Restoration of Sumpter Valley Steam Engine (Cushman)

See how much time and work goes into the complete restoration of a steam train for the Sumpter Valley Railroad in Eastern Oregon (Produced by Ed Cushman).

[@robertscutt2904]

These Men Are Strong Hard Working Patriots, Crafts Men, Crackerjack, Machinists,Riggers,And Mechanics, God Bless Them.

[@johnfaro9129]

Absolutely incredible!! Taking a rusted, non-working steam engine and restoring it to a beautiful piece of working machinery!! Many thanks to the volunteers for bringing number 19 back to life. Great video!!

[@tomuchfunwithgas846]

The narrative style of this film is so nice, no drama, cussing,and general bs, it is very nice to listen to.

[@markgoddard2560]

I would be driven mad by that bell ringing all the time. Surely the thing is big enough to be seen!

[@bobbofly]

LOL! You'd think. Then again, I used to own a 63 Cadillac hearse ambulance, & I can't tell you how many times People would pull out in front of me at intersections. 25 feet long, 8 feet tall at the tip of the roof dome, & a previous owner had painted flames on it. "Sorry, didn't see ya." Some frighteningly unaware individuals running around loose out there. XD

[@gravelydon7072]

There are rules that apply to when it must be wrung. One of those is when moving inside yard limits. A drifting loco can be quite quiet. Same applies to Diesels and electrics that are not under load.

[@gorbalsboy]

You think that's bad,the sound of the dynamo would drive a grown man to tears😊

[@vettebecker1]

Very honored to have had the chance to meet mr. Doyle, very talented man.

[@JungleYT]

Is he still alive? Somebody mentioned him in the past tense...

[@vettebecker1]

@@JungleYT not sure, I was stating I met him a number of years ago

[@JungleYT]

@@vettebecker1 I looked him up... He retired as acting president of foundation in 2019. Still active with them, but not as president...

[@shadowraith1]

Why anyone would give a thumbs down on any steam locomotive restoration is beyond me. Beautiful job.👍

[@tandmbros5877]

Some people cant even figure out how to change a tire. And these people are restoring a whole freaking train!!!

[@ddkoda]

A restoration accomplished with care and precision. Not an easy task especially since there was no overhead crane available to lift the boiler off of the wheel sets. It's good to see that some sort of space age polymer was used in place of hazardous asbestos for the boiler jacketing. All in all an end result well worth the investment of time and effort.

[@jimw83296]

from a rusted-out sack of scrap to a queen of the rails.........you guys did good work. my hat's off to ya!

[@carlzimmerman8700]

Seeing them work inside the boiler with an air hammer and no ear protection made me cringe. That must've been mind numbingly loud.Amazing work none the less, and a well made video, thanks for sharing.

[@stuartmckinnon5056]

Carl Zimmerman .

[@DonLuc23]

And all the dust and rust flying and not breathing protection!

[@martinonderdonck7260]

And a casting floor with rubber hose tripping hazards. Grinding pipes that are free to roll away.....

[@Mishn0]

OSHA existed in '92. I'm sure they all had foamies in their ears. They're hard to see but they were evident in some shots. And, they were mostly all volunteers so it's not like the evil masters were forcing them to work in unsafe conditions.

[@yellperlapper]

I really enjoyed seeing the old girl come back to life and provide so much joy for everyone.

[@Andy-Gibb]

Awesome well done restoring history for the future.

[@cestmoi1262]

To the entire crew: I admire your skills and dedication that you showed to bring this engine back to life. You are true CRAFTSMEN!

[@awizardalso]

I wish I would have seen this when it was first put up. I've been a fan of trains since I was a young kid. What I like even more is to see old steam locomotives brought back to life. The complexity of steam engines amazed me.

[@jigneshpatel-zy5bx]

Awesome restoration

[@blainedunlap4242]

Most Excellent Not seen before actual work on a steam engine. The metal tools, procedures, and steps were riveting. Watched to the end, that dude ran so smooooothhh. That was alot of work.

[@Pattyboytheking]

It blows my mind that these trains were made in a time with no computers what so ever. I can’t even begin to imagine how they even went about such a feat!!

