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.
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.
