

A pleasant surprise was the positioning of the DL&W F3's with the just-restored Jersey Central RS3 1554, which pulled two of Steamtown's restored CNJ passenger cars on the yard shuttle all day. It was quite a day at Steamtown.

Later in the day, the volunteers are tackling the smaller items. Here, Rich Jahn (low in the red hat) is working to improve the operation of the front cut lever while Barry Levitt (standing in blue) loosens the bolts holding a cut lever bracket.

Barry Levitt and I are installing the porthole rings with the new glass in them. For Lackawanna railfest they had been installed without glass for the benefit of the photographers. While we had new glass made to the size of the broken glass that was removed from the porthole rings, the gasketing today was thicker than the original. Unable to make the new glass and gasketing to fit into the portholes, we turned to Snow's Glass in Dover, NJ, to have the glass professionally installed. The two Johns at Snow's (father and son) have made all of the new glass for the 663 and have taken quite a liking in the project. The porthole glass is very important -- not only is it required by the FRA as protection for crew members who may be in the carbody, it also plugs the portholes so that all of the air used by the diesel prime mover is passing through the carbody filters.

Rich Jahn is starting the 663 to test the air line leak that we repaired today and to ensure that the two units m.u. properly. The 663's diesel engine runs very smoothly thanks to the repairs to the No.9 cylinder by Mike Bast in 2009 when it first arrived in Steamtown, and the adjustments made by us during the restoration. You can see that the next step is a fresh coat of paint on the engine and its exterior parts.

Here's a taste of what the roundhouse area is going to look like Sunday morning. The ARHS is making Scranton look more like Bethlehem. The Reading RS3 is to the left of the LV 414, the Lackawanna 426 is to the CNJ RS3. The F3s will be among this line-up somewhere as the ARHS dedicates its unit. The 663 will be the trailing unit and not visible in this line-up.,

This image shows the first of the restored F3's to get to the original EMD-designed section of the Scranton diesel shop. This is where the F3's would have been positioned for repairs in 1948, and the area doesn't look much different today.

With the rear truck of 663 lowered on the Steamtown drop table, we were able to inspect the bowl to inspect, replace and repair what was needed to get the side bearing clearance where it should be.

In a scene reminiscent of the Scranton diesel shop in the 1950s the two F3s sit on Track 5 in the late afternoon sun. The lightest whisps of exhaust above the trailing unit show that the 663 is indeed running, and running cleanly and well. It sounded very healthy in all of the throttle notches, its horn and bell functioning as intended. With luck the oldest operating pair of F-units in the world will be pulling the yard shuttles this week.

It's sad to see an F-unit in such bad shape. Tri-State obtained permission from the scrap dealer who bought these two locomotives from RMDI in Pittston to remove any small parts we may need. After working all day at Steamtown, we joined Mike Bast after his day job to remove any parts we may need. Things like cut levers, carbody filter boxes, number board holders, certain grab irons were removed. This F7 is a former Milwaukee Road unit that in its most recent career had been in Western Mayrland paint. The CF7 in the foreground began life is an F-unit and as such had some parts common to F3s that we were able to salvage for the future.

This photo shows Tri-State's 663 leaving the DL&W roundhouse on its move back to the shop to make use of the drop table for some necessary work on the rear truck. Notice a few changes: new steel on the pilot to get its height from the railhead within required limits--it was too high owing to the new wheels. The portholes are back in New Jersey having the glass installed professionally. We cannot run without the porthole glass. While last year you could see great amounts of physical progress, this year we've made just as much progress, though most is impossible to detect since it is either small, inside the car body, or under it.

Craig Ealey is working between the 663 and 664 in the DL&W roundhouse on May 15th as he fabricates a clever invention that will retain the drippage from the air box drains that is inherent in EMD locomotives. Steamtown is environmentally conscious and we're voluntarily doing our best to keep the grounds clean. Meanwhile, during the couple of weeks this work was going on was the first time the two F3s were positioned side by side. Two days previous the 664 was the near locomotive -- the two were taken outside for a staged Pete Lerro night shot as part of Railfan & Railroad's Spring Training event, the proceeds benefiting the National Railway Historical Society's Heritage Grant program. We are proud to have played a part. Also, in this position on Sunday 5/22, the 663 was prelubed and fire up, its prime mover humming for the first time after the carbody restoration. It's alive.
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As part of Spring Training, Darryl Rule lensed this timeless scene with the 664; without the road number it would be tough to tell which year this image would be. Could it be the nocturnal "Pioneer" that departed with auto-boxcars out of Jersey City long before dawn? Could it be one of the BH freights getting orders to wrong-rail around some trackwork west of Binghamton? The mind wanders... Nice image, Darryl.

Among the dozens of items getting remedial attention as required by the FRA are the ground lights, badly rusted and loose. These original bases are still manufactured and a nearby supplier had them in stock. Dave Lindstrum and Tom Kelcec are meticulously drilling out the old screws and tapping threads for new ones to support the new bases. These lights are near the cab ladders and are a necessity for crews attempting to board the units in the dark.

