3/4" Scale J1e

[Bill Shields]

no....just a boiler full of scotch....

[BAdams]

I would suggest Try Cocks on the backhead of a boiler full of Scotch - just to check the levels of course

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
What about rule "G"? Us old Bozo's know about that. Do they still call it that?
Jack

[Harold_V]

Hello My Friends
What about rule "G"? Us old Bozo's know about that. Do they still call it that?
Jack

Rule G?
Care to elaborate?

I'm older than dirt and don't have a clue!

H

[LVRR2095]

Hello My Friends
What about rule "G"? Us old Bozo's know about that. Do they still call it that?
Jack

Rule G?
Care to elaborate?

I'm older than dirt and don't have a clue!

H

Harold.....most railroads used a standard form of rule book. This allowed employees to move from road to road without having to learn a new set of rules with each move. Rule G was the rule prohibiting drinking or using intoxicants while subject to duty. That means not only were you prohibited from drinking on duty, but if you were available to be called for work.

Keith

(Retired Lehigh Valley RR engineer and Conrail Road Foreman of Engines

[Harold_V]

Thanks!

H

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here is a bit of an update on the little Hudson. First a photo of the right side smoke box clean out with it's chain. On many modern engines this was eliminated. Often the only vestige of this was a ring of weld where a plug was welded in. It's one of them little details I always liked. Kind of like the lube line access door in the side of the cylinder jacket. Next we have the engine house blower connection. There is one on each side of the smoke box. The outlet to the left will have an elbow and a union going up to a valve with a rod going back to the cab. This allowed the engineer to operate the blower. There is the same set up on the fireman's side. The outlet pointing out to the side was where engine house steam or air could be hooked up to fire a cold engine. The full size fitting had a check valve in it so if the engine was in steam with the blower on you could dis connect the engine house steam line without getting scalded. On my number nine forney this check valve was functional. As these blower connections will be functionalI I thought about adding check valves here on the Hudson but things were just too tiny so you will have to shut off the engines blower before dis connecting the start up air.
On most locomotives the blower valve was in the cab and it operated on saturated steam. On the New York Central J1's the blower used superheated steam so the blower valves were down on the front end. The control rods were part of the clutter that made these engines so cool. There was also a control rod that went to the valve for the air compressors. In the bottom photo we have a start on the ladder steps that went from the running boards to the pilot. The steps will be made from diamond tread. I am getting a quote on 3/4" scale tread material. It will be .040" thick and I will probably be getting 12" x 12" sheets. I think that will be enough for the average 3/4" scale engine. I have been working on a gaggle of 2-1/2" scale brake valves so progress on the Hudson has been a bit slow.
See you in the funny pages...
Jack

[JBodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Had great time in the shop today. It was one of them days when everything just goes right. Believe me they are not all like that. I have been wanting to make the headlamp reflector for some time, so while I was at it, I decided to make a gaggle of them for my friends. In our first photo we have a photo copy of a headlamp reflector, reduced to the proper size for a 3/4" scale headlamp. This drawing is in the 1906 loco cyclopedia. I have used this same parabola profile many times over the years. In the second photo it has been glued to a bit of file folder and cut out with an exacto knife. This will be our template when we start shaping the reflector die. The third photo down shows a bit of round aluminum being abused in the lathe, at this point a round nose lathe bit was being used and it's still pretty rough. The next photo is a first look with the card stock pattern. At this point the die was being massaged with a coarse aluminum file. File a bit, try the pattern, file bit more...you get the picture. The bottom photo shows the die fitting the pattern quite nicely. At this point I was using a very fine file and zooming it with the file card after every cut to get the smoothest surface. Now its time for some abrasive paper, 220, 400, 600, 800, 1200, grit with a lot of water and then some metal polish.

[JBodenmann]

The top photo here shows both halves of the forming die along with an annealed copper disc .030 thick. Also the bulb that will be used. The second photo shows the first try at forming the reflector. As you can see, the copper disc wasn't big enough. It didn't form the lip around the edge. A larger disc was cut out and as you can see in photo #3 this worked better. The next photo shows a reflector being trimmed in the lathe. This trim die is essentially the same as the forming die, except it is the final diameter of the reflector. The bottom photo shows the trimmed reflectors and the bulb holders that will be soldered on.

[JBodenmann]

Now that the bulb holders have been soldered on they can be used to hold the reflector in a collet for polishing as described earlier. Next our gaggle O' reflectors with the dies. Then a reflector with a bulb in place. The bulb fits snugly in the holder and upon final assembly will get a bit of shrink tubing shrunk around the back end. And then we have the little headlamp all lit up. Too much fun! The reflectors will get sent out for nickel plating and then they should really shine. I have not yet figured out how to arrange the bulbs for the number boards, it's starting to get a bit crowded in that tiny little headlamp. But then I do enjoy a puzzle.
Happy Model Building
Jack

[JohnHudak]

Amazing work Jack, can you describe how you made the female die?
John

[Greg_Lewis]

Jack:
For the number boards, take a look at those tiny LEDs that are made to solder onto circuit boards. Some are not much bigger than the point of your pencil.