Beginners LE 4-4-0 American

[Pipescs]

I will be in Hunt Valley Md but will be flying home next weekend and then coming back on the 18th for two weeks

[Pipescs]

Holes in the brackets drilled and started making the bolts to but all the parts together.

Planing on painting the cross piece with satin black enamel.

[Pipescs]

Had to work in Maryland for the last three weeks so not too much happening in the shop.

Hit paydirt at the B&O museum last Friday afternoon though. They have an intact American with all the original dirt. It has not been sanitized as the one at the Smithsonian.

It is also displayed in a way that you can get around it and even up undernieth it to photograph the Stevensen Link Gear.

[Pipescs]

One of the finer details of the engine on display is the Cab Detail.

One part of a Locomotive I did not understand was the operation of the cylinder drain valves.

The engine at the B & O Museum has both the whistle and drain valve linkages still in place.

The Lever for the whistle caught my eye due to the large size of the lever. If you look at the beginning photos you can see the linkage out the roof of the cab.

The lever for the drains is a rotating lever that turns a long torque rod and works thru bell cranks down to the bottom of the cylinders.

[STRR]

Charlie,

Great photos. Sure a lot of top notch info there. I wasn't aware of the extent of the linkage to the cylinder drains. Does that lever operate both sides? I didn't see another in the cab for the opposite side.

Hope the museum visit made up for everything you had to put up with.

Good Luck,
Terry

[Pipescs]

Yes both sides are linked by the cross bar to the final bellcranks.

It is the next to last photo

[steamin10]

WOW! Now THAT's one I didn't know....

[Pipescs]

Another control it shows is the sand box valve. Not sure how it works in the dome but it is a push pull input from the cab.

Below the cylinder drain lever is a round brass knob that works a pushrod out to the lever on the side of the sand dome

[Pipescs]

Compare the B&O Museum American to this one at the Smithsonian.

This one has been Sanitized to the point every interesting detail has been removed.

[Highiron]

Compare the B&O Museum American to this one at the Smithsonian.

This one has been Sanitized to the point every interesting detail has been removed.

Charlie

you don't have all the facts here...sanitized is the wrong way of looking at this engine...SAVED is what happened to it...if memory serves me correctly it was sitting in a park for decades as a childrens play toy and not much of it was left when the Smithsonian got it...they made parts and made it into what it is today to preserve it so thats why it looks as it does...the Mason on the other hand

ran in films in the 50's and was rebuilt for the wild wild west in the late 90's and then run after that on occasion at the B&O Museum for special events...you are not comparing apples to apples here

Mike

[Pipescs]

That explains a lot.

The B&O engine does look like it has been run recently.

[Pipescs]

Been a busy week since I came home.

Spent today at the doctors office getting a cast on my daughters broken arm. Such is life.

I have been working on the leading truck journal boxes. I went with one inch CRS stock which I squared up on the TAIG Mill. After all four were squared I used the Mill to lay out the hole to be bored. I started it with a center drill in the mill and then transfered the project to the Lathe for boring the hole for the Olite Bushings. The use of the bushing has caused me to move the axle hole up 1/16 inch from the drawing and I will have to compensate for this in the mounting of the truck to the frame.


First one bored. The busing were a slide fit with loctite. As the Olite is slick I will be putting in a brass setscrew thru the bottom of the blocks.

Sawing off the Olite Bushings to length using the TAIG and a slitting saw.

Getting it centered up in the lathe to bore.

Drilling it out

Boring them out.