Re: Kevins tea pot steamer

[Kevin Strong]

Allison is writing an article for Steam in the Garden. It's her loco, 
after all. ;)  It's got a 3-wick alcohol burner of a rather generic 
design. It *does* fly, though. It tipped off the track at one point, 
which is what prompted me to choke the exhaust to slow it down a bit.

Later,
K

Re: BAGRS Project Loco

[Kevin Strong]

I used ball bearing pressed into the wood sideframes. I wanted as little 
rolling resistance as possible, as I was informed that the Midwest kit 
had very little power, and you needed to minimize friction at all costs.

The ball bearings work fantastically. Take the cylinder off the crank, 
and the thing rolls without any provocation. They do the trick. Reports 
that the single cylinder is underpowered, however, are a touch 
exagerated. Our midwest loco is geared 7:16--no reduction gear, just a 7 
tooth sproket on the crank, and a 16 tooth one on the axle. IT FLIES!!! 
I found I had to choke the exhaust tube to slow it down. It's got PLENTY 
of power. The ball bearings certainly don't hurt...

Photos and video clips are available here:
http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=27875
I may, in the future, switch from a chain drive to a gear drive in the 
front, so I can reduce the speed. Future plans call for an animated 
train to run behind, and that will require a bit of power to make 
happen. (If you were at DH, you'll doubtless recall the myriad 
suggestions for a "proper" consist.)

Later,
K

Re: Planes and trains

[Kevin Strong]

I've never had any trouble, pre or post 9-11. Drain all the fluids, and 
be ready to pull it out for inspection. It may help to not refer to it 
as a "live steam" loco, rather just a model train. I also try to mention 
to the screeners when I place the bag on x-ray machine to expect 
something a bit out of the oridinary.

Later,
K

BAGRS Burners...

[Kevin Strong]

While waiting for Santa to show up (so I could steal all the live steam 
locos from his bag), I finished building the frame for my BAGRS-ish 
"creation". The good news is that it runs like a son-of-a-gun on air, 
and pulls its own weight (considerable weight at that) with great 
aplomb. At least it does on air.

Now, I need to actually figure out how to light a fire under it. I'm 
going to build an alcohol burner for it, so I'm looking for ideas from 
those who may have done one for their Midwest vertical boiler. How many 
wicks? Diameter? Distance from the bottom of the boiler? Any pitfalls I 
should watch out for?

Alas, Santa aluded me, and I couldn't grab any steam locos. I *did* get 
a lump of coal, though. 

Later,
K

Re: painting brass

[Kevin Strong]

The only thing you have to worry about when heating the brass is to make 
sure you heat it evenly. An oven or regular steaming of the loco will do 
this. Heating the brass sheet with a torch will not, and the metal will 
warp.

I routinely use .005" brass sheet on my locos, and have never had an 
ounce of trouble with them warping. I use them for boiler jacket 
material, and as a wrapper around the smokebox. You'll be fine.

One word of caution: I recently tried Krylon's bar-b-que paint, which 
they advertise doesn't need primer. Don't believe it for a minute. The 
paint flaked away with only the slightest provocation. I took all of 
that off, and repainted with regular primer, then a coat of regular 
black paint, as I've done on my other locos without problem. That worked 
far, far better.

Lesson: Stick with what works.
Later,
K

Re: Latest Project rolls out of shops.

[Kevin Strong]

All told, I don't think I added much weight at all to the loco. I 
eliminated the side tanks and the metal cab, and the weight of the 
bunker is supported by the trailing truck. There may actually be *less* 
weight on the drivers. I haven't yet steamed her in "full" dress, but 
she runs quite smoothly on air, and a mid-construction steam test showed 
even-tempered operation.

Right now, I need to replace the butane filler valve before I fire her 
up again. The current one no longer seals properly, and the tank cools 
so quickly I can't maintain pressure going to the burner without a hot 
water bath. If her maiden firing is at DH, it would be rather 
appropriate, anyway.

Later,
K

Latest Project rolls out of shops.

[Kevin Strong]

Just in time for our annual sojourn to Diamondhead for the Small Scale 
Steam-up, the Tuscarora Valley Railroad rolled their #2 out of the 
shops. The loco started life as an Accucraft Ruby, but now looks at 
least slightly different.

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TVRR2/buildersfinished.jpg
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TVRR2/frontheadon.jpg
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TVRR2/firemansidefront.jpg 

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TVRR2/cabinterior.jpg
Prototype:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TVRR2/proto.jpg
More photos and a complete building log can be found on 
MyLargeScale.com, http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21420

Later,
K

Re: cast iron wheels

[Kevin Strong]

>Kevin Strong was working on a master of a 48" wheel in 1:20.3, but 
I've >no idea how he's getting on.

Stalled at the moment. CAD drawings are done and in the possession of 
Crofut and Iron Creek who's doing the master work for me, but I've been 
too busy with other things to move that project along.

Later,
K

Re: priming

[Kevin Strong]

Generally, I'll use spray cans for most things. For 90% of the work we 
do in this scale, they're fine. Sometimes I'll warm the spray can by 
immersing it in hot water for a few minutes. This increases the pressure 
inside the can, and gives you a finer spray out of the nozzle. I also do 
a lot of brush painting. Any wood parts can be brush painted without any 
worries. I try not to brush paint things like the sides of tenders, but 
small details, tender frames, trucks, wheels, couplers... things like 
that are easy to paint with a brush.

I've just recently been getting reacquainted with my airbrush. I've 
found them rather troublesome in the past, but have discovered that most 
of the problems I encountered could be traced directly back to the 
rather weak compressor I was using. (Strange, since it was a Badger 
compressor.) I've finally upgraded to a real compressor, and have found 
that to work much better, especially for the acrylic paints I generally 
use (The 99¢ bottles you can get at Michael's or Hobby Lobby). They work 
great out of the bottle with a brush, and thinned between 50/50 and 
40/60, they work great through the airbrush, also. They come in almost 
every color under the rainbow, even something that matches that 
gawd-awful Penn Central green. I still prefer spray cans when possible, 
out of pure convenience.

In this scale, you're not going to obscure details the way one might in 
the smaller scales. The total paint coverage is maybe .002" at the 
thickest, and that's not going to hide anything (even little goofs you 
hope the paint would hide.)

Later,
K

Re: priming

[Kevin Strong]

When I moved into my old house back east, the previous owner had left a 
box in the garage that at one time was a case of "Self-etching primer" 
made by a company called Mar-hyde or something like that. I went to the 
local auto parts store with the stock number off the box, and the 
geniuses behind the counter looked at me rather oddly, saying they 
hadn't heard of anything like that, at least not in a spray form 
(contrary to the writing on the box). Perhaps your local store clerks 
will be able to do a little more digging for you and locate some.

I left the store intending to head off to the next auto parts store a 
few miles away, when I decided to step into the hardware store that was 
next to the auto parts store. They carried Krylon, so I cut my losses 
and bought a can of that instead. I've never resumed my search for 
"self-etching primer." The Krylon's worked very well for me, with only a 
few occasions where paint has gotten scraped off--due to something that 
would scrape the paint off of any surface.

I do prepare the brass prior to painting. First, I clean the brass with 
a degreaser like 409 or Fantastic. Then I rinse with water to clean off 
any detergent film. Following that, I brush the part with muriatic acid 
straight out of the container. (It's usually somewhat diluted at the 
factory, anyway.) Then rinse again with water. Dry it with a paper towel 
and/or blow drier, then it's straight to the paint booth as soon as the 
part's dry. The muriatic acid strips off the oxidation, and gives the 
metal a very clean surface for the primer to bond to.

I've been known to "bake" the finish in the oven on occasion, too. I 
heat the oven to around 200 degrees, and set the painted pieces in 
there. To be perfectly honest, I've noticed absolutely no difference in 
pieces that I've baked vs. pieces that I haven't, so I don't see this as 
a necessary step at all. I think I did it because the garage at the time 
I was painting was a rather chilly 40 degrees, if that. I had three 500 
watt bulbs shining on the paint table, providing localized heat.

That's about as "extraordinary" as I get when it comes to painting brass 
models. The finish has proven to be robust enough to handle common use, 
so I've never done anything else.

Later,
K

Re: die size for 1/16" rod

[Kevin Strong]

For 1/16" rod, you'll want to get a 1-72 die. I mistakenly bought a 0-80 
die for the same purpose, and quickly learned the error of my ways. It 
was only after I was ejumaketd in this regard that I received an e-mail 
from a friend informing me that he used a 1-72 die for his threaded 
1/16" rod. (All was not lost--I found some .057" steel tie-wire that 
works beautifully with the 0-80 die, so I was back in business. This 
wire, incedentally, is the stuff that construction workers use to tie 
rebar togther for concrete work.)

You can find the dies at www.microfasteners.com . You can also get your 
nuts, bolts, washers, taps, and many other necessary items from them.

Later,
K

Re: Aristocraft Live Steamer?

[Kevin Strong]

Took a look in person, though I was not present for it's operational 
demonstration on the steam-up track at the convention. Interesting bird, 
that one. It is, as advertised, a live steam version of Aristo's USRA 
mikado. The plastic looks well insulated from the boiler, though I'm not 
100% certain about the smokebox. Likely it is as well.

As Alice once said, "Curiouser and curiouser..."
Later,
K

Re: Pickling solution

[Kevin Strong]

>OSH sulfuric acid drain cleaner for pickling bass
I suppose if you must pickle your bass, any vinegar would work. I much 
prefer a garlic olive oil marinade myself. It does a much better job of 
bringing out the flavor.

Also, I'm not sure what Vance's beverage of choice is, but I'm sure with 
enough, we could get him rather pickled, too.

Going back under my rock now...
Later,
K

Re: RH SR&RL #24

[Kevin Strong]

Roger Loxley told me it was to 9/16" scale as he felt it would me too
big in 1:19.
Interesting, considering the size of the 1:20 offerings available now. 
Makes you appreciate how small those 2' locos really were!

Later,
K

Re: wire for threading 0-80

[Kevin Strong]

Well, as luck would have it, I went to visit a friend of mine whose 
workshop is chock full of random and scrounged bits and pieces. I 
enquired about the possibility of his having wire that would work, and 
the son-of-a-gun pulls out a huge spool of mild steel bailing wire, all 
within a cast aluminum dispenser, even. I measured--.057". I left with 
about 20', knowing there was plenty more where that came from.

Got home, ran the die over it--cut the threads like butter. So, thanks 
for all the great advice (Even that from south of the border.  Now 
that I know what you were referencing, I can appreciate the joke. I'll 
make sure to bring a few to DH next year as a flatcar load.) Henner, 
I'll check out that Micro-Mark listing. That should come in quite handy 
as well. I'll post photos soon.

Later,
K

Re: wire for threading 0-80

[Kevin Strong]

Alas, the delightful stuff I bought was music wire. I knew it was hard, 
I didn't think it was *that* hard. After 5 minutes just trying to get 
the #%*&[EMAIL PROTECTED] stuff to even think about taking a thread, I decided that 
it's destined for other uses.

Which brings me back to the question of the availability of proper wire.
Anyone know of a source of 15 gauge wire? I looked at McMaster Carr, and 
came up empty. Also, searches for 1.5 mm wire came up similarly empty. I 
may have to cut my losses and go with a 1-72 die, which I know works 
with 1/16" brass rod. I was hoping to be able use what I had in house, 
though. 

