The Home Machinist!

Mike Walsh wrote:
WF&P trackage is gauged at 12-5/8" but our equipment is gauged at 12". Allows for the bigger (4-8-2, 4-6-4, etc) equipment to play on our track.

Mike

Mike, are you sure about the 12-5/8"? I thought it was gauged at 12-1/4"...

Is anyone on here using reverse osmosis filtering? I just started doing so this year, filling up a barrel with water filtered through sediment & RO filters. I then treat the entire batch with a sludge conditioner, oxygen scavenger and finally raise the PH to 10. I use litmus test strips I found ...

I have a small 12" gauge 4-4-0 that I rebuilt quite a few years back. My method of transferring weight from the tender to the locomotive was to make a drawbar that spans from the locomotive to the kingpin on the lead truck of the tender. The front of the tender frame has another pin that engage...

I have a very crude wedge plow that I attach to a four wheel work car in the wintertime. I wasn't going for scale fidelity, I just wanted something quick to build that would plow the snow. One consideration is to have something under the plow to sweep the last little bit of snow off the rails - I us...

The Brit's have quite a few 2' scale railroads running on 10" gauge track. Seems more proportional to the larger size engines and equipment. the wider gauge is more stable also, less opportunity for derailments and mishaps. Looks like fun. does anybody know of any 12'' gauge railroads operatin...

So far as I know the Wabash, Frisco and Pacific has never had a "Cagney." They do had a 12" gauge 4-4-0 that was originally built by International in Elgin, Illinois. The smaller Cagneys were 12 - 5/8" gauge which would not run on the W.F.& P. Keith That is correct, #171 is ...

One thing to keep in mind is that the flues act as stays between the fluesheets. Since the boiler is under pressure as well as thermal stress, the fluesheets will be trying to deflect away from each other to some degree. I suspect that the tensile staying force applied to the flues offsets or perhap...

I think Keith summed it up. I've sent Steve what little information I have, which unfortunately doesn't contain the mfg of his particular boiler. By the way, some Ottaway boilers were code, some non-code - the early ones were non-code, then it was customer's option until the end of production. I don...

The Economy injector is a great value for the price. Top notch quality and performance. If you want a bit of sticker shock, price a 3/8" Penberthy...

Here are a couple of pictures I took at the Spring Meet of the Ozarks Live Steamers. Both locomotives are Santa Fe Northerns built by Mike Weldon. First, the "Small" Northern in 1.5" scale, 7.5" gauge: http://nfrailro.ipower.com/forumpics/2012-06-02Small3776.jpg Next, the L-A-R-G...

I wouldn't use aluminum for a propane burner. However, having said that, I can see why he gets away with it, considering their intended use in Mamod / Wilesco style pot boilers. These types of fireboxes won't experience firing rates - and therefore temperatures - anywhere close to that of a live ste...

It took me a bit to find it, but take a look at the January/February 2001 LIVE STEAM magazine, p. 49-51. Nick Wantiez wrote an article on Wagner as the subject of his "Larger Gauges" column. In addition to the Jubilee, Hudson and Northern, Wagner also built 4-4-0's, Pacifics and Atlantics....