Cab roof material?

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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks, Fender. Every bit of information helps.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

I just got an email from the Calif. State RR museum and they say sheet metal was used on the Baldwin wood cab roofs.

By the way, those folks are so helpful. No question is too trivial for them. They deserve all the support they can get. The librarian I worked with, Lisa, seemed just as excited about my research as I was. She found all sorts of interesting things for me and had them ready when I arrived.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Doug_Edwards
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Doug_Edwards »

Greg,

Care to elaborate on the sheet metal roofs?

Climax used a folded seam sheet metal roof on the wood cabs around the turn of the century. I'm curious to hear more about what Baldwin did.

Regards,

Doug
http://www.precisionlocomotivecastings.com/
Building a 70 ton Willamette in 1.6"
Building a 80 ton Climax in 1.6"

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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Doug:

That's all I got. Below is a portion of a photo I got from the museum. If you look carefully, there is something peeling up along the edges of the roof. No way to tell for sure what it is, but the nature of the wrinkles, particularly around the front curve, suggests it might be sheet metal. The reply I got from the museum read: "I needed to refer your question out to our historian, Kyle Wyatt, who in turn asked other experts about what kind of roofing material was used for Baldwin wood cabs of that era. The consensus is that sheet metal was used on these."

Beebe-Clegg_1424_neg copy.jpg
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
C_Wilkes
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by C_Wilkes »

Take a look at Dwight Ennis' sheet metal cab roof, albeit a little earlier period ( I think ) than you're looking for:

http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... &start=120
Cam
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks, C. That's one gorgeous cab.

Late this afternoon I got an email from Kyle Wyatt at the CSRM with The Final Answer: A photo of the roof of V&T #25. It and my engine, #26, are sisters and were built to similar specifications within two years of each other. Here is the definitive answer to the question: sheet metal.


V&T #25 cab roof - 1-16-2018 pp copy.jpg
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Comstock-Friend
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Comstock-Friend »

From Randy Hees, Director of the Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City.

"Almost certainly turne sheet... this is a lead washed soft iron sheet metal. Sheets are about 18" x 24. The seams are folded and interlocked, then soldered. It was painted (color unknown). It is also used on passenger car roofs, on on bay windows of Victorian houses... "

Here's the V&T Tahoe at Strasburg at the Pennsylvania RR Museum.
V&T #20 Small.jpg
(Ooops, I see that Kyle Wyatt has already weighed in with the V&T #25, my post in the V&T Yahoo group asked about the 25...)

John
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Cab roof material?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks, John. Your post led me to this description of terne sheet on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terne

and a little more history: http://www.oldhousefix.com/terne-metal-roofs/
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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