Zombie Thomas Train #31 Buried in New Orleans, 1984 | ASMR

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:12]Travis, the conduits are holding steady, but we need to reinforce the auxiliary lines before pressurization. Noted. I'll have Wade reinforce them immediately.

[00:00:21]The distinctive silhouette is barely visible beneath the decay.

[00:00:25]A specialized sander reveals the cast iron grill. Only 31 of these locomotives were ever built a test day, and this one spent 40 years buried 6 ft under New Orleans anaerobic clay, soil so dense it starves the metal of oxygen, slowing the rust, creating what preservation scientists call a differential corrosion cell. Means The pale yellow-green tint is manganese dioxide, a common additive.

[00:00:50]The 567 series diesel cast iron corrodes into a graphitic residue when exposed to wet anaerobic conditions, leaving a soft sponge-like matrix until touched. This is identified as cosmoline, a petroleum-based preservative applied by the construction crew in 1984 to protect the engine during burial.

[00:01:08]Brass corrodes differently than iron, forming a stable patina of copper carbonate that actually protects the underlying metal.

[00:01:16]The cab windows on these 1950 switchers were made of laminated safety glass, a layer of polyvinyl butyral sandwiched between two panes. The locomotive instrument panels of this era used mechanical gauges driven by oil pressure lines and air brake pipes, and that the fact these gauges are intact anodized aluminum forms its own protective oxide layer that is chemically stable, which is why the data plate survives when the steel around it fails.

[00:01:41]The total weight of this locomotive is 120,000 lb, and the soil compaction around it has effectively laminated the exterior surfaces. Means The first rule of buried vehicle recovery is to remove all soil mechanically before introducing water.

[00:01:56]Brass wire is used instead of steel on cast iron because brass is softer than the iron. This is a critical choice in historic preservation. The bolt holes are the most vulnerable points for cracking because rust expands with eight times the volume of the original steel, a force called rust jacking. The voice over describes the chemistry of this crust as a mixture of iron oxide and kaolinite clay, the clay acting as a binder.

[00:02:21]Pitting depth is measured in thousandths of an inch and any pit deeper than 30% will require a weld fill.

[00:02:30]Pressure washing at this stage serves two purposes. It blasts away the remaining clay in microscopic pores, wet and dry cycling corrosion where water pooled and evaporated leaving behind mineral deposits. This patch of surviving paint will serve as the color match reference. This black crust, a mixture of leaked diesel oil, clay, and rust formed an air exclusion layer.

[00:02:49]Paradoxically, it protected the oil pan from pitting.

[00:03:08]Dismantling follows a strict sequence.

[00:03:10]Exterior trim and glass first, then interior components, then engine bay peripherals, and finally the body panels themselves. The sound is the friction of iron oxide crystals shearing against steel. Every fastener removed is measured and photographed to match the original grade and thread pitch. The grill alone weighs 47 lb and its preservation is a priority because no replacements exist for a locomotive of this rarity. Once moisture penetrates it, the underlying steel corrodes and lifts the chrome process called delamination, which is why the ring cannot be saved. Bumper bolts on locomotives are torqued to several hundred foot-pounds and are often rust welded into place requiring a breaker bar for leverage. This is the most vulnerable moment in any restoration, the point where the machine looks most destroyed, but it is also the turning point. This is a 567 CV12 diesel, 900 horsepower at 800 rpm, displacing 567 cubic inches per cylinder. Cab doors on these switchers were made of heavy gauge steel with a simple latch mechanism, and the glass is often saved even when the surrounding frame is pitted.

[00:04:14]Locomotive motive gauge clusters are mechanical, not electric, relying on oil and air pressure.

[00:04:20]Flare nut wrenches have five points of contact instead of the two on an open-end wrench, reducing the risk of rounding off soft brass fittings. The rust being removed is primarily iron oxide, a compound that occupies up to eight times the volume of the original steel it consumed. Pits must be ground out to solid metal before welding. Any rust left will continue to oxidize under the weld and cause a failure called rust bleed ring.

[00:04:45]Rust forms more slowly on vertical surfaces because water drains off them, which is why the cab walls are in better condition, the paint film fracturing as the steel beneath moved at a different rate than the paint itself. This patch is too valuable to strip, and it will be preserved as a reference. Aluminum corrosion produces aluminum oxide, a white, flaky powder that is chemically [music] stable and can be removed with gentle abrasion. Miss.

[00:05:09]A needle scaler is ideal for thick, brittle rust on cast iron, delivering impact energy that fractures the rust without MIG welding or metal inert gas welding uses a continuous wire electrode fed through the nozzle. An electric arc melts the wire and the base metal together.

[00:05:25]A proper weld bead should be slightly convex with no visible pinholes, and should extend slightly beyond the edges of the These beads will next be ground flush with an angle grinder and a flap disc, a process called weld dressing, which restores the smooth contour of the panel. These beads will next be ground flush with an angle grinder, a process called weld dressing, which restores the smooth contour of the panel.

[00:06:04]Essential for creating a gas-tight low resistance electrical bond because any oxidation between the copper strands would increase resistance and cause voltage drop to the starter motor.

[00:06:12]Locomotive gauge lines use a double flare fitting where the end of the copper tube is folded over itself to create a strong leak-proof seal.

[00:06:20]The instrument panel is the locomotive's neural center displaying engine rpm, oil pressure, water temperature, air brake pressure, and battery voltage. The original pump on this locomotive was seized solid. Uneven torque on a water pump can distort the housing and cause the impeller to rub against the volute.

[00:06:36]tions.

[00:06:37]The 567 engine uses a full flow oil filter with a replaceable cellulose element. Any leak at the gasket is a catastrophe. The Roots blower is the heart of a two-stroke diesel forcing air into the cylinders to scavenge exhaust gases. Without it, the engine cannot breathe, cannot fire, cannot run.

[00:06:52]When the flap disc touches the first weld bead, the sound deepens to a rhythmic sanding roar erasing the proud crown of the weld in a is Every opening, [music] the grill cavity, the headlight bucket, the cab door, the exhaust stack must be masked to prevent prime This is the beginning of an exothermic cross-linking reaction where the epoxy molecules form a three-dimensional polymer network that bonds to steel at a molecular [clears throat] level. engines.

[00:07:17]This [music] first coat is called a mist coat designed to provide chemical adhesion for the heavier coats that will follow. [music] The We use a two-stage urethane system.

[00:07:26]A base coat provides the color and a clear coat provides gloss and UV protection bonding at the molecular level. means. A rich saturated emerald with a slight blue undertone, a pigment blend used by General Motors in the mid-1950s.

[00:07:40]The The abrasive paste starts at 1,500 grit and breaks down to 3,000 grit as it works, shearing away the microscopic peaks of orange peel texture.

[00:08:02]>> [music] >> Chins. The urethane adhesive used to glue modern automotive glass into steel frames. The adhesive is applied from a caulking gun. The crankcase has been filled with a high zinc break-in oil that will protect the flat tappet camshaft lobes during the critical first minutes of operation. Today, it stands exactly as it did in 1955, the only number 31 of its kind ever built, the only one to survive.

[00:08:28]>> [music] [music] >> Synx. Only 31 of these locomotives were ever built, and number 31 spent 40 years buried under New Orleans, but today it looks Every frame in this video has been transformed through a multi-stage editing process. From GIF conceptualization to VO3 generation, human creativity leads every step. This channel is dedicated to original AI craftsmanship and follows all 2026 YouTube monetization rules.