GS-1, finishing up the hard way

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GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

It has been over 20 years since my SP GS-1 4-8-4 in 1.6" scale hit the rails. A borrowed tender from an Espee Cab-forward allowed operation several months before the Semi-Vanderbilt could be built. It has been a lot of years and a lot of miles since those first runs. Now that I have been able to retire, I have decided to try and put forth the finishing touches as well as update prior work that isn't up to today's standards or where new information has become available.

The last year and a half found a Worthington HW pump built and attached, Lamps for the train indicators made and installed, a dummy booster engine and related piping, etc. to name some of the more obvious additions have come about. None of this work required any major teardown to accomplish. Easy, right? This last weekend found progress being made on re-piping the air and signal lines on the front of the locomotive to match Espee practices as well as adding a set of terminal check valves. There are bosses on the cylinder valve chambers for the booster engine that need to be designed stage as well. And, well, this is where the fun part comes in. To attach the terminal check valves and weld in the new bosses the cylinder jackets needed removal. To remove the jackets the steam pipes to the cylinders had to be taken off. Well the smokebox needs additional work and I needed to remove the cylinder block anyway to change the position of the lead truck. So... what had started out as a simple project has now become a major teardown of a perfectly good running steam locomotive.

The smokebox, cylinder block and lead truck have been removed and are being cleaned up. Soon the cab and jacketing will be removed as well and then the boiler will come off. I want to redesign the firebox pan as well as grind the side sheets on the boiler smooth for the dummy side sheets with the rivet detail. I would like to add an arch to the inside of the firebox and a lot of other little things that are better performed with the boiler off the engine. The booster piping runs under the boiler and other piping needs installed as well, again with the boiler off, much easier to accomplish. There are many other projects in mind and I will detail them in this log as they happen.

I have attached a couple of photographs to show what the locomotive looked like before undergoing the major surgery as well as a shot of the dis-assembly to date. As I go along additional stories and photographs will be forthcoming.

Donald
Attachments
GS-1 01.jpg
Train indicator lamps and a hot water pump have filled some of the vacant spots on the locomotive.
Train indicator lamps and a hot water pump have filled some of the vacant spots on the locomotive.
New piping, terminal check valves and a new coupler pocket. The round block under the cylinders will be replaced with one that has a coil spring in the center and the entire assembly will be moved forward 3/8" to allow the lead truck front wheels to clear the cylinder block covers.
New piping, terminal check valves and a new coupler pocket. The round block under the cylinders will be replaced with one that has a coil spring in the center and the entire assembly will be moved forward 3/8" to allow the lead truck front wheels to clear the cylinder block covers.
The smokebox and lead truck have been removed. Since this photograph was taken the cylinder block is now off and apart.
The smokebox and lead truck have been removed. Since this photograph was taken the cylinder block is now off and apart.
GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

Saturday was spent with the wife on a little day trip to get out of the house, then Saturday evening was spent with the youngest grandson celebrating his 13th. birthday. Today some progress was made. Spent the morning drawing up the boss and flange for the booster piping and then this afternoon making the parts.

The boss was made from a 1-1/4" by 1-1/2" bar of Cold rolled steel. The curve to match the valve chamber was rough sawn out and the finish diameter was machined on the rotary table. The parts were then sawn from the bar and the end finished machined and then the holes for the flange were drilled and tapped.

Photos of the flange work will be in the next thread.

Donald
Attachments
A photograph of the prototype GS-1 #4402 showing the boss and flange that I am trying to replicate.
A photograph of the prototype GS-1 #4402 showing the boss and flange that I am trying to replicate.
Machining the curve on the rotary table.
Machining the curve on the rotary table.
After sawing the part from the bar the face was milled flat and then the holes for the flange were drilled.
After sawing the part from the bar the face was milled flat and then the holes for the flange were drilled.
Tapping the flange mounting holes.
Tapping the flange mounting holes.
GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

Here is the flange.

