New York Central Streamlined Hudson

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here is a bit of progress on the dummy ash pan and fire box wrapper. The dummy ash pan sticks out to the sides about 3/4" from underneath the fire box. On the full size engine it allowed air in around the sides, and directed the ashes down into the hopper between the sides of the rear frame extension. As this engine is an oil burner, representing a coal burner it makes these parts really simple. They fit to the bosses under the draft pan that was made a few days ago. There is no actual hopper. They are held in place with #5-40 x 1/4" model bolts. In the top photo the radius for the outer edge is being bent using the hydraulic press and an air bending set up. Just two pieces of round stock welded to a heavy piece of bar. The piece of round stock that you mash it down with determines the radius of the bend. Then some ends were stuck on with the TIG welder. I didn't always have this wonderful machine. For many years welding like this was done with the oxy acetylene welder, go with what you got! You can do nice work with the oxy acetylene, but you get more oxidization, and then more clean up, grinding and sanding. And in the third photo down, you can see our little dummy ash pan poking out from under the fire box. In photo 4 a cardboard mock up has been made to represent the side sheet. Photo #5 shows the steel side sheet made with the help of the cardboard piece. There will be a double staggered row of 3/32" dummy rivets around the bottom of the throat sheet, back head wrapper and side sheets. Every ninth rivet or so will be a #3-48 round head brass screw drilled and tapped into the 1/2" square side sheet supports. These screw heads are the same size as the heads of the 3/32" copper rivets and will pretty much disappear. The throat sheet will also have dummy flexible stay bolt caps, and washouts for the thermic syphons. The throat sheet is not covered by the streamlining, but most of the fire box side sheets are. The side sheets are only visible towards the front of the fire box, and a little bit around the bottom edges and under the cab. This also depends which time frame you are modeling. As time went by the streamlining was eliminated bit by bit, and more of the fire box was exposed. Another thing, on the prototype J3's these boilers had almost no hollow stays in the side sheet, they were almost all flexible stays with threaded stay bolt caps. More to come..
Jack

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here is a photo of the throat sheet and side sheet.
Jack

[Jerry_H]

Jack,

What did you use for the stay bolt caps? they look like small brass acorn nuts.

Jerry

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Jerry you are correct. The flexible stay bolt caps are #4-40 brass acorn nuts. For hollow stays, of which there are none on this model 3/32" aluminum pop rivets work fine. Some engines such as Nickel Plate Berkshires had welded flexible stay bolt caps instead of threaded ones and for these 3/16" copper rivets look good on a model. Detailed scale models really should have a fire box and throat sheet wrapper to look right. Even a model with a narrow fire box between the frames should have a fire box wrapper. Narrow fire box engines are usually very limited as to the amount of room available for a fire box wrapper, so these have been made of .010" brass shim stock with the rivets and stays embossed. Go with what you got.
Jack

[Jerry_H]

Thank you Jack. I enjoy watching your projects evolve. Your work is fantastic.

Jerry

[Asteamhead]

Hello Jack,
Didn't intend to go as far regarding details with my A projekt. But looking at you beautiful work, I'm forced to reconsider! Such details as your firebox side sheets are the 'cream' at real models, aren't they?
Please let us held informed about further progress, thanks!
Best regards
Asteamhead

[GS14403]

Jerry you are correct. The flexible stay bolt caps are #4-40 brass acorn nuts.
Jack

Hmmmm, interesting idea the 4-40 Acorn nuts, looks like they could be squared and the tops flattened to represent the ESPEE version of flexible stay bolt caps. Just may save me a ton of work fabricating the 40 or so my side sheets need to be finished. Thanks for the ideas.

Donald

[Jerry_H]

DAD GUM !! the hollow stays DO look like pop rivets!

Jerry

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here is a link to some photos of a fire box wrapper for an American.
Jack

http://jbodenmann.com/american/americans2.html

[gcarsen]

you mean like this one Don?
here is one that has not been mounted,
Grant

[GS14403]

you mean like this one Don?
here is one that has not been mounted,
Grant

Yeah Grant, that's them. Not sure if the acorn nuts have enough meat to reshape them into the cap and socket. A couple of measurements would be nice. I am sure I have them measured somewhere but hey, yours are apart.

Thanks for the info.

Donald

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here is an update on the Hudson. The streamlined front end has had a bit done. The round nose cone has been stuck on for a look and fitted to the hinges. Some card stock mock ups have been made and some profiles will be made of the pilot. Then an armature will be made to help form and assemble the pilot. The lower part of the pilot will be 1/8" steel and the upper part above the coupler will be made of #16 or #18 gauge steel.
More to come.
Jack