We’ve been busy both at Dan’s shop on Wednesday evenings and in Rick’s shop for the Gas Loco upgrade.
Index – click the project below for more info
- Climax Loco
- Climax Follow-on car
- G-Scale Project
- Gas Loco upgrades
- Switch Posts
- Waterwheel
- Restoring Little Toot
- Station Tie Repair
- West shed electrical upgrade
- late winter Outdoor work parties
Climax locomotive
- Jan 28 – Dan and Dave: cab windows and boiler bracket
- Jan 21 – Dan, Andre, Dave: mainly the cab
- Jan 14 – Dan, Andre, Russ, Stephen, and Dave; boiler front and tender
- Jan 7 – Dan, Bob, Russ, Karl, Rick and Dave met for plan discussions plus drilling work on the tender
More on the Climax project here:
http://qathet.prfhs.org/climax-locomotive-project/
Water/Coal Tender: Next: “detailing”; the remaining dozens of edge-screws. Dan and Bob got a few done; Photo: Andre/Russ on the Water/Coal tender Jan 7, plus Bob.
Half the screws installed Jan 14.
Tender 14.125, 8″ high, 18.125 wide. Corners welded, some with 1/2″square tubing, bottom with 1/2″ angle iron.
Cab: Based on a wood cab Dan has for another project.
Cab: Andre’s plasma cutter was sold, so Dan cut windows with the tablesaw. 17.5 high, 18 wide, 14 long. Need a roller for the top.
Boiler: Bolted on the frame by brackets near the cab and front bracket above the truck bolster-bolt
– Engines: The biggest sub-project not yet in hand is building the two engines for the Climax. We need to find a volunteer willing to take this on. The prototype is 80% complete and available for viewing
Engines: Dave took the prototype home to complete it so that making the build of two would be easier.
(Previous) The biggest sub-project not yet in hand is building the two engines for the Climax. We need to find a volunteer willing to take this on. The prototype is 80% complete and available for viewing.
Waterwheel Discussion Lots of ideas were exchanged Jan 7 about the waterwheel. The main idea was to use a plastic tote instead of rebuilding the lined box for the water storage. Ideally, we’d raise the waterwheel on a mound of earth, and hide the tub using rocks. However, the structure is so fragile it might break apart.
Not known during the discussion was that Russ had already built the replacement box, so the plastic tote idea is irrelevant. Rocks can still hide the box. But the wood that held the waterwheel is rotted, so new wood is needed there. But to get at that, the whole thing might fall apart.
G-Scale project
Jan 17: Russ obtained donated plexiglas and built the west shed summer display/storage system. 16′ x 7″ x 10″.
Jan 21: The platform will go here: 6.5′ from the tracks, 9′ x 21′ near the tracks connected to a larger strip 9′ x 34′.
See more here: http://qathet.prfhs.org/g-scale-garden-railroad/
Switch Posts:
Rick/Karl confirmed their intention to aim for completion before May 1. Dan/Rick decided to standardize on 3/8″ drill rod connectors; Dan offered some full unplaned 2″x2″ wood. First will be the three switches in the “Y” repeating the previous installation-design;
- the one leaving the station, combining the train and hand car tracks
- from the mainline backing into the south shed
- the final switch into the south shed that chooses left or right track in the shed
- Next: the in-station mainline-to-shed switch. We’ll have an on-site design session: it’s complicated
Restoring Little Toot: Dan will continue sourcing the three motors needed for Little Toot’s original trucks, so we can have three locos available for operations.
Climax Follow-on car. Essential that it be completed before or at the same time as the Climax.
- -Why? it provides the brakes for the Climax/Pax car, and storage for most of the four batteries and the compressor
- To get the Climax/Pax car pair done this year, it may be best to build it off-site.
- Rick offered to look at the design and may build it after a discussion of details with Dan
- Dave will update the design document for group approval
Gas Loco Upgrades In January, Russ/Rick/Karl took the gas loco off-site to Rick’s shop to continue oil-leak resolution, a brake issue, etc.
The main issue, a periodic oil leak, turned out to be a crushed O-ring. The hydraulic oil filter was replaced. Weight added to the front end to replace the removed flywheel weight. Most recent:
Station tie-repair to fix popped-up boards
- – we considered the big/best fixes: for longevity, use metal cross ties sitting on plastic or composite boards, or concrete;
- …. but in the end, decided to simply replace the wooden ties with the available wooden ties stored in the rafters
- – – – (the current ones lasted 13 years; 6 yrs in the open and 7 years covered by the Station)
West shed electrical upgrade
Russ offered to add three central lights in the west shed. At the same time, this switch needs to be moved towhere the door closing bar won’t hit it.
Next outdoor work party: date TBA …. cold, rain, go away.
- Inspect, test and fix track
- Reconnect the winterized gutter/water tower/garden system
- Stain the west door on the west shed; Paint the black silhouettes
- Do small campfires to decrease the burn pile to avoid the venting index constraint
- Blow the seedlings off the sheds, clean the gutters and add plastic mesh on several gutters