Later,
K

Re: wire for threading 0-80

[Kevin Strong]

Right now, I'm threading the ends of reinforcement rods for a wood 
hopper car. If that is successful, then the next application will be on 
a scratchbuilt archbar truck to go under my next Ruby kitbash. There's 
not one that matches the profile I'd like, and they look to be very easy 
to build. Thanks to all for the tips so far.

Arthur, I'm unfamiliar with " 1/2-13 " thread you describe. To me, 
that's a 1/2" shaft with 13 threads per inch. Was this a joke that went 
over my head?

Later,
K

Re: wire for threading 0-80

[Kevin Strong]

1/16" brass rod may work quite well for someone who's used to threading 
rod, but it's just a bit wider in diameter than what I'd prefer. (too 
much of a shoulder between the threaded part and the rod itself. My 
attempts at running it through the die--which is "adjustable," meaning I 
can increase the diameter for an initial cut, then reduce it for the 
final cut--has been less than ideal. With some practice, I'm sure it 
will become old hat, but I was hoping I could find some wire that 
wouldn't require the extra step.

I did find some .055" steel rod at the store today, but haven't gotten 
had a chance to play with it yet. I'll give that a try tomorrow and see 
how that goes. It's pretty hard stuff, but shouldn't be harder than the 
die. Would annealing soften it up? I know steel anneals different from 
brass. Is it quenching it quickly that makes it hard, or does that make 
it soft?

Later,
K

Re: wire for threading 0-80

[Kevin Strong]

So, the $64,000 question--where can one find 1.5mm brass wire? I'm 
afraid the aspens in my front yard would suffer a rather similar fate to 
Arthur's trees if I tried to employ the stretch method... (That, and my 
1/16" rod comes in 3' lengths. A bit too short to tie around anything.)

Does anyone know off hand the diameter of 16 gauge wire?
Later,
K

wire for threading 0-80

[Kevin Strong]

Does anyone know what size brass rod/wire one would use for threading to 
0-80? My initial thought of 1/16, being right smack dab in between the 
clearance and tap drill sizes turned out to be wrong--too big. 3/64" is 
too small--the nuts slide right over.

My next guess would be something in the .055" - .060" range, but I'm 
somewhat at a loss for a source for wire in such partiuclar sizes.

Later,
K

Re: Computers & AOL 9.0

[Kevin Strong]

>One thing, AOL steam engines would only give you plumes of 
>advertisements!!

But on the flip side, you'd have nice, slow speed operation!

Later,

K

Re: Articles when I have something

[Kevin Strong]

If you're referring to submitting an article to SitG, Ron recently told 
me he prefers good quality prints (glossy, 4 x 6 or larger) and digital 
pix, at least 3 megapixel (at maximum resolution--roughly 1500 x 1200). 
His slide scanner went the way of the dodo, so he's not too hip on 
slides at the moment.

I'm personally ecstatic to see the vastly improved quality of SitG since 
Ron has now switched to a new printer. I hope that will encourage more 
people to submit articles on the myriad of things they're doing in this 
hobby, especially the things that have been discussed recently on this 
board. As the editor of a magazine myself, I know how hard it is to put 
something together every few months without contributions from the 
readers. You don't have to be an expert the subject to write an article 
on it--just write about your experiences. And don't forget to write 
about the goofs, too. They're just as important as the successes.

Later,

K

Roundhouse Bash Plans (was: Inquiry)

[Kevin Strong]

I don't know of any "plans" off the top of my head. I know Paul Kenney 
at one time was selling kits to turn the RH boiler/chassis kit into a 
2-6-2. Don't know if that had plans, drawings, or anything like that 
which may help out or not.

Truth be told, though, you don't really need plans for a project like 
that. Once the boiler and chassis is assembled, the hard part's over. 
The rest is just a matter of adding bits here and pieces there until you 
get something you don't mind looking at. (And changing it if bothers you.)

When I did my RH chassis kit, I didn't have any plans for any specific 
locomotive that I went off of. I dug through back issues of the Narrow 
Gague Gazette for some ideas to go from, but outside frame 2-6-0s 
weren't exactly mainstream locos.

A photo of my locomotive:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kcstrong/models/wideshot.jpg
That is actually its third "incarnation." When I originally built the 
loco, it had smaller round domes and a steel cab. The proportions never 
looked "right" to me, so a few years later, I rebuilt a new wood cab and 
put larger fluted domes on the boiler. That worked well, but there was 
still something "not quite right" to my eyes. A description of it's 
third rebuilding can be found here:

http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19428

I think I'm finally satisfied with the looks of this locomotive. (only 
took 7 years?) I never had one specific plan that I used, but drew 
inspiration from a few different locos. Since there is no "specific" 
prototype for the RH outside framed loco, any one particular plan would 
have to be adapted to fit the dimensions of the boiler and chassis 
anyway. I just adapted features of a number of different locos until I 
found a combination that looked right for what I was after.

Later,

K

Re: Scratch-building Gondolas - Activities during Spring Break

[Kevin Strong]

I'm not sure I'd go much longer than 4" between axles. LGB cheats, and 
pivots their axles on their stuff to fit around their tightest curves. 
Unless you want to go that route, you'd do yourself right to stay as 
short as possible. Even with such a short wheelbase, you can go with 
longer rolling stock, though. Mine carts had to negotiate notoriously 
tight curves, but the cars themselves often overhung the wheels by at 
least the distance between them. Now in the scale of the Lady Anne, a 
mine car's wheel spacing would likely be on the order of 2", giving a 
total length of 6", but the theory still holds true.

As for plans, I'd dig through back issues of Garden Railways magazine if 
you have them available. I know they've had plans and construction 
articles on 4-wheel equipment like you are after. You can go to their 
web site and search their index also. www.gardenrailways.com . If you 
don't have the issue needed, check back with the list. I'm sure there's 
someone on the list with that issue who can help you out.

There's another possibility you can look into--Hartland Locomotive Works 
makes a line of really short 4-wheel rolling stock that is ripe for 
kitbashing. They're around $10 each, which really can't be beat. I've 
seen them at Caboose Hobbies a lot, and I'm sure other mail order houses 
have them as well.

Later,

K

Re: RUBY TUNEUP QUESTION

[Kevin Strong]

This is a fairly common problem for the Ruby, and is relatively easy to 
fix. The problem stems from the fact that the Ruby reverses by changing 
the valves from outside admission to inside admission. As the locomotive 
 comes from the factory, the piston valve is in outside admission when 
in forward. This means that to close the piston, you are pressing the 
entire assembly against the pressure of the incoming steam which wants 
to not only push the main piston out (as it should), but the piston 
valve as well.

The fix to this is to rotate the eccentric cranks 180 degrees, so that 
forward and reverse basically swap positions. This is a very easy change 
to make, and is illustrated very nicely on the Mylargescale.com website 
by Dave Hottman:
http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20026
(look on page two--he's got a cutaway of a cylinder to help illustrate.)

The downside is that on the Johnson bar in the cab, you push forward to 
go backwards, and vice versa. This isn't an issue at all if you're going 
to add R/C to your ruby--you just reverse the servo via the switch on 
the transmitter. Otherwise, you can change the pivot point on the 
Johnson bar so forward is again forward.

Hope this helps.

Later,

K

Re: Distressing wood

[Kevin Strong]

The vinegar/steel wool method is a recent favorite of mine--use just as 
Trot described. The "simulated" rust effect on painted surfaces is 
absolutely magnificent--especially since it isn't really "simulated" at 
all. It *is* rust.

Word of caution with the vinegar/steel wool solution. It reacts to 
different woods differently. Basswood turns a reddish grey, while balsa 
turns brown. Cedar turns anywhere from grey to black. This may have 
something to do with the strength of the solution as well as the type of 
wood, so test a small piece of the wood first to see how the solution 
will react. Note also that the reaction isn't an instantaneous thing. 
When treating wood, it will take a few minutes to change color. When 
using it on painted surfaces for a rust treatment, it will often take a 
few days to achieve the full results. This is largely dependent on the 
amount of moisture present in the air. I would imagine you'll get 
quicker results across the pond than what I get here in the arid 
Colorado climate.

Before "weathering" the wood, I usually run over it with a bit of 60 
grit sandpaper to give it a bit of a texture. Some people use razor saws 
or broken hack-saw blades to do the same thing. I think the "grain" 
looks entirely too parallel then, so I just use the sandpaper. If I want 
to simulate a small split or something like that, I'll break out the 
X-acto knife and carve one in.

For the ends of the beam, I do use a razor saw. I spin it around to cut 
in the rings. Again, the depth and amount is up to you. An X-acto knife 
can then be used to carve in the cracks on the end.

Art, If you saw my mogul ("Phillips") at DH, then you saw examples of 
using the steel wool/vinegar solution for weathering both wood and 
painted surfaces.

Other examples exist on my web site: 
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kcstrong/trr/TRRHomepage.html
Click on "rolling stock" to look at a flat car whose deck was done with 
the vinegar solution. Under "motive power," look at TRR#3 to see 
examples of using the solution for weathering.

Later,

K

Re: Diamondhead Fever!

[Kevin Strong]

I'm just putting the finishing touches on one of my locos before heading 
down on Wednesday. Looking forward to breathing alcohol, butane and coal 
fumes for 5 days!

See y'all then!

Later,

K

Roundhouse questions

[Kevin Strong]

Okay, so I'm overhauling one of my locos in preparation for heading down 
to DH, and have a few questions...

First, has anyone converted the poker burner in a RH loco to a radiant 
burner? Easy? Difficult? Any specifics I should know about?

Second, does anyone have a source for the counterweighted flycranks? I 
don't need the whole assembly (wheels, axles, cranks), just the 
counterweighted cranks themselves. If it's grotesquely expensive, I'll 
just live with the uncounterweighted ones I have now, but I figured I'd 
throw it out there and see what happens.

That's about it for now.

Later,

K

Re: dead leg piping

[Kevin Strong]

Actually, mounting air pumps on the front of locos was surprisingly 
standard practice for a number of railroads. Many standard gauge locos 
had them mounted on the front pilot, right in front of the smokebox. 
Some hid them with sheilds, some left them right out in the open.

On the narrow gauge side of things, the D&RG K-28 locos had the airpumps 
mounted on the front of the smokebox. It was one of the characteristic 
features of those locos.

I wouldn't say it was very common, but it did happen in more instances 
to make it a normal practice, rather than an anomoly.

Later,

K

Re: Making dinner more pleasant

[Kevin Strong]

Living in Colorado, where we have such a law already on the books, I can 
say with certainty that it's very pleasant not to have those darned 
phone calls. How pleasant?

Well, a few months ago, our local phone company "accidentally" 
disconnected our line. (Long story, but I will never come within 10 
miles of using anything that even sounds like "sprint...")

Anyway, to fix the problem, our local company had to assign us a 
temporary number while they made the necessary changes to get our old 
number reassigned to us. Within 12 hours of getting that "new" temporary 
number, our phone was ringing with solicitations. Didn't stop ringing 
until we got our old number back... Well worth the time it takes to 
register for such a list.

I don't know about the federal law, but here in Colorado, you can 
register your cell phone number as well -- seems enough people don't 
have land lines anymore to where solicitors were going after folks on 
their cells. Wonder who pays for *those* minutes?

Well, I've taken up enough of your train time with this commercial 
message... Enjoy your dinner.

