2-1/2" NG class A shay.

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Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

Hello All,

Yes, It's another Shay build. :P
I am in the process of building a Class A shay from John Buckwalter's plans and castings. It is a two cyl, two truck, 2.5" scale, narrow gauge shay to run on 7.5" track.

The Kelley Island Lime and Transport Co used several of these 20 ton shays. Below is a picture of #31, which I will be using as the prototype for my model. (I like the straight stack and round oil headlight)
kelly_island_lime_n_transport_co_31.jpg
Fictional Prototype History (According to me :lol:)
Most people think that all of the 20 ton class A shays from Kelley Island were scrapped. Very few know that one survived and was bought second hand by the Indian Creek and Quincy Lumber Co. from just outside of Pittsburgh PA. The I.C. & Q. named the little shay "Danielle Marie" after the owner’s wife and numbered it lucky number 7. The little shay worked hard in the thick woods for many years. Its main job was moving logs down, along the creek, to the small saw mill in the little town of Quincy. What happens to the little shay after that is a mystery. It was rumored that the shay worked hauling stone to help rebuild roads around Quincy. Other old timers claimed that it never left the woods, abandoned deep among the trees. Some former workers of the I.C. & Q. claim that when the trees where all cut, they placed the shay in an old abandoned coal mine, preserving it until the company can secure a lease on some new land. But, by the time the lease was finalized, the company replaced the rails with roads and the shay was forgotten. It still sits in the abandoned mine, waiting to be discovered.

Indian Creek and Quincy are the names of two dead end roads from where I grew up. Our house sits between the roads and the roads are surrounded by woods. As a kid, i spend endless hours riding my BMX bike all through those woods...never found a shay though.

Enough of the background, lets start the build thread.
Last edited by Brian Hilgert on Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

I decided to start with the engine. My goal is to get the engine complete and running on air before the end of the summer.

I took the engine base casting and started to true it up. After flipping it and shimming it several times, I got the top and bottom as good as I can get it. Then I flipped it upside-down and machined between the bearing surfaces to clean them up. I machined for the bearing blocks and trued up the ends. Then, I referenced the rod clearance holes and cross head guide mounting holes from the ends. I do not have good pictures of the machining operations but below is the finished base with one of the cross head guides on top. I'll have to find better pictures and update this post at a later date.
IMG_0034.JPG
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Lovesthedrive
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Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Lovesthedrive »

When I was studying Johns prints. I felt zero should be taken from the top of the base plate as his casting was really wonky about trying to get level.
1969 MF 40 Industrial
Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

Lovesthedrive wrote:When I was studying Johns prints. I felt zero should be taken from the top of the base plate as his casting was really wonky about trying to get level.
You are correct, but there is not a lot of extra stock on the casting, I had to "flip" it a couple of times and shim it to make sure I can clean up the casting and still make the overall dimension. Once I was done, the top and bottom where parallel within a 1/2 thou and to the correct size.
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Harold_V
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Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Harold_V »

Brian Hilgert wrote: I had to "flip" it a couple of times and shim it to make sure I can clean up the casting and still make the overall dimension. Once I was done, the top and bottom where parallel within a 1/2 thou and to the correct size.
I like the way you think and talk. You display an excellent understanding of how to manage things of this nature.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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Lovesthedrive
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Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Lovesthedrive »

Harold_V wrote:I like the way you think and talk. You display an excellent understanding of how to manage things of this nature.

Harold
LOL you need to see the casting. The none of the bottom six cast iron legs are close to the same length. The top has a crown in it with a casting line down the middle lengthwise. Its too bad the casting wasnt done as a block, yet the split is for the aesthetics of some oil holes and ribbing on the casting.
1969 MF 40 Industrial
Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

I like the way you think and talk. You display an excellent understanding of how to manage things of this nature.
Thank you very much, I appreciate the comment! :mrgreen:
The none of the bottom six cast iron legs are close to the same length. The top has a crown in it with a casting line down the middle lengthwise.
You are correct. you have to really watch how you machine it so that you can clean up all of the surfaces.

Next I started with the cross head guides. I hope that I can explain my process without pictures. Somehow, I lost half of them. First, I mounted a guide in the milling machine vice and trued up the flat surfaces that run parallel to the bore. Once those surfaces were flat, I mounted the guide to an angle plate, using the milled surfaces as a mounting surface. The top was milled flat and the center of the round area was marked. I center drilled and drilled the six holes for the cylinder. A fixture was made out of a large steel disc. I turned the outside and bored the inside so that I have clearance for when I bore the cross head guides.
IMG_0320.JPG
This fixture was mounted onto the Mill table and was indicated in to find the center. I drilled and tapped the bolt patterns for both sides of the cross head guide with reference to the fixture center. While the fixture was mounted on the mill, I bolted the cross head guide upside down, machined the bottoms and drilled the clearance holes. Next, the fixture was mounted in the lathe with the cross head guide attached, and indicated in to make sure it was running true.
IMG_0029.JPG
The cylindrical area was turned and the steady rest installed.
IMG_0031.JPG
Last critical step was to bore the center
IMG_0035.JPG
Brian Hilgert
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Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

A little more milling, drilling and tapping. It's starting to look like an engine.
IMG_0238.JPG
Brian Hilgert
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Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

On to the Cylinders.

First, I trued up one end in the mill. The casting was squared up as best as possible and the top was fly cut. I did not cut to a specific depth, just enough to clean up the end.
IMG_0234.JPG
Next, The cylinder was mounted into the lathe with the same fixture disc that was used for the cross head guide.
IMG_0323.JPG
The ends were cleaned up and the ID bored. Once one side was complete, I flipped it and cleaned up the other.
IMG_0325.JPG
Brian Hilgert
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

Cutting the ports.
IMG_0360.JPG
Drilling the holes for the steam chest.
IMG_0373.JPG
I faced off the exhaust boss. Since I had the center line of the cylinder established, I was able to cut the boss to a specific value. This way, the bosses on each cylinder will end up on the same plane.
IMG_0374.JPG
Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

Machining of the ends for the steam passages.
IMG_0583.JPG
I made a simple fixture plate out of a piece of scrap aluminum to help hold the cylinders in the mill.
IMG_0717.JPG
The cylinders were set at a 25 deg angle to drill the steam passages.
IMG_0719.JPG
Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: 2-1/2" NG class A shay.

Post by Brian Hilgert »

Turned the cylinder covers,
IMG_0247.JPG
Starting to get big!
IMG_0355.JPG
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