ARHS's Davis Palmer is looking inside one of the traction motor ports on April 28th. During this phase Tri-State and ARHS volunteers broke into teams to do this messy job under a locomotive. The covers had to be removed, the brushes and armatures had to be inspected, cleaned or replaced as necessary. This is the pit in the roundhouse where the earlier photos had been taken, and the confines are tight. Few people get to see this part of a locomotive and its maintenance process.

Soon after our 8:45 a.m. arrival, we found the F3s basking in the gorgeous morning light. Then it wasn't long before NKP GP9 514 was sashaying by with the vintage freight train that had been posed behind the Reading RS3 out in the yard near Bridge 60 Tower. Behind the photographer are several stretches of track in various stages of rebuilding and rehabilitation, thus causing a shortage of track space. Placing the vintage freight train and our F3s on that parking lot track gets the stuff out of the way for several weeks. Regular F-Troop volunteer Dave Lindstrum took the above photo.

Dave Lindstrum meticulously coats each of the 64 porthole screws with an anti-seize compound and installs them with just the right torque. Dave is indeed our "Lord of the Rings," in that he took the portholes home, drilled and tapped new holes in the aluminum and iron rings to accept the new steel screws. The originals were of a disimilar metal to the rings, and the chemical reaction over the years prevented their removal. All had to be ground out -- Gary Kazin did that work in April. Dave moved each hole about 15 degrees so each was in virgin metal. Tony Traglia painted both sides of the rings, and both sides of the retainer plates to protect all of it from the elements. Tom Kelcec has been shopping for all of the unusual gasketing throughout the locomotive, and he found the tubular rubber gasket around the portholes protect them for decades. There was none of the tubular gasketing remaining when we removed the portho les in March. Ken Capuder brought his beatifully polished kick plates, then he and Dave began the process of reinstalling those. But as you can see from all of the names in just this paragraph, the birth of DL&W 663 is quite the group effort.

Another stalwart F-Trooper Tom Kelcec is putting filters into the intake manifold. The two that came out of this housing now need cleaning and painting. Bob Bahrs had taken most of the filter boxes home where it painted the housings, removed deteriorated steel mesh, and oil soaked the mesh that was still in good shape. These boxes in the photos that Tom and I installed were oil soaked, and these cleaned and painted boxes go into fixtures much more easily than they came out. We are purchasing modern material to fill the empty boxes. These filters help keep rain water out of the carbody, so we hope to get all of the boxes filled and installed before the winter weather sets in. To the left in this photo is one of the drains from the upper carbody that needs hoses run to channel that water out of the carbody.

Craig Easley is demonstrating that the germ of an idea that he had for capturing the seepage from the air-box drains would fit between the battery box and the fuel tank. Every diesel locomotive drips occasional oil on the ballast from the air box vents. But at a national park "oil-in-the-soil" is a no-no, and we're designing a simple way to capture the seepage. Dave's idea is to use 8-inch pvc pipe, pitch it to one side where a ball valve can empty the tube at will. The volume will be about five gallons, probably decades worth of seepage.

Here is Santa Fe F7 262C in the 1960s that became the first CF7 ever built, which is riding on the trucks that are currently under Lackawanna 663. Railroads swapped trucks between units often as part of routine rebuilds. Even the DL&W was swapping trucks between groups of F-units and Geeps for consistency in gear ratios among freight and passenger units. Note the Santa Fe used the same jeweled number boards, made by Rayflector, that were common among units running on the Anthracite roads.

Since Railfest, the F3s were moved to turntable radial track alongside the roundhouse. The scene below was lensed by ARHS's Davis Palmer last week. We'll ultimately be along the driveway that brings visitors into the parking lot for a spell until our operating permit is ironed out.

For a look back, here is our DL&W 663 in Searsport, Maine, during June 1977 in a photo by Tom Sink. You can see the many changes and some of the repairs we had to make over the years. Notice all of the grab irons common to a cold-climate railroad. Notice, too, that Joe's Nose under the nose door is already bulging from rust. Just to the left of the cab ladder are signs of a side swipe, a repair that was made by the Steamtown Foundation shop crews in 1990 -- back then we had leased the engine to Steamtown Foundation, a deal that would have seen the F3 painted in the Lackawanna passenger scheme. (Steamtown purchase an FP7 that rendered our unit uneeded, so it returned to Morristown.) It's also apparent that the heavy hitch that bent the rear side sill and frame had happened previous to this 1977 photo showing the 44 at just under 30 years old. In 2010 this unit turned 62. Compare this image to the one above.

Here's what DL&W 663 looked like while en route to Scranton in the fall of 2009. What a difference a year makes. This was the better of the two sides of the locomotive -- steel panels on the opposite side had large holes in them. By November of 2009 we had the 57 smoothly running after a little more than a thousand dollars in parts and labor to rescue a No.9 cylinder that had water in it for years. With that repair we were able to make a decision to proceed with the restoration. That Lackawanna cement hopper sure looks nice -- it is owned by the Delaware Lackawanna and also in Scranton. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that it will be coupled to the 663 again. Photo by Rich Jahn, ARHS.

Not bad looking for 62 years old. Here is another view from Railfest of our "steam-era diesel." What's everybody think about this type of image for a T-shirt, with a Pocono's nose to the left, and the nose of a passenger-painted E-unit to the right? No locomotive ever gleamed more proudly than 663.

