Another old, very old loco repaint and repair.

ACL1504 · March 19, 2016, 07:02:15 PM

After removing the smoke box front, I removed the front marker lights.

I also found a part of the collar on the inside unsoldered. The collar is important as it hold the smoke box on the front of the boiler.

I removed the bell.

More in a few.

ACL1504 · March 19, 2016, 07:06:50 PM

I removed the light and then gave the smoke box front a bath in Acetone to remove the paint.

I polished the area to be soldered.

I used small needle nose pliers to hold the part to be soldered. I used a small clamp to hold the pliers. Very Rube Goldberg of me!

Continued in a few.

ACL1504 · March 19, 2016, 07:11:49 PM

To continue my Rube Goldberg theme, I used a large clamp to hold the small clamp that holds the small pliers that hold the smoke box front. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

In the next photo you can see the small piece of Tix solder. I used the Micro-Mark butane torch to melt the solder.

And, now the smoke box front is repaired.

Continued in a few.

ACL1504 · March 19, 2016, 07:20:41 PM

At this point, all the loco parts have been stripped of paint after a bath in Acetone.

When it came to the frame, I found a few new challenges.

The pilot was actually epoxied to the loco frame. I removed all the epoxy and dug through my spare stash of loco screws and found two to replace the missing screws.

The steam chest, support bracket and crosshead were all soldered to the frame and each other. I've never seen this before and usually the steam chest, brackets and crosshead all are screwed to the frame and can be removed.

Continued in a few.

ACL1504 · March 19, 2016, 07:31:00 PM

The solder was cracked/broken where it was soldered to the frame. I used the torch to resolder both sides to the frame.

The pumps on the side of the boiler all came off in the Acetone bath. The air pipes in front of the pumps also came off. These were epoxied on as well. I tacked them in place with a drop oif super glue and then the next day used the tip of the solder gun to resolder them.

The whistle was just a piece of turned brass stock so I replaced it with a new Cal Scale whistle.

martin.ojaste · March 19, 2016, 08:57:38 PM

Its almost like you are re-making the local from scratch. Pretty neat thread though.

jimmillho · March 20, 2016, 11:13:37 AM

Tom, You could have just bought all the parts and built your own Engine.

Jim

ACL1504 · March 20, 2016, 03:16:47 PM

Quote from: martin.ojaste on March 19, 2016, 08:57:38 PM
Its almost like you are re-making the local from scratch. Pretty neat thread though.

Martin,

Thanks for stopping by. I fell like I'm scratch building this one all over again. Thank you for the kind support.

Tom

ACL1504 · March 20, 2016, 03:17:46 PM

Quote from: jimmillho on March 20, 2016, 11:13:37 AM
Tom, You could have just bought all the parts and built your own Engine.

Jim

SBG Jim,

I appreciate you stopping by. Yes, and it probably would have been less hassle.

Tom

ACL1504 · March 20, 2016, 03:21:20 PM

Well, as you have probably guessed the repairs continue.

This time, it's the tender front deck.

I cleaned all the pieces and soldered it back in place.

Okay, on to the next repair.

ACL1504 · March 20, 2016, 03:28:41 PM

I don't know if the next one is my fault or not. One of the front steps was missing. I noticed this after the Acetone bath. I looked everywhere. I also strain the Acetone back into the can in case a small part came off.

Anyway, I got tired of looking so I made another one. I used the other original step as a template. I found a short piece of brass stock the same thickness as the original. I'll just fast forward here and show you the new step. The new one is on the right.

There is no tread on the steps or rivets on the sides but who will notice?

Well, it even fits. YEA!

Continued in a few.

ACL1504 · March 20, 2016, 03:30:27 PM

Yepper, it looks good to me!