Later,

K

Re: Switches

[Kevin Strong]

Making your own frogs is actually quite easy if you use casting resin. 
My dad and I have been building switches for 20+ years using this 
method, and they stand the test of time quite nicely.

First off, get a copy of the aforementioned GR article. Pete's methods 
are virtually identical to mine. I don't file the rails that form the 
point of the frog to quite the same point, as I let the resin form that 
part. I do file the rails at an angle, but I'm not as exact as Pete. You 
can be, it really doesn't matter.

When building the frog, you'll want to use some kind of material such as 
wax paper, masking tape (sticky side up), or something similar under the 
area where the frog will be. This creates a bottom for the basin in 
which you will ultimately pour the casting resin. Lay the rails out as 
per the article. Refering to the really bad drawing below, rails A and B 
form the point of the frog, while rails C and D form the guard rails of 
the frog.

NOTE: for spacing the flangeways, and using code 250 rail, I left the 
width of a track spike - about 3/64" between the webs of the rails. This 
gave the proper distance for the flangeways. Your standards may vary, 
but that's what I used. For code 332 rail, butt the webs together to 
achieve the same result.

Sorry for the really bad ASCII art that may not work with your browser...

A B
|/
|   /
   1|2 /
   \| /_3
   ||//
   | /
   /|
  /4|
 /  |
/   |
C   D
Once you've got everything spiked down, it's time to finish the frog. 
Start by damming up the openings at the ends of the frog where the 
guardrails turn inward, and ath the other end of the frog where the 
rails come together (points 1,2,3 and 4.) The best material for this is 
simple modeling clay. You may also want to dam up around the base of the 
rails to keep the resin material from leaking out from under the rails 
where they meet the wax paper.

Mix up some casting resin (Alumilite, Micro Mark, whatever your favorite 
is...) and pour it in until it fills up to just over the tops of the rails.

Once it sets, first sand everything even with the tops of the rails. 
Next, put a grinding burr in a Dremel tool, and grind away the channels 
that will become the flangeways. You don't have to be precise here, just 
grind enough to give you to noticable channels through the frog.

Lastly, take a piece of 60 grit sandpaper, and fold it in half twice. 
Use the edge of the fold, and sand away everything that gets in the way 
of the flange rolling smoothly through, without going deeper than the 
flange itself. If you go too deep, and the wheel bounces through the 
frog, just pour a bit more casting material, let it dry, and sand again.

My other all important and time saving hint: Use Llagas Creek's point 
castings. Not having to grind your own points will save you an a 
tremendous amount of time - well worth the money.

Later,

K

Re: Can anyone identify this Accucraft engine?

[Kevin Strong]

Is that Vance Bass saying "mess with it only if you must?" You're not 
turning into a collector, are you??? (Must be the heat...) Certainly, 
there is an implied appreciation of history, but if it's not what you 
want, change it. I've got two locomotives that if left untouched would 
have "collector" value, but they weren't what I wanted. Now, they are. 
Will they make me rich when I go to sell them? No. However, since I put 
the time to make them what I want, I have no incentive to sell them. 
They're worth far more to me now than they ever would be as a 
"collector's piece."

The live steam hobby is perhaps at its most creative point ever on this 
side of the pond. No more are people just running what is commercially 
available. Modifications run the gamut from a simple coat of paint all 
the way to tearing everything apart and rebuilding it in a different 
form, if not completely scratchbuilding it. What's more, the price of 
the locomotive is having less and less of an effect on the amount of 
modifications. Granted, no one's tearing apart an Aster Big Boy...yet... 
but we are seeing some of the "cheaper" $3,000 asters being modified and 
kitbashed.

Moral of this missive, don't be afraid to take what you have and make it 
what you want. There's enough experience on this list to get you over 
any hump you may encounter along the way.

Later,

K

Live Steam 4-4-0 for sale - complete with track and accessories

[Kevin Strong]

Bored with your Accucraft shay?

Tired of chasing Asters around small ovals all day long?

Want to get more realism out of your live steam experience?

Then you need to click here!!!

http://www.wisconsinrailroading.com/forsale.htm

Yes, that's right - for a mere quarter million dollars, you can buy a 4 
bedroom 2.5 bath house in beautiful...oops, wrong list...  You can buy a 
beautiful 1965 vintage 4-4-0 live steam locomotive, complete with nearly 
4000 feet of track, two passenger cars, and a caboose.

This oil/propane fired beauty is sure to please even the most discerning 
live steam enthusiast. Easy to reach controls make running this 
locomotive a dream. No more flipping up the cab roof to reach the 
throttle. Want to install radio control? No problem! There's plenty of 
room!

Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to own the ultimate in 
live steam!

(And if you figure out a way to bring it to Diamondhead this 
winter...)

Disclaimer - I have nothing to do with this, I just saw this on another 
list, and thought I'd pass it along.

Later,

K

Re: Sandy River #24 Modifications/blind drivers

[Kevin Strong]

 In any case,
my center drivers are a few thou off the rail so there was never a problem.
I guess this makes the engine a 2-2-2-2-2 :>)
Well, it *is* a 2-2 train...

Later,

K

Re: Out of Bars

[Kevin Strong]

Worked for mom, and that's all that was important, right?

Later,

K

Re: The Queen Mary Steamup

[Kevin Strong]

Great photos, and lots to drool over.

FYI, mylargescale.com works well with Netscape 7.0, but not anything 
earlier. (hence why I upgraded... I don't do Microsquish if I can avoid 
it. Don't do Starbucks, either.)

Back to trains...

Any word on when the Ruby kit will be available? I just stumbled on 
another cool project that needs to be undertaken, and $300 sounds like a 
reasonable price to undertake it.

And I'm still looking for an EBT loco that resembles that mogul. 
(Although a C-16 is still on my wish list as well.)

Later,

K

Re: Strange Mogul

[KEVIN STRONG]

It would be interesting to see a photo side by side of the two. I 
agree, it looks similar, but the $700 price difference makes me think 
otherwise. Can anyone take the specs and compare them to those of the 2-
8-0? 

Later,

K



- Original Message -
From: Jeffrey Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2003 8:09 pm
Subject: Strange Mogul

> Accucraft is showing a very strange looking live steam 2-6-0 on 
> its 
> website under "news".  It looks like they took a C-16 and removed 
> the 
> 3rd axle and drivers.
> 
> 
 

Re: blower fans

[KEVIN STRONG]

Isn't the Philly butane fired? Wouldn't think you'd need a fan for that.

Later,

K



- Original Message -
From: Royce Woodbury <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sunday, June 1, 2003 6:03 pm
Subject: blower fans

> 
> Hi folks.  Am going to need a blower fan for my Philly soon.  Any 
> suggestions ?  Don't want to spend aLOT of time making one, but 
> would 
> consider it if it was easy (read that quick).  Other end of the 
> scale 
> is, I guess, the Aster for $70 or so.  What say ye ?
> 
> royce in SB
> 
> 
 

Re: Roadshow

[Kevin Strong]

Gary wrote:
> 
> So far all but two others in our club just shake their heads over
> grown men fiddling with tiny engines and chasing them around to
> fiddle some more.

The same can be said for the logic behind hitting a little white ball
for the sole purpose of walking up to it and hitting it again! (Not
something I do myself, I'd rather fiddle with tiny engines.)

Along the lines of public displays of live steam, everywhere I used to
show live steam back in NY, it was always received with wonderment and
disbelief by the public (and a bit of disgruntlement by the rest of the
club whose track I was getting dirty.)

To that end, Tom Bowdler designed and built a portable track to take to
open houses and other displays for the purpose of demonstrating our
little fire-breathing dragons. Alas, I moved west before I had a chance
to operate on that track, but since he and I started doing our live
steam displays, we've gained one or two "converts" to the cause. It
doesn't take much to set up a display - we started with a circle of
track on some mulch, graduated the following year to track on portable
tables, and now to the "official" portable track. There's almost always
a good crowd of curious onlookers, even a few "closet" steamers. 

What may help convert some folks would be an absolutely bullet-proof
steamer that curious individuals can try their hand at running.
(Roundhouse comes to mind, or something along the lines of the "Denver"
project loco.) I remember myself always being fascinated by live steam
locos, having watched some run in the early days of my dad's Woodland
Ry. (I've got photos of one of Marc's little tram engines trundling
along in the early 80s, as well as other steamers.) Yet, it remained
more of a curiosity than an interest until we went to England in 1985,
and had the pleasure of attending a steam-up at the late Jack Wheldon's
railway. He gave me a bullet-proof steamer to run, and the bug bit. Once
people get their hands on the throttle and actually have the chance to
run one, it's easier for them to identify with the concept of actually
running a locomotive. 

I'm not entirely sure I'd post a sign-up sheet at the next public
display, rather just leave it to ones discretion as to how interested a
potential operator may be to fire a loco. Certainly at back-yard
steam-ups and open houses, it's a bit easier to "train" new engineers.

Later,

K 

Re: RE: Back to O rings

[KEVIN STRONG]

> I am installing a water pump to add water to my engine while under 
> steam.Rather than using a regular check valve, is there any reason 
> I couldn't use
> a goodall valve instead. Has amyone tried this? Bob

There's no reason why it wouldn't work. A Goodall valve and a 
traditional check valve are both one way valves. I'd even trust a 
Goodall valve more than I would a check valve. (I've had too many leaky 
check valves resulting in blown, melted, or otherwise problematic water 
lines.) 

Later,

K
 

Re: steamup photography

[Kevin Strong]

Harley Kelsey wrote:
> 
> You can get blurred pictures using digital cameras because there is a
> delay after you press the shutter, while the camera adjusts exposure,
> etc. 

Yes and no... The blurring isn't because of any delay between when you
push the button and when the image is captured - that's just why the
locomotive has moved half way out of frame by the time the photo is
taken. 

The blurring comes from the length of time the shutter is open to allow
enough light onto the chip. It's very much like using a slow ASA film.
If you're shooting with ASA 64 film on a bright sunny day, then at f16,
a properly exposed photo would need a shutter speed of approximately
1/60th of a second. Shooting the same film inside with less light would
require a longer shutter speed or wider aperture, or both.

So, how does this relate to digital photography? The same principles
hold true. What we need to figure out is how our camera's light
sensitivity relates to film speed. My camera (Minolta S404) has a "base"
speed equivalent to ASA 64. It has two aperture sizes - f3, and f6.7. On
a bright sunny day, using its default sensitivity setting and widest
aperture, I can get away with shutter speeds on the order of 1/500. If I
were to go to the smaller (f6.7) setting, my maximum shutter speed would
decrease to 1/250. Great for most applications shooting outside in
bright light. 

For "typical" shooting conditions, though, with overcast skies or indoor
lighting, our cameras need to get more light to the chip. On my camera,
I can "increase" the effective ASA up to 400. This is the same thing as
turning up the gain on a video camera. Your images will be noticeably
grainier the higher you increase the sensitivity. (Film is much the same
way - the faster the speed, the grainier the film.) You can only do that
up to a point, though. Eventually, the camera is just going to need to
keep the shutter open for longer periods of time to make sure enough
light gets to the chip. When shooting moving live steam locos, this
increased time is our worst enemy. 