Tony Traglia brought the painted porthole rings to Scranton that morning, and we installed them as quickly as we could. We wrestled with the new rubber gasketing, which isn't quite correct, so we installed them without glass until we get the proper gasketing. The porthole rings help complete this image not seen in 50-ish years. External details remaining include the flag holders, the stainless steel kick plates, builders plates, trust plates and the red markings around the fuel tank gauges and emergency items.

Sunday morning saw bright sun and stark shadows. There's an interesting trait with the way the new digital cameras expose an image. Most compare the image in the finder with several stored images, rather than averaging like our SLRs from film days. Even my little Kodak camera is easily fooled by the stark compositions I like to play with -- bright items against dark shadows. I'm interested to hear how these F3s look on film, as many of the digital images are making gray look almost white and the yellow very loud. In this image, the gray is correct.

The arrangement of a classic pusher set in Scranton, while the art-deco image direct from the streamliner era is great to see. Above the nose of 663 in the distance is Liggett's Gap, for which the railroad was first named in 1851.

Mike is doing the final unmasking.

Here is our baby picture. It is gorgeous. There is much remaining to do, but much as been done.

Dave Lindstrum, foreground, is removing tape glue with Goo Gone and a toothbrush, while Tom Kelcec in the distance is scuffing and degreasing the gray paint to be covered with the new black. Note the great reflection in our new paint. The sun is just barely on this side of the locomotive lighting the edges of the batten strips. Note also on Dave the Tri-State ID tags, and the volunteer pins required by the NPS. Two notes: First, Goo Gone is amazing stuff, quickly removing any gunk we found on the paint, including the pesky glue from the tan masking tape. Second, never use the light brown masking tape for anything that isn't going into the garbage. If it's masking tape you need, buy one of the colors that suits the job best. End of sermon.

Tony Traglia spraying the black for another fabulous finish. The man is an artiste with a air gun. We sprayed two coats of black. Thanks, Tony.

A critical piece of graphic layout was around Joe's Nose -- the maroon points and the black frame stripe have no firm landmarks and must be laid out by eye. Any error will be obvious in the parallel lines. I took much pride today in getting from one cab railing to the other cab railing with one continuous piece of blue masking tape and getting it perfect. The half-inch maroon border on the herald, then the half inch of yellow surround were challenging. The bell curve on the nose also had no firm landmarks. In this photo, after the auto mask was removed I'm removing the last two lines of tape. Today marked the fourth and last time we uncovered that nose herald as part of the painting process.

All those stripes: Tony Traglia is scuffing some off the paint deep into to the chicken wire. Seven stripes, two sides each, more than 50 feet each, engineer's and fireman's side, comes to more than 1400 feet feet of masking, plus the nose curves, and also the necessary doubling up and layering of the taped lines. Big masking job.

The last of the masking was to create the nose curves. On the carbody sides, all of the lines had a firm landmark on which to base a measurement. On this part of the nose, there is no firm landmark so this had to be done by eye. It turned out well to the approval of all who were there, including two ARHS members who were working on sister 664. In the photo below, Mike Del Vecchio is wiping the grease pencil from the paint on which the tape was positioned. The green masking tape is tackier than the blue, and this roll was only 1/2-inch, since we knew we'd be close to the ventilator. We had the full-size EMD drawing for this curve, made correctly sized copies, cut them out and taped them to the nose, tracing the outline with the grease pencil. The point of the stripe was created from leftover stencil material, cut to the exact curve of the EMD drawing for a perfect point. Even with the drawing, curve had to transition b y eye into the horizontal stripe on the carbody. Fascinating excersize, this, made comfortable by ten years of graphic design experience. This locomotive was the ultimate paste-board. The area outside of the tape was sanded smooth for a better finish on the yellow paint. Tom Kelcec photo.

While this grab shot isn't exactly straight on, it shows the nose. We've come a long way.

Arrow-straight stripes and a smooth finish are a noble goal. While my little digital camera is easily fooled by stark compositions, it did capture the reflection of the old Erecting shops in the paint while showing the straight striping. The blue masking tape has the least amount of tack so that it won't harm the surface of young paint. The yellow tape has the most tack. We've been using a variety of masking tape grades to our best advantage.

Tom Kelcec (furthest) and Tony Traglia on Sunday were filling in the areas between the tape while I was keeping ahead of them with the straight lines. The stripes are 2-inches wide, so the width of the 2-inch tape was used as a guide in this section, double checking with an engineering ruler quite often. Note the smooth finish in the maroon paint. New steel panels and a sanded surface really paid off. The contributors can be very proud.

Among the many projects we're finishing was the placing of the masking on the stainless steel number board. This was tricky as the steel panel had to held up to the sunlight to to be able to see that the holes correctly lined up within the masking vinyl. The stainless will be etched and painted with our yellow paint at Tony's shop in Duryea. Removing the vinyl will reveal stainless steel numerals against a yellow background. With the help of ARHS's Rich Jahn, Bourne Graphics, the Reading Tech Society, the O&W Society and EMD drawings, the resulting number boards are the first time they've been reproduced.

An important part of any paint project is keeping the paint mixed. Centari once its additives have been added needs to keep agitated. Dave Lindstrum is doing the honors in the mid-day heat. No job is easy when the temps are as high as they've been.