Donald
Attachments
Milling the !" bar down to .930"
Milling the !" bar down to .930"
Turning the boss to .750" and parting the flange from the bar.
Turning the boss to .750" and parting the flange from the bar.
Facing the cutoff side of the flange holding it by the .750" boss turned previously.
Facing the cutoff side of the flange holding it by the .750" boss turned previously.
The bosses and flanges ready for installation. Once i get the cylinder block cleaned the boss will be heliarc welded to the valve chambers. Since these are for decoration only it will only require a couple of small welds to attach the boss.
The bosses and flanges ready for installation. Once i get the cylinder block cleaned the boss will be heliarc welded to the valve chambers. Since these are for decoration only it will only require a couple of small welds to attach the boss.
mattmason
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Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by mattmason »

Did you solve the injector problem and if so, what was the problem?
Matt Mason
GS14403
Posts: 275
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Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

Hello Matt,

While in the process of moving the injector to clear the booster piping I had replaced the compression type fitting (which had never given my any problems) at the top of the boiler with a flare type. The inline 1/4 pipe to #6 AN type stainless fitting has a rather small through hole, probably 1/3 the area of the connecting 3/8" tubing. I believe that was the problem. I drilled the fitting out but now I think I will fabricate a new fitting that will have a larger through hole. The piping to the injector is undersize as it is compared to the size of the injector and having that restriction was the most likely cause of the problem I was having. Plenty of water flow, just not enough steam volume to carry the water back into the boiler. There was no debris in the injector, plenty of water flow, and the inside of the injector shows no wear or damage. This is a commercial injector rated for many more hours than I could possibly ever use it for, so the piping change as mentioned earlier is the most likely culprit. Once the engine gets back together enough to fire it up I will, of course, test the injector and make any needed changes at that time, including replacing it if necessary, which I seriously doubt. Before the piping change the injector had never given me any real problems.

Since the injector was acting up I decided to go ahead and remove the axle pump for inspection. The bore and piston show no wear for the mileage and use it gets. I replaced the quad ring piston seal anyway since the pump was apart. The inlet check valve had some debris in it so both valves were removed and cleaned. This is the first time the axle pump and valves have been serviced since first running the engine. Just never had any problems. The axle pump check valves are commercial products bought because of their reliability and ratings for this type of service, although for the life of me I cannot remember where I bought them.

During the locomotive rebuild I am going to find a way to pipe the hot water pump and the one air compressor, that is also a water pump, into the axle pump boiler check. It will take a bit of ingenuity to make all the check valves hidden yet accessible if repairs are ever needed. This will give me 4 ways to put water into the boiler and it will be a nice bonus to hear both the pumps working.

Donald
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makinsmoke
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Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by makinsmoke »

Course this might be a good time to add some streamlining and punk up that paint job....

Grins,
Brian
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Harlock
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Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by Harlock »

An already beautiful engine about to get more beautiful. It's always a brave thing to tear into a working engine, but it sounds like it's very much worth it to do it all at once. Hopefully next time you put the boiler back on it will be for good!
Live Steam Photography and more - gallery.mikemassee.com
Product Development and E-Commerce, Allen Models of Nevada
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kenrinc
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Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by kenrinc »

Looks awesome Don! Need to get my butt up there and see it and talk to you about starting mine :mrgreen:

Ken-
GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

Course this might be a good time to add some streamlining and punk up that paint job....
Sorry, no streamlining or skirts, the GS-1's did not experience any drastic changes during their lifetime. Pilots, smoke deflectors, crossheads and of course piping were the most prominent changes these locomotives experienced. Now the tenders were a different story, the 16,000 gallon semi-Vanderbilt's were replaced with rectangular tenders based on the ones used behind the GS-2 and GS-3 locomotives on many of the GS-1's.

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled program. Today saw some decent progress on the steam valve for the booster engine. Not only is there a main shutoff valve to the valve chamber, there is a second valve that is opened to the atmosphere when the engines were in the shop being serviced but still under steam. From what I am told, the valves to the valve chamber were opened so if there was any steam leakage from the throttle the engine wouldn't roll off on its own. I can only imagine the panic some mechanic must have felt when a hostler came to take the engine and these valves were still open.

Not too much to explain here, turned the main body from a brass bar and milled and drilled for the flanges. I had to make a split bushing to hold the body in the rotary table chuck to drill the flange holes. Some basic mill work and the flanges appeared. There is still the main shutoff valve stem and valve that need to be made as well as a gusset that attaches to the bottom of the valve.