Let's take a 1:20 locomotive traveling at 40 scale mph. (2 real mph.)
That means in one second, the locomotive travels 2.93 feet. (Hey - I
could use an Aster as an example.) If we use a shutter speed of
1/60, then our locomotive travels 0.6" during the exposure. At the
distances typical of model photographs, that distance becomes very
noticeable, and the locomotive will be blurry. At 1/30th of a second,
the locomotive travels 1.2". Likewise at 1/120th of a second exposure,
the locomotive moves only .3"

The only way to eliminate motion blur from photographs is to decrease
the amount of time the chip spends looking at the object. The only way
to do this is to increase the amount of light on the object, so the chip
can "see" things more quickly. To some extent, this can be done by
increasing the sensitivity of the camera, or increasing the apeture to
allow more light through. In the end, though, it's just better to have
as much light as humanly possible on the subject being photographed. 

new e-mail for Kevin and Allison

[Kevin Strong]

We've finally re-established contact with the outside world...

new e-mail addresses as follows...

Kevin - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Allison - [EMAIL PROTECTED]

And for those who didn't write it down last time (and shame on you...)

Kevin and Allison Strong
5379 S. Jebel St.
Centennial, CO 80015
303-694-4209

Later,

K&A 

We're moving!

[Kevin Strong]

That's right - we finally got tired of being cramped up in an apartment,
so we're moving a few miles east into our new (to us) house. Actually,
it's only 10 years old, so there's not any fixer-upping that needs to be
done. So, grab a pen and paper, PDA, or click on your address book to
take down our new info, 'cuz we're only going to send this once.

NEW:

Allison and Kevin Strong
5379 S. Jebel St.
Centennial, CO 80015

303-694-4209 (That actually stayed the same.)

Unfortunately, we'll be off-line for a week or so while we wait for our
new internet connection to be installed. We'll send the new e-mail
address once we get it.

In the mean time, you can reach us via [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Don't forget
the "c" between the "k" and the "strong.") 

Hey! I said write it down! Don't just flag this message for future
reference. You'll forget about it, and then you won't be able to find
us. Unless you're the IRS, we don't want that to happen. We'd do the
same for you, honest. 

We'll let you know when we're back on line.

'til then, if your in the area, we'll have boxes that need unpacking!

Later,

K & A 

Re: treasure trove of dh pictures

[Kevin Strong]

Fortunately, this one isn't a long distance move - rather just 5 miles
down the road out of the apartment into a house. Finally, I can start
laying tracks again!

Later,

K 

Re: treasure trove of dh pictures

[Kevin Strong]

Clark Lord wrote:
> 
>   Now if we can get Dave
> Cole straightened out on how to slash.
> 

I hear OJ's giving lessons.

Sorry, that was sick and wrong. Okay, I'm not _that_ sorry...

Seriously, I loved the pics. Almost as good as being there. I did have
the sleep-deprived nights, but that was because I was up packing boxes
for our impending move. Next year I'll be back!

Later,

K 

Re: Fn3

[Kevin Strong]

> >
> > It's a forlorn bleat I am sure, but can't we give up these crazy US & Brit
> > nomenclatures?
> > For any miniature all you need to know is the scale ratio from the prototype
> > (correct or incorrect as the manufacturer prefers) & the track gauge in mm,
> > e.g. 20.3/45
> >


A system similar to that was proposed a few years ago here in the states
as a way to make things a bit clearer. "LS##" where the ## would be the
scale; 1:20.3 would be LS20, 1:32 would be LS32, and so on. I don't know
where it originated, but for a while Aristocraft was marking their boxes
like that. 

For some reason, the other manufacturers didn't hope on the bandwagon,
and the system seems to have died a premature and unfortunate death.
Pity, as it's the only system I've seen that actually makes any amount
of sense. 

With more and more players entering the live steam arena, this scale
debacle is quickly going to pollute our otherwise distilled waters.
There are a good number of days I want to gather each manufacturer in a
room and beat them over the head for not getting together and
standardizing on at least a clear, easy to understand identification
system. 

While live steam is still primarily a craftsman's hobby, the recent rash
of low-cost easy to run locos has the potential of changing that. (Much
for the better, though it may make getting a room at DH all the more
difficult.) Up to now, we as a niche market have been able to keep close
tabs on "our" manufacturers, and make sure they adhere to clearly noting
the scale, or at least getting the information out as to what
scale/gauge it is. 

If Aristo's proposed live steam loco comes in a box marked "LS29," I
will be both amazed and highly pleased. Not because it's a much needed
low-cost standard gauge steamer, but because it shows that they're
demonstrating some commitment to segregating and clarifying their large
scale offerings which by then will be available in _three_ scales -
1:29, 1:24, and 1:20.3.

One can only hope others would follow suit. I think, however, it will
take significant pressure from hobbyists, publications, and clubs and
organizations to get everyone on one page. That, or a really big sledge
hammer. 

Later,

K 

Re: sparkie width

[Kevin Strong]

The Bachmann (sparkie) mogul is 4.5" at the cylinders. Can't give you a
vertical clearance, as mine's been significantly modified. The B'mann
2-8-0 is 5.5" at the cylinders.

Later,

K 

Re: Pc vs Mac / RH Vs Accucraft

[Kevin Strong]

Keith Taylor wrote:
> 
> - Original Message -
> From: "Anthony Dixon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "Multiple recipients of sslivesteam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Monday, November 11, 2002 8:22 PM
> > Anyone tried dried Haggis as an
> > alternative fuel source for McRubies?.
> > Tony D.
> >
> Gee what's all this talk about alternative fuelsfor Peat's sake!
> Keith
> 
 Boy is this list going to get "bogged" down!

Later,

K 

Re: HOAX, was Re: ?virus

[Kevin Strong]

You mean there is a debate? Everyone knows it's Baldwin!

Later,

K 

Re: Accucraft vs Roundhouse

[Kevin Strong]

The Accucraft v. Roundhouse debate can't be answered right now. That can
only be answered in a few years, after the earliest Accucrafts (of which
I have one) have been run into the ground the same way Roundhouse locos
have been over the years. 

It's a lot like those "initial satisfaction" statements car
manufacturers make. I personally don't care if everyone who's bought a
Chevy in the past three years has liked it 6 months after they drive it
off the lot. Give it 6 years, then ask them how they like it...

I've got two Roundhouse locos, one considerably ancient and on its
second set of valve gear. Runs beautifully. The other about 7 years old,
and still runs like a top. My Ruby ran beautifully the day I got her,
and still performs quite admirably after a bit over 3 years. She's not
quite as controlable at slow speeds as the Roundhouse, but her cylinders
are quite a bit smaller, also. (My older RH has smaller cylinders than
the other, and is likewise a touch finickier at slow speeds, albeit
better than the Ruby.)

What I don't know is how long the valve gear on the Ruby will hold up
before it needs replacing, how easy that would be to do, or even if one
can easily get the parts. (Accucraft lists them on the website, but I've
no firsthand experience of ordering, nor have I seen them at dealers'
tables at steam-ups as one can find RH parts.)

I will say this - Accucraft seems to be holding its own right now, and I
can only hope that when I run the wheels off of my Ruby, I can fix it as
easily as I can the RH locos. They're coming out with products that
people want, at a very reasonable price. Certainly they're in a good
position to garner short term support and loyalty. Here's hoping they
can keep it. (and come out with a live steam East Broad Top mikado!!!)

Later,

K 

Re: Stop me before I make (another) mistake. now frogs...

[Kevin Strong]

These switches aren't limited to mainline high speed use, either. The
narrow gauge East Broad Top had two such sprung frogs on a siding.
Curiously, these two switches seem to be the only two on the railroad,
at least that the adventurous explorers have found under the leaves and
underbrush. Why they were on this one particular siding, and not
anywhere else is somewhat of a mystery.

They only sprung closed on the mainline side of things, not on both.
This siding was a very commonly used siding as well. One theory goes
that the frog was sprung because both ends of the siding were on an
uphill grade, and the locomotives working hard uphill had a tendency to
hunt the rails. Seems the most plausible explanation, but then the EBT
had lots of sidings on grades.

Still, the point is that they show up in the most curious of places.
Now, all I have to do is figure out how to build one in 1:20.3.

Later,

K 

Re: boiler insulation

[Kevin Strong]

Rebushing the valve gear is possible, but if the holes in the linkages
are worn away, there's no real way to be certain that they are worn
equally in all directions, so drilling out the holes for the bushings
may in fact exacerbate the problem by moving the centers ever so
slightly farther apart (or closer together). I'm sure there's a way
around this through careful clamping and measuring, but if you're going
to go through all that trouble, it may be just as simple to build new
gear that allows for bushings, or make multiple sets of gear. It may be,
too, that there's just not enough material to support bushing the joint.

I have an old Roundhouse Dylan that suffered from ancient and worn out
valve gear. I gave thought to rebushing the entire loco, but decided to
just replace everything with new. Fortunately, you can do that with
Roundhouse locos. They haven't changed the basic measurements of their
valve gear since day 1. The axle diameters did change, so I had to
enlarge the holes in the frame for the axle bushings. They were already
bushed to begin with, so there was no wear to worry about. The
locomotive still runs flawlessly after 18 years. 

Later,

K 

Re: boiler insulation

[Kevin Strong]

Tony,

'twas not me in Sacramento. Never been there. And I have yet to burn any
cork. I've cut cork, drilled cork, popped a few corks, but I have yet to
burn any. Burnt my share of other materials, though... Just not in Sacramento.

Later,

K 

Re: boiler insulation

[Kevin Strong]

I've used cork without any ill effects.

Later,

K 

Re: An American Lady

[Kevin Strong]

Neat changes.

Oddly enough, the original flared stack cap is quite American as well.
Many early coal fired locos (c. 1875 - 1905 and even later) had ornate
flared stack caps. Baldwin's narrow gauge offerings were routinely seen
with these. The most "modern" application that comes to mind is the East
Tennessee and Western North Carolina's signature 10-wheelers. All of the
East Broad Top's early locos (up to #10, built in 1906) had capped
stacks. #11, the first one to sport a trailing truck, was also the first
to have a "regular" straight stack.

Can't wait to see other "Americanized" touches as she progresses.

Later,

K 

Re: New Member

[Kevin Strong]

Just wait until the railroad builds its extension to the local pig farm.
In truth, the pig farm had been lobbying the railroad to build there
first, using the argument that you're not supposed to cast your pearls
before swine.

Sorry.

K 

Re: Goodal Valve for RH Lady Anne and insulated wheels

[Kevin Strong]

If you've got a plug on the backhead, such as many of the early RH
boilers had, you can get a Goodall valve from Brandbright. I don't know
if the new boilers have this plug or not, but check to see. I don't
recall exactly what the price was, but it wasn't anywhere near bank
breaking. 

I used to have a waterpump and clack valve arrangement, with the pump in
the tender. The Goodall valve is a much cleaner, nicer arrangement. No
worries about the valve leaking, or blowing a water line as a result. 

Later,

K 

Re: roundhouse argyle conversion

[Kevin Strong]

Dave (and others),

Don't worry about the Argyle being obscure and no one treading that
water before. Clearly, I'm not a big fan of leaving any steamer well
enough alone. (Vance - it was a Dylan.) Imagining something as something
else takes x-ray vision. 

The key to any locomotive kitbash is to take away everything that
doesn't look like what you want. Sounds reasonable, but many folks get
hung up in the extremes this sometimes takes them to. Quite often,
you'll end up stripping the locomotive completely down to just a boiler
and chassis. While it may seem like somewhat of a waste of money to buy
a locomotive and discard everything but the essentials, you actually
gain much more in the process. You end up with exactly the locomotive
you want, built on a proven (in Roundhouse's case) boiler and chassis
that will give you years of enjoyment. To me, that's worth much more
than what you originally spent on the locomotive in the first place. 

