It doesn't take a rocket scientist to build a steam locomotive, but it doesn't hurt to have one.

Retired aerospace engineer Rolf Laessig of Grass Valley — with the help of a couple dozen volunteers — has designed and built a fully operational steam-powered train engine for the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum.

Three years in the making, Locomotive No. 13 will roll out for its public debut on Sunday, July 19, at the museum at 5 Kidder Court, Nevada City.

Modeled after small switch engines used in rail yards in the mid-1880s, “Locomotive 13 is not a replica,” stressed museum curator Brian Blair.

Locomotive No. 13 is specifically designed for modern times. It uses a modified steam generator that drastically shortens “steam up” time and eliminates the inherent hazards of a pressurized boiler, explained Laessig.

The engine also burns diesel oil so efficiently it doesn't smoke, so Laessig tweaked the “dry steam” to produce water vapor for the illusion of smoke. (Old-fashioned locomotives were notoriously smoky polluters.)



“It's the first and only locomotive built entirely in Nevada County,” said Museum Director Madelyn Helling.

With the exception of the wheels and the bell, Locomotive No. 13 was essentially designed and precision-tooled from scratch at the museum's restoration shop and at local businesses.

“We wrenched the wheels out of an old locomotive south of Fresno,” Laessig recalled. It took all day in 104-degree heat.

The big brass bell came easier. It was donated by a Midwest railroad enthusiast.

Other than that, Locomotive No. 13 was fabricated by a dedicated team of volunteers who logged more than 6,000 hours since the project started in July 2006, Blair said.

Volunteer Randy Zwicker was responsible for much of the fabrication of the plumbing and steam delivery system.

While the intent was to recreate the look of a locomotive of yesteryear, Laessig used high-tech tools to create that effect. The drive train, for example, was designed on a computer before it was hand-tooled in the museum's machine shop.

That's one of the areas where the rocket-scientist thing came in handy.

“This was all Rolf's thing,” Helling said.

It took many people to build Locomotive No. 13, but everybody credits Laessig as the driving force behind the project.

Laessig proposed the project, promising to finish it in three years — at no cost to the museum or the parent Nevada County Historical Society.

Laessig raised the $35,000 to build the locomotive strictly through private donations of money, time and materials, Helling and Blair added.

Known affectionately to locals as “never come, never go,” the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad provided 66 years of reliable service, from 1876 to 1942, between Nevada City, Grass Valley and Colfax.

“It was a joke based on the initials of the railroad (NCNG),” said Blair.

Locomotive No. 13 literally has nowhere to come or go. The NCNG tracks are long gone, so the only rails it has to ride are the tracks on the railroad museum grounds itself.

And why is it called Locomotive 13?

It's the 13th locomotive to run under the name of Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad, Laessig said.

Tom Durkin is a freelance writer based in Nevada City. For comments on this article, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.