1 : 1 scale modeling

[e-paw]

With our attention diverted lately to packing a full excursion season into a few weeks witch lead to dealing with some cranky F-units, and educating new train crew members on first generation EMD's ; we have not been able to spend much time on the "B". So yesterday was spent on the B's fuel system. All the wiring was checked so that the pump can be turned on and off from both the trainline MU and the control stand , filters were replaced (in one case removed), and the pump checked for proper rotation.

Now it was a matter of seeing if there were any leaks in any of the old fuel lines. Most were able to be to be fixed By tightening / replacing a fitting or two here and there. But, one entire filter assembly had to be removed. This roughly 12 x12 x4 inch box that is a cotton sock type filter. It's the second in a set of three filters in the fuel system and is no longer installed in newer units( anything built after 1960 something ). It is completely redundant, and difficult to service because of it's location, tucked underneath water and oil pumps. We discovered a hairline crack in the housing witch became a geyser of fuel oil once pressurized. Removing it was no fun either.
   

After a days worth of tinkering and tightening we managed to get fuel to the prime mover. You can see the red dyed fuel in the first sight glass.     This is the first time that fuel has made it this far into the system in 40 years. It is normal to only have one sight glass full as the second one is a backup if the filter under the first one becomes clogged.
These two red filters are the third stage in the filter system. There is still one more located between the fuel tank and the pump. This puts us one step Closer to start up, which will be a big event.