News

20.08.2022: Maintenance work and visit

Further maintenance work on our steam locomotive 50 3570 was on the program. So the seals, which seal the piston rods against the steam cylinders, were checked and repaired. The seals are metal rings consisting of various segments that enclose the piston rods. These segments are held together by springs so that they fit tightly against the piston rods. The sealing effect decreases over time because oil carbon builds up between the segments, causing gaps to form.
The following picture shows the piston position and the upper half of the housing in which the seals are located. The lower half of the housing has already been removed and a total of five sealing rings can be seen.

In addition, the pressure relief valves on the steam cylinders have been removed and cleaned. They are used in particular to release water residues in the steam cylinders into the open air in an emergency. The water can form in the steam cylinders in particular if the cylinder walls are still cold before the locomotive starts running and steam is fed into the cylinders, some of which then condenses on the cold surface. As you remember from physics class in school, water cannot be compressed. Now, when condensed water collects in the piston, its pressure can increase so much due to the piston movement that the wall of the steam cylinders or the cylinder heads are blown apart. To prevent this, the safety valves of the cylinders open at a certain pressure.
The next pictures show the disassembly and two safety valves in the disassembled state.


Also on our permanent patient, the future tender of the 50 3570, welding was done again. It turned out that the outer walls of the water tank had lost considerable wall thickness due to corrosion. The affected areas above the floor were cut out and new sheets welded in place.

The weekend before last, we welcomed a larger tour group. This time it was motorcyclists who were on a pilgrimage. Very interesting discussions ensued, even beyond the subject of technology.
If you, dear readers of our news, would also like to visit us with a group, please contact us ( info@dampflok-wittenberge.de). We can tailor visit programs to your wishes, whether you would like guided tours, food and beverages, round trips with our small museum train in the railings or to the Wittenberg harbor, etc. We will be happy to help you. You help us with this and you and your fellow travelers / guests will certainly have an unforgettable experience.

vehicle: 50 3570-4

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