Submitted by Steve Winicker.
LAST WEEKENDS SHOP ACTIVITY
We once again had a small crew which lead to having a small amount of work accomplished. We also had some unexpected and unnecessary work to do because of folks playing with valves and derails which ended up killing most of the day on Friday. That plus, the lack of a few tools that migrated to Beech Grove to work on passenger cars kept a lot of work from being accomplished though time and personnel probably would have limited how much more could be accomplished anyway. Jerrad primed the new air reservoirs. Broady and I got one throat sheet washout plug seat cut on Saturday. It now looks like it should give a good seal. Joe hung a couple of lights and put up a new LED light on the end of the building. Sunday Austin and I worked on a second plug seat. After 5 or so hours of work we managed to get it to seat about 90%. I did hang one more light fixture in the shop because I could.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Next weekend we hope to load coal and wash the boiler. This will take several folks that can climb and run hoses for the boiler wash and a couple to assist with getting coal in the tender. We would also like to get the jacket and tender washed.
Additional projects that must be done over the next two weekends include:
- Cut remaining seats on throat sheet washout plugs
- Plugging tell tail holes in the firebox
- bending the ash pan back in place
- installing grates, filling lubricators
- putting in arch brick
- repack water glasses
- picking up and installing the foot pedal for the fire door
- repack main turret valve
- repack injector operating valve
- installing air reservoirs
- filling lubricators
- fixing lubrication lines
- getting oil through those lines to the back of the trailing truck
- filling tender
- treating water
- fill boiler with water
- buttoning up smoke box door
- finish shimming the trailing truck
- putting brake rigging back on the engine
My guess is there will be a few other items come up during our work. We need a good turnout of willing workers to get these jobs done.
SAFETY SENSE
EMERGENCY EYEWASH….THE FIRST 10 SECONDS ARE CRITICAL
Toxic Substances, contacting the eye, immediately begin to damage sensitive eye tissue. The longer they remain in contact, the greater the damage to the eye. Besides tissue damage, acids and alkali, such as Alk-Plus, can change the pH in the eye itself. When the pH of the eye begins to get out of the narrow tolerable range, severe eye damage, including blindness, may result. Therefore, it is imperative to begin flushing as quickly as possible after the eye encounters a harmful substance.
When irritating or corrosive foreign substances get into the eye, the eyelids involuntarily clamp shut. Therefore, the person requiring the use of an eyewash device frequently needs assistance to find his/her way to the eyewash station and to hold the eye lid open. If a portable eyewash system is available, it can be quickly brought to the effected person. (located near the sink in the shop) Helpers can activate the eyewash device and position the water stream so that the injured person can flush the eye from the inside corner to the outside corner. This procedure prevents contaminating the unaffected eye.
As mentioned before, since eyelids involuntary clamp shut when irritated, the victim may be able to use his hands, if they aren’t contaminated or dirty, to hold open the eyelids to allow emergency eye flushing otherwise a helper may be needed to keep the eyelid open during flushing.
PREVENTION IS THE KEY TO EYE SAFETY…PPE
It must be remembered that the first line of defense against toxic chemicals and any other eye irritant is proper eye and face protection coupled with proper handling techniques. Ensure you are wearing the proper PPEs including goggles and a face shield when handling liquid chemicals that can splash up on you. The Society always requires that safety glasses be worn when working in the Shop and on the surrounding grounds.
SAFETY IS JOB 1
SAFETY FIRST ALWAYS
