3/4" Scale J1e

[NP317]

There ought to be a law...

Gorgeous.
RussN

[Asteamhead]

Hello Jack,
Indeed both your method and finished parts are perfect!

Asteamhead

[SteveM]

Jack,

One of the things about you that amazes me is how you see the finished product in some machined and assembled concoction.

I would never have thought of your drill, turn, solder and slice method for those flanges.

I would have struggled with turning them out on a rotary table (and been very proud of myself!).

You remind me of the old joke about when they asked Michelangelo how he could do such a sculpture and he said that you just chip away anything that doesn't look like it.

You ought to compile all this in a book.

I want an autographed copy.

Steve

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Thank you FKreider, NP317, Asteamhead, and SteveM, your kind compliments are very much appreciated.
Jack

[Bill Shields]

I HOPE you are not actually planning on building a fire in that beauty....????

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Hi Bill, yes I plan on burning coal. Engines look better when they are sporting a bit of grime, shiny ones don't photograph that well I managed to get in a couple hours on the little Hudson today. I made the lift up access covers on the sides of the cylinder jackets. First a look at the side elevation of the engine, then some scribbles noting the size of the parts and the former that the annealed .020" brass sheet would be formed around. The edges of the guides were folded over the former which was .030". The little doors that slide down into the guides are .020". The fourth photo down shows the guide with the sides folded over. The little ears that prevent the door from going right out the bottom have yet to de formed over. The bottom photo shows the ears tucked under to form the bottom stops. Now the form tool can be removed.

[JBodenmann]

Here is some more, the start on the door. The door finished, and the final photo shows the whole mess stuck to the cylinder jacket. The little door itself measures 3/4" wide and 1/2" tall minus the handle. The guide is just stuck to the cylinder jacket with crazy glue for now. Once I'm sure its in the right place I'll use four #000-120 flathead screws to hold it permanently. I'm not really sure what was behind this door, I assume it had something to do with cylinder lubrication. I'm sure some of my friends out there know. I think I'll make the cylinder and valve head covers next. I'll make up a die and spin them up from some thin copper or brass. I may get them nickel plated even though I'm pretty sure the prototype had painted steel covers. I like the way nickel looks once it goes a bit dull. Too shiny doesn't look right to me. The engine will be painted satin black with certain parts like the cab roof flat black to make details stand out. Finishing is very important part of model building, and also texture. When I built John's 1-1/2" scale J1 I made the fire box wrapper and then took some photos. The wrapper just didn't look right. Something was wrong. Prototype photos showed lots of dents and dings in the wrapper from when it was removed to inspect stay bolts and such. The shop men probably threw it on the floor and piled other perts on it. Then they slammed it back on the engine in a hurry so she could go back into service. So I took John's fire box wrapper or lagging off and just beat the heck out of it, dinged it up, put some creases in it re painted it a slightly different black and put it back on the engine. Took some more photos.....ahh there you go, looks just right now. Well sometimes drastic measures are called for. Get er' done.
Happy Model Building
Jack

[Rwilliams]

Jack,

Lurking behind the sliding door found on the larger later high speed steamers was a steam cylinder lube oil line to supply oil mid stroke of the piston. Often times there was a choke type of valve that could be adjusted as needed for the correct flow of of steam oil. Not very often does one see photos of the full size doors in the open position. Nice detail seldom included on most models. Even better in the smaller scales. Certainly to be expected from your shop.

Long ago an old machinist who had worked at the railroad during late steam told me an interesting story. There was a guy who they knew was drinking on the job but they could never find a bottle on him. One member of the crew noticed that the guy who was suspected of having a bottle hidden was noticed always seeming to have some work to do near the front end of a locomotive that had been in a sideswipe incident. They were waiting for some parts from other areas of the railroad to arrive, which was taking longer than expected as steam was on the decline. The guy realized this engine was not going anywhere for a while and had found a great place to hide his bottle of hooch. One day they saw him raise the sliding sheet metal door and reach inside to grab his bottle, take a quick drink and replace the bottle to its hiding place where he felt it was safe.

Robert

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Thanks Robert, that's about what I thought it was for, but it's nice to have confirmation. Now maybe I should make a miniature bottle of Old Grandad to put inside... No shortage of things to do.
Jack

[Greg_Lewis]

That's not going to work. A 750 ml. (25-oz.) bottle of Scottish cough medicine holds 12 1/2 two-ounce doses. A 3/4-inch scale bottle would only hold 3/4 of a single dose. Clearly, not enough.

[Bill Shields]

heck...fill the boiler with scotch....

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Would that make it a "Scotch" boiler?
Jack