From the ground up
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comebackshane
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:49 am
- Location: Georgia
Re: From the ground up
So after some research the two closest tracks to me (both 7-1/2 Gauge) have a turning minimum turning radius on 50'. This fact eliminates the Challenger, and the Big-Boy. It also eliminates the Alco Northern but the Alco Hudson (Little Engines) and the Consolidation (Allen Models) are still in the running. With that said I like the look of the ALCO much more than the Consolidation. Any thoughts on the difficulty of the Little Engines to build?
Re: From the ground up
Hi,
It is possible to build a Big Boy from the ground up in quite a bit less than a decade, all you have to do is what Gerhardt did. It also means that you basically don't do anything else. When he was building the Big Boy, Gerhardt was retired from Chrysler and living by himself across the back yard from his son, Gunther.
The following quote is from the start of our Big Boy thread which is presently near the top of the third page of the Live Steam section. Have a look at it, its worth it even if I do say so myself.
"Gunther said that his father would go down to the basement early in the morning and work all day, just taking breaks for meals and any necessary housework (which was minimal). He would quit in the evening, but not before 9:00 pm. This meant that he was putting in a 10 to 11 hour workday, every day! He kept that up for 5 years, and the results certainly show it. Gunther says that he wishes his father had kept some notes of his work, but his father’s attitude was “I know what I have done, nobody else really needs to know.” According to Gunther, Gerhardt last worked on the engine and tender in the winter of 2003/2004. When Don & I got the locomotive, there was no rust, but it didn’t roll freely. I oiled it and after a few days, it now rolls quite well."
As I also said somewhere in that thread, I would never start something like that because I know I would never finish it, but as you can see from the pictures and text, it is quite possible.
What Chris Hollands says about his Challenger is also true in that you never truly finish one of these things, because you can go on for ever, building working accessories like power reverse units (which I'm doing now), working turbogenerators (in our case from Bill Huxhold), working cross compound air pumps (probably down the road - Don's pushing me to start), etc., etc.
By the way, go back and check your minimum turning radius again. Our Big Boy is 1/16" full size and Tom Miller's Big Boy is 1/8" (roughly) full size, so logically a 50 foot radius for Tom's should work. The tracks we have checked out (Hamilton and Milton) have a minimum radius of a little less than 25 feet and ours/Gerhardt's works OK on them.
Doing this truly has to be a labour of love, because believe me, you won't get rich doing it.
Richard Trounce.
It is possible to build a Big Boy from the ground up in quite a bit less than a decade, all you have to do is what Gerhardt did. It also means that you basically don't do anything else. When he was building the Big Boy, Gerhardt was retired from Chrysler and living by himself across the back yard from his son, Gunther.
The following quote is from the start of our Big Boy thread which is presently near the top of the third page of the Live Steam section. Have a look at it, its worth it even if I do say so myself.
"Gunther said that his father would go down to the basement early in the morning and work all day, just taking breaks for meals and any necessary housework (which was minimal). He would quit in the evening, but not before 9:00 pm. This meant that he was putting in a 10 to 11 hour workday, every day! He kept that up for 5 years, and the results certainly show it. Gunther says that he wishes his father had kept some notes of his work, but his father’s attitude was “I know what I have done, nobody else really needs to know.” According to Gunther, Gerhardt last worked on the engine and tender in the winter of 2003/2004. When Don & I got the locomotive, there was no rust, but it didn’t roll freely. I oiled it and after a few days, it now rolls quite well."
As I also said somewhere in that thread, I would never start something like that because I know I would never finish it, but as you can see from the pictures and text, it is quite possible.
What Chris Hollands says about his Challenger is also true in that you never truly finish one of these things, because you can go on for ever, building working accessories like power reverse units (which I'm doing now), working turbogenerators (in our case from Bill Huxhold), working cross compound air pumps (probably down the road - Don's pushing me to start), etc., etc.
By the way, go back and check your minimum turning radius again. Our Big Boy is 1/16" full size and Tom Miller's Big Boy is 1/8" (roughly) full size, so logically a 50 foot radius for Tom's should work. The tracks we have checked out (Hamilton and Milton) have a minimum radius of a little less than 25 feet and ours/Gerhardt's works OK on them.
Doing this truly has to be a labour of love, because believe me, you won't get rich doing it.
Richard Trounce.
Last edited by RET on Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Greg_Lewis
- Posts: 3020
- Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
- Location: Fresno, CA
Re: From the ground up
On the subject of finishing: Some of us like to build and finishing is of little consideration. I was a little sad when I finished the frame and running gear for my 10-wheeler. I had so much fun working on it and then it was over. I love making little parts from brass and, frankly, don't care if I ever finish my engine. I'm looking forward to getting into the dynamo and the air pump. I agree with Chris, though, that making a boatload of the same part gets to be tedious. Turning wheels fits into that, too.
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.
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.
Re: From the ground up
You mentioned European locomotives and the fact that you like them. Have you considered building a European locomotive first to give you some experience building live steam locomotives? And no...it is NOT weird running a european locomotive here in the US. It is not unheard of. Nobody complains when I run my British locomotive in Massachusetts. Having a smaller locomotive will give you something to run and remain active in your club while you spend many, many happy hours building your masterpiece. Building is fun.....but so are the social aspects of an active club membership.
Keith
Keith
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comebackshane
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:49 am
- Location: Georgia
Re: From the ground up
That’s a good idea. I went to the club on Saturday and had a blast. One funny thing I noticed was the crazy variety of locomotives on the track.LVRR2095 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:40 am You mentioned European locomotives and the fact that you like them. Have you considered building a European locomotive first to give you some experience building live steam locomotives? And no...it is NOT weird running a european locomotive here in the US. It is not unheard of. Nobody complains when I run my British locomotive in Massachusetts. Having a smaller locomotive will give you something to run and remain active in your club while you spend many, many happy hours building your masterpiece. Building is fun.....but so are the social aspects of an active club membership.
Keith
Dumb question incoming... how hard is converting plans from 7 1/4 gauge to 7 1/2?
Re: From the ground up
Check with the supplier of the 7 - 1/4” plans as they may have already made up plans for 7 - 1/2” gauge versions.
With British locomotives it should not be difficult to widen the gauge as their construction usually has the cylinders attached to plate frames. This is unlike American locomotives where the two cylinders have the saddle cast integral with the cylinders and bolted together in the center.
Keith
With British locomotives it should not be difficult to widen the gauge as their construction usually has the cylinders attached to plate frames. This is unlike American locomotives where the two cylinders have the saddle cast integral with the cylinders and bolted together in the center.
Keith