[@philgiglio7922]

Slide rules, paper, and skull sweat...lots of it. This wasn't done overnight, many incremental changes were made to reach this level of sophistication. Mistakes were made: boilers blew up and people died...such is progress.

[@drfarrin]

The scale of designing one is the real marvel. Remember, they didn't have the tools we have today. They had to have a fleet of engineers working on just designing the parts, a warehous full of people with VERY strong math and spatial reasoning skills who were trained in technical art. They had to measure and draw precicely to the fraction of an inch EVERY SINGLE PART that went into the train. There were also technical drawings of assemblies, such as JUST the piston assembly for the left side, all done so that the idea could be visually rendered. There were likely thousands of technical drawings that all had to be sketched then finalized (usually on special paper) and then hand copied so that they could MAIL the specs to the various factories that forged the parts. On top of that, these guys needed to know what thicknesses of materials to use (usually found out through trial and error experimentation) so that it was strong enough to operate in tolerances, but light enough to not put the train over it's weight budget (weight of train vs it's power output and intended pulling capacity). The assembly is the flashy part, but genuinely the easiest when compared to the sheer labor hours that went into designing these things.

[@griffensilveira9485]

E

[@allandavis8201]

As an aircraft engineer I was always taught, and in turn taught that the right tool for the right job, yet in many videos of engineering projects these days it is more commonplace than not to see adjustable spanner’s, makeshift hoists and jacks, and a plethora of non-specific tools and accessories being used, and used incorrectly, sometimes dangerously, there are probably a multitude of reasons for this, one of which is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable enthusiasts tackling jobs that they don’t have the training or experience in doing, yet despite all of this they produce the most remarkable and beautiful end products, so it just goes to show that it’s NOT always necessary to have the right tool, just passion,determination and a lot of very hard work. Wonderful to watch, thanks for sharing this interesting and informative film of some very very dedicated people. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@77goofyguy]

I know, I noticed them using the old style monkey wrenches instead of the correct wrench, also no one was wearing mechanics gloves, I guess they like those greasy cuticles. Otherwise, very interesting video except I wish they would have shown the piston/cylinder assemblies and the valve boxes...

[@w.rustylane5650]

Ole Doyle McCormmick. What a railroad engineer! He's worked on more steam engines than I can count.

[@awizardalso]

I've loved steam engines since 1957. I'm really happy to see them brought back to life and many I've seen here on KZbin. The best yet was the Union Pacific #4014 Big Boy. I have a Rivarossi HO scale Big Boy.

[@robintheslavewr1513]

4014 is highly over rated and hyped

[@gloriadevos1790]

I'm 55 so I too young to have witnessed steamers in service but the first steam engine I saw was when the Freedom Train came to Dunsmuir and it was amazing! I also love articulated/Mallet type locos which your Big Boy is. Oddly enough, I own a few HO scale articulated steam engines and love them! The SP AC series is my favorite but the UP's are great as well and I have a few of those also.

[@CassandraPantaristi]

I think that the Pennsylvania S1 is better than the Big Boy. Too bad the S1 was scrapped.

[@harveysmidlap]

Great job guy's!! It always brings a tear of joy to my eye when something old and left to decay is given life once more. I know this is hardly an even comparison but, I've brought some old outboard motors back to life. My oldest being a 1924 Johnson. I'm like Doctor Frankenstein in that old movie... "IT'S ALIVE... IT'S ALIVE"!!!!

[@mrknotthall]

Omg, what a labor of love. Congrats to these volunteers. This has to be one of the most interesting videos I have ever watched. Thank you.

[@PAVANZYL]

Thank you so much! This brought back memories from when I was a trainee. At Koedoespoort in Pretoria there was a huge railway repair workshop where enormous overhead cranes would pick up complete locomotives and move them to other parts of the shop. In the casting shop there were still Bessemer converters in operation! A spectacular site, but hugely polluting. Here I learnt to make castings using sand. The sand was hardened with CO2 before the metal was introduced. In the forging shop we used steam hammers to make pokers but the artisans made complete conrods for the locomotives from a solid billet of steel. I hope this loco is doing well as it could last for ever with love and care.

[@vicktor440]

what a great job. Glad to see craftsman of there caliber still able to do these kind of undertakings !

