1851 Lowell Locomotive Works build

[jerryrbeach]

Bob,


I am always in awe of your craftsmanship, especially when you do it from scratch in brass.  I'm following faithfully, hopeful that a tiny bit of your skill rubs off on me along the way.

[Oldguy]

Sorry, but I'm at a loss for words and you're just getting started.

[Larry.h]

Absolutely gorgeous Bob. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[bparrish]

The next step is the decking around the boiler.  This period of locomotives had walkway with railings all the way around.  OSHA would be very happy with this ! ! !  This feature would be gone by the end of the Civil War.  The decking also served as fenders around the drive wheels.


I made the executive decision to make this part of the boiler / superstructure assembly rather than part of the frame.  Being able to take this apart at some division point had arguments in a number of directions.  In the end, part of the running gear will be attached to the superstructure, but overall this was the easiest.


The hand rail stanchions scale a bit fat but the inside dimension of the tubing allows for a 00-90 screw to come up from the bottom and hold them in place.  In additional photos you will see that I made up the tube pilot that also was held in place with 00-90 screws from the underside.



Shown next is a series of .030" brass wires from the boiler tube to the decking to locate and level the deck to the center line of the boiler.



I will spend some time explaining the construction of the pilot next.  They really are easy.

see ya
Bob

[Keep It Rusty]

Wow, Bob. Exquisite craftsmanship.

[PRR Modeler]

WOW Bob. That is a beauty in the making.

[Janbouli]

[bparrish]

I'm going to go sideways here and do a ditty on the pilot.   Below are two photos of the pilot that will be on this loco.   Then after that I will bring in some photos and discussion from a previous trolley project that I did on this forum for instruction.  By now I have done a lot of these over the years and this one took about a half hour for initial construction and another half hour to fit it to the front deck of the locomotive.






Now on to the construction.    Here are to photos of the layout. It is all done flat and then bent and folded later.  I scribe lines using my stainless steel frame digital vernier to set spacing from the edge.  Once I establish the space between the wires, I simply add that amount and use the edge of the brass as a straight edge for one arm of the vernier. 




Then I use a machinist's square I plot the various starting, stopping, and bending locations and use a carbide machinist's scribe to set the lines.    The points of intersection are the locations for the drilling of holes.

Shown also here is the space needed for height of the pilot, the distance to the peak at the front and then enough to make the various bends to create the top beam that will become the mounting device to the frame of the locomotive.

[deemery]

How did the driving rod work on this?  Is there no straight axle on the first set of drivers?  Or does that axle have a crank in it on each side to accommodate the driving rod?


dave

[Jerry]

Outstanding work.


Jerry

[bparrish]

Dave..... You are asking a great question ..........  You asked earlier and I had to run off some additional photos to create an answer.

Below are photos of an 1837 Baldwin locomotive that I built about 30 years ago.  It was first owned by the predecessor to the C& NW in Chicago and later leased by the Burlington when they built their line from Chicago to Aurora.  I was interested in this as my dad was 45 years with the Q.

What they did was use an inboard crank axle and the valves were controlled on the outside.  Here are two photos of my take on it.  On this particular model the rods move and the valves are timed for forward.  There is an eccentric sleeve under the hex bolt on the outside.









So to answer your question on the 1851 loco that I am building now.......  They were still using an inboard crank axle but they had moved the valve linkage inboard also and used "D" hooks to raise and lower one or the other to set the locomotive to forward or reverse.  They used a separate control linkage to set steam admission and cut-off.  All of that would be replaced by the Gooch link that is present on locomotive after the Civil War and existed in Stevenson and other valve gears through 1900.

[deemery]

Thanks very much!  It's interesting to see the prototype engineering as well as how you're modeling it.  Lots of "wiggling" with visible valve gear :-)

dave

[bparrish]

To continue on the pilot.   Once you have determined which will be the intersections for the upper beam and the lower V shaped beam that projects forward.   Drill small holes only slightly larger than the brass rod that you have chosen.  In  most cases I use .020" or .025" wire.  It will finish surprisingly strong.

Then make the 90 degree bend that will create the height of the pilot up to the upper frame beam.   You will then need to re-drill each hole as the angles will not be correct for each progressing across the pilot.  Use drill like a reamer and work each pair until the drill slides easily between the pair.

Then cut short lengths of wire and put a sharp bend at one end of each.  This will prevent the wires from sliding through before all are installed.

Shown here are the installed wires after soldering.  I use a small bit of liquid flux from the back or largely hidden sice ONLY.  You do not want solder creeping all over the wire as it is very hard to remove without bending the wire.


These next three photos are moved here from another build that I put up on this forum about two years ago when I built the trolley pole maintenance motor.



Then snip off all wire extensions and file down nearly smooth.



I then open up the extra brass sheet from the back side so as to allow to be seen through.



For this model. I cut one wrap of the beam a bit long so as to be able to fold it in and close up the end of the beam and make it look solid.





More later
     

[Dennis Bourey]

Beautiful job Bob!!!! Is this a static Build or gonna run it?  Dennis

[bparrish]

Dennis....


This will run from a motor in the tender via a U joint quill shaft. 


There is not space in the boiler. I once built a loco where I put a small can motor in the boiler facing backwards to the gear case.  They really don't know what forward is. In DCC the decoder is told and usually remembers.


With DC you set the power source to get what you want.  Either way...  the mechanics of the loco has no idea.


I long ago gave up on elaborate motor mounts. I use black RTV and glue it to wherever I can find.  Often I will use the bottom plate of the abandoned open frame motor to hook to the original chassis mounts.  The RTV is also a great sound deadener.


Thanx for looking in
Bob