Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

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makinsmoke
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by makinsmoke »

That is some very poor welding for something
with such easy access and easily welded material. Such a shame.

You should be very satisfied with the Railroad
Supply book.

One thing we have learned rebuilding the C&IG
is how fast track is assembled using plastic ties.
Yes they cost more but they come with tie plates
molded in, and slight inward tilt. Holes are predrilled for screws, and there is a depression where the foot of the rail sits. Order them for the gauge you want (we are using 7-5/8") and the correct rail foot width and you never pick up
a track gauge. They are all pre gauged.

Preparing the roadbed then setting ties and
installing track in place on your knees is still
faster than using wood ties, but premaking the panels and dropping them in place and attaching them together is infinitely faster and a lot easier on your knees.

We have also begun pinning our track every ten feet to reduce side to side movement and vertical deflection, both which happen when the aluminum rail heats up in the sun.

You can build track panels inside on those days you cannot work outside.

Take care,
Brian
rkcarguy
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by rkcarguy »

$69.99 harbor freight welder in action lol

Looks good overall though, and I've got nothing against PC-7 or JB weld myself. I have TIG and MIG, but I just don't like the warping that comes with welding thin metals. For anything outdoors made from mild steel, spot welding is no good as over time you'll get corrosion in the seams. I'm opting for a riveted and JB welded aluminum body for the Baldwin S12 I'm building. The frame will be welded steel of a substantial thickness. This gives me lots of meat for threads and welding, and gets the weight up while keeping it down low. Aluminum is also easily worked with using carbide tipped and high speed steel tooling.
Glenn Brooks
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Wouldn't worry to much about the odd welding inside the cab, so long as all the pieces are still holding on to each other. Maybe you could run a reinforcing strip of thin metal along the inside of the broken weld and rivet both sides back together. It would be plenty strong and not mess up the existing paint.

On the plus side. Your loco displays some nice detail, and will look just fine hauling tonnage down your main line! Regarding the stripped bolts - seems like there's always something to do- Half the fun in this hobby is putting stuff back together. :o

Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
ccvstmr
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by ccvstmr »

Hey Glenn...actually, half the fun of this hobby is putting things back together but the other half is trying to figure out why it failed in the first place.

Then there's the 90/10 rule...where 90% of a project takes 90% of your time, and the last 10% of the project...takes up the other 90% of your time! :lol: Carl B.
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dash9
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by dash9 »

Well got the main chassis of the train all done, The battery box was falling off the wires were pinched a few places. Still did not fix the RPM gauge or the speedometer. All wires in the train are all red. Will take a little time to get it perfect. If it needs any parts I can make them here, I went a little wild on metal working tools. Have a glass bead machine, but found a great machine called a Vapor Hone machine. You can clean Aluminum, steel, Plastic, brass and glass makes it look like you put it in a vibrator for a day. It will not take thick paint off I use the glass bead machine for that then put it in the Vapor hone. It will be fun working on it all winter, when the weather breaks will break ground for the track.
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dash9
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by dash9 »

Was looking for a way to hold the trains down in the trailer. Came across this on Discover live steam. Should be easy to make.
I see most trailers that people have, have barn doors. The one I have is 12' long 6' wide and has a rear fold down ramp. How do people get them out of the trailer? The engine is way to heave to lift.
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makinsmoke
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by makinsmoke »

That ramp will be problematic when going to other tracks and trying to load and unload.

If you have not sunk a ton of money in your trailer you might think of selling it and getting one with "barn doors."

Most tracks you back the end of the trailer directly up to the unloading track or elevator.

Just my two cents.
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makinsmoke
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by makinsmoke »

One other thing. If you do decide to try and find another trailer get one with 2 axles. You get to axle load pretty quick piling stuff into a single axle trailer.

Take care,
Brian
dash9
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by dash9 »

Yes your right Brian, The one I have is made for motorcycles and 1/4 of the floor in the trailer is on an angle anyway. Looked on craigslist and found a old Wells cargo 7' wide by 24 ft long two axles and two barn doors and one side door. He has the title for it, not pretty but it can be cleaned up he wants 500.00. Going to get it today. More work I see coming.
jcbrock
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by jcbrock »

Now you can jump right in to the fun of trailer tie-down and loading systems. 7x24 is too big for me, but for 500 bucks how can you pass it up? E-track on the floor with some half-inch ply to bring the floor up to the top of the E-track is a good place to start. Using the vertical E-track on the floor is kind of nice because then strapping can go right over the top of your equipment with no twists. After you fill the floor, most guys build some kind of rack system out of 1" sq tube or tube and channel or whatever you imagine.
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Steggy
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by Steggy »

dash9 wrote:All wires in the train are all red.
...and I'll bet most, if not all, of them aren't tagged or otherwise identified. :evil:

As an aside, the wiring on most full sized railroad equipment is monochrome—there aren't enough colors in the rainbow to identify all of the wiring found in a modern locomotive or passenger car. Back when I used to work on this stuff I became very adept at tracing wiring that was all one color. Each wire in a harness was stamped with an identification tag at 3-to-6 inch intervals, using a process similar to the intaglio process used to print paper money. The wire IDs were also on the schematic so one could find his way around an electrical panel or cabinet.

So, in one sense, the electrical system on your locomotive is like full-sized practice. :D
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dash9
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Re: Lots of questions on 7 1/2" gauge railroad

Post by dash9 »

Well got the trailer, I have a 3500 Ram Dully Cummings Diesel. It worked it's butt off to pull it. That animal must weigh 5000 lbs empty. I think it would be a great storage trailer, way to heavy to load it down. They dont build them heavy like that anymore. Soon as the fog lifts ill get some photos.
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