Many times, though, people stop half way through the process of tearing
down, and say "that's far enough. I can go from here." The results are
often something that looks slightly different from the original, but no
where near what the builder really had in mind. In most cases, simply
raising a headlight or adding an airtank here and there is "sufficient."
To me, that's a failure to realize the potential a particular locomotive
offers. The best locomotive rebuilds are the ones where someone asks
"did you scratchbuild that?" As "the other" Kevin said, Alan Olson is
perhaps one of the most renowned gurus in that department, and a source
of inspiration for a good number of my models.

The other half of this equation is to not be afraid to re-build a
locomotive once you've already kitbashed it once. My Lady Anne
conversion underwent a facelift before last DH, giving her new domes and
a new cab. These were things I wasn't 100% satisfied with the first time
around, so they got redone the second time, correctly. My Dylan kitbash
is likely going to undergo a similar rebuild sometime in the future. I
want to backdate her with a new headlight, domes, and cab. Quite simply,
I'm not 100% happy, and all it takes is a little time on the workbench
to make me 100% happy. 

I'm not aware of too many 0-6-2 locos in the American narrow gauge
scene. The only one I can think of is the Uintah's #20 and #21. They
were inside frames, where the Argyle is outside, but I can't imagine
that being a show stopper. It did have very neat, rounded side-tanks. (A
pattern I duplicated on my Dylan bash) Actually, the lines of the Argyle
are very similar - right down to the capped stack. Plans for this loco
can be found in Mallory Hope Ferrel's "The Gilsonite Route." 

The key is to find something you want to build, find a locomotive that
comes close enough in all the key dimensions - wheel arrangement, driver
size, boiler size - and go from there. And when your spare parts box
gets full, take it to the next steam-up. There will be plenty of folks
who will help thin your "spare" collection.

If you get stuck along the way, don't hesitate to ask... While many of
us have likely not embarked on your particular project, we've probably
done very similar things in ours. We'll be more than happy to help you
over the hump.

Later,

K 

Re: Tender Hand Pump

[Kevin Strong]

I'm actually not a huge fan of tender pumps. I built two tenders with
them, mounted crosswise, and while the pumps worked quite well, the
check valves did not. No amount of fiddling, tapping, sanding, or
anything could get the rat fink balls to sit down properly. The result
was in one instance a jammed pump, and in the other, a blown water line. 

The other problem I encountered was with the stress the act of pumping
placed on the tender trucks. When you hold the tender steady to pump the
handle, the pressure goes straight to the tender trucks. If you're not
careful, they'll break - quite quickly and easily, I might add. Metal
trucks may be a bit more robust than the plastic ones I used, but just
keep that in mind. If I had to include a pump, I'd make sure it ran
parallel to the rails. The side to side motion of pumping seems to be
worse on equipment than front to back, where you have the weight of the
locomotive and train to dampen the movement. 

Either way, you're going to get water sloshing around, there's not a
whole lot you can do about that. Remember that if you're going to put
electronics for R/C or anything else in the tender, make sure they're
sealed in a plastic bag so _when_ the train derails and spills water all
over the place, you don't fry your electronics. (Ask me how I know this one.)

Personally, I'm a big fan of Goodall valves. I replaced the check valves
on my two Roundhouse bashes with Goodall valves from Brandbright, and
they're worth their weight in gold. (They're relatively simple backhead
fittings, so if you're scratchbuilding, all you need is the correct
bushing, and you're all set.) Yes, you have to have a squirt bottle
lying around to fill the boiler, but it's always a good idea to have one
of those anyway for fire prevention. 

Of course, you could combine the two - use the Goodall valve as the
inlet for the pump, instead of a traditional check valve. Hmm - didn't
think of that until just now. Next loco, now that I've got two surplus
pumps. 

Later,

K 

Re: SR&RL #24 problems

[Kevin Strong]

If you've got a boiler full of steam, and no power, then there are a few
areas you may want to look. First will be the wheels themselves. Make
sure they're clean and free of caked on oil. 

Second, make sure the exhaust lines are clean. Even if everything's in
good order, if there's a clog in the exhaust line, you ain't goin' no
place. (Think of it as a banana in the tailpipe.) When the ID of
Roundhouse steam lines is between 1/16 and 3/32 inch, it doesn't take
much to stop things up. A little oil and some dust or other debris, and
you're as good as stuck.

Steam may be leaking out of the ends of the cylinders, or the top of the
steam chest. Look for water bubbling along the edges. (You can use the
old soapy water trick if you want to.) If something's leaking, tighten
the screws around it. If that doesn't solve the problem, then you'll
need to repack the gasket material. Also, check the gland nut where the
piston rod comes out. You don't want to tighten it too tightly, but
tight enough to where the steam doesn't come out. (There's an O-ring in
there which the nut compresses.)

Then, you can check your cylinders. As you stated, you can see if
there's steam blowing by the cylinders by looking at the exhaust. If
you've got a full plume of steam out of the stack, but the locomotive's
just sitting there, then there's a very good chance the steam is blowing
right past the cylinders. The trick is to figure out which one.
Generally, it's the one that's in mid-travel, as the valve ports are
closed at the very ends of the stroke. 

Steam passes by the cylinder for one or two reasons - the piston head is
worn down and/or the cylinder is enlarged. 

If you find your cylinders are in need of repair, there are a few
options. First, you can buy replacement cylinders from Roundhouse. (You
can buy replacement anything from them. It's a good thing.) I don't
remember what the cost is, but compared to the price of the loco, it's
not too bad. 

However, the repair may be quite a bit simpler. You can repack the
cylinders themselves. RH cylinders are grooved for either an O-ring or
graphite yarn. Graphite yarn gives you a bit more flexibility in the
adjustment, allowing you to fine tune the cylinders for maximum power
and minimum drag. This takes a bit of fiddling, but the end result is
worth it. You can also use replacement O-rings from Roundhouse. The
graphite yarn may be a better alternative if the cylinders have been
enlarged, but a little teflon tape under the O-ring may work as well. 

I'm assuming you've checked all the steamline fittings to make sure
there's no leaks along that path, but that's another place to check.
There may also be a leak somewhere in the line. I'd especially check
right at the T leading into the cylinders. 

Of course, there's one wildcard that there's very little you can do
about. That's the material the wheels and the rails are made of. I've
got two RH locos. One has the early narrow steel wheels, one has the
more modern plated wheels. Both locos weigh the same, and while one is
an 0-6-0, only the end wheels actually contact the rail. The center
blind driver sits about 1/64" above, adding nothing to tractive effort.
It is in essence an 0-4-0 like my early one. Yet, the newer one pulls
much better. There's something about the different wheels that allows it
to get a better grip on the track than the narrower steel wheels on the
older one. 

Above and beyond that, I don't know what to tell you. Steam locos are
very individual, and perhaps this one is just persnickety. The good news
is that you can replace enough parts on it to give it a new personality.

Later,

K 

Re: Pop Valves

[Kevin Strong]

Roundhouse valves are pop valves, although they don't pop nearly to the
level that Aster pop valves do. In that light, they could be considered
"weepers" as well, but they do actually pop. You may want to check the
setting on your safety, though. Steam it up and let it build up to
around 40 - 45 pounds. If the safety hasn't popped yet, take a small
pair of pliers, tweezers, or some tool you can use to turn the little
cap of the safety. Loosen it until it does pop off. Sometimes, those
things get screwed in a bit tight, and don't release when they should.
(Conversely, they also loosen over time, and pop off earlier and
earlier. That's why they're fairly easy to adjust.) 

I secretly wish Aster would make replacement pop valves for Roundhouse
and Accucraft, and anybody else. They seem to have that nice "POP" down,
which no one else has managed to do. There's just something magic about that.

Later,

K 

Re: kit bashing

[Kevin Strong]

I actually use two layers for my jackets - three if you count the
lagging.  I first bend a sheet of .020" or .030" brass, depending on
what I have in my bin at the time. The key is to make sure it's
substantial enough to secure all your details to it. I'll mark all the
holes for bells, whistles, handrail stanchions, water injectors,
cleanout plugs, etc., and so forth on this. I'll even mount domes onto
this, if the domes are non-functional. I also mount my running board
braces onto this, which are usually just bent pieces of brass.

I usually bend the piece before I do any drilling or marking. This
avoids the problem Harry mentioned about getting an oblong shape. It
also makes it easier to bend in that you don't have to be 100% exact
with the bend. Wiggle room is a good thing, and can be cleaned up with
tin-snips or a nibbler. (Radio Shack tool for cutting PC boards - $14, I
think. Best tool investment I've made in a good long while, with the
possible exception of a power miter saw, but that doesn't do too much
good on a steam loco.)

Once I get all the details mounted onto that, with screws in place, I
place the wrapper around the lagging and press. This makes small
indentations in the cork where the screw heads are. Some quick work with
an X-acto knife removes all of that, and I test fit to make sure
everything fits well onto the boiler. You have to make sure your lagging
is thicker than your thickest screw or nut. With the 1/16" stuff, you
can always double up.

Then, I remove all the fittings, and place a thin sheet of .005" brass
around the outside of the "sub-jacket." With this in place, I take a
center punch or a permanent marker and poke into all the holes I had
drilled in the .030" brass. Once the holes are drilled in the thin
sheet, it's time to clean it and dirty it up again. 

This is where I, too, borrow a page from Soni, and walk all over the
.005" brass. My old basement floor was usually good enough for that, but
it was a bit rough in spots. A driveway, either concrete or asphalt
would also be fine. I tried gravel, but it got too damaged. I want it to
look used, not destroyed. After that, I run over it once or twice with a
rolling pin or piece of PVC pipe to flatten it out, but not smooth it
out. The idea is to get rid of all the peaks and valleys, not give it a
Botox treatment.

Then, it's treated with chemical blackener, then reattached to the
"sub-jacket." I leave a little bit of overhang (1/8" or so) around the
edges, so I can fold it over once and secure it to the sub-jacket. I
don't fold the front edge over, though, until after it's on the boiler
and the lagging. I just bend that down 90 degrees to cover the edges. 

Now, you can reapply all your details, which you've painted by this
time. Masking them later's a bitch and a half, so don't even think about it.

The boiler bands are then used to hold everything onto the boiler. (I
love functionality.) 

In the case of the Roundhouse loco, the jacket actually extends over the
lagging in front a bit, so to help hold the boiler onto the smokebox.
(On that one, I just used the .030" brass, with no thin sheet. - That
was before I saw Soni's K-27.)

What you use as your .005" jacket material is up to you. Brass is fairly
conventional and won't rust. I'm toying with the idea of using shim
steel for my next one, and treating it with a gun-bluing agent.
(Probably overspray with a clear coat to protect against rusting, we'll
see.) Tin would work also, if you can find something that will darken
it. (Any products that would do that, let me know, please.)

I've used brass for my boiler bands in the past, either leaving them
polished, or treating them very lightly with the blackener. Annealing
the bands first changes their color to a slightly more red - even after
it cools - and that affects the resulting color once treated with the
blackener. Again, you can use copper or other materials here as well,
treating them as you want. 

As a side note, I've used this thin wrapper technique for wrapping
smokeboxes as well. It's easy to emboss rivet detail into the thin
sheet, then wrap it around. Fireboxes are also a snap using this
technique. I could probably emboss rivets in thicker stock, but it would
require a lot more hammering than I feel like doing. 

