The Home Machinist!

bolts intersecting exhaust passages are not unusual...sometimes that is where everything has to go. (been there, done that). as for the angle hole...you did it the way most of us have had to. Evaluate the drawing and compare to 'real world' 3-4 good threads is generally enough to hold those bits on....

my suggestion still stands....clearance to the top of the rail should be greater than rail height.... my 'cow catcher' on my 2-8-0 is are simple foot boards (one on each side of the coupler) that are 1" above the rail. on more than one occasion, I have had them bent completely back under the pi...

I am not worried about it, but your points good for others to know. This is not my first chemical rodeo.. my fuel comes in a sealed /resealable 5 gallon metal can, which is the only way I can get it from the hot rod shop. Using a hand squeeze pump, I can transfer what I expect will be the needed sup...

I have seen some locomotives that burned Coleman Camp stove fuel. Would this design be suitable for that fuel? I have a small 1" locomotive that was toying with converting it to run off Coleman fuel. The nice guy thing about the methanol is that it burns clean without a lot of nasty smells. I ...

We are all in this together, and the lack of good coal for small locos has been an ongoing problem .thank Steve Bratina for his work in developing this design Over the years, I have seen him burn literally anything imaginable in a loco, ranging from corn to corn cobs(?), sawdust bricks.... The fact ...

no idea....try it and let us know

all I know at this point is that this works.

I lied - a quarter and a penny.....

but it still fits in an oversize pill bottle....

well....let's think about hinges that would what...allow it to tip forward at the bottom? -> which is reverse of motion -> unless you derail in reverse.... if hinges allow to tip back -> then you are sticking the point of the catcher down onto the tires (or whatever).....and more problems....

if you want a SCALE DISTANCE -> then be prepared to do a lot of repairs should you have a de-rail. in the 'real world' - the height of the bottom of the 'cow catcher' should be greater than your rail head height. but that is my opinion -> and i am not a 'scale model builder'...I like a reasonable lo...

thought it would be......enjoy not sure how you would get it in / out of a Juliet 2, what with the arch and all.... all considered, a big Sievert-like propane burner shoved in the firedoor might be an option. I have one that I use on my 1" scale loco for quick heating tests....the OS factory di...

exactly.....easier to either find a new supplier and / or move to another fuel.

the fun is not at the 'separating coal' stage