Wisconsin Northern Railroad
In late April, Arlyn Colby of Barron, Wisconsin happened to be in Norma, the base of operations of the Wisconsin Northern railroad on the north side of Chippewa Falls. He found a crew there making repairs on one of their GP15 locomotives and took the opportunity to record this singular event.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Arlyn says, "Engine 1500 had a problem which was repaired on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. The front truck was 'loose' and wouldn't track right as the train went down the track. The problem was a worn bushing, called a center bowl ring, that went around the kingpin. To replace it, Hulcher brought in a crane to lift the engine up. This was done at the wye at Norma." Webmaster says, "Click on the picture to see it full-size."
	First, the engine wasn't in quite the right place, so the crane pulled it into position. Lift01.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/57sxlj
	The problem was with the front truck, but the front of the engine couldn't be lifted high enough to roll out the truck without shimming up the back truck. Lift02.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/5tosga
	Shims are in place: Lift03.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/66y7o4
	Now to the front of the engine to lift it: Lift04.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/5saeqt
	Going UP. Lift05.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/5zc6dq
	Now the truck can be rolled out. Lift06.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/5tdudm
	The old center bowl ring didn't want to come out but did after a little "persuasion." Lift07.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/5nro7q
	OK, it's out. It's in 3 parts, a base and 2 side rings. Lift08.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/6qe54p
	Here's the new one, a one-piece construction. It's some type of fiber material, basically a plastic piece. Lift09.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/62eny2
	It slips right into place. Lift10.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/6nwx4f
	A rubber gasket keeps dirt and debris out. Lift11.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/67rgj5
	Time to roll the truck back under the engine. But there's a little uphill grade and it's too hard to roll, so it was pulled by a truck. Lift12.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/68cocz
	The engine is lowered back down onto the truck. Lift13.jpg -- http://tinyurl.com/6oohlk
Arlyn says, "All that's left is to lift the back end again and take out the shims and reattach traction motor leads. But I left to head to Barron as I heard that an OOPS had occurred there." Webmaster says, "CLEAN-UP ON AISLE THREE!!"              (Click here)
Click here for Maintenance on a Wisconsin Northern Geep Click here for April Derailment Clean-up Part 1 Click here for April Derailment Clean-up Part 2 Click here for April Derailment Clean-up Part 3 Click here for July Track Maintenance Click here for August Cab Ride Click here for September Cab Ride Click here for "South of Norma" Click here for a Wisconsin Northern Locomotive Roster Click here for Maps of the Wisconsin Northern Railway Click here to return to Picture Links page Click here to return to Ron's Rec Room