The Home Machinist!

Other options are cork, or softwood.
I'd avoid even the idea of Asbestos like the plague that it it is...even if you have some NOS from the 70's. The Ceramic materials are likely not much better for your lungs, be respectful of them, but they do not have quite the same - providence.

Over on Traction-Talk, there is a beautiful 4" being built in WA state- https://www.tractiontalkforum.com//showthread.php?t=45771 Mark up here in Victoria (BC) has a Foden, I'm yet to have a play with it, though he came over and ran the big Fowler around. That's pre-covid, so 5 years ago at lea...

Basically, any furnace cement. Dad used to use asbestos packing, then cover with said cement. Makes getting it off "easier", as the cement will break off the soft packing as you unroll said soft packing. Any of the furnace/muffler cements are generally available at hardware stores... For l...

They make a nice, very powerful for the weight loco that has a supprising turn of speed for a 0-8-0 ! (think 8-9 mph on 3.5" gauge...)

(mine is sitting on the work bench here at work, waiting for me to getaroundtuit for the injector pipework...again)

James

Ooh, that's best of all Bill ! (out with the hammer...exactly as per the finely adjusted valve gear on Caribou 1- https://live.staticflickr.com/7245/7161341918_b98733c4b8_h.jpg Cardave2 by Peach James , on Flickr (done with Oxy & a lathe to stretch some bits...the black is a bit of discolourment...

So, the 4" I've driven up the hill x3. "the hill" in this case is ~1.5 miles (3 km), starting at basically asl and peaks at 220m (660 ft) at about 1 mile. (then a "gentle" downhill). Basically, a 1:10 hill, though there are steeper bits, and shallower bits. Steaming uphill i...

How we've dealt with them is basically, that the 2" engines are a "mobility assistance device", and get run on the sidewalk if in the city. It's not a huge problem where I live (15 miles past town, up a dead end road off another quiet street). The 4" has a full plate, and blinkin...

Bill, you mean like: https://live.staticflickr.com/5549/12005047295_3ca4ce4e52_k.jpg Fowler on trailer by Peach James , on Flickr Dad builds them, I wear them out. The Schmoe's (my two) aren't that interested, though they do occasionally play- https://live.staticflickr.com/8719/16966649739_5c81a6981...

The daft part of me asks why no track brake ? Is it any different than brake on wheel, wheel sliding on rail? Because one of my 3 1/2" locos will quite comfortably skid the drivers with the steam brake. (you can actually grade it enough to not do so too...but it's kind of hopeless, as you have ...

Ah, people without experience of Parker and Swage-Loc fittings ! Quality has a price, but they are near 100% reliable if assembled IAW manufacturer's spec's. Our preference was UK style- a olive silver soldered onto the pipe, with the nut behind (don't forget said nuts before silver soldering...), w...

What about the mid-west conversions of portable engines in the 50's They used to "drag race" them- there was one as far east as ~> Uxbridge, on highway 7 (dad might remember which town it was in) in Ontario, but there were a "fair number" of them made...(likely 10-20).

James

I had a photo on Flickr of the 7 valve one that was on the HP turbine on HMCS Protecteur. Unfortunately, while I still have the image, it's not on the internet any more...

(it was not a balanced throttle, using air over hydraulic to actuate)