The Home Machinist!

Absolutely stunning work!!

Jerry

Thank you all for your kind words, I'm glad others are interested to see what I'm doing. The DV-7 project has taken up all my time and focus for the last 3 months but now I'm back on track with the loco and next i'll be tackling the pilot truck.

Your workmanship is superb may you go along way all the best Golfpin RSA

Beginning to tackle the pilot truck, figured I'd start with the centring device. I had a local company CNC the ramps to ensure accuracy and the gears were done by wire EDM. All went together with no troubles. I'm getting about 3/8" of horizontal travel and 1/8" of lift either side of the centreline.

3/8" either side of centre doesn't seem like a lot of travel for a pilot truck, perhaps someone with experience can chime in?

Beautiful work!

3/8" lateral movement for the pilot truck should be sufficient because its job is to steer the engine assembly behind it, which moves relative to the locomotive main frame. Other opinions are requested.

As for "I just don't understand pronouncing solder as "sodder"... where did the L go?"
It got the L out.

Cheers,
~RN

Rwilliams wrote: The tenders were equipped with a special water spray head to wet down the first few cars in the train lest the wood roof tops catch on fire from the ash falling from the exhaust plume of the stack ... Be a nice touch to include in your tender when you get that far.

It would certainly keep rowdy passengers in line!

Benjamin Maggi wrote:

Rwilliams wrote: The tenders were equipped with a special water spray head to wet down the first few cars in the train lest the wood roof tops catch on fire from the ash falling from the exhaust plume of the stack ... Be a nice touch to include in your tender when you get that far.

It would certainly keep rowdy passengers in line!

And it would keep the engineer cool on a hot sticky day.

Rick

Not sure Big Boys were used on passenger trains.

kvom wrote:Not sure Big Boys were used on passenger trains.

I don't think they were. They were built to haul freight from Wyoming to Ogden, Utah, over the Wasatch Mountain Range, although who knows how they may have been put to use in an emergency.

Somewhere, in my collection of trivia, I have a copy of the article published in the early 60's in one of the Salt Lake City newspapers in which they discuss the scrapping of the Big Boy engines at Geneva Steel, now long gone.

Harold

kvom wrote:Not sure Big Boys were used on passenger trains.

In a few years we most likely WILL see a Big Boy (#4012) hauling passenger trains!
That'll be an experience!
~RN

NP317 wrote:

kvom wrote:Not sure Big Boys were used on passenger trains.

In a few years we most likely WILL see a Big Boy (#4012) hauling passenger trains!
That'll be an experience!
~RN

We already do... in 1.5/1.6" scale... in 12" scale? Don't put your money on it happening in the next 15 years... They promised before 2020, and the 844 isn't even running.

Wonderful fabrication job. It takes a lot of dedication to tackle a big project like that. Really looking forward to watching this build.

I ran Tom Miller's Big Boy a few years ago, and it had astonishing amounts of power. He had a very long train on it at his house and it felt like nothing. One injector was continuously left on and it just about maintained level.

I also had the chance to crawl all over 4014 before it left Pomona, we did a night shoot with it as a fundraiser for the museum.

Here's a peek at what you have to look forward to...