Building the 2.5" Scale Shay

[NP317]

You've made remarkable progress on the boiler!
Thanks for sharing.
~RN

[Soot n' Cinders]

Its done! Front flue sheet is in and flues are rolled! Ready for a hydro test now, and Im sure my flues will weep a little as I didnt roll them very tight to start

[Soot n' Cinders]

It passed its unofficial initial hydro test! After chasing down a couple leaks, mostly pipe threads that needed to be chased, the only leak is the throttle flange gasket and its only a drip every 4-5 seconds. I feel good about taking it to the railroad later this week to get it signed off on

[Trainman4602]

Tristan If you were able to watch the video I made on Hydro-testing a boiler I mentioned that after welding in the bushings you should run a tap into them. They generally get "egged" shaped from the welding process.

[Soot n' Cinders]

Thanks Dave, I had chased them just not enough apparently. Guess thats what I get for buying a pipe tap from horrible freight haha! All sealed up now though

[Soot n' Cinders]

The boiler has made it to the railroad via a low sided gondola and it passed its initial hydro test! Inspector was club president Rich Ruggles and it was witnessed and approved by none other than Al Phillips of TVRM and Marty Knox.

edit: club name and address redacted

[Soot n' Cinders]

A few patches and it'll pass the hydro

Jokes aside, this is what happens when you remove a 1/2" pipe plug on a boiler full of water in a car.

[Soot n' Cinders]

Fitting the boiler to the frame now. Marking the locations for the supports and how thick the front saddle needs to be. The chassis looks so much more substantial with the boiler set there

[Soot n' Cinders]

Got the boiler resting on the frame. Both the firebox supports and the front saddle are complete and sitting in place, will drill and tap for the mounting screws next time the boiler is off.
Now onto the throttle lever. Mocked up the cab wall to help size everything since there are basically no cab interior shots of the little shays. In the process of that I had to throw the smokebox and stack mock on and see how everything looked. Its big!

[Brian Hilgert]

Mocked up the cab wall to help size everything since there are basically no cab interior shots of the little shays

I have a bunch of interior shots, here are two. The first one is a 20 ton class A, The second is a 24 ton class B, but good for reference.

The fact that you have your throttle through the backhead, the following might suit you better. it is from a 32 ton class B with a EWT boiler.

Let me know if you need anymore.

[Soot n' Cinders]

Thanks Brian! And yeah, my throttle should be through the turret instead of the back head, but it's too late to change that and I'm not too worried about it.

[Brian Hilgert]

Let me know if you need any more photos.

my throttle should be through the turret instead of the back head, but it's too late to change that and I'm not too worried about it.

99% of the people out there wouldn't know the difference.

Oh and BTW, your coffee mug is a little out of scale.