The progress continues....
Photos taken September, 2009. Photo on right shows recently installed crosshead pump.
10/04/09 The boiler has been ordered. While I do have a used copper boiler that I purchased years ago, it leaked
badly it was questionable if it could be repaired. To be on the safe side I felt it would be best to have a new boiler.
While I'm waiting for the boiler I've started working on several small items such as the front coupler. The pipes that
deliver the steam to the cylinders have also been installed.
There has been a bit of a set back - a piece of the smoke box casting spit off. A close inspection uncovered an
additional crack in the casting which is made out of aluminum. A plate of aluminum was purchased and cut to the proper
shape. The next step will be to find some one to weld it back together and attach the aluminum plate so hopefully it
will never break again.
6/23/10 Found someone to weld the smokebox back together. I told him there was no hurry as the boiler wouldn't
be coming until the summer. I also found and purchased an unassembled pair of archbar trucks several months ago. Even though
all the parts were machined, I have had to spend many hours filing and painting the parts. Only a few of the parts
have been put together so far. After doing some research in some old issues of Live Steam magazine, I sketched out
some plans and purchased materials for a hand pump. It has taken longer than I thought to machine all the parts and
put it together.
11/26/10 Hand pump has been completed and I'm starting to add the pipes that will
take water in and out of the pump. Looking back, I think I should have just made a larger
version of one of the pumps from the magazines. The pump I designed and built does work but
it's too complicated, and with the plumbing added barely fits into the water tank.
The archbar trucks for the gondola car have been assembled and painted. I've been looking
for a company that
offers pin and link couplers with no luck. It now looks like I will have to make my own.
A trip out to the Orange Empire Railway Museum to look at some old wood gondola was very
helpful and gave me several ideas on how to construct the model. Haven't drawn up a plan
yet - I still need to visit some lumber yards and see what sizes of wood are available.
Got word yesterday that the boiler almost finished and that the smokebox has been welded
back together.
Frame of gondola resting on trucks. Photo by Charlie Giordano
12/5/12
After my brother pointed out that I hadn't updated these pages in over a year I thought it would be a good
idea to do an update.
Boiler and smoke box are now on locomotive. The plumbing in smokebox completed - a difficult task given that
there is not much space in there. Throttle lever constructed and installed with linkage to the throttle valve.
Ashpan, firebox door, and turret have been built and installed. The plumbing to the blower is mostly completed.
I found the scale model valves too expensive, so I'm using cheap valves from the hardware store. The rod that
forms the handle is removed and replaced with a small round handle made on the lathe.
The cab floor has been started.
The frame of the gondola is almost complete - just need to add bolsters. The queen posts - 8 of them - have been machined out of bits of rail. After an unsuccessful search for link and pin couplers I made my own complete with working draft gear (the draft gear is the shock asorber behind coupling).
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