One caveat - don't try to solder to the thin stuff though, not without a
resistance soldering unit. (Which I have yet to acquire.) I'll refer you
back to previous posts about trying to heat thin brass evenly. It's
right on the mark, trust me.

That's about it for boiler lagging from this end.

Later,

K 

Re: kit bashing

[Kevin Strong]

I'm rather fond of thin cork sheeting for boiler lagging. I used 1/8" on
the Roundhouse loco, and this brought the jacket just over the smokebox
casting, which is the effect I was after. On the Ruby rebuild, I used
1/16" cork, as it was a smaller locomotive, and that's what the hobby
shop had in stock. Used it for boiler lagging as well as lagging around
the cylinders.

Much easier to bend than plywood. I had enough trouble bending the brass
sheet for the jacket. (Me without my handy slip-roll.)

Later,

K 

Re: kit bashing

[Kevin Strong]

Wasn't there a plan (or a kit) put out by Bayou Ltd. a while back for a
2-6-2? Aside from that, I don't think there were ever any "commercial"
kits for building something from the Roundhouse boiler and chassis. 

There are the usual suppliers of brass detail parts, (Trackside Details,
Accucraft, Precision Scale). Unfortunately, only Accucraft has a website
that I know of. They should be able to supply any brass detail fittings
that you would want. 

I don't know if this helps at all, but perhaps it will jar someone
else's memory.

Later,

K 

Re: Lots of strange non-steam emails

[Kevin Strong]

Yahoo recently "added" certain features to their e-mail and list
programs to allow spam and other "special offers" to flow through to
their users. End result - more junk in both your e-mailbox and snail
mailbox. 

There is a fix - go to subscribe.yahoo.com/showaccount

Enter your username and password, and you can change your settings so
that you don't receive any kind of advertisements. (Naturally, they
default your settings to "yes," so you'll have to change them all back
to "no.")

I think this is a "limited time" feature, so if you have a yahoo
account, go there and change everything soon. 

Gotta love technology. Makes me appreciate my steamers even more.

Later,

K 

Re: Thin Steel Sheet

[Kevin Strong]

Thanks, Arthur. Much appreciated. I would think four or five feet would
hold me over for a while. Whatever's easy to mail. I'm not planning any
production runs for locomotives any time soon, but I've got two or three
projects that could benefit from some experimentation in this area.
(Some electric, some steam.) It will be interesting to see how it holds
up over time.

Anyway, send it to:

Kevin Strong
8899 E. Prentice Ave. #9204
Greenwood Village, CO 80111


Again, thanks much. See you in DH, and have a safe trip.

Later,

K 

Thin Steel Sheet

[Kevin Strong]

Does anyone know of a source for .005 steel sheet? The hobby shops tend
to have brass, copper, and aluminum, but not steel. 

I've been using blackened brass sheet for boiler jackets with very nice
results, but it dawned on me that most folks describe boiler jackets as
resembling a blackened gunmetal. Seems logical to me, then, that all one
would have to do would be to get some thin sheet steel, and some gun
blackening agent, and viola!! All we have to do is find steel that thin. 

No, I don't want a list of Yugo dealers.

Later,

K 

Re: Fw: Whats on the bench

[Kevin Strong]

Boxes, but I'm working on that.

Actually my next few projects are going to be geared towards building
some rolling stock to run behind my locos. I've got a half-finished
caboose to do, then a string of hoppers, a flat or three, and then Marc
had to go and publish plans for 1:20 passenger cars in the most recent
GR! 

29 more years until retirement

Later,

K 

Re: List Down?

[Kevin Strong]

Well, we're alive and well out here in Denver, after pulling up stakes
from the frozen confines of Rochester. No steaming yet, but I have to
unpack my steam-up supplies first, anyway. 

Later,

K 

Out of the loop for a while

[Kevin Strong]

I'm going to be out of the loop for a while so I can move everything I
own 1800 miles to the west. I got a new job in Denver, so I'll soon be
joining those folks to boil water on a regular basis. Unfortunately,
I'll be leaving the good folks here in the frozen north, but they've
told me they will make the trek to DH to visit. Sounds like a fair
compromise. Boiling water without freezing your butt. What a concept!

Later,

K 

Moving, etc.

[Kevin Strong]

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we're getting the heck out of
Rochester. I'm taking a new job as an editor at KCNC-TV in Denver, and
am hitting the road in a week or so. Information on new addresses and
phone numbers will be forthcoming, as soon as I know where we will be
living. (Details, details...)

In the mean time, I've created a new e-mail address for myself which you
can use if you need to get hold of me. (Time Warner won't let me take my
free cable and internet with me.) 

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

The current address will work through the end of this week, but then
they want their modem back, the rat finks!

That's about it for now.

Later,

K 

Re: doorknobs and cabbage stacks

[Kevin Strong]

'twas not my locomotive, alas. My involvement was limited only to
suggesting the idea. Unfortunately, I haven't come across any more such
knobs since then, so I haven't been able to do anything with that, either.

Ah well...

Later,

K 

Re: spark arrestor screen

[Kevin Strong]

Exhaust that smells like coffee can be a good thing. I'm thinking late
night at DH, when we need that little something to keep our eyes open
just a bit longer...

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting there. I'm currently in the
process of overhauling my Roundhouse 0-6-0 based loco with new domes and
a new cab. The original fittings were getting a bit beat up, and I
figured I'd give it a somewhat fresher look - to go with the new
Bachmann outside frame 2-8-0 due in my possession sometime in the near
future. (It's a sparker, so don't get too excited.) I'm also planning on
bringing a few 1:20 boxcars along to tow, provided I can get them to fit
in the suitcase. Then again, the Ramada has a laundry machine, right?
Who needs extra clothes!

See y'all there. ("y'all" - pronoun - meaning a collective group. From
"you all." I know Trent understood...)

Later,

K 

Re: Roundhouse Locos

[Kevin Strong]

In essence, they are the same, except that one has three axles, and one
has two. It's really a matter of aesthetics. The center driver on the
Lady Anne kit is a) blind, and b) sits slightly above the railhead. So,
you only have the front and rear axles in contact with the rail anyway.
Pulling power should be about the same for either locomotive, as each
has identical cylinders, boiler, etc.

My personal preference goes to the Lady Anne kit, because with drivers
that small, the more you have, the better it looks in my opinion. I've
got an old Roundhouse Dylan 0-4-0, and even with the Sandy River
counterweights on the axles, there's just something missing there. 

You didn't say whether you intended to do any kitbashing of the
locomotive, in which case it's a matter of finding one that best matches
what you envision the locomotive looking like when it's done.

Later,

K 

Re: GR steam article

[Kevin Strong]

First off, a disclaimer - I write a regular column for Garden Railways
aimed at beginning garden railroaders. However, my comments are based on
my experience as the editor of the Friends of the East Broad Top
[Railroad] magazine, the "Timber Transfer." 

Simply stated, a magazine is only as good as the articles submitted to
it. If you would like to see more steam coverage in the pages of GR,
then I suggest you sit down and start writing articles. Editors pull
enough material out of thin air as it is. There's a lot of time and
energy put towards coming up with an idea for an article, then
soliciting a qualified author to write it. Even then, we're only
guessing at what our readership would like to see in the pages. I know
there are a lot of topics my readers would like to see covered, but
until someone steps up to the plate, they'll have to wait. I keep as
good a balance as I can given what I have to work with. Why were there
two pages devoted to cutting apart a plastic ore car? Because someone
took the time to write about it, that's why. It's a topic that was
interesting enough to one person to sit down and put fingers to keyboard
and submit a few words about what small project they did in the
workshop. 

The truth is, steam has been covered in GR for quite some time, and
fairly well. The previous issue had two pages devoted to the St. Louis
steam-up, and Marc's been pretty good about devoting a page or two to
DH, as well. Jeff's column is, I believe, the first time there's been a
regular feature targeted towards live steam in the 17 years the
magazine's been around. I don't see this as a bad thing, rather I'm
surprised it wasn't done much earlier.

If you're looking for in-depth coverage of live steam, you're looking in
the wrong direction. We have two magazines devoted to that specific
pursuit, which is extraordinary in itself when you consider the small
number of folks in the hobby. 

Feedback is always good, even moreso when it's constructive feedback. If
you feel there could have been more info given in the column, then I
encourage you to write or e-mail Marc and let him know what you would
have like to have seen added. It's not enough to say "I didn't like it,
you didn't devote enough space." We (magazine editors in general) would
love to devote more space to informative articles. We do need to hear
from our readers as to what kind of information they desire.

*OFF SOAPBOX* (and off to bed)

Later,

K 

Re: Meths vs Gas

[Kevin Strong]

Sure, open that can of worms, why don't you? How's about throwing "scale
vs. gauge" in the mix, too?

Seriously, I'm going to take the other side, and ally myself with gas
firing. It's clean, simple, and you have to work really hard to light
the track on fire. I have two meths burners, one of which actually runs.
(The other, alas, has been reduced to a mantelpiece.) I like it, and it
serves me well. I don't run it when there's anything that resembles a
breeze. Even with the flame shield, the wind gets in there plays around
too much for my taste. (Wood cab - I don't want to have to build a
third.) It's a simple tank burner, so there's no way to control the flow
of alcohol to the wicks. What you see is what you get. I don't
particularly like that aspect of it, and my experience with chicken feed
burners leaves much to be desired. (Like a good fire extinguisher) The
gas fired ones are fairly quiet (I've got to tweak the Ruby's burner a
bit) and efficient. I get steam raised in no time, and have no trouble
controlling the level of the flame to keep the safety from popping off. 

Gas works well for me in any temperature. I usually burn a 70/30
butane/propane mix, since that's what the sporting goods store sells up
here. It works well in 90 degree heat as well as 20 degree cold. Since
we have a lot more of the latter here, that's an important consideration.

Would I pass on an alcohol-fired loco in the future? Perhaps not, if I
see potential in it. (I'm still keeping an eye out for an Aster JNR
Mogul) Then again, I may look for a way to convert it to a ceramic
burner, along the lines of Art Walker's mogul. 

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Later,

K 

"Budget" live steam

[Kevin Strong]

Harry mentioned that "affordable" is a relative term. There's a lot of
truth to that statement, and I'm looking forward to the day when an
Aster Big Boy is affordable. That's going to be a while. I've got a
wife, mortgage, and while kids are not in the picture currently, they
will be in due course.

However, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the hobby. It takes time,
patience, and yes, a little work. But that's where the fun comes in.

I "started" in this hobby 12+ years ago with a "cheap" Mamod, which cost
me (er, my parents) $200. That proved to be a relatively poor decision
on my part, but it taught me a few things - such as how chicken feed
alcohol burners are _supposed_ to work, how to put out a rather large
alcohol fire when the chicken feed burner you just built _doesn't_ work,
and other simple metal working skills employed while trying to improve
the performance out of a rather sad sack. If I had a little more time or
desire, I could have purchased (at minimal cost, mind you) replacement
parts and tried new things, building that little loco into something
that would run quite nicely. 

However, I got lucky, and stumbled onto yet another bargain - an old,
well loved, well run Roundhouse Dylan (potboilered 0-4-0T) for $500.
Now, I enjoy the looks of British locos, and have ridden behind a few
myself. However, I model eastern US narrow gauge. Herein started a
philosophy of life...

