I agree. Some bigger “steam” locos for “park railways,” which run on battery or gas, maybe put on the linkage rods, but just don’t bother with the drive rods or valve gearing. And the public doesn’t even notice.
[edit]
Sheesh just don’t go diesel! Fer cryin’ our loud…
Day 12: Typing Without a Computer
I am using my phone, as my computer is in the shop. I may be unusually brief as a consequence.
@PeterT , below are pictures of the pusto rods all the way forward
They impinge on the inside front of the cylinder and will need shortening.
I bought some L-brackets to serve as a possible guide.
I could glue these to a bit of wood then glue that to the underside of the deck. I considered cotter pins, but I am not sure I could mount them securely to the chassis.
In the meantime, the cab went back to the paint shop. I plan to mount the boiler and cab to the upper deck this weekend. I can work on that separately from the chassis. Worst case, I will just leave the side rods and imagine the rest.
Eric
It’s missing the crossheads and guide rails. Short of some serious kit bashing one other alternative might be to soldier the piston rod to the push rod in a straight line and let it enter the cylinder like a Mamod locomotive.
Vic,
That is sort of how the actual LGB m2075 battery locos work. Given we’ve got two weeks left, I think side rods alone will have to do.
This decision got a boost today, as I had horrific luck trying to mount boiler and cab to deck. I thought it would be a simple matter of line it up…
Time is running short, and, after an auspicious start, I am now behind…
Eric
I bought some time ago a cheap belt/disk sander from Harbor Freight, comes really handy for sanding down nasty uneven surfaces like that.
15 minutes here and there to fix the paint and start adding some painted details…
I also cut out my safety rails. Other than that, not much progress. If I can get the safety rails and deck on by this weekend, I will have about two weeks to have fun detailing this little guy out. I may putter with the rods a bit, but I think they will be a bridge too far.
Eric
considering the starting point and the hurdles you are trying to overcome I have to say this is still coming along nicely.
Thanks, Devon. I really underestimated what it would take to get all these disparate bits to work together. Were I to do this again, I would have tried to find some way to solder or weld all the metal bits together, to include sheets for the lower half of the cab. Live and learn!
Eric
Eric, That is what these challenges are for… To learn from mistakes or to overcome a hurdle… I am watching from the sidelines again… Your locomotive is looking great!!. Keep up the good work… Travis
Update: Day Whatever….
Thanks, Travis (@General1861 ), for your reminder about learning from mistakes! There is so much truth to that statement, and I cannot tell you how many mistakes I’ve made on the Triple O have led to me avoiding the same ones in 1:1 life!
This weekend I set the goal of having this little thing built. There are so many niggling things with which I could fiddle and which grated at me, but I had to move forward.
The 1:24 shop crew added some L-girders…
…to serve as a brace against which I could glue and set the cab.
The paint shop re-added the rose that graces the steam dome…
…while the pipefitters dressed up the cab interior a bit.
The wires feed to a light up front, and the battery clip will fit under the coal load in the LGB tender.
If you can’t tell from the foreman’s posture, I forgot to check to see if the bulb still works. Good thing the lamp is removable!
Multiple shops worked together to find scrap for the decking and to install it around the deck.
The paint shop took to using modeling putty to begin transforming one of those twist-on electrical connectors into a bell.
We tapped the holes for the safety rails and installed them.
This passed Kid-zilla’s inspection!
He declared it looked a bit like a cross between a STAINZ and an LGB Tram. Yes, it does.
I decided to leave making all the rods work to a future version of me with the time, patience, and skills. Per @PeterT 's suggestion, I took a bit of wire and soldered it to the pin to hold the connecting rod in place.
Then I lashed both drive rods to the connecting rods for Future Me to deal to properly install sometime in the future or somewhere else in the multi-verse.
I have done enough theater, major coral works, and band concerts over the years to know that at some point you just have to run the show. In model building, it is the same. At some point, you need to put it together to see how it is all fitting. So, with a contract crane and two part epoxy, we fitted the cab and boiler to the chassis.
Finally it was off to the tracks to see how she looks.
CINCHOUSE declared it “cute.” Kid-zilla gave it an 0-5-0 test.
There is touch up painting and the like to do, but I think I can bring this project into port.
Eric
Ha! The 0-5-0 test. 
The lil loco is looking good. The safety rails came out really nice.
You have an army of the playmobil guys and no doubt they would overwhelm my “blue crew” if they were to meet. 
That came out to be a great looking little loco. Has that back shop feel.
I have a two sections of 1:24 Napoleons and a full squadron of the 7th Cavalry, so yeah! I think I have about 200 Wild West dudes that my brother and I played with in the '70s and ‘80s (augmented by a few more when all four kids were into PLAYMOBIL), and the kids all collected 20-50 figures each from themes that interested them. The girls’ figures, alas, have become decorations on their shelves, and O.S.'s only get moved when he needs to vacuum. Time, tide, and formation wait for no one…
Speaking of not waiting, neither does the MIK! Since Sunday, Kid-zilla and I figured out the headlamp worked, but I will have to use a 9 V batter. THat will be post-MIK! I have been taking my time to fix some painting errors.
