NESCo President Paul VanSteenburghe is keeping rust at bay during a recent work session in April 2026.

Maine winters haven’t stopped the NESCo shop crew who toiled on despite the cold. Multiple projects are being worked on at this time, and heavy work on the locomotive is planned for this summer. Our volunteers have gained ground on hard tasks with completion in sight.

Recent work weekends have produced more riveting of the tender body and the installation of the handrails around the tender water body. This can be a fickle task with trying to fish the handrail through the stanchions.

It took some time to accurately layout the 13/16” holes for the stanchion mounting bolts, taking care not to have interference issues with the interior structure. The crew used a mag base drill to make the holes.

The good news continues!

New England Steam is beginning an exciting new fundraiser that you can participate in! There are hundreds of rivets to install on 470’s tender. Our team is selling the rivets to be stamped with your initials! This mark on the button head of the rivet will make your initials a permanent part of 470!

These special (collectable?) rivets show your support for the project. $50.00 is the requested amount and can be purchased on our website store, or in person at our shop. Mailed in checks with a filled out form will also be accepted.

Add multiple rivets, and you could even spell something out. It’s up to you. These rivets are a fun gift or would make a good memorial. All orders help pay for more projects and improve our daily work behind the scenes at our organization. Once our crew stamps the rivet, you will be invited to visit and see the stamp in person as well as get a tour of the project.

What are your initials?