Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

[highiron999]

Jack, that comment about felling like a dung beetle put a big smile on my face. Will try to join you this weekend. Looks like way too much fun!

Leonard Evans/Highiron999

[James Powell]

I understand the Bowen Island railway had a magazine for dealing with problem rocks. I've never been- I do know that some VIME members got a helo trip over with SkyTrain & a run day, then helo ride back to the big island here. I'm not sure when I will next be in SoCal, I might have a 3 1/2" loco with me. (I will have steam, but the ship is hard to get into the desert...the main engine condenser would probably overtemp before then...amongst other problems !)

James

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here are a couple photos you may like. The weekend at the Acalde & Coalfield went well. The valley division cut is mostly done. After banging away on the Volkswagen sized rock for a couple days with the back hoe despair started to set in. It was like scraping away with my fingernails. Then, finally the rock just gave up, it fell apart into little bits. People sometimes say to me, "you sure are patient". No I'm not, I'm stubborn, and it seems more so than a rock! And occasionally it pays off. So as I said the cut is mostly done, just a bit of fine tuning and grading left, and then on to finishing the fill. Also a bit of a milestone, Andy Romer came up for a visit and he and I put together a test section of high line. We didn't bother to level it properly, we just wanted to slam it together and stand back and have a look. Then a test ride was in order to see how the height was. Everyone had a go and it seemed to be quite a success. So the next order of business will be to finish the grading on the valley division then build the Waushakum style switch to go from the main like to the turntable lead. Then the turntable and a few steaming bays. After that the railway will start at the switch, and let the games begin!
See you in the funny pages..
Jack

[cp4449]

Looking good Jack.

As to the boulder, dynamite works very well.......

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Thanks for the tip about the dynamite Chris. There was a time when you could buy it at the hardware store, nowadays if you were to even ask for it the FBI would be knocking on your door, or perhaps just breaking it down. The Alcalde & Coalfield will be a steam railway, and no steam road would be complete without a turntable for the engine facility. It's raining here in California and not a good time for grading. The valley division cut and fill is 90% done so it was a good time to hole up here in the shop and start the turntable. This first photo shows some pieces of #12 gauge hot rolled that the local steel supplier sheared up. The turntable will be eight feet long as a 3/4" scale Big Boy will just fit on this. A friend has a 3/4" Big Boy, and now he will have no excuse not to come and visit. The turntable will be stuck together mostly with 1/8" steel rivets with a little welding on final assembly. I want the sides to be nice and flat so the welding will only be where the distortion it causes won't show. The second photo shows a drilling fixture being used to drill rivet holes in some 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/8" angle. The last photo here shows the drilled angle clamped to the turntable side sheet and the holes being match drilled. Lots of rivets, I like rivets! Like I said before building this railway is just too much fun. And I have been just salivating to start my turntable. I hope to get a lot done today, and will have some more photos and a line of baloney this evening.
See ya' later alligator.
Jack

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here are a few snappies of progress on the little turntable. Last time we were drilling the side sheets for the top and bottom angles. The top angle is 1" x 1" x 1/8" and the outer bottom angles are 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/8" and the bottom center angles are 1" x 1' x 1/4". The bottom center angles are beefier because they will be riveted to the side sheets with a double staggered row of 3/16" rivets and then bolted down to the center pivot plate. Today a lot of fiddling about was done as the vertical angles were fitted between the top and bottom angles. They were drilled using the drill fixture, and then match drilled to the side sheets. The drill fixture is pretty well hammered, and the holes are all wallered out. It's been used on a few projects over the years. The holes in the fixture were pretty cattywhompus from day one, as this fixture pre dates my current milling machine with it's ultra cool digital readout. It comes from the bad old days of scribes and layout dye. So here is a little sequence about notching the angle to fit. First it is set in place and marked for length. Then over to the band saw for a few cuts. Always use a push stick. I suppose you could do this in the milling machine, but it's just faster to hand jive them using the band saw.

[JBodenmann]

Here is some more. The first is how the vertical angle fits to the horizontals. Then a bit of drilling, and something that looks like a turntable. Everything just held together with clecos at this point. Now it's time to start on the locking mechanism with it's pins, levers, and shafts. The center bulkheads will need some openings for the linkage to fit through. Some bearings will be made and fitted to the side sheets for the operating shafts. Then the top, lots of rivets, some decking, rails, and Alcalde & Coalfield painted in the sides. Too much fun!

[JBodenmann]

And just a couple more for now. This first one is the spider that the whole mess will rotate on. There is another top bearing to be made. As the turntable is only 8 feet long this set up will allow the omission of a pit rail. And the last one is some handles to operate the locking mechanism. That's all for now, see you in the funny pages..
Jack

[JohnHudak]

Jack, The turntable looks amazing, as does the work on the track... I can't wait to see the pics of the first small scale meet at the A&C...
John

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Thank you John. I was hoping to see your B&A tanker running on the high line, but it looks like it will be your K 27. Too much fun! So here is what I have been up to. This morning when I woke up I was in the delightful position of having absolutely nothing I had to do. So I spent the day working on the little turntable. First up is one of the bearings for the cross shafts and operating levers. These will be removable so that the cross shafts can be fished out if needed. In the second photo you can see the cross shaft in place with one of the inside levers that will operate the locking pins. A clevis and rod will link it to the locking pin. Here is a series on how to make a simple clevis black smith style. I suppose I could have machined these from bar stock but this is a quick fun way to bash them out. Here we have a length of 3/16" x 3/4" cold rolled, that is what was laying around, hot rolled would be just fine. It has been center punched and then the end rounded using the disc sander. Then over to the drill press for a 5/16" hole. Then it was warmed up a bit with the oxy acetylene in preparation for bending.

[JBodenmann]

After it was warmed up sufficiently it was knocked about with the hammer. First to 90 degrees, and then after a re heat it was whomped down over a piece of steel the same thickness as the lever it will later fit over. Then laid on it's side and trued up a bit. After a swim in the quench bucket, back to the drill press and the first hole was used to locate the hole in the other side of the clevis, thus making sure they line up.

[JBodenmann]

After drilling, our little clevis was then nipped off the length of bar stock that had functioned as a pretty good handle. Starting with a long piece made it easy to drill, heat, and slam with the hammer. Like so many of the things we make, holding them is often the challenge. Next is the set up for welding our clevis to the end of the locking pin. Just some shims to get the shaft to the right height, a vise grip plier to hold the clevis, and a C clamp to hold the shaft. Then a good blast with the MIG welder and Bob's your uncle! So now that we have welded another handle on, it's time to zoom the side of the clevis that we had previously band sawn. Using the disc sander it was nicely rounded to match the side we had sanded before drilling and forming. And now here is our quick and simple clevis after being abused with the wire wheel. Pretty much indestructible! And this last photo shows the clevis and lock pin in place. It fits through the end plate and bulkhead. Steel bushings were welded in the end plates and bulkheads so things would wear a bit better. A good squirt of way lube each spring should do the trick for lubrication. Aside from a few nuts, bolts, and rivets, the turntable will be entirely bar and sheet stock "makin stuff". Tomorrow I will finish up the operating handles, linkage, and over center spring mechanism for the locking pins. Also some railroady looking grab iron handles and then start slamming rivets.
Get R' Done!
Jack