Below, ain't she a beauty? This telephoto image illustrates how the meticulous masking paid dividends in straight stripes. Even the stripes through the screens are good. Could our Lackawanna 663 gleam more proudly? The Lackawanna switcher in the background adds to the 1950s freight feel of the photo.

Here's a roster shot with a Buffalo area feel thanks to the Nickel Plate Road's City of Lima that happened to be nearby today. We were taking paper and tape off 'till the wire, and you can see that some of the masking is still on it, and some off the light-colored remnants from the tape glue. But the yellow has been unmasked to avoid problems later. The nose door is ajar to allow the paint to cure in the jams. The incomplete black stripe is a noticeable omission, but otherwise 663 is lookin' pretty good. We can't wait to see the matching B-unit to complete the set. And while the 663 was a hit at the NRHS Convention and the gray paint job was a p.r. home run, I'm sure glad the gray ghost is now a part of history.

After prepping the gray paint Tony Traglia is applying the first coat of maroon striping. Two coats would be needed, the second being applied Monday morning. Photo by Dave Lindstrum.

Monday morning, after some spot sanding Tony is applying the second coat. The finish looks okay here, but in a few minutes some mysterious patches of rough finish appeared. We've identified the reason why with Dupont experts, and once the maroon paint currently on the 663 has cured we'll sand the scuff and continue as planned, lesson learned. All we'll have lost is some time, which is better than rushing the job and settling for a rough finish. We'd like this paint job to outlast all of us.

In a preview of what's next, here is a week-old image of the B-unit down at Winslow Junction on the Souther Railroad of New Jersey. Plans and logistics are already being worked out to ship this unit to Scranton to receive its stripes. All of the innards are there, though the B-unit isn't currently in service. Time and money. Photo by Rich Jahn.

After this heat wave, perhaps a look at DL&W freight Fs in the snow would be refreshing. Here we see a pacing shot of the 621A-B, an F7B and a GP7 near Elmira, N.Y., in February 1958 in a slide from the Al Chione collection.

To cover large areas we're using auto-mask, a great invention that has masking tape on one side and six feet of folded plastic sheet that can be deployed and taped as needed. In 115-foot rolls, we can cover the entire locomotive without seams.

Tony Traglia are dropping the auto-mask and taping it to the critical masking. As time-consuming as this is, it's quite a time saver.

The last masking of the day was to cover the anti-climbers so that they remain gray on 663. EMD delivered F3s with both black and gray anti-climbers. We don't know why this difference since the EMD drawings call for black. It may have simply been the whim of those doing the painting on any day. Units repainted by the DL&W were the same way -- some black, some gray, though the gray ones outnumbered the black ones by a lot. Our plan originally was to paint the anti-climbers black on both 663 and 664 for a couple of reasons relating to the sequence of paint colors. With the 663 becoming a gray ghost for the Convention which required it be painted gray, we decided to leave it gray to recall its heritage as a gray ghost. And it'll depict the variations in the DL&W units. If you look over the in-service photos of freight units from previous F3 e-mails, you'll see variations in details. Meanwhile, be low, look at that gray paint shine.

Let the striping begin. On Friday 7/2 sign painter Dave Rush joined us. In this photo he is double checking the stripes for straightness. Note his near-perfect reflection in the gray paint. Tony Traglia did a great job, and praise is heard by almost everyone who passes the work site.

Tony, below, and I are laying out the bell curve on the nose using the EMD drawings blown up by Steamtown Graphics on Mulberry Street to actual size. Dave Rush rolled a pounce wheel over the lines on the drawing, which perforates the paper. Dabbing some charcoal powder through the holes leaves a line on the paint for masking that's easily removable when it's time to paint. This is the same method that painters at LaGrange used when painting F3s in 1948.

I'm dabbing the perforated line with the charcoal powder.

Drawing a line through the chicken wire required a lot of measuring and double checking. We masked to that line, and in between every area of the chicken wire. No matter how careful we mask, it appears we'll need to touch up the area with a brush afterward. By now, how many of you noticed the pencil is at 44 on the ruler -- the former Bangor & Aroostook road number of the 663, BAR 44. Nope, that wasn't an accident.

So long, gray ghost... At the end of the third day of masking in the hot sun, I am covering the nose herald before 663 gets pushed into the shop for the night. The careful measuring on the herald is to ensure the correct 1/2" maroon border surrounds the herald. The nose curved turned out very well, within an 1/8" of perfect symmetry. We can't wait to see the final result. The light black line for the lower maroon stripe can be seen over the ventilator, the result of a pounce wheel and charcoal bag. For those eye-balling the masking job, the brown tape is laid over the blue tape, which is difficult to see in the photo next to the lighter brown tape. Notice that this same EMD paint design was used by the Frisco. If anyone restores a Frisco F-unit, we can help lay out the nose curves and stripes.

Tracy Antz got a great angle on that Wednesday night photo, and this has become my favorite. Note how clean that headlight and number board glass is when new. New glass is a worthy investment that adds a nice finishing touch to any restoration.

