Articulate project

Articulate project Page One - Articulated Loco Project by Fred Rawling (lbdrummer3 at yahoo.com) next page

	Here are some of the tools and materials you will need to build your own American Flyer 4-6-6-4 Challenger: Materials- 2 junker America Flyer Hudsons. Sheet metal, metal impregnated epoxy (JB weld), epoxy clay, lead, nylon skateboard rail, and satin black spray paint. Tools- Safety glasses, bench grinder, fine wire brush, drill press, assorted SHARP files, hacksaw, welding set for brazing, Dremal tool (nice to have but not necessary), screw drivers and pliers. During construction, I didn't use exact measurements. Everything was assembled by trial and error and very little actual measuring was done. If you find an easier or better way of making one of the parts or completing one of the steps feel free to do what you like. I offer this only as a guide. Also, I recommend building the chassis first before the boiler shell so the builder can adjust its length to fit the chassis.
	(Picture 1-1) These are the victims, 2 American Flyer 322 Hudsons that were junked out. One is striped and the other is painted so one could tell them apart during construction. Disassemble all of the parts from the boiler shells and strip all of the handrails, cotter pins and piping. (Picture 2-1) This is the steam cylinder for the rear chassis. File down the exhaust pipes flush with the outside edges of the cradle. Then file flat the small nubs on the left and right side right above the two holes.
	(Pictures 3-1 and 4-1) These show the sheet metal brackets that need to be made to support the steam cylinders.
	(Picture 4-1) Note the extra modifications made to the front of the steam cylinder for the rear chassis (left). It needs to be rounded and then angled slightly downward. The only modification that needs to be made to the steam cylinder for the front chassis (right) is to grid the exhaust pipes smooth with the tops of the cylinders. Then grind the outside edges of the cradle down so they are even with the center/lowest point of the piece. This is so the bottom of the boiler shell will clear it when the engine goes around curves. Extra note: In (picture 4-1) the steam cylinder isn't ground down enough.