Gurley Story
(continued)
The tender was gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and deteriorated areas were
removed and rebuilt with new material. A new rear frame was built by Boschan;
the original having suffered too much damage over the years to make repairs
feasible.
The left cylinder of the Gurley. The square portion on top
contains a valve that allows
steam into either end of the round cylinder below. Photo courtesy Matt Walker.
Once repairs were made, parts like the tender were shipped back to Disneyland
for painting by Disney craftsmen, and once properly painted, the parts were
shipped back to Boschan and installed.
The Fred Gurley nearing completion in Paul Boschan's shop.
Photo courtesy Matt Walker.
Following the pattern set initially by the E.P. Ripley's first major
rebuilding in 1997, and continued with the C.K. Holliday, the Gurley
was to be repainted in a style reminiscent of her days in Santa Fe & Disneyland
Railroad garb. The boiler jacket received the same DuPont Imron dark metallic
midnight blue hue that was recently applied to the C.K. Holliday in order
to more closely approximate the original coloring. The brass dome bodies
returned, as did her tender scrollwork--this time proclaiming only "Disneyland
Railroad."
The rebuilt tender tank sporting her new (old) filigree and
lettering.
Photo courtesy Matt Walker.
The return to the retro-style paint scheme has not been without its
detractors, who believe that the "ribbon" style lettering on the tender does not
look as authentic as the previous scheme. Still, it's refreshing to see that the
Park respects its own past, and will resurrect its history from time to time.
The newly--if incorrectly--repainted brass sand dome sits atop
the
freshly-painted boiler jacket. Photo courtesy Matt Walker.
Unfortunately, in an error attributed to miscommunication, the painters
applied the incorrect striping and lettering to the two domes.
Matt Walker artfully captured the reflective luster of the polished
brass in
this view. Note the care applied in the detail of the number's drop
shadow.
Allegedly, over the phone, Imagineer Kim Irvine--the talented art director on
the project known for her efforts to bring back fondly-remembered elements from
the Park's past, such as the "retro" paint job on the engine--told the painters
to stripe and letter the steam and sand domes "as they used to be." The painters
took that to mean that they should apply the most-recent striping and lettering
patterns, instead of the style she wore in 1958. So, the sand and steam dome
wear the post-SF&D RR styles, while the rest of the engine sports the 1958 look!
In an interesting turn, Disney replaced the original builder's plates--which
were themselves knock-offs--with newly created reproductions. But where did
these new reproductions come from?
In February 2007, I had the idea to have a set of reproduction Gurley
builder's plates made for myself. I had always liked the style of the little
Baldwin's 1894-style plates, and thought it would be a neat looking piece to
hang on the wall of my train room. I also thought others might interested. So,
working off a tip from a friend, I contacted Wayne James, from Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, and commissioned him to reproduce the plate.
Wayne is a true
craftsman who is frequently called upon by railroad museums throughout the
country to reproduce missing or damaged builder's plates for real stream
engines. I worked closely with Wayne to assure the accuracy of the plates. Folks
who wanted their own copies could contact him directly for their own plates,
which Wayne would then cast either in brass, or less-expensive aluminum.
Over the course of several weeks, Wayne created a detailed pattern, relying
on photos of the Gurley plate supplied by Matt Walker and others, and
using the known dimensions of the real thing obtained from the roundhouse and
Baldwin records. Some of the numbers had to be hand-cut by Wayne to assure
accuracy. Eventually, Wayne did a test casting of the plate, in aluminum, and
sent it to me for approval. It was stunning; matching the plates the Gurley
wore down to the last detail. After I approved the pattern, Wayne began casting
plates for those who purchased them from him over the next several months.
This is the pattern--still in the making--used to create the Fred
Gurley's new
builder's plates. Photo courtesy Wayne James.
Among those customers was Paul Boschan. He purchased two plates in brass from
Wayne, and showed them to the Disney roundhouse personnel. Disney agreed that
the new plates should be used, and the plates the engine wore since 1958 are now
stored safely in the roundhouse display case. While certainly not expected,
those who purchased their own copies of the plate can now proudly say their
plates were created from the exact same pattern as the ones that the engine now
wears!
The Fred Gurley's new builder's plate, on the right. The
numbers and letters have been polished to a mirror finish, and the background
will soon be painted black. See the box below for an explanation of the "XO" plate
on the left. Photo courtesy Wayne James.
Two Builder's Plates?
Paul Boschan studied history in school, and likes to apply that knowledge to
his occupation when he can. He also wanted to add a little "personal touch" to
the Fred Gurley, much like the little class lamps he installed on the Ward Kimball (which have since been removed by Disney).
Back in the days of steam power on American railroads, sometimes a
locomotive's boiler would need to be replaced. The railroad would request the
manufacturer to build a new boiler, which would then be installed on the engine.
To indicate that the new boiler was not original equipment, sometimes the
manufacturer would install what were called "extra order" plates, with a serial
number and the year of the new part's construction. These were known as "XO"
plates.
Since Boschan built a new boiler for the Fred Gurley, he figured it
would be historically appropriate for the engine to bear "XO" plates from
Boschan Boiler & Restorations, Inc. He contacted Wayne James and commissioned a
Boschan "XO" plate. Boschan's XO plate features the date of the boiler's
construction, and the Boschan job number, 230. The plates, along with
reproduction Baldwin builder's plates (also by James) were affixed to the boiler
while in the roundhouse.
Sadly, going the way of the Ward Kimball's class lamps, the XO plates
were removed by Disney before the engine entered service. The photos in this
article are the only images available showing the plates installed on the
boiler. |
Most of the work took place in Boschan's Carson facility. Disney wished
Boschan to complete his re-assembly of the engine at the Disneyland roundhouse,
but Paul insisted that he test every single system on the locomotive before
delivering it to Disney.
The plumbing in the cab is coming along nicely. The brass vertical
cylinder on the left is the hydrostatic lubricator, which supplies oil to the
moving parts of the air compressor. The vertical pipe and valves just left of
center is the injector, which the fireman uses to force water into the boiler.
The blank black circular plate will hold the steam and air brake gauges. The
three valves directly behind the plate route steam to the various locomotive
accessories, and the angled steel bar in front of the plate is the throttle
lever. The brass lever just below the throttle is the brake lever. Photo
courtesy Matt Walker.
The engine is now ready to leave Boschan's shop and begin her trek
to Disneyland.
The engine's return to Disneyland and more, will be covered in the next
installment of this series. |