The DL&W freight scheme is catching on. Here is the locomotive on the train ride at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in a photo by John Vail taken recently. Last I saw this it was in the passenger scheme, so the freight paint had to have come in the past few years. Nay Aug Park is easy to find -- instead of turning left to reach Steamtown or the Radisson, turn right onto Mulberry and head all the way up the hill -- you'll run right into the Park. At the far end of the parking lot is an overlook with a great view of DL&W's Nay Aug tunnel.

Rich Wisneski is putting the first bits of masking under the batten strip to protect the black areas from the gray paint. The white letters on the maroon paint are vinyl. After the car body is entirely painted gray, the vinyl is removed leaving a maroon letter in its place.

It was a thrill and a challenge to removing the masking for the nose medallion. But it worked well - note the detail. The white is a high-quality, long-lasting auto paint. Rich Jahn created digital files from the original EMD drawings in the Tri-State collection, and a sign shop made up the stencils and masks. Believe it or not, this process was also done in the steam days. A company in Michigan called Demp-Nock produced a three-piece paper and cardboard system of lettering just like today's vinyl.. Demp-Nock was still in business when we painted our baggage car in 1994, and we bought lettering sets from them that were cut from the same dies used for DL&W orders way back when.

Tony Traglia is quite skilled with an air gun, all of us were noticing as we were moving the scaffolds and ladders on his rapid commands. Mike Bast loaned us the 2-gallon paint pot which has greatly reduced the amount of time needed to apply paint.

Below, As we were cleaning up and the sun was getting sweet, Tom Kelcec was taking a picture of the finished gray ghost nose. As a play on the cover of Railfan & Railroad that's out and about right now, I took a photo of him taking the picture from the other side. No, that herald isn't too high. That thin maroon line above it is the correct border. When we paint the yellow nose, that same half-inch border will surround the medallion causing the edges of the door to be painted yellow.

Here is the fruits of our labors for the past three months. The vinyl lettering and numerals are under that gray paint, and they'll be removed on Wednesday while the paint is still young. Note the new lines for the black -- this is exactly how the gray ghosts handled the back to minimize masking. The freight scheme will feature the black up and over the side to a point seven inches above the side batten, which extends it above the anti-climber over the nose. At this point it wouldn't be too much trouble to leave the anti-climber gray. Units in the freight scheme had both gray or black anti-climbers, with little rhyme or reason for which. ARHS has black anti-climbers -- we're considering leaving ours gray since both could be easily represented. The photo at the bottom has gray, and that builder's photo in previous e-mails has black. The gray were more numerous.

On the shores of Lake Lackawanna, formed from a burrow pit created by the construction of the Lackawanna's New Jersey Cut-off, my cousin Dave Rush completed the number boards for DL&W 663. He's a retired sign-maker, and earlier in life worked for the man who painted station signs and steam tenders for the DL&W. This was a labor of love for him, and he'll help us lay out the nose. These were picked up today on the way home from Scranton, and they'll be installed on Wednesday in time for the night photo session. These numerals were painted from original EMD drawings in the Tri-State collection, as were those in ARHS's 664. Photo by Tom Kelcec.

This is a cover of ARHS's magazine Flags, Diamonds & Statues from 1991 with a gray ghost on the cover. Now compare that with the image below, from Rich Jahn taken today in Scranton. Not too shabby, gang, from a one-day decision to do the ghost. Putting even tape or temporary paint on the hand rails would not have been a good thing as the paint is too young for such abuse. Still, 663 is a faithful stand in.

One of the three night shot poses with the 663. In this scene the steam crew goes about their business complaining about he new diesels. Park Ranger Kenny Ganz is doing the honors in the hold clothes and fedory, while I'm in the cab turning lights on and off. Photo by Frank Etzel.

Here are two of the project's many supporters, the two owners of the Delaware-Lackawanna short line in Scranton. To the left is Michael Thomas originally of Summit, NJ., and to the right is David Monte Verde who grew up around Dansville Hill on the Lackawanna. Notice the cover of what they're reading. We're already talking about freight trains with the Lackawanna F3s, but there's much paperwork to be done for that to happen. Stay tuned, though, as the units have to earn enough to cover maintenance.

And now for a few more images of F-Troop getting 663 complete enough for the night shot. Your newsleditor painted the roof and fans to keep the metal sealed from the weather. Knee pads and gloves were a necessity on that hot roof..

Justin Kerstner on the left and Dan Morgan on the right were mounting the grab irons on either side of the door -- quite the team effort.

As we did all over the locomotive, the nuts were turned from the inside while on the outside the nuts are held still to avoid chipping the paint or powder coating. Note the great shine in the gray paint.

Yours truly again, This time I'm remounting the horns while Justin is working the screws from inside the cab. Today Justin returned to Scranton to install and replace the air lines the supply the horns.

Justin Kerstner is inside the nose removing the bezel to properly adjust the sale. Has headlight glass ever been this clear?

With the cooperation of the O&W Society, the Reading Tech Society and our own research, faithful replicas of the jeweled number boards were made for both F3s and the Reading FP7s also at Steamtown. Tri-State's 663 plate is in our hands and will be assembled and painted when we complete our striping.

After painting the last of the carbody and the entire roof, it was time to remove the vinyl lettering to expose the previously applied maroon paint beneath. Your newsleditor is on the ladder doing the peeling, while our painter Tony Traglia looks at the finish. Notice his reflection in the brand new steel carbody sheets. Lou Voltheiss photo.