I don't buy locomotives for what they are. I'm not a machinist by any
stretch of the imagination. However, I do enjoy building and modifying
locomotives and rolling stock. The good news here is that this is
perhaps one of the cheapest ways to enjoy the hobby. You can scour the
train shows and swap lists for everyone's "scratch and dent" items. So
long as they run, who cares what they look like? There are bargains to
be had.

This philosophy applies very nicely to live steam, with a few
differences. First, "as long as they run" is of paramount importance
unless you can get replacement parts. Don't buy something if it won't
make it around the track once. In some cases, replacement parts are easy
to come by if need be. (Roundhouse sells every little bit and piece you
would need to build a new loco individually.) 

Along those lines, look for bolt together kits, also. Roundhouse offers
a boiler and chassis kit, which can generally be had for around $900.
What you get is an excellent running basic mechanical steam loco onto
which you can add whatever you want. There are other low cost entries
into the hobby as well - Roundhouse's "Sammie," Argyle's "Bantam" and
"Philadelphia" (which was at one point available as a bolt-together kit,
as well as a cheaper, "don't attempt to build this unless you really
know what you're doing - which I didn't when I bought it," machinist's kit)

That is the key to this whole "budget" process. Look at every locomotive
on the market not as a "C&S Mogul" or a "0-4-0 saddle tank" but instead
as a working boiler and cylinders that drive X number of wheels of Y
diameter. From this, look through books and let your imagination run
free. Find a design that works for you, and start adding bits and pieces
of metal and wood until it looks like what you want it to. 

Today, the Accucraft "Ruby" has replaced the old Mamod as the bargain
basement entrance to Live Steam. The advantage the Ruby has is that it
actually runs right out of the box. If you haven't checked out Vance
Bass' web site on things to do with "Ruby," you're cheating yourself.
These have been turned into any number of locos, and a closet industry
has sprung up selling parts to enhance the looks of it, similar to that
which sprang up around the Mamod - only those were designed to get the
thing to run.

I currently have 4 live steamers in my stable, the most expensive one
started as the $900 boiler and chassis kit. Including detail parts and
materials, I don't think I have more than $3000 invested in the whole
lot. Yet, these locos are scale models that I would put up next to an
Aster any day. Not only that, they are individual pieces that nobody
else has, and each reflects a part of you. Just do little bits over
time, and you'll be surprised how cheap this hobby really can be. 

Later,

K 

Re: Ruby Prototype?

[Kevin Strong]

While on the subject of Rubys...

A few folks who were at Ron's steam-up yesterday were inquiring about the
website I did for my bash...

http://home.rochester.rr.com/kevstrains/Allisonprototype.html

The steam-up, by the way, was a fine, fine event. When we got there around
1:30, there were around 40 folks there, and lunch had just begun. (I timed
it right, eh?) A wide variety of locos there - of note was Kevin O'Connor's
RH Forney, which is a nice looking little loco. I wonder if RH is going to
offer that in part form eventually? One would imagine the drivers and inside
frame valve gear would be great sellers.

This was the first time my wife attended a steam-up, and was quite impressed
both with the performances of the locomotives and the calibre of the people
attending. She says she'll be more than happy to attend future ones, and
that I can have a C-16.

She's quick to pick up on things. One fellow, who shall remain nameless, had
an Aster "King George" which was having a touch of difficulty. Her quote -
"The expensive ones sure look nice, but do you always spend so much time
pushing them?"

Later,

K
 

Re: Modification Inside Frame

[Kevin Strong]

The frames of my Roundhouse bash (a boiler and chassis kit) were opened
up as Harry has suggested. I believe Trent has done the same to one of
his Roundhouses. There has been no structural integrity lost in the
process. I kept about 3/16" of material surrounding all major structural
elements. (Axle supports, spacer supports, etc.)

Opening the frame is best done with a 1/4" drill to open the corners.
Next, you'll want to take your Dremel tool and mount a cut-off wheel in
it. (preferably reinforced, or you'll introduce those around you to a
whole new vocabulary) Cut out the spaces between the holes (using a
tangent off the edge of the hole, not center to center) and file and
sand to smooth everything up. To match the pairs, you'll want to screw
them to each other first, so everything lines up. This whole thing is a
fairly quick project, but makes a significant difference in the looks of
the locomotive. 

The only other modifications I would like to make to this locomotive
would be to replace small, non-counterweighted flycranks with the
counterweighted ones off of a Sandy River. (It's a simple process, a
direct replacement. Just a matter of getting my hands on them at some
point in time.) If you wanted to go a step farther, you could replace
the solid disk drivers with spoked ones. For now, I'll take what I've
got. That particular locomotive is the best runner in my stable. 

Oh - if you've got an old Roundhouse pot boiler, don't try this. The
frame acts as a flame shield, and keeps the air from blowing out your
fire. 

Later,

K 

Re: Oil Bottle

[Kevin Strong]

I use an old Elmer's Glue bottle for my steam oil. Cap screws on tight,
and allows for easy filling of the lubricator. Certainly much neater
than the old film canisters I had been using. 

Later,

K 

Re: Epiphany!

[Kevin Strong]

The article doesn't go too deeply into what actually happens to
aluminum, and how it deteriorates (or doesn't) rather just highlights
what the author does to keep electrons flowing through the rails.
(Although I can't for the life of me figure out why you would want to do that.)

The text of the article can be found at: 


>From my own experience, I have not seen any deterioration with aluminum
rail. My dad's had it down in the back yard since 1980, and after 21
years it shows no sign of wear or tear. The only trouble we ran into was
where we used copper railjoiners to hold it together. We had
electrolysis problems, and the copper deteriorated badly. These joints
were replaced with stainless steel ones, and there have been no troubles
since. 

It is interesting to note that these rails haven't had electrons run
through them since 1984, with no cleaning or anything. He had to power
the rails for a promotional video for one of the train manufacturers,
and after years of no maintenance, electrons flowed quite freely. 

So, if you're running your trains as they are supposed to run, you will
definitely have no trouble, except for cleaning the oil off the tops. (A
little denatured alcohol goes a long way.) Even if you insist on running
electrons through, Aluminum rail will do you years of good service.

Later,

K 

Epiphany!

[Kevin Strong]

I was glancing through the COGRA newsletter tonight, and stumbled across
listmember Ross Webster's article about aluminum rail, and how it
oxidizes and weathers over time. (Thanks, Ross, for continuing to send
it to me. I'll forward it to our current editor after I copy the
information from it for future reference for my GR columns - look for
mention of the surveying trick in a future one...) 

Anyway, something struck a chord.

I've got about 600' of track in the back yard, all of it aluminum. The
first 300' was painted with Floquil "rail brown" when I put it down. It
has since weathered a bit, and the UV rays have turned it more to an
"olive drab." I'm not complaining, and certainly not about to sit down
and repaint it.

The rest of the rail, however, was never painted, since I decided that
the Folquil was just going to turn colors, and I didn't want to have to
deal with that. I had some latex paint which I figured I'd paint on, but
in the interest of time, and getting the return loop finished before the
open house, I just laid the track without doing anything to the rails. 

As a result, I've got half of my railroad sticking out like a sore thumb
with shiny aluminum rails. Not exactly what one would like to see.

Here's where the serendipity and epiphany come in...

At one point in time, I bought a bottle of what I thought was brass
blackener from Sulphur Springs Steam Models. When I got home, I realized
I had goofed, and grabbed a bottle of Aluminum black instead.
Fortunately, this also worked on brass, so I kept it and thought nothing
of it. 

However, it clicked tonight. Let's try this aluminum black on the rails,
and see what happens! Let me tell you, it works like a champ! The rail
turns almost black, really close to a charcoal grey. It doesn't take
much to do it, either. One Q-tip full did about 2' of rail. No, it's not
rust colored, but it's a lot better than olive drab, let me tell you. 

Anyway, the stuff is made by Birchwood Casey, which has a website -
www.birchwoodcasey.com . They have a full line of metal blackening and
antiquing products, and tips on how to use them. For my money, I've
found the answer to having to paint the remaining rail. If you've got
bright, shiny aluminum rail lining your back yard, I would suggest
trying this one out. 

That's it for now.

Later,

K 

Re: Etch first, then prime

[Kevin Strong]

I've had great results using Krylon paints. Their clearcoats come in
three varieties, flat, satin, and gloss. So far, they have stood up well
to repeated heatings, even on my pot boiler. Of interest there, however,
is that the Floquil paint I used as a base changes color depending on
temperature. The green turns slightly brown when the side tanks get hot,
but changes back to green once they cool back down. Don't quite know
why, but it does.

One quick question to Mr. O'connor - why do you heat the cans of paint?
Does the temperature of the paint have any effect on its adhesion? 

Later,

K 

Re: Etch Primer Source?

[Kevin Strong]

Radio Shack. Ask for printed circuit board etchant.

Later,

K
 

Re: Whitemetal Castings

[Kevin Strong]

I've got a whitemetal airpump on my Ruby bash, and I've been quite
pleased in how it's held up. It's screwed into a bracket which is
screwed onto the boiler lagging. This also holds the running boards in
place. (Of course, having seen Trackside's new 1:20 airpump... Ahh, the
error of my youthful ways. (Of course, did I buy one? noo. Dummy)

Word of caution - don't try using Ozark's whitemetal number plates.
Ironically, I had no trouble when I first installed one (strictly as an
experiment) on the front of a Roundhouse bash I did. It held on for
quite a few trial runs. Then, I realized the jet was partially clogged.
Cleaned the jet, fired it up, melted the plate. Experiment failed. 

Of course, I've also been known to put a wood cab on a pot boiler, so I
do tend to lean a bit to the pyromaniac side. (After a brass heat
sheield was screwed to the front of the _second_ one, no troubles there either.)

Later,

K 

Re: 1/32 scale caboose

[Kevin Strong]

Fortunately, she's very understanding when it comes to quality "hobby
shop" time. And it _was_ the last day...

Later,

K 

Re: 1/32 scale caboose

[Kevin Strong]

Speaking of 1/32...

While sniffing around Caboose Hobbies the other week, I was looking at
figures. I saw Life Like's offerings, which they claim to be "G" scale.
Well, unless my ruler was affected by the higher altitude, these figures
work out to be 1:32, not G. They are all roughly 55 60 mm tall. I don't
remember exactly what they had, I was surprised enough to see small
figures that would work with #1 scale equipment. 

Thought I'd pass it along.

Later,

K 

Re: eBay [was: Turn On the Lights]

[Kevin Strong]

Trent,

It may surprise you to learn that some Pez collectors do boil water as a
hobby. Allison has somewhere around 300 Pez dispensers. One has to admit,
they're a helluvalot cheaper than steam locos.

Later,

K
 

Re: Turn On the Lights

[Kevin Strong]

In Miami, isn't that a requirement?

Later,

K
 

Re: Turn On the Lights

[Kevin Strong]

No, and I don't think I will. The wedding's in two weeks, and I don't
want to do anything to jeopardize that. We are taking a train ride on
the honeymoon - Denver to Glenwood Springs. Not steam, but we may find
time to get to Georgetown... No luck convincing her that Chama was the
latest craze in honeymoon destinations. 

I got to thinking about headlights again. What do you use for
reflectors? I've heard of some success using the reflectors from
Mag-Lites, but then you're limited to the "AAA" size, which is
relatively small, or the "AA" size, which is a bit large. I've been
using a two-part epoxy paste I get from the hardware store in the
plumbing department. I fill the cavity of the headlight, and make a
"bowl" for the reflector with my pinky while it's drying. It's not
perfect, and I'd like to figure out a way to get a good mirrored finish
that won't melt under the heat of the smokebox.

