Large Scale Central

Trying to figure out the Scale?

Other Scales
#41

Sorry guys, got the other pictures posted, as to their address, but I can’t seem to make them show or get it posted the right way.

Gary, we run this style engine at the Finger Lakes Live Steamers in upstate New York, Eagle Point Railroad in Dunlap, Tn. and the Ridge Live Steamers in Dundee, Fl. There is a track 4 hours north, near Chicago, and 2 hours west on the other side of St. Louis. Most tracks are 7.5 inches between the rail, but in the northeast, they are 7.25 between the rail. As Ken says, right now its setup for 7.5, but plan to make the wheels adjustable on the axles so they could be set for 7.25 and maybe all the way to 12 inch. Its all a work in progress and my final goal is to put a body around it like Pete’s Trams or Steam Dummies.

#42

#43

Well that sure is cool no matter what scale!!! Thanks for the pics.

#44

In person it looks like something Rube Goldberg put together…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#45

Rube Goldburg sure has gotten a bad rap over the years. I wonder if he was trying to understand how a steam engine works and get it to go down the track. I have no idea who originally built this thing and when I originaly saw it, I walked away thinking “Wow, what a mess”. I made a ridiculous low ball offer for it and it was accepted. If it never goes down the track, I have still learned a lot and had a lot of fun.

#46

I admire Rube and his drawings/creations.

#47

Word on the street is Rube was the illegitimate son of Seth Wilmarth

#48

Want to have an enjoyable waste of an hour or two? Google “Rube Goldberg”.

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This has wondered from the original intent of the Topic? Anyone able to come up with a better idea of scale? I’m actually beginning to think 1/2 scale and a full size engine running on 15 inch track for an industrial purpose.

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Your thoughts?

#49

13 August, 2019 - Lots has happened on this project over the last couple months.

Memorial Day Weekend, it had a fire in the boiler for the first time and made LOTS of steam. Once again, learned a lot. First - the “Pop Valves” didn’t lift at 120 and 125 lbs. Got the pressure gauge up to 140 lbs, when I shut off the propane and let it cool (so much easier than coal). Lots of leaks and mis-design of some plumbing. Back to the drawing board.

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At Finger Lakes Live Steamers, I was able to measure the axle to axle length of the “Tram” against Bob Wattecamp’s H-10. Axle to axle on the Tram - 34 inches. Axle of Number 1 driver to axle of Number 4 driver on the H-10 28 inches. Driver’s 2 and 3 are blind, so the comparison is fairly comparable. Back to the drawing board. Planning to move the driving wheels closer together and add a trailing truck, so the Tram will become a 0-4-4, with brakes on trailing truck.

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Also working with an FLLS member, Tim Guenther, on his 1.5 inch model of the Accucraft 2 cylinder T boiler Shay, I realized how accessable

all of the engine appliances and check valves are. Note, first paragraph has the mention of many leaks. Took two days to repair just the axle pump on the Tram. Lots of unrelated plumbing tear down and rebuild, just to try and repair leak. Its back together, but still don’t know if leak is fixed. Abandoning this pump for a steam injector and steam pump, donated from the “Crab”.

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What scale is it? At FLLS, I was able to acquire a roof and riding car in 3.75" Scale, so that’s a reference of what it can or will be. Roof is coming from a “RMI Nellie Inspection Car”.

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https://www.rmirailworks.com/Nellie-Inspection-Car.asp#.XVK-fnt7nv8

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Yes, its 3.