Forwarded to me by a friend on the tour from earlier today:
Thanks for the pictures. They really give a much better idea of where Roger is exactly located inside of the shop. I noticed that his smokestack has been thrown on top of his tender. Looks like they’ve started to remove some of the glass from the window frames in the cab.
The photo of the new wheels and trucks attached to the shop crane are for the tender. The new tender wheels actually came from WDW. There’s always a vast supply of them sitting around the roundhouse. They were more than likely loaded up on the truck that hauled the tender.
why would they rather give tours with Roger or Roy as opposed to Lily?
Most of it has to do with the computerized safety system and electric igniter, which Lilly is equipped with. (soon Walter, Roger, and Roy)
In terms of the computerized safety system, it is a pain in the butt to start up and the slightest mistake will set all of Lilly’s alarms off and the system will shut down and the process will have to be restarted. In can be a very frustrating and time consuming process.
Also, the computerized safety system is now in charge of sensing the amount of pressure in the boiler. In other words, they no longer use the pop-off valves. The only times that they use the pop-off valves on Lilly is whenever they’re testing them back at the roundhouse or during the tour as a demonstration. Other than that, Lilly’s pop-off valves are turned off before going on stage. Whenever Lilly is fired up, they have to test the boiler sensor to ensure that it’s functioning properly. So what they have to do is let enough pressure build up in the boiler to set off the sensor. Whenever the sensor detects that the pressure in the boiler is at a level that would normally trigger the pop-off valves, an alarm will go off and the system will extinguish the fire completely. Once that is done, they have to refire the locomotive. So testing the boiler sensor can also be time consuming.
Now, we come to the electric igniter. The electric igniter is not as easy as some make it sound like. It’s nowhere at all as simple as pushing a button like on a gas grill. It’s another complicated and time consuming process, and just like starting up the computerized safety system, if something is done slightly incorrect, then the whole process will have to be restarted. Basically there’s an igniter inside of the firebox that produces a spark. The igniter is retractable and can be lowered down to the burners via controls that are located in the tender. In order to fire up Lilly, the brakes must be on. If the sensors do not detect that the brakes have been applied during the ignition sequence, then an alarm will go off and the computer will shut off the fuel line and a fire cannot be lit. Obviously, to apply the brakes, you have to have enough air in the compressor. The atomizer and the blower, which must be on when firing any oil-fired steam locomotive, are also ran by air. Now, if Lilly is still warm in the morning, she might have enough air pressure to run all 3, but if she’s starting up cold, then an external air hose must be hooked up to her until she’s built up enough pressure herself. (This also applies to Walter, Roger, and Roy) Also, there are times when the igniter will malfunction and not produce a spark, and then there are times when the igniter will produce a spark but it won’t catch, which usually means that the fuel level is low.
Ok, so you might’ve read this and are now asking the question, “How does all of that relate to the tour?”. Well, whenever the tour arrives backstage for the roundhouse portion and cab tour, the locomotives are “shut off” for safety purposes. They are not left running. So, when it’s time to leave the roundhouse and head back on stage, the locomotives must be started up again. As you now know, starting Lilly isn’t the easiest thing. If something were to go slightly wrong with the start-up process, whether it’s with the computerized safety system or the electric igniter, it could take some time to resolve the issue, on top of alarms blaring, which would be “bad show”. That’s one reason for the crew preferring Roger or Roy for tours. The other reason is they would like to be able to show guests the “old” way of firing up the locomotives by lighting the ball of fabric on fire and throwing it into the firebox, which can no longer be done with Lilly. Anyways, the crew went through extensive training on how to give tours with Lilly since they’d never used her for tours since she came back from Strasburg.
Sorry for the lengthy response, but I figured that I might as well go a little more in-depth since these changes are coming to Walter, Roger, and Roy.
Is there really a confidentiality agreement?
Yes, and I think it’s silly if you ask me. All WDWRR railfans know that the locomotives are overhauled at Strasburg. If Disney is that concerned about the privacy of the whereabouts of the locomotives when they’re not on property, then maybe the crew and other CMs should quit telling guests that the locomotives are overhauled at a “reputable railroad museum in eastern Pennsylvania”. They can’t say “Strasburg” but they sure as heck won’t deny it. I just think it’s funny how stupid Disney pays Strasburg to act when guests ask questions about the locomotives.
(Walter will be a tough one though)