Donald
Attachments
This is what the valve should look like when I am finished
This is what the valve should look like when I am finished
I built this ball turning tool for the balls in the booster piping to the booster engine. Here I show how the radius is set. The dowel pins are inserted and the radius is added to the .250" the pins are offset from the center. In this example the radius is .465" so the gauge is set to .715". I used this set up for machining the ball end on the valve body. Of course the pins and gauge blocks are removed in use.
I built this ball turning tool for the balls in the booster piping to the booster engine. Here I show how the radius is set. The dowel pins are inserted and the radius is added to the .250" the pins are offset from the center. In this example the radius is .465" so the gauge is set to .715". I used this set up for machining the ball end on the valve body. Of course the pins and gauge blocks are removed in use.
A split bushing was made to hold the valve body for drilling and tapping the flange.
A split bushing was made to hold the valve body for drilling and tapping the flange.
The valve body sitting on the bosses that will eventually be welded to the valve chambers.
The valve body sitting on the bosses that will eventually be welded to the valve chambers.
GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

Had a little scare this week. My wife, Toy, had cataract surgery on Monday. It turned out to be a difficult operation and she had a lot of swelling. Yesterday at the follow up visit she was unable to see out of the repaired eye and this was quite stressful for her and myself as well. The surgeon placed some sort of creme type medication in the eye and today's visit there was noticeable improvement. She is not out of the woods by a long shot yet the overnight improvement is encouraging.

Since she is doing better I was able to turn my attention back to the project at hand. The packing gland, stem and nut were made for the main shut off valve. The nipple for the vent valve finished up today's activities. I have some PM industries valve handles on order so I should be able to start on some of the valve bodies next. Research into the control valve and inline check valve show some exploded diagrams but no real dimensions. The GS-4 piping drawing just has a basic outline of the parts and that may be all I have to go on.

I found this manual on the internet that has an exploded diagram of the valve and how the valve as well as the entire booster operated.
http://users.fini.net/~bersano/english- ... ooster.pdf

Here are a couple of photographs of today's progress.

Donald
Attachments
GS-1 18.jpg
GS-1 19.jpg
Hudson Honey
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Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by Hudson Honey »

Looks great Don,

Its stuff like that, that really enhances an already killer looking locomotive.

Pamela
GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: GS-1, finishing up the hard way

Post by GS14403 »

Good evening,

My wife's eye is doing much better although vision is still rather blurred. For myself though, today was a bit of a struggle, a pair of worn out knees. Even still, a good nap and a Norco made things a lot better and by late this afternoon I felt well enough to do some work.

Since all of these parts I am currently working on are for decoration only, a lot of shortcuts can be made to simplify production. The globe valves are a good example of where simplicity still produces decent results. The attached photographs should be enough to show my methods for making these valves.

Donald
Attachments
One piece valve stem and packing nut. No packing so the nut can be part of the stem.
One piece valve stem and packing nut. No packing so the nut can be part of the stem.
A 5-40 set screw threaded into the body and valve stem holds everything together. The back of the valve is not visible in its normal position.
A 5-40 set screw threaded into the body and valve stem holds everything together. The back of the valve is not visible in its normal position.
PM research valve handles attached to 1/8" dia 303 stainless. The valve end is threaded 5-40 and threads into the valve stem.
PM research valve handles attached to 1/8" dia 303 stainless. The valve end is threaded 5-40 and threads into the valve stem.
Looks like it is time to clean the cylinder block and do some welding.
Looks like it is time to clean the cylinder block and do some welding.
A flange screwed into some 1/4 pipe will be the next piece to be attached. The pipe runs under the smokebox behind the cylinder saddle to the other side of the engine. Once the pipe is made and bent mounting brackets can be made and screwed into the rear of the cylinder block. From there the pipe turns rearward to a valve and check valve located just in front of the firebox under the running board.
A flange screwed into some 1/4 pipe will be the next piece to be attached. The pipe runs under the smokebox behind the cylinder saddle to the other side of the engine. Once the pipe is made and bent mounting brackets can be made and screwed into the rear of the cylinder block. From there the pipe turns rearward to a valve and check valve located just in front of the firebox under the running board.
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