The Home Machinist!

Hello Hubert, That imperial to metric scale ratio has me confused too! I believe that is where some of the strange gauge to scale situations had their beginnings. For instance, I am also involved somewhat with Gauge 1 models. In the UK, 10mm = 1' scale is common, resulting in oversize models for the...

Hello Hubert, One tiny correction. Here in the northeast US we don't use 5" gauge. Five inch gauge is used in the UK and I believe also places such as Australia, New Zealand and S. Africa, but they are usually built to the scale of 1-1/16" equals one foot. Here in N. America, we use a scal...

http://www.loco-nameplates.com/modelengineers.html

Diane Carney in the UK makes beautiful etched brass builders plates. She has made N. American plates as well as British.

Keith

Another good choice for a first locomotive would be the RARITAN, designed by the late Bill Morewood and now available from Tanski Model Engineering in Eden, New York. Try to find somebody who has already built a locomotive to be your mentor. Aside from machining to a dimension, you need to know what...

Interestingly, the drawings received were glued to hardboard, a practice I had not seen before. I always paste all of my drawings to poster board. They don't curl up on you, and you can clip them with a spring paper clip to the wall in the shop. This also keeps the edges from fraying. H.J. Coventry...

Dave, pressure maintaining is a feature of the brake valve and is seperate from the double heading cock. All a "Rotair" valve does is to set the locomotive's brakes to trail, so the leading locomotive controls all of the train's brakes, including the trailing locomotive. It also, when in &...

What is a K-4A rotair valve Dave, basically it is a "double heading cock." Technically a "Rotair" valve sets up the locomotives brakes for either leading or trailing, but it was also used to set the brake for passenger use with a graduated release, or freight with a direct relea...

Here is the home page of the group doing the restoration.
Even if you aren't building a model of this locomotive or tender, it is a really neat project and they are doing a fabulous job.
Keith
http://jerseycentral113.com/

Check this page out. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoPicture.aspx?id=54286 It covers the restoration of Jersey Central RR No. 113 at Minersville, PA. The loco is not quite a USRA, as it has a Wooten firebox, but the tender looks very much like what you want. I'm sure they have some drawings ava...

Joe, Whose impressive CNJ Camelback is that? Bob Hi Bob, I can't tell you which CNJ Center Cab that is, other than it is one of the ones designed by Dave Sclavi. I believe Dave built either three or four of them, and Hugh Wachter, from the Atlantic City area, built one at the same time. I believe t...

Just be careful when burning free wood, to be sure to NOT EVER burn pressure treated wood. The fumes are poisonous.
Keith

I've seen plenty of coal fired house furnaces that have a continuous feed using rice coal, a mesh belt is slowly fed through the firebox, with a hopper feed on the inlet side and as the belt leaves the other side, the ash is dumped. Some pellet stoves have a similar system. I doubt many people have ...