[@derekstocker6661]

There is a fair amount of this goes on in England so great to see you guys bringing back the past as well. These are to me, living breathing things and to see all this wonderful work going on in front of my eyes is spellbinding stuff, such wonderful skill. Thanks folks.

[@pnwRC.]

It was fantastic to watch this piece of American history be revived! Great video, thanks for sharing!

[@chillerfrigotek9121]

These steam locomotives are great machines. It's like he's alive.. You will take care of everything at any moment.. It has been tried very hard and gathered very well.. The people who deal with it are very skillful and very successful. Thank you for these beautiful images. I wish you good health and success. Greetings from Turkey/Izmir.

[@dennisn1672]

This is amazing. We need to preserve relics of past era's. The best inventions of early industry are slipping away. Without knowledge of the early days. Tomorrow's generation is in trouble. Congratulations to the men who rebuilt this amazing machine. Your a breed of men that is almost non existent these days.

[@lorenrobertson8039]

Now this is dedication and tenacity at work out of love. My hat's off to you guys. I am so amazed at the work that went into this restoration.

[@robertdavis6708]

Doyle McCormick. I'd much rather sit down with you and have a cold one than with the President of the United States. What an honor that would be. I worked in a round house before but on diesel locomotives and coal cars. Interesting crew and video. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[@4x4me2]

+Robert Davis If the president comes to Portland what would I be doing? Trains or the Pres. Hot steam, the mass of heavy metal, the symphony of the tracks and the wale of the whistle or the mutterings of politics. It's a no brainer.

[@danholtvideo]

+Robert Davis You're right. These old steamers are really fun. I've had the opportunity to ride a few of them myself.

[@cartersol38]

Thank you Dan Holt, Ed Cushman and all the other folks, volunteers, and Doyle and his able crew, for walking us through the process. I enjoyed ever minute of it. This is hard work and dirty work, and you have to be a true lover of steam locomotives to jump in and perform these tasks.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Running this engine turned out to be loss making and it has been cut up for scrap now.

[@bg147]

Honestly, are you jealous of a steam locomotive?

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

John ______ This loco has now been ripped apart for scrap. I love smashing up shit and scrapping stuff.

[@warrior3549]

Great work. Shows the determination to preserve the past, which is so beautiful and innocent.

[@gonagin58]

When I worked at the Brooklyn yard I put in a lot of volunteer time working on this locomotive, Doyle was a great guy.

[@lorenrobertson8039]

Thank you for your contribution! It was amazing to watch this beauty come back to life! I just wish I could see her and go for a ride!

[@ostlandr]

Just a a technical nit-pick: The part that was being made was cast, NOT forged. Forging is where you take a chunk of metal, heat it up, and hammer it into the correct shape.

[@brett-westgrove-country-music]

I was thinking the same thing! Details are important.

[@Nik-oj7je]

they just used a really big hammer

[@gravelydon7072]

@@brett-westgrove-country-music Yep. You can now cast some steels that are as strong as forged steel was 40 years ago but it is still a casting. And if you use a harden-able steel, they can really be a pain to machine unless you anneal them first.

[@royklopfenstein5278]

We use fine ink jets for forgery.

[@gravelydon7072]

@@royklopfenstein5278 I used to have an HP business quality inkjet copier scanner printer. It could even pick up the micro printing on the bills. When I got rid of it I even removed the Z-80 chip that ran it so that it could never be used again.

[@emdman1959]

This has to be one of the best steam engine restoration videos I have ever had the pleasure to watch, I especially loved how every aspect was narrated and the incredible filmography, you all should be very proud of the work you have done.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

This loco has now been cut up for scrap.

[@danholtvideo]

Are you sure about that? I thought this Engine was still in use at the Sumpter Valley Railway in Sumpter, Oregon as a weekly tourist train ride during summer months.

[@johnbanks2555]

ok

[@LS11971]

This engine was still in use last summer 2016.

[@davidrahrer]

It's still in use right now.

[@treebuzzard5796]

Hard work, dedication by a group of steam engine enthusiasts have restored this beauty, awesome work & thank you..our past iron should never be forgotten & whenever i see a steam train i feel a peaceful calm & joy when riding on one...just perfection how they built the old iron.

