New member in Michigan

Hello fellow steamers,

I'm Ron and just joined your club and forum. I live in Southeast Michigan and have been interested in steam power for quite a few years. In the last two years I built a steel hulled Tug called the Iron Chief and powered it with a 1958 Tiny power twin M and VFT boiler. That project is nearing completion.

At our steamboat meet this past summer at Hastings, Mi., I had the opportunity to ride on Tony Grzyb's DeLoura, I knew right away that I wanted one. Now I am in the process of rounding up the parts for that. I'll spend about a year collecting bits, and next winter, I'll fashion it all in to a hopefully working Locomobile Style No.2 replica.

Any info available on the subject will be greatly appreciated. Drawings, pictures etc.

There are some vids at the link below. Tom Kimmel probably remembers riding on her last July at our meet.

Thanks, Ron

Interested in building a Locomobile steam car. Already have built and operate a steam powered Tugboat. Some videos: [www.youtube.com]

Hi Ron,

I live in Lake Orion, nice to see another SE Michigander in the club. Now I'm starting to wonder how many of us there are, and whether we should think about a SACA Motor City Chapter....

Regards,

Ken

Never fails. Wait til I move away, THEN start a local chapter. How's the engine going, Ken?

Tom

Hi Tom,

I'm kinda up to my neck in SACA admin right at the moment, so I need to agitate someone else into organizing a Motor City Chapter....kinda has a ring to it!

The engine is coming slow, but coming. I am in the process of fitting the main crank bearings to the crankcase, and have the balance shaft timing gears/lube oil gear pump on hand and ready to fit as well. The overtime hours are still here, so have to just accept that the time frame is spongy and put some extra cash away in the retirement account. After researching the article on circulation that went into the Bulletin, I have a few new ideas I want to think about in order to reduce boiler size. Fortunately my goal is to have fun, so no pressure to reach any given milestone.

How're things on your end?

Regards,

Ken

Hi Ken,

Totally divorced from the auto industry now, unless you count making plates for presses. I'm the metallurgist for a plate mill in Texas, one of the biggest in North America. Foreign owned, like a serious chunk of the American steel industry. Making steel for oil rigs, pressure vessels, barges, earth movers, and line pipe. I've swapped emails with Harry and Frankie about a possible waste heat app.

One thing I noticed, when you get away from automotive, even the hacked-off customers aren't nearly as nasty as the auto guys I used to have to deal with. I keep the tryout pieces from my SAE congress presentations on my desk, to remind me how little I miss dealing with the idiots that seem to accumulate in automotive middle management.

Sounds like you have done quite a bit. I may be up there in a few months; have to stop in.

Overtime? What's that? Oh, the joys of management!

Have fun,

Tom

Hi Tom,

It has been suggested now and then that I consider moving over to the engineering staff and going on salary. The pay is a little better, but not hugely so, and the job security more questionable...so guess I'll remain a no-count blue collar for the rest of my career although some folks have questioned just how blue a model makers collar is...

If you come up this way, just give me a few days warning, I've been keeping strange schedules and been out and about; wouldn't want to miss your visit because I didn't have a couple days to get things squared away.

Regards,

Ken