The Home Machinist!

I've got to ask a question... What is your real goal? Is your goal to try to do all this stuff differently and see what you can do with it, or is your goal to produce a working 1/8th scale steam locomotive as quickly as possible? I'm not trying to be a smart-butt or question your motives and methods...

They used to have a 1/2" scale (Gauge 3) 4-6-4 steamer displayed upstairs right where you entered the model railroad display. It was Built by a Mr. Ribbeck back in the late 1940's. That ended up being removed and is now on display in the Tennessee Valley Railroad depot where you board their loc...

Only Crampton I ever heard of in the US was built by Victor Shattock and was owned by his late grandson Ken Shattock. This wouldn't be it would it? I believe it was 7 1/2" gauge, though.

I've used that stuff before on the running boards of a steamer. Screwed it down with some #2-56 brass hex head model bolts. Looked real good too.
Scrounging and taking something you find and making it into something completely different is one of the best parts of this hobby to me.

I would run the hydraulic motors in series. If you run them parallel, when one truck hits a slick spot and "lets go" then more fluid would instantly be flowing through that motor, which would decrease the pressure in the other motor causing it to lose power. In other words, your locomotive...

That would be Tom Artzbarger. He used to live in Wisconsin, but moved to Colorado. Did you buy his 2-8-2 tank engine? That thing was a real powerhouse for its size. I've seen it run down at Mid-South once and it was a good performer.

Adding just a little bit of heat in the boiler while you have that vinegar in there will speed up the process, and also will cause some amount of natural circulation. Maybe put a heat lamp in the firebox or something like that would do it. I've done it before right after blowing down when the boiler...

Man, that's just cool. I love 7 1/2" gauge, which is my main hobby, but the grand scales are just awesome to see. Good luck with the rest of your track laying.

The Steinmetz locomotive in the above photos is actually the VERY first 4-4-0 built using Gene's casting that anyone is aware of. From what I've been told, it was basically a Mogul without the front drive wheel set and a 4 wheel lead truck added in place of the 2 wheel pony truck. Not a bad looking ...

I vote for the shorter 4-4-0. Gene's first true 4-4-0 was built for Roy Pickard of Texas, and it was absolutely beautiful. It used the Mogul's shorter main rod instead of the longer Ten Wheeler main rod. It was the first use of the square counterweight drivers, simulated wood cast cab, jam brakes, e...

Hard for this ol' Tennessee Boy to get over that pink-looking gravel! In all seriousness, it looks great and I'm sure that you're going to be happy with the whole thing. FYI, all the gravel we get around here is quarried and crushed Limestone, which is greyish/white. Either that or creek gravel, and...

304 is what I've used for throttle linkages, throttle rods, pins, etc... After years of use, when I took them out, they looked almost like new. I simply put them back in as they came out. They should out-last the boiler shell if you made it out of mild steel, and then you should be able to take thos...