[@tolydukhovny682]

many thanks to all the restorer gang and to the filming crew!! thank you for the uploading of this material.

[@timsongs203]

A lot of great work has been put into this railroad. Was a pleasure to ride some 15 years ago.

[@Vinyl_guy]

best steam engine i have ever had the pleasure to ride on

[@WasatchWind]

It was one of my first experiences with steam. Beloved childhood memories riding in the caboose at Sumpter.

[@lorenrobertson8039]

Thank you all that worked on this project. I absolutely love the old locomotives. What a beauty~

[@nesr8786]

Great Job all, she looks wonderful ,a credit to all involved in her restoration, again, Well Done.

[@GazinGeezer]

Mr. Holt - I don't know what level you were involved with producing this video other than posting it. However, even for that I want to say "A BIG THANK YOU" because it was a fabulous thing to watch. What I would not have given to be part of the team that rebuilt that locomotive. Moreover, I am one that wonders things like: how did they decide operating pressure, predict stress loading on so many components etc ad nauseum - ALL WITHOUT ONE SINGLE COMPUTER other than the one between their ears. Thank you very much. So enjoyable.

[@danholtvideo]

They used to do things the old way with just common horse sense. Tom Cleveland, of the Eugene, OR community cable was a friend of the man who made this video and he let me have it for local broadcasting.

[@lewismcfarcry]

That's amazing, I grew up in Baker City, always wanting to ride on the Sumpter Valley Railway. Eventually moved to Portland where I came across SP 4449 and SP&S 700, further lighting my admiration of trains and steam locomotives. I actually tried to volunteer at the Brooklyn Roundhouse at one time, but I was only 12 haha. Seeing this video though brings back those memories, and taught me some new things about #19, I never knew it was restored in Portland. Almost brings a tear to my eye, and I'm only 25. I live in Indiana now, makes me feel so proud of where I came from.

[@jimdattilio1512]

I love the level of detail in this video! Fantastic job. I do hope when it was all done somebody rebuilt that poor old fork lift!

[@barbaraaspengen9810]

Thank goodness for people that work on these bless you so awesome

[@hankevans3663]

I just moved to Oregon a few years ago.. I'm a big railroad fan.. I started off researching The Sumpter Valley Railroad.. then it went to Union railroad.. where I live in Union.. just couple days ago I found a new Railroad when I was exploring medical Springs, Pondosa.. the Big Creek & Telocaset Railroad.. a lot of railroad history in these little towns of Eastern Oregon...

[@geraldmiller5260]

I am amazed how people can design such mechanical marvels.

[@paulmartin4658]

An without a computer!!!

[@spuds4t]

Thank you for a most interesting video. This restoration has been a true engineering labour of enthusiasm and love by a dedicated team of skilled personell. Great to see the older skills involved to bring it all together. As a retired Aircraft Engineer in the UK familiar with "light" maching, riveting, metal shaping etc. this is a real eye opener of the bigger stuff !

[@danholtvideo]

+Henry Taysom About 15,000 people have viewed this video so far. It is really interesting. I can see why they went to diesel electric, though. It must cost a small fortune to rebuild one of these machines.

[@TheDutchPathFinder1]

Found this gem on a sunday evening 12 april 2020. I am definitly awestruck by the hard work of these men. Respect.

[@jonathanjuillerat9831]

Ive watched two other steam engines restoration videos in 2022 and everyone is a world of OSHA violations. True men doing honest work and its beautiful.

[@anthonycook5238]

Fuck OSHA

[@pnwRC.]

This is one of the few videos I watched from beginning to end!

[@albertnual9397]

I love to watch steam restorations..

[@JungleYT]

LOL Same! I normally won't watch 1 Hour videos... If my research is right, this video is about 25 years old?!!

[@tonylove6199]

Fantastic Dedicated ENGINEERS...TRUE MASTERS AT WORK..AN ABSOLUTELY GREAT MENTAL STIMULATING FILM...EXCELLENT WORK..🙏

[@jigneshpatel-zy5bx]

Awesome love it very much all the hard work and a great team management

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Outstanding.....She is new again thanks so much....From Kentucky

[@brianvittachi6869]

Big respect to these good people who love trains enough to devote time and resources to resurrect an old locomotive. Good job guys. Thanks for posting +Dan Holt.