This was one of three poses at the night photo session that included our 663. Our headlights, markers and running lights were lit -- notice how clean that headlight and number box glass looks -- brand new glass makes a huge difference. Frank Etzel supplied the image. Park Ranger Kenny Ganz is dressed as a period Trainmaster talking to L&WV Chapter's National Director and also Park Ranger Tim O'Malley dressed as a fireman on that side of the cab.

After the set ups with the 663, the more-than 60 night shooters moseyed to the roundhouse to shoot the steam and ARHS's DL&W 664. The jeweled number boards arrived on Wednesday, and Rich Jahn painted it and installed the jewels and had it on the door in time. We have the stainless panel for ours, which will be painted and installed when we're ready to paint yellow.

The 605 is wearing gray about 1959 in Buffalo, while the two freight units behind it are in the new passenger colors on freight. Photo: Matt Wronski.

The 656 again trundling through the Water Gap ca. 1959. We will not be adding the yellow grab irons and stirrups as that would delay and add expense to the initial project. Photo from the Hawk Mountain Chapter slide.

Our F3 is being towed from the roundhouse (to the right) through the machine shop (to the left) and out into daylight for the first time Thursday morning.

Mr. Sandman is at it again. Most of the work needing to be done outdoors Thursday was on the roof, while Tom Schmieder and I did the honors.

Steamtown Supertintendent Kip Hagan stopped by Friday, and he is very pleased with our work thus far. He remembers the freight Fs in Scranton while growing up, and believe in the important interpretive mission that our "steam era diesels" will help tell. Kip is the right buy in the right place for all of the right reasons. His experience and knowledge of a lifetime of National Park Service management roles is helping him make decisions that will make Steamtown a jewel within the massive NPS. Having our Fs on the property, and our archives, are two examples of projects that is gaining Steamtown respect both inside and out of the NPS.

Yours truly begins painting the roof - the greenish color is a self-etching primer, which we used over the POR-15 spots, and into the fans and grilles that we couldn't access for sanding.

This is one of my favorites for color rendition, a classic Kodachrome from August 1955 by Art Angstadt, showing one of the detours from Hurricane Diane rolling on Lehigh Valley rails. These units were repainted by the DL&W. Pardon slide dealer John C. Benson's moniker -- this image is a screen grab from eBay.

Freight F3s 656A-B on September 1, 1947, helping one of DL&W's famous Poconos out of Scranton, just as the 663 and 664 will be doing once they enter service. Ours are steam-era diesels, which is what makes them play an important role in the story being told at Steamtown. They co-existed with steam, assisted steam, and they eventually vanquished steam. These units are still in the EMD lettering, just as we are doing with 663 and 664. Jim Shuman photo.

605A is leading a westbound 2nd HB-9 at Gravel Place in 1957, a Ken Von Stuben photo. This engine is in the DL&W lettering.

Not in color, but this 1947 view shows freight F3s in passenger service at Hoboken. The negative sleeve says that these units were the 605 and 606 renumbered to "'60" for this duty. Freight Fs pulling Boonton Line coaches is a scene that can be duplicated at Steamtown. When this photo was taken, steam was still very much alive on the Road of Anthracite. Photo by Bill Slade (mdv coll.)

Below, Jeff Rawes finishing the last of the plumbing work. Here he is matching modern copper pipe to the original, which is a slightly different size. This is the pipe through which the cooling water is admitted, which allows us to fill the tank with a garden house. Sharen Miterko-Rawes took the photo.

Below, your humble newsleditor is applying a bead of specialized and highly recommended caulk sealer, 3M's Dynatron 550, to the areas between the panels to keep all future water from entering these areas. More than 500 feat of caulk was applied, which will ensure that the paint flows smoothly over every joint and batten strip. Because of this work and the powder coating and the gallons of donated and purchased POR-15, our DL&W 663 will last for generations. Sharen Miterko-Rawes took the photo.

While I could have picked a better section of screen to photograph, this image below shows the first area where water running down the outside of the carbody enters in the inside of the carbody. This sealing caulk closes that gap, is smoothed with a wet finger where needed, and the paint will give it a heavy enamel shell that will keep water out. All of the batten strips were sealed in this manner, and any other location deemed appropriate.

Joe Van Hoorebeke is drilling a hole in solid steel then tapping it to accept one of the 1/2-inch pan head screws. Joe got a great many of these plugged holes tapped today -- a huge job, Thanks. This scene is at the rear engineer's side door.

Your newsleditor sanding the top of the nose and the roof, filling holes left by non-DL&W details.

Among the many project that Tom Kelcec has done well, today's projects included the scuffing of about 450 pan-head screws for the batten trips. A spot of self-etching primer on each and we're good to go.

Distractions, distractions... How many places in the world can one show up for work in an active DL&W roundhouse, and take pause as a 4-8-2 and and 4-8-4 go rolling past? That happened today as the Grand Trunk 4-8-2 and the Reading T-1 4-8-4 were pulled across the turntable to be spotted for asbestos abatement. That smoke stack literally cleared by the width of the paint on the stack. It was a close one.

