Avery Rescued from Republican River
(Page 4 of 5)
Submerged in a river bed for 65 years, the Avery was both protected and plagued by the same thing: sand. “Most of the unit was buried in sand,” Ted says, “which helped to preserve it. But then every single part, bolt and nut had to be taken apart, scale chipped off, sandblasted, painted and put back together. That doesn’t necessarily have to be done on more conventional restorations because sand isn’t packed in, around, behind and under every piece.”
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The big day
Because real life intruded at times, nearly seven years passed before the Avery was completely restored. Forrest Pense never saw his dream completely fulfilled: He died in 2004. “Forrest was a character,” Ted says, “and this Avery is a tribute to him and what he did for the steam community.”
The boiler was tested April 18, 2006. With the boiler completely stripped down and in a warm garage, two inspectors from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry conducted an official ultrasound boiler inspection on the Avery. The engine was rated for 168 psi using a 2-rivet lap seam formula, a reference pertaining to original boiler construction. The salvaged Avery is a 3-rivet lap seam boiler with an original rating of 175 psi.
After much work and many minor trials (like removal of paint that filled in parts of the bolt threads) everything was ready April 22, 2007. The 1916 16 hp Avery was set for its first fire-up in 72 years. Hoses and pipes were connected to Ted’s residential water line to fill the boiler for a hydro test. Pressure gauges were mounted. Leaking connections were tightened or fixed. Gaskets were changed, and the boiler was drained.
At 11:40 a.m., wood was added to the firing box and the fire lit. As wood smoke drifted overhead, steam was slowly built up and reduced, annealing the new iron. The water pressure increased; by 1:35 p.m., it reached 40 psi. Various adjustments were made as evaluation continued, but it was obvious the 65-year-buried beast’s first fire-up was a success.
Debut jitters
The entire restoration proceeded smoothly. “The ease of everything surprised me,” Ted says. “Jody says it was meant to be, that there was a guardian angel on my shoulder, because everything seemed to work” – until the third week of August 2007, when the Avery was scheduled to make its maiden voyage around the Nowthen show’s parade track.
“We had fire in the firebox, and were moving like we were supposed to do,” Ted recalls. “We had just filled up with water, come off a little hill and slowed down. I was going to back into a parking place to wait for the parade to start when a little cross-bracket on the eccentrics that change direction broke. We knew that part hadn’t looked great, but we figured the old boys who had brazed it at the factory knew what they were doing, so we didn’t touch it.”
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