[@armallya]

excellent video, thanks for the upload maybe someday I will get to see this engine.

[@PerrynBecky]

Wonderful presentation and restoration of a real beauty. Thank you for your hard work on this both in the shop, and in the documentation.

[@Code3forever]

Living only 25 miles away, every couple of years we took the grandkids to Sumpter to ride on the train and tour the dredge. I never saw this video before but they did a good job in rebuilding this locomotive. I imagine how it must have been in the earlier 20th Century when all of the dredging and mining was going on in Sumpter. In those days, it was hard to get to Baker City in the harsh winters and people were literally snowed in Sumpter. Sumpter is a beautiful village and worth the trip as there are campgrounds nearby.

[@jimleasure2191]

The one thing that excited me was when they poured the molten steel in the molds! I worked in the steel mill for sometime in 1960's.

[@georgeholt8929]

Dan I enjoyed this video, oh by the way, my Grand Father was a driver of an coal train out of West Virginia coal mines to the Steel mills on the East coast back in the 1930's he and his brother another driver both died on the job, I never knew them. So I feel a special understanding of the sheer weight of these locomotives. I hope to see more of your videos. Thanks Again, George Holt

[@lorenrobertson8039]

What an interesting family history! I'd love it if you wrote a book...I would certainly read it! Just imagine how different the world was for them and what their lives might have been like. Love your comment Mr. Holt.

[@dalepartap120]

alot of hard work went into this project....also a lot of love...these steam engine are beautiful pieces of history....amazing work...hats off to those guys....

[@TheLouisamite]

This is so wonderful to see, ,thanks to all of folks who have worked so hard to restore

[@deckiedeckie]

Is great to see that none of the knowledge is gone....be a sad day when that happen....

[@balakishakis6614]

It shall be rebirthed someday

[@alans9806]

If you want to build a steam loco it's all here on KZbin.

[@davidbenefiel9289]

Really terrific documentary. The narration was excellent.

[@zacheryriggins1965]

Amazing craftsmanship and dedication to this engine restoration. Many thanks to the volunteers who brought this beautiful workhorse back to life.

[@LarrysMachineShop]

Bravo to all who made this possible and THANK YOU!

[@38911bytefree]

Nice work to bring back to life this steamer for many years to go.

[@jamessmith7691]

Thank you for posting this video. It was very interesting watching these dedicated men working to keep the past alive.

[@OfficialHeartlead]

It's really beautiful... Those people made piece of perfect work on that locomotive...

[@markferguson5064]

Well done. I am saving this video so that my Grandson will understand what makes Thomas tick.

[@Douglas21450]

Mark Ferguson What a wonderful thought. Have fun together. I miss the Thomas days with my son. Have fun!!

[@ShellyAnn1a]

Hope you have more on Oregon RR's, I am a fan of all roads of Oregon, the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Milwaukee Rd and others that ran here in Oregon. Grew up watching an old Great Northern steam locomotive, I believe it was a 2-4-0 not sure of the manufacture, going through town on the way to Dollar Camp, Sweet Home and other lumber towns of the area. Used to get a thrill out of watching the new FA-7 running on the former SP line from Portland to Eugene and points south. Loved to watch the passenger trains and waving to the engineer and passengers. That was a few years before Amtrack or as it has been called locally Slamtrac. Because of some of the early derailments, none were disastrous if I remember right, just cars jumping the tracks. Only remember one serious train car wreck and that was the GN hit a carful of kids who ran the signal. Six kids died in that one. Have been collecting N-gauge trains of the GN, NP, CB&Q, Milwaukie and their descendants. Love this rebuilding of an old loco to new condition. Please have more. Wonder if there are any of the old KNOR locos still out there. I know in the 40s many old locos were scrapped for the war effort and ended up as part of the Liberty ships that were built in Portland/Vancouver yards. Again thank you very much for this video. //es// A 70y/o Lady Railfan.

