I am real pleased with how the cross head and side rods came out. The cross heads are Bachmann big hauler cross heads seriously modified. Only the piston arm and one of the tracks is in place. I sawed of the lower track. then glued in a piece of aluminum square tube into the channel of the upper track. Added some styrene for the sides inside and out and a couple hex rod bolts. Then a piece of aluminum tubing that fits inside the other is ran from the cylinder to the support. The cross head slides nice and free. A bolt holds the rod in place and allows it to pivot. The side rods are made with the bachmann ends and some brass box tube and styrene rectangular rod. Styrene hex for bolts.
I don’t know if you still need any cab interior photos, but here are a couple shots. This is a little 42" gauge, 0-4-0 that runs on the Poway Midland:
In this shot you can get a better idea of how the seat was supported on this particular loco:
Ray that is a miniature loco. Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. aybe some ideas there when the time comes.
The loco is looking good so far Devon
So here it is to date. I have the leaf springs for the front drivers made but not installed. After they get put on I have to tackle the front pilot truck. Then I have to hit the cabThen the plumbing and the linkage between the johnson bar and the steam chests. Then I will work on the Tender and those arch bar trucks. One thing I want to do is a little custom figure of the engineer. He will be a permanent fixture and will likely attach to the cab. I will ut him in before putting on the cab roof.
Nice! 
Cool!
While I should be putting this on hold I can’t help myself. So here is an update. I made the leaf springs for the front drivers.I am going to use some small Styrene channel on each side of the leaf also.
Sorry for the blurry shot but you get the idea.
Also put on the firebox door. Not the way I want it. But I didn’t have as much room to work with as I felt I needed. It is missing the outer ring that would be riveted or bolted to the fire box. But to do that would have made the door itself very small. So I figure this is a OK comprimise. When the rest of the backhead is detailed and the cab is on and there is an egineer in there and it has the tender on is anyone but me going to really notice??? I am happy enough with it.
I think when it is painted black it will also be alot less noticeable.
I also started on the tender because I am impatient. This build what little of it still exists started life as a Bachmann B&O Ten Wheeler. Like the top train here.
I am only using the tank of the original tender. It is shortened about 3 “. I cut it right behind the rim where the light is and moved the back wall forward. I also narrowed it by 7/8” and cut the side boards off. That gave me the rough shape tank for the tender. I shaved some rivets off to make it look more prototypical. I will make an entirely new frame under it and it will have some new higher wood side boards. I left the too boxes on even though they are’t quite right but they are in the righ location and will suffice. This is an Eames break system so no tank. A tool box will replace it on the back and no light. Then there are those Arch Bar trucks to be made. I will take a picture of it soon.
Here is the prototype Tender
More updates. So I have gotten a bit done. First on the list was to make a modification to the side rod attachment. I did not like the plastic pins Bachmann used. The hole was the right size to accept a #6 tap. I threaded them and used #6 1/2" cap crews and nylon washer. I like these alot. More positive attachment and I think look better, more industrial. Should they be painted Silver black?
After that I tackled the pilot truck. Now I looked at some pictures of manufacturers pilot trucks and this is what I came up with. It works but I am not sure I like the looks. Painted black it will be less conspicuous and I will add leaf springs as well. That might make me feel better.
So this uses aparts of the bachmann truck. Do I need the piece going up to the pilot. It is free floating and I put t there thinkin I needed for some reason like carrying weight. But no weight rests on the pilot truck of the model and if I cut that off it will it look better?
Here is the under carriage. This gives you a look at the pilot truck plus all the none sense to get the frame made. The back cover is made from a piece of the Bachmann cover. and I made a little front cover for the front drivers to hold them in place.
Any way there it is so far.
Are you going to run this engine? You’ll probably need weight on the front truck, adding weights is a B’mann fix.
John
John Caughey said:
Are you going to run this engine? You’ll probably need weight on the front truck, adding weights is a B’mann fix.
John
Yeah I do plan to run it and have thought about it. Any ideas how much… ?
It was suggested by another on MLS that the pivot point of this truck should be farther back, as far back as the front driver. So I am scraping this pilot truck for one that is much longer and weighted to give it some down force.
Good, I was going to suggest that too, a longer swing arm, Helps keep the flanges parallel to the rail.
Oh a couple pounds should… hard to say how many ounces, a lot has to do with your track work.
Check some Connie threads they have a similar pilot truck… may be confined by space for weight.
John
John Caughey said:
Good, I was going to suggest that too, a longer swing arm, Helps keep the flanges parallel to the rail.
Oh a couple pounds should… hard to say how many ounces, a lot has to do with your track work.
Check some Connie threads they have a similar pilot truck… may be confined by space for weight.
John
No problem John, only a couple pounds. . . that shouldn’t be to hard to get in there.
…winking…
They say depleted uranium has good density… just sayin’.
Helpful hints dept.
Make a live steamer out of it. nuclear reactor for heat
Glue 1 or 2 1" washers to the pilot t truck, paintem black…voila!
John Caughey said:
Are you going to run this engine? You’ll probably need weight on the front truck, adding weights is a B’mann fix.
John
Devon,
The “weight on the front truck” fix was for the long 4-wheel pilot truck on the 4-6-0. It was very rigid and didn’t track well on bumps. I personally never added weight, I just made it more flexible and it never derailed.
(I could make strong case for flexibility on your front axle. It should be able to rock about the center line of the frame by about 1/16th inch.)
On a 2-6-0, the pilot would help the drivers take the side forces as they hit the curve. Technically the pilot needs a centering spring, so on a curve the outer wheel is helping pull the loco round the bend. In practice, it hardly ever works on our trains, as we don’t have the same weight distribution, flange sizes, etc.
While a couple of washers won’t hurt, a light spring is all you may need on your 2-6-0. maybe not that. I’d try it before you add weight - you can always add some later.