Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

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Soot n' Cinders
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by Soot n' Cinders »

Its a hefty little shay for sure! I can only imagine how big the Ulin West Side Lumber shays are...
-Tristan

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-2.5" scale Class A 20 Ton Shay

Steam Siphon: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/leavitt ... tive-works
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littleevan99
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by littleevan99 »

There’s a guy at the Golden Gate Live Steamers with a model of a 70 ton Shay in 2.5” scale, and it’s huge.
1.5" scale CliShay
1.5" scale 2-10-2T
2.5" 36 Ton Shay under construction
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rkcarguy
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by rkcarguy »

I'm building a switcher in 2" scale. A couple weeks ago I wasn't really imagining the ultimate size of it until I cut the frame rails for it and they are 77" long, plus 4" on each end for the bulkheads and steps.
You've got to be looking at a 10' plus locomotive in 2-1/2" scale?
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FLSTEAM
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by FLSTEAM »

Actually the build is a little over 7 ft. over the running boards.

John B.
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littleevan99
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by littleevan99 »

It's been over a month since I have posted anything, and here's what I've gotten accomplished:

1: I got the frame rails all welded, ground, and machined to spec. Didn't count the number of 3/16" holes I had to drill, but it was a lot! Only pucker inducing moment was tapping the engine mounting holes in the frame, as the tap did not want to go through the holes without some considerable force even with Moly Dee.
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2: I managed to get the truss brackets finished, and those were a fun little project trying to get the angles to come out right, and then blending it all together on the belt sander, and with some emery cloth to clean up the little imperfections.
IMG_7246.JPG
3: Finally, I got the truss rod brackets for the frames all machined, and those were about as boring as wheels to machine. Each bracket had about .150" extra on the backs that had to be face off, and I didn't want to get the cast iron dust all over the mill so I had to turn them on the old lathe in the back of the shop that's been cutting cast its whole life. Needless to say they all turned out looking good, and that's what mattered the most.
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Well, that about sums up this months progress. Now I also have been tinkering with different stack designs that differ from John's diamond stack in the plans. So far I have scaled up a drawing from Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette that was for a 27 ton Class B Shay with the same boiler diameter as the Shay from the same magazine that John based his around. It's a tapered stack, and I'm sort of sure on how to make it, but it's going to take a huge chunk of steel to machine it as I have no castings for it. Another possibility is a Radley & Hunter, and I've seen over on Tristan's thread where he made a 2.5" scale mock up. I have the drawings for that from the State RR Museum, and that's anothe option if I so choose. The easiest one would be the tapered stack as it is just a big chunk of steel that needs to be wittled down. Either way that is a long time away before I need to decide.
1.5" scale CliShay
1.5" scale 2-10-2T
2.5" 36 Ton Shay under construction
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/littleevan99
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littleevan99
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by littleevan99 »

Work, school, and the occasional train meet means working on the Shay's a little difficult! In the last month I've only made a few parts, and started on some others. So here's what I've got:
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These are the pilot beam brackets, and they were a quick afternoon project a few weekends ago.
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These are the brake beams for the Shay, and they were another project that didn't take too long to do. I'm really happy with how they turned out even if they aren't readily seen down in between the frame.

Aside from that I've been working on the queen posts, and I have the plates that mount to the frame finished. All that's left is to add the rod to it with the seat for the truss rod.
1.5" scale CliShay
1.5" scale 2-10-2T
2.5" 36 Ton Shay under construction
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/littleevan99
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Donhost4449
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by Donhost4449 »

Nice to see the progress - thanks for sharing.

~Chris
Building a Fitchburg Northern (build log): www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=107249

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Glenn Brooks
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Hi, nice work! What size materials did you select for the frame?

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

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littleevan99
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by littleevan99 »

The frame is made from 2” x 1/2” channel thats was welded back to back to look like I beam.
1.5" scale CliShay
1.5" scale 2-10-2T
2.5" 36 Ton Shay under construction
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/littleevan99
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littleevan99
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by littleevan99 »

Made a little more progress recently, and finished the queenposts. I figure that the only parts left to make for the frame are the running board brackets, brake beam brackets, and to weld the truck bolster together. Most of the parts re cut out, but not machined and bent yet.
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Here's the bases for the queenposts. The plans say to thread the centers, and initially that's what I had planned on doing.
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However, after cleaning them up I got to thinking that I want to control the length of the queenposts so they're all exactly the same. So, I decided to make the rods to length, and the ends of the queenposts reamed slightly undersized for a press fit. Then I did the same with the bases, and that made lining them up easier.
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This was my one screw up on the queenposts when I tried to machine the 1/8" radius into the ends the lazy way with the square collet holder. I guess I got lucky on the two before this one, and I didn't check to make sure that it was clocked right in the holder. This picture is after I pressed it out of the base, but it goes to show that everything should be double checked between steps.
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Lastly, here's the finished product, and I couldn't be happier with how they came out. Once I get the frame all welded together I figure I'll install the truss rod brackets and the truss rods. I do have one question on the truss rods though, and that is do you just bend the rods by hand until they line up with the brackets? Can't be that easy, right?
1.5" scale CliShay
1.5" scale 2-10-2T
2.5" 36 Ton Shay under construction
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/littleevan99
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littleevan99
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by littleevan99 »

After I got the frame tack welded together the other night something with the Shay that has been nagging me ever since I started working on it started to get going again. I really want to build this with a three cylinder engine instead of the two cylinder engine that I have the castings for. Now I'm not the most mathematically inclined individual, so designing an engine from scratch is not on the table. However, I've think that I've found an engine that would work with some stretching of the frame, and some modification of the engine itself. The engine comes from Locogear, and it's for the Western maryland #6. They also say that it works for the Greenbrier Cheat & Elk RR's #12. That engine had slide valve cylinders, and I like the looks of those a lot better. If I can work things out I'd need to remake my frame with the extra length of the new engine's crankcase factored in, and I would also have to stretch the boiler barrel the length that get's added to the frame too.

Now, as it sits the old frame rails are all that would need to be scrapped to start over, and while it would be another 15 hours of laying out, welding, milling, drilling, and riveting I think the end results would well be worth it. I'm still in the unsure stages of doing this, and I'll need to get all the necessary drawings to factor in all the changes to the chassis that are necessary to make this work out correctly. One factor about the engine will be the steaming capacity of the boiler, and if the new engine will be too taxing on the stock boiler design. Locogear says that the engine they sell has a bore and stroke of 2.125" x 2.25" while Buckwalter's engine has a bore and stroke of 2" x 2.5". I may have to decrease the bore of the Locogear engine to 1.875" if it comes out that it will use too much steam at 2.125", but I don't know yet. This all still a what if at the moment, but a big(to me) B or C class Shay has always been what I really wanted.
1920px-150-Ton-Shay.jpg
What looks like a large engine in 1.5" scale is about around the right size in 2.5" scale to me.
Engine1.jpg
I think that with slide valve cylinders this would look perfect on the Buckwalter Shay with the chassis and boiler stretched to accommodate it. It is also around 2 inches shorter in height than Buckwalter's engine, and that should help to give it a more stubby look to appear more like the 8" x 8" cylinders that 20-24 ton class B Shays had versus the 8" x 12" engines that the class A Shays had.
1.5" scale CliShay
1.5" scale 2-10-2T
2.5" 36 Ton Shay under construction
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/littleevan99
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NP317
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Re: Building My 2.5" 20 Ton Shay

Post by NP317 »

I strongly believe in building what you really dream of.
Go for it!
~RN
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