Under threatening skies, the decision was made to try to paint and black. And it all worked out. The number boards came a little later, after the clouds had drifted out of the scene. Jeweled number boards are at a shop being fabricated, with the help of the Reading Technical Society, which needs two for its FP7s. And we've learned of the existence of one of the DL&W bull's eyes, so we're looking into replicating that distinctly DL&W detail.

The Railpace photographer is taking the official portrait to make a deadline. Railpace had a great editorial, cover photo and a full page about the project in the June issue -- Thanks, Tom. The F3s are gaining fame and wide acclaim, to borrow a line from one of Phoebe's jingles.

Below, Dave Lindstrum is tapping one of several holes that need screws, while Lloyd Leone took time away from his sanding chores to help tighten some screws from the inside.

After discovering the original 1948 EMD holes in the nose were there and filled with the butts of original bolts, volunteer Matt Bast burned the holes open with a torch from inside the nose. Your's truly has an autobody hammer to knock out the slag and splatter. Down near my feel can be seen the new steel and weld on Joe's Nose, welded by Joe Van Hoorebeke. By the end of the day, that weld was ground smooth and filled with POR-15 filler to make is smoother than Joe's actual nose. This area below the nose door had practically disintegrated in Jim Thorpe.

A librarian by trade and the archivist for the NRHS, Mitch Dakelman pitched in on getting the 60 years of muck, sand and rust out from under the threshold so that the batten strip bolts could be reapplied. It was time consuming but valuable work. Mitch worked on the inside tightening the last of the screws on the fireman's side. Just two on this side require drilling and tapping..

We're gettin' down to the little stuff. Joe Van Hoorebeke and Mike Bast had heated up the diamond plate on the rear platform and were hammering it flat. This area was inaccessible until the ARHS unit went outside. We've done no prep here yet. Since the 663 is over a pit, this work will have to wait until we're outside.

After spot priming with epoxy primer, ARHS's Rich Jahn began applying the maroon. While the DuPont color chip is the modern version of the 1948 Duco, It requires several layers of Centari to get the rich wine color. Interestingly, when the 3:00 PM sun was on it, the color was gorgeous and bright, and when the sun was behind clouds, the color had a dark maroon hue, just as the photographs of the originals. Above, that's Justin Chapin on the roof feathering paint, and Davis Palmer wiping the nose with a tac-cloth. Justin is the grandson of the late Ross Chapin, a past president of ARHS, whose name will appearon the DL&W 664.

This is a photograph made by the EMD photographer in the early 1990'sof the actual 1948 DuPont drift cards in the EMD collection, shot against a gray card. While this is not scientific and the concept might be laughed at by spectral analysts, we were impressed that the color on the unit was so very close to in that laboratory and calibrated print. The DuPont maroon that we are using today was compared to paint chips removed from an Erie Lackawanna passenger car painted in the early 1960's to model paints that were made from the EMD drift cards and verified by cross referencing various paint numbers at DuPont. interestingly, these colors refer back to a General motors truck line. Similar research was performed for the gray and the imitation gold. These F3's are going to look like the day they rolled out of LaGrange, and better than they did in most of the photographs from the 1940's and 1950's.

Rich Jahn spraying the epoxy primer over the door and the nose. After seeing the number of coats required to make the maroon look right, he decided to paint over the entire area in which the maroon will appear. One of the great advantages of Centari paints is that they'll adhere well to any surface scuffed, so primer isn't a must.

Rich Jahn is in the cab of DL&W 664 displaying the nose medallion decal. In reality, the heralds on these units will be painted. The artwork came from the actual EMD drawings for these units, which were digitized and cut into stencils. We can offer full sized heralds as a fund raiser. If anyone is interested, please drop a line. the full size herald is 20 x 27".

Tri-State's Golden Spike: The last panel is put into place with members (l to r) Joe Van Hoorebeke, Lloyd Leone, and Bob Goin doing the honors.

Once the panels were up, 440 screws had to be installed and tightened to hold the panels and batten strips in place. Here, Mark Rosner was inside turning nuts while I would hold the screw with a screwdriver. We tightened the nuts wherever possible to avoid turning the screws that might scratch the powder coating on the batten strips.

Rich Wisneski jumped in on some of the tedious painting of the chicken wire and the filter troughs. This is slow, tedious work, but it ensures that the gray exterior paint stays gray.

Here we see Mike DelVecchio crafting the bondo-like filler around the new steel that Joe Van Hoorebeke welded into place over the weekend. This area may forever be known as Joe's Nose.

Tom Kelcec has become the Rembrandt of POR-15, and here we see his work that will hang in The Louvre. OK. Bad pun. Here we see Tom in the F3's attic, painting the louvers.

Another team had Lloyd Leone inside turning the ratchet, while Bob Goin was outside holding the screws.

Mike Bast is holding secure the new shelf that protects that area while Joe Van Hoorebeke tack-welds the joint in place. He'll come back with a stick welder to make a nice bead and roll-over. Outside, it was actually snowing. We were happy to be inside.

Joe's fireworks display is impressive as he grinds down the excess weld on that finished nose area. After this, he welded two patches along the rear door that we didn't see until the ARHS unit uncoupled from ours, and then three patches on the engine room floor. We can't thank Joe enough for working so hard and efficiently. It's a good team coming to Scranton as we make the best of the talents of each participant. Thanks to all who have been coming.

