The Home Machinist!

My under construction 'Lister' style gas-mechanical has a central jackshaft with #25 chain coming off the riding mower forward-reverse box, and #35 chains going down to the two axles. I have the chassis together, when I get time, I have to finish modifying the mower power deck...and probably re-buil...

I'm sorry to hear that Rick...

I let my wife talk me into one Wuhan Flu shot and it tore me up so bad for a couple days that I said no more. I did catch the flu, but it only lasted a few days and I've had worse.

Best wishes for your recovery.

Mike

Hi Ken... Aaron Gonthier of the Mill Brook Railroad in Vermont uses SyRen 50 controllers on his 4-wheeled engines, with radio control. He "MU's" them by setting both receivers to the same channel. If he needs to move one separately from the other, he just kills the power to the one he's no...

Colin Edmondson in England uses that drive method on his locomotives. it works fine.

Mike

Hi Mike, I was looking at the flat waggons with the bulkhead ends you have made. I would like to make something similar for maintenance work at our club rather that piling stuff on a passenger car. Can you let me know the general size of them, I gather they are 20” wide and guessing at about 40” lo...

Hi Folks...

In case you ever wondered how Heywood couplers work, here's a little video I put together this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STDMyTAb1F0

Enjoy, Mike

Very Cool. Literally! Looks like that plow might be happy on the front end of your electric power unit! RussN Thanks, Russ... I only plow 75-100 feet to haul the wood, so it's easier to just push it. In general, I try and avoid having to run trains in the snow by stacking a couple weeks' worth of w...

Hi Folks... A couple years ago, I bought one of those plastic wedge sidewalk snowplows from Amazon. I've been using it to help clear the track whenever the snow depth and consistency will allow. Running it with the 'road' wheels outside the rails works OK, but it has a tendency to hop over the ties ...

Glenn, I was surprised to see pillow blocks on a park train. Gives me hope for my flange bearings! Here are some photos I found on line of that “ugly duck” outline. At Sandley's we used pillow blocks, flange bearings, take-up bearings and roller bearing 'cartridges', aside from plain 'anti-friction...

It's called 'sub-purlin' rail. It's intended purpose was as part of roof framing in (usually) steel buildings. In the late '50s, early '60s there were a couple clubs in suburban Chicago using it for rail.

Mike

Pete is making the nameplates for my Erskine Tramway equipment. They are patterned after Sir Arthur's, and a friend in England, made the patterns. 278051916_381625613883392_959308999061884957_n.jpg Here are some of the production plates. The rectangular plates go on the wagon frames, the ovals on th...

When I was asked to specify new ties for the track that washed out at the R&GN several years ago, I specified 4x6x36 ties on 20" centers. That's pretty much what Sir Arthur Heywood used, except his ties were cast Iron.

Mike