1/8 scale model of the locomotive "C.P. Huntington."

Progress on 1 1/2" scale C. P. Huntington

Photo shows progress as of May 31, 1998. Model is about 45 inches (114 cm) long.

Click here to view an album of the original C.P. Huntington locomotive.

Click here to view an album of Little Engines C.P. Huntington photos.

Click here to view an album of Danforth and Cooke 4-2-4T photos.

As of 6/7/98 the left hand (fireman's side) cylinder has been put together with the steam chest, crosshead and crosshead guides. Cylinder assembly tested by using compressed air to move piston back and forth. Engine frame, drive wheels, leading and trailing truck assembled and painted. Left side cylinder assembly ready to install. Sheet metal for the water tank has been cut out and the rivet holes drilled (over 400 of them!). The sheet metal tank pieces are temporarly held together with a few pins.

6/14/98 - 6/21/98 Machined exhaust pipes and nozzle.

6/27/98 Right hand (engineer's side) cylinder assembly clamped on to frame. Main rod installed. Locomotive rolled back and forth by hand to check for any binds. Everything ran O. K. The frame needs a little filing to make the cylinder casting fit.

7/3/98 Right side ecentrics straps put on. I found that they are too tight and need to be shimmed.

7/12/98 Right hand side ecentrics shimmed and installed. Attempted to put together the rest of the valve gear but found that I had made some of the pins that hold the linkage together too short. It also appears that the mounting holes in the cylinder were drilled at the wrong angle.

7/19/98 Removed right cylinder and started to disassemble it so I could fill and redrill the mounting holes. Made a longer pin for valve gear and installed the right side link.

7/25/98 Work delayed as I needed to move my lathe and other tools. I had been keeping them in my friend Mike's garage. Unfortunatly, he decided to move out of town. Everything now is in my one bedroom condo, taking up space. Mike's engine, by the way, is on the cover of Little Engine's latest catalog.

8/23/98 Mounting holes in right cylinder filled in using brass rod and solder. Right side valve gear completly assembled now.

8/29/98 Mounting holes in right side cylinder are re-drilled by driving over to my father's house and using his drill press.

9/6/98 By this time,the right hand cylinder has been reassembled and mounted on the frame. Main rod and valve gear are connected to the cylinder assembly. Valve gear timed.

9/13/98 Temporary pipe fitiing and hoses are connected to the cylinders in preparation for the compressed air test.

9/15/98 Engine tested on compressed air. Ran o.k. but had a sight knock which I later found was due to the right side main rod striking the crosshead guide support. Smokebox machined by friend Ben in exchange for lettering a caboose.

9/20/98 Took engine to OCME fall meet. Ran engine on compressed air with shims underneth the driving wheel jornals to keep siderod from knocking. Also placed engine on steaming bay track and ran it back and forth. It ran great, but kept slipping due to lack of traction (this will hopefully be elminated when the boiler is installed). A final test was to hook a riding car to the engine and have the engine pull me. A heavy toolbox was borrowed an placed on the engine to increase traction. The engine was able to pull me along, but it would slip a bit in starting. Perhaps I'll need to have working sanders!

11/26/98 Drilled mounting holes for smokebox front.

12/27/98 Filed and sanded top of smoke box and bottom of smoke stack casting for a better fit.

1/3/99 Removed steam chests in preparation to drill smokebox mounting holes. Threaded exhaust pipes.

12/20/99 I found an old aquarium stand that was being thrown out by someone in my condo building. Since the stand is the same height as the bed of my pickup truck and is long enough to hold the locomotive, I saved it. All I need to do is add some wheels to it and it will become a stand for the locomotive.

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I would like to know if any one out there is building or has built a Little Engines C.P. Huntington.
I've only seen two, and only one of the two I have seen running. Contact me at: jeffreyhartmann@juno.com.

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