Any ideas?

Later,

K 

Re: Turn On the Lights

[Kevin Strong]

Trent's idea is exactly what I've done in all of my steamers with
operating headlights. I use 1/16" dia brass tube for the handrails, and
run teflon wire through it up to the headlight. The return is grounded
to the locomotive. Word of warning here - if you are using RCS to
control your train, and have the antenna attached to the frame of the
loco, don't ground the bulb to the frame. Run two separate wires to the
headlight. Also, anytime the teflon wire may be exposed to flame, make
sure it is still within the brass tube. That way it won't burn. (Teflon
wire is _very_ flammable. (This is especially important when running
wire around a pot-boiler or something like that.)

There is an advantage to using the R/C batteries to power the
headlights. You know when the radio's on. Also, you can gauge the
strength of the batteries by looking at the headlight.

I'm experimenting with using LEDs in a "self contained" headlight, after
my thoughts of building a "real" flame headlight met with reality. (At
least in this scale.) I got a miniature Coleman lantern keychain the
other day for a buck from the hardware store. They used to have a yellow
LED in them, as a friend of mine mounted them on posts and used them as
street lights. 

"Cool," I thought. A watch battery wouldn't take up much if any space,
and in a large box headlight, it would work very well. Unfortunately,
the lanterns I got came with a _red_ led, not yellow. (It's a clear
high-intensity "bulb," so there was no way to tell what color it was
from the package.) So, lest I want folks to think the front of the train
is actually the rear, I've put that project on hold. I may pick up with
it again when I get back from Colorado, but we'll see. I've got too many
other projects popping up on the burners, although the "Allison" looks
pretty naked without a working headlight.

But, if you've got R/C, then you have a power source already. Otherwise,
you will have to be a bit creative. A "AAA" would likely fit very well
under the roof of the locomotive, and would probably not be visible.
Otherwise, you can disguise it as a very straight standing locomotive
engineer. (He may be a bit portly, too, depending on what scale the
locomotive is.)

Later,

K 

Steam Railcar

[Kevin Strong]

Okay, who saw the picture on page 104 of the May/June Narrow Gauge
Gazette? For those who haven't, it's a steam powered inspection car.
(It's a preview for the next issue...) Anyway, the car has a small
vertical boiler, about 12" in diameter, and roughly 3-4' tall. It looks
to have a single vertical cylinder. 

So, who's going to be the first to build one?

(Don't look at me - I've still got three Philly kits that are collecting
dust in the basement.)

Later,

K 

Re: Should I add weight to Billy loco?

[Kevin Strong]

It depends. Steam it without the weight, and see how she pulls, and if
she slips. I've got two roundhouse locos - an old Dylan, which no longer
reflects its roots, save the nameplate, and a mogul which I built from
the 0-6-0 boiler/chassis kit. Both have different running and pulling characteristics.

The Dylan rebuild could benefit from some additional weight, which I
also added in some side-tanks which I built. The mogul, however, pulls
very nicely without any additional weight. It outpulls the 0-4-0 hands down.

The difference in this case, I think, is in the wheels. The 0-6-0,
despite what it looks like, is really an 0-4-0 with an idler driver in
the center, since it doesn't actually touch the rails. (It sits roughly
1/64" higher than the other two.) The Dylan, is an outright 0-4-0, but
with the old-style Roundhouse wheels, which were much narrower, had
smaller flanges, and were made from steel, not nickel. (or whatever they
are.) If I were to replace the wheels with the newer roundhouse wheels,
I think the tractive effort would improve. 

So, steam it without the weight, and see what happens. If you're happy,
then don't worry about it. If it doesn't run right, just sit the weight
on top of the locomotive, and see if that makes a difference. If it runs
better, then add the weight to the tanks. Personally, the only
Roundhouse loco I've ever seen with a pulling problem is my 0-4-0, so I
don't think you need to worry about it.

Later,

K 

Re: Finishing Touch

[Kevin Strong]

I generally use Krylon clear finish. They make three types - matte,
satin, and gloss. I generally use the satin. I haven't had any trouble
with crazing from alcohol or heat or oil. Don't know how well it holds
up under "intense" heat like that from a pot boiler, but I've used it
with great results on my locos. For sealing wood, I use Minwax. Again,
I've had no troubles.

Later,

K 

[OT] Kenversions

[Kevin Strong]

Sorry for the non-steam related post, but I was hoping to cast a net
across the big puddle to some of our British counterparts...

I'm wondering if anyone has any information on a product made by a
company called Kenversions in the mid 80s. It was a "shell" for an East
Broad Top doodlebug called the M-1. It was designed to fit over an LGB
chassis of some sort, but that's about all I know about it.

I'm writing an article on modeling the EBT in large scale, and that was
the only commercially available kit for that particular piece of
equipment. I'd love to get any information I can, particularly
dimensions, and composition of the kit.

Come to think of it, that would make a GREAT project for a live diesel...

I'll add it to the list.

Later,

K 

Re: Hand laid track suplyes

[Kevin Strong]

Okay, okay...

Geez, It's 50 degrees outside, and I'm in here on the computer! What a
world!!! (For all you Californians, we here in the Northeast consider 50
degrees "springtime.")

Anyway... Since my outdoor activities involve replacing about 4' of
track where the aforementioned tree branch fell over the winter, I guess
I should get my mind in gear.

So, you have a box of Llagas Creek tiestrips (the 1:20.3 variety, from
my experience) and some rail. (I use code 250) There's a small problem
with this combination; the base of the rails are a very snug fit in the
tiestrips. This is because the tiestrips were originally designed for
the code 215 rail, and Gary had to have a new profile code 250 rolled,
so it too could fit. (We folks who lay our track on the ground are a
peculiar lot - seems we want to be able to walk on our track, or at
least have it survive the occasional misplaced foot.) So, given this
rather unique scenario, there are some steps you should take to make
this task as painless as possible.

1) Do not paint your rail beforehand. You will enevitably scratch all
the paint off of the base of the rail while laying it, making you have
to go back and repaint anyway. May as well do it once it's down. (Pain,
yes, but doable.) - Also - don't use Floquil paints outdoors. They are
NOT UV stabilized, and the "rail brown" turns to "moss green" in short order.

2) Cut the tiestrips into two-tie segments. Because the clearance
between the spikes and the base of the rail is so tight, the strips bind
really easily when being pushed down the rail. You can control two ties
with your fingers very easily, and eliminate any binding that may occur.

3) Keep a spray bottle of soap/water handy to help the tie strips slide
easily. (You can keep a bottle of something else handy, also. That will
keep you well oiled.)

Now, for the actual laying of the track...

I stagger my railjoints, so all my track is laid on the ground where it
is going to be. The first thing I do is to file the edges off the end of
the base of the track. A mild taper will do, just enough so it guides
itself into the tiestrips. (A small jeweler's file will do fine.)

Always string the tiestrips onto the rail, as opposed to trying to
thread the rail through the tiestrips. (You'll get what I mean.) 

I start by stringing tiestrips halfway down the length of the rail. I
then take the slide the strips down the rest of the length of the rail,
threading them on the second rail, which is already down. 

(Bad "ASCII art" time)

I I I I I I I I I   I I >>   I I >> I I I I I I I I I I I I I
  ---
I I I I I I I I I   I I  I II I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I   I I  I II I I I I I I I I I I I I
 
I I I I I I I I I   I I  I II I I I I I I I I I I I I


Tie strips on one rail  Slide them down   Finished track


I forget offhand how many ties there are per foot, but that shouldn't be
too hard to figure out. This isn't absolutely necessary, but it will
give you a ballpark figure so you know when to stop adding tiestrips.

Now, if you're fastening your track to a base, you can do so once you
have the strips on both rails. If you're in colder climates, and prefer
to float your track, then you will want to sandbag your track as you
work on it to keep it from moving as you're adding ties to the rail.
Aluminum rail, especially, is light, and likes to bend. The less of that
you can have, the happier you will be.

One last tip - the two tie sections will have a web connecting the ties
together. String this side onto the first rail. It will make your life a
lot easier. 

This process isn't exactly a model of speed or efficiency. It takes me
about 15 minutes to put down 6' of track. It is, however, the easiest
way I've found to put the track down in the garden.

If you're building track on a raised steam-up track, then you may find
it easier to work with the strips. A wood table against which to work
the tie strips may be a lot easier to deal with. Experiment, play, and
if you get frustrated, pull out a steamer, and run it on what you have
down already. It will get your sap rising to finish the job in short order.

Later,

K 

Re: Hand laid track suplyes

[Kevin Strong]

I'll echo Gary's post - and go the step further that Gary didn't...

The California and Oregon Coast is home to a wealth of Llagas Creek
track supplies, among other products. Depending on what you're looking
for, there's a good chance that you will find it there. Llagas Creek
makes plastic tie strips for scales ranging from 1:32 - 1:20.3, and rail
in varying sizes from code 215 (.215" tall) to code 332 (.332" tall -
the same size as LGB or Aristo track). They also have switch kits in
code 250, and code 215 (I think) which are great. 

I have around 600' of the code 250 aluminum rail on their 1:20.3 ties in
my back yard, and they hold up great, except where very large falling
tree branches are concerned. (but that's really to be expected.) I buy
the nickel silver cast points for my switches, and build the rest from
scratch. (There was an article in Garden Railways around a year ago
which explained a technique very similar to mine.) I've been very
pleased with these products, and they have survived 4 Rochester, NY
winters so far with no problems.

NOTE*** There are some tricks one needs to be aware of before heading
out into the garden with these products, which will help tracklaying go
that much easier. But, they are another sermon for another time.

Later,

K 

Re: O.T. Garden Railway on TV

[Kevin Strong]

"Tracks Ahead" is a PBS series produced by Milwaukee Public Television.
Their programs are syndicated on PBS stations around the country, so getting
a common airtime for those can be a bit more difficult than with a show on a
national channel like HGTV.

Yes, Trent, Jim is my father, and he has been known to steam the occasional
loco. (Although I was the one who got him involved in live steam - he was
otherwise happy with his sparkers.) He doesn't run steam on his line because
of the grades and clearance and access problems. Ask Gordon Watson about his
Forney sometime. (HINT - when building a tunnel, make sure you can reach the
middle with your arms.)

If I hear anything about the Tracks Ahead show, I'll pass it along.

"Til then, set your VCRs to record at 5 EDT.

Later,

K
 

Re: O.T. Garden Railway on TV

[Kevin Strong]

The show is called "Whistle Stop Gardens" or something to that ilk. It
features somewhere around 8 garden railroads throughout the country,
including those belonging to Jack Verducci in San Francisco, and Jim Strong
in Maryland. Above and beyond that, I don't know too much.

As a side note, "Tracks Ahead" was also working on a program about garden
railroads, but I don't know where they are in production right now. They too
shot last summer.

Later,

K
 

Re: New guy, questions...

[Kevin Strong]

The RCS system should be able to do everything you want it to do, with the
existing servos. It's pretty much a plug and play system. (They even make a
system designed to run servos and an additional sound system, so you should
be all set.

I've got one of their original systems in one of my locos, and have been
very pleased with it. I use their electronic throttles for all of my
sparkers, and have found them to be very supportive of their product, and
quick to remedy any troubles which may come up.

Usual disclaimers, just a satisfied customer.

Later,

K