There were actually fewer goofs than I anticipated. Yay, me!
The last bit of paint, or stain, rather went on just before sundown.
That bit of red aft of the forward coupler was a hitherto fore unseen broken bit from the chassis’ previous life.
I have a pair of tongue depressors painted yellow. Somewhere on LSC, I recently read about someone using his CRICUT to make masking tape masks for lettering. I’ll cut out “O.O. & O.” then paint on the green. These will get mounted to the safety rails. After that, I have to number this little thing and add some safety chains and the like. Now, if the tender successfully pushes this little thing around the Triple O, I will be especially happy!
Finish strong, everyone!
Eric
That came out great and very much in the Spirit of MIK. You started with a pretty rough piece from your scrap bin and made a neat little loco.
Update…
I realized that the 1:24 guys couldn’t actually board the inspection platform, so I cut out a bit of the safety rails and added a simple stirrup ladder.
The former twist on electrical connector sitting on the deck came back from the foundry as a credible bell.
Meanwhile, the paint shop used the CRICUT cut stencils for the signboards.
They’ll get some green paint before being cut to size. I did seal them behind another coat of yellow.
I didn’t have time to cut the letters for the loco number and name. That can wait until tomorrow. With those in place, I can add some safety chains forward of the smokebox, mount the bell, and find / fashion a whistle.
Photo finish, but I am going to bring this one over the line!
Eric
I decided that today was the day to bring this project to completion. Mostly, this was a matter of touch up paint and CRICUT work. Before that, though, the 1:24 lads and I added some safety chains.
Then, due to small size and poor font choice, I spent some time with the painter trying to get the numbers and letters on the cab. Many of the numbers “3” are composites, requiring bits and pieces from multiple cuts. A blockier script might have obviated that. The project that provided the parts for this mike bore the number “3.” Kid-zilla and I thought that this effort to see the original craftsman’s vision through should also bear that number in his or her honor.
I learned my lesson, and I raised the font size for the name, Loke Ihi / Climbing Rose, which made things a bit easier.
Close enough for jazz…I really should try to learn to use the decal sheet I bought last year, as it would have made this much easier and cleaner!
Next, the gang and I pulled the mask off the sign boards and made them fast to the safety rails with bits of wire I salvaged by burning the plastic off of twist ties.
This was a neat technique, and I wish I could credit the LSC member that mentioned it! It is clean enough to look like you tried, but “sloppy” enough to look rustic on wood.
At some point I mounted my bell, using a small eye-screw and a bit of piano wire. I couldn’t drill throug the metal cab walls, so I just glued it to the wall under the lip of the roof. It’s a bit close to the back of the window frame, unfortunately.
Finally, I took it Loke Ihi to the rails. She actually looks pretty good!
CINCHOUSE said that the imperfections and bends and twists actually add to Loke Ihi’s appeal, and, while some of those issues still trouble me, I tend to agree. Still, looks right and runs right are two different things. I was really afraid that the powered tender would ride over the coupler.
Video: Loke Ihi’s Maiden Run
Dirty track aside, an underused powered tender, a failed repower project, and someone else’s abandoned attempt to convert a potter or candy jar into a train now serve the 1:24-ish PLAYMOBIL scale world of the Triple O!
This was a challenging project, as I had a vision to see through that my parts on hand and their composite materials did not necessarily support! The most critical mistake, I think, was not affixing the boiler to the cab at the outset. This would have mitigated later alignment issues. It might also have forced me to try to solder to the metal core components. Puttering with the rods took up time that led to sequencing errors, which, in turn led to painting errors.
Still, there was a lot of good learning and, as ever, the pressures of the MIK forced me to make material and technique choices I might never have tried. In the end, from a distance, I do think Loke Ihi looks like she might have rolled from the shops in Nuernberg in LGB’s heyday when that venerable company and PLAYMOBIL partnered to make trains fun.
Beauty shots to follow, but, I am calling this one “Pau!”
Eric
While the other Mueller teams work on their finishing details, I have decided to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my superior time management skills.
Here’s to @Dave_Taylor for hosting another Mik!
Thanks for keeping this madness going! On to more large scale adventures!
Eric
That is a neat little loco. I do like the looks of back woods, backshop locos and this is a great little one. And the fact that you started with someone else’s pretty rough model and made it work is commendable.
Thanks, Devon. The tender can ride up over the loco’s coupler on uneven track, but otherwise this runs pretty well. I considered weathering it up, but then Loke Ihi would look out of place on our proto-fantasy take on railroading in Hawaii. We live in a place of bright colors, and the railroad, in our opinion, should be part of that visual palette. There were a few homemade gas mechanicals and shop-built steamers out here, so Loke Ihi’s creation follows prototypical practices!
The observation decks will make staging this little loco a blast. Stand by!
Eric
Eric, you really hit it out of the park - again! You and all of Team Meuller!
Cliff
PS, not to make it a big deal, but did anyone ever mention that you have girly feet?