[@ianfiddes9871]

Nice to see a beautiful steamer come alive, I lived next to the sidings as a child in Bo'ness Scotland. Also my play ground :-)

[@donjohnson8627]

WOW!! Watching this thing come together and be operated actually brought tears to my eyes! Made me think of back when i was a kid ion the Mesabi Iron Range of Minnesota lying in bed at night listening to the steam engines working, carrying the iron from the mines!

[@mikedigirolamo3991]

Wonderful video.. can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. Thank you for posting it.

[@franciscoleonardo151]

Removing tubes, two pound hammer, big jacks brings back such fun (did I say fun?) memories yet, it is worth it to have the steam locomotive at work once again. Good film.

[@larryinfantino379]

Seeing her in operation brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eyes.

[@markf350s]

To all that are involved thank you for sharing your knowledge wisdom and understanding of the firebox and a locomotive is something that is of a loss start today I'm old enough to appreciate the steam engines that were still working in my day always had a appreciation and understanding of steam may you all stay safe and healthy thank you

[@johnhirtle4300]

Fantastic! Beautifully shot, edited and narrated. Thoroughly enjoyed.

[@takethetrainTRL]

I can't wait to watch this one, this is my movie for today!👏 🙌 Greetings from Romania! 👋

[@Joecasci]

Masterpiece of work and love!

[@CountvonStaffordofVirginia1607]

And now Doyle McCormick is working with the Pennsylvania T1 trust. Probably the most ambitious project yet.

[@prosanis1216]

It’s only in my imagination how it must feel to drive this mighty piece of machinery. It’s a real pleasure to watch this beautiful video. Thanks 🙏 for sharing this beautiful video with me 👍👍👏

[@valeriebassett3107]

This is I think the best video I've seen concerning the rebuild of a locomotive. There was not one detail left out. Very professional in every way. Thank you to all who worked so hard to get this job done. Thanks for sharing. ❣️

[@alexpiper9475]

Very nice ! You people have done a magnificent job. The locomotive looks like it should.

[@ralphkrzyzanski4069]

Awesome , I love the IDEA, to have the time & finances to do a restoration on a much loved machine of the past. The Steam Engine. When I was 7 , The Traines would vibrate the grounds at the Bronson Co Op. . across the street where I lived. What a sight for a kid at 7 to be able to get up close & personal with a 60 Ton Steam Engine. I did have a run in or two,,. Yes I said I was around 7 ) with an engineer who was NOT Happy with me playing around his locomotive ..This was for me truly enlightening about the construction , & the process of dismantling . The expertise is at least top notch with everyone who used their abilities. Thank You , over & above the rest.

[@dinshawmuncherjee5123]

To Doyle McCormack and his jolly crew, my unstinted thank you. What a fantastic restoration job and with such meticulous attention to detail and authenticity: simply mind-blowing. Truly a labor of love. Just love you guys!

[@AustNRail]

Lovely job on the restoration.

[@mahmoudrefaat3009]

Just imagine how they did it back in 1920, mindblowing!

[@renem1109]

I loved watching this video! Thank you!

[@viper3378]

Excellent story and video. Congrats to all. So very nice to see another piece of American railroading saved. So much of our railroading history has either fallen under the scrapper's torch or just been left to rot in some obscure place.

[@elonmust7470]

I used to come across those narrow tracks while fishing the Wallowa River. Lived in Ironside for a little while.

[@johnlannom2027]

Kudos to all those who made such a valuable contribution to bringing # 19 back to life!!!

[@mikeruzicka5669]

Thanks for a great video of all of the hard work it took everyone to restore this steam locomotive.

[@nikjames2965]

Huge skills and commitment here.. well done guys

[@The141335]

The Glorious work!

[@jimjardine4705]

Marvellous video. Thank you!

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

Enjoyed the video, I loved seeing the transformation.

[@luckydog9500]

Fantastic story and video!! Thanks

[@durgeshvelhal9304]

wow..beautiful engine..great restoration

[@bigsparky8888]

I AM SO JAZZED TO SEE THIS!!! LAST LOCOMOTIVE I SAW WAS IN 52...WORKING IN MENTONE, CA BRINGING IN GRAIN CARS...I am 72 now...WHOOOHOOOO!!!! THANKS GUYS...AND THAT YOUNG MAN..."DAD"...Just a minute...lol