To illustrate to the F3 volunteers that our equipment committee can work on more than just the locomotive, Don Oberding is showing off the new herald and numbers on our L&NE caboose, the first of the five steel hacks on the Lehigh and New England. This caboose is one of three in our collection that also includes the DL&W 896 that's restored and running, and Raritan River No. 10 that's in need of some paint.

An inventive Ken Capuder extended the reach of his paint brush to hit the deeper areas impossible to see from the interior but quite visible from the outside. Tedious work but, as always, he remained focused and jocular. Thanks, Ken.

From the inside looking out through the chicken wire at Tom Kelcec doing "grate" work on the chicken wire and louvres.

Mr. Sandman, Mike DelVecchio, feathering the old paint into the body work, hours' worth but a good job. Even welded in patches become invisible to the touch with proper filler. The POR-15 body filler turns out to be excellent to work with. Can't wait to see it primed. Our 663 nose should be classic. Ken Caouder snapped the photo. With this work, being inside is a huge help in that we can leave bare metal without having to recoat it after every session.

Ken Capuder enduring the boredom that is getting the POR-15 behind the chicken wire grilles.

Ken today, and Tom Kelcec on Sunday, were literally painting a house with a one inch brush.

After Ken had left for the day, I finished his priming duties. The POR-15 is best primed when tacky, and it won't let paint adhere at all after a length of time.

Barry Levitt was inside either holding or turning the nuts while we turn chisel head screws from the outside.

From left to right, Mike Bast, Barry Levitt, and Mike Del Vecchio are hefting one of the six panels installed this day. These all-new sheets with gray powder coating lay as flat and smooth as God and designer Dick Dilworth intended. They are beautiful installed, and we can't wait to see them painted.

Dave Linstrum is using a miners'-like flashlight arrangement to aid in painting the intricate areas behind the chicken wire. It's tedious but rewarding, quiet work. Those who last ran the needlescalers might like to give this job a try if your hands have stopped shaking by now.

Tom Kelcec doing the intricate work from the outside. The areas just inside the chicken wore are just under two inches square, so a brush smaller than that works best. The POR-15 is soupy, so it must be put on using a "dry brush" style, the primed after it tacks to the touch, about an hour, to have a good bite on the top coatings. For the Tuesday session, we hope to be able to finish the POR-15/prime process in the area to Tom's left, all the way to the back of the unit, about 15 feet.

Finis, well, almost. The most difficult part of the day in the roundhouse is cleaning up. We're always on a roll, but we have to be out on time. But in this photo, the last panel has just been installed, and the batten strips that hold the panels are in place. We put in enough screws to do the job, which leaves the batten strips looking a little wavy, but the rest can be put on as we have time, even outdoors. The new steel looks great, guys. Many thanks to the donors who made that possible.

Joe Van Hoorebeke making the sand box outlet pipe and fittings better than new. The horizontal pipe in this image is the steam heat for the cab.

The Walthers F against the future real thing. The model is in the 1955 lettering and decals while ours will be as built with EMD lettering.

Victory! The first of the new steel panels is being lifted into place by Mike Bast in the foreground using the drill pin for lift. To the rear is ARHS member Micah-John Kirshner and Tri-State's Ken Capruder in the middle. The panel below this one was also installed, both held by enough screws to secure them safely while we plan and judge the timing and mechanical issues related to installing the balance. The powder-coated panels and batten strips are gorgeous, and it seems a shame to scuff them so that they take paint. The batten strips need scuffing before installation to save time from having to carefully scuff around the screws after the installation. Onward.

Joe Van Hoorebeke is doing a masterful job welding in the new diamond plate floor. This is quarter inch steel plate-very solid. Joe and his wifr Sandy Shaw have donated the roughly 4 x 10 sheet of diamond plate to the project. That cost was more than $300. Thanks very much Joe and Sandy. The floor under this was sealed with POR-15, and this floor will be painted and sealed with it as well. Our current work on the F3's should last for generations.

A 4 x 4 section of diamond plate is being cut to fit into the rear door threshold by Joe Van Hoorebeke with a torch. This work was much easier to accomplish with the side panels in place. Joe is also making at his home a new pipe connection for the engineer's side sand box. Why show this photo? OK, fire and sparks make for dramatic imagery, as seen in this time exposure.

Doug Capruder is needle scaling the floor area that needs the diamond plate before the POR-15 was added. The younger members have been a tremendous help to this project as they can get into smaller areas and have more stamina than us oldsters. And projects like this pass the torch, pun intended.

Jeff Rawes getting started with porthole removal. Most of the screws were frozen and had to be ground out.

Mike Del Vecchio under the orange suit. The blue paint behind the chicken wire was coming off with the hot water. This is good, as the stripes need to pass through this area.

Mike is holding one of the eleven steel panels that will soon be installed on the F3 car body. These were made to EMD specs for us and powder coated by GT Fabricators in Pittston. They are also sandblasting and powder coating our grab irons, batten strips and eventually our porthole rings. GT did a beautiful job on the panels.

Mike removing the last of CNJ's grand Liberty herald. Removing assures that it won't be seen through the new DL&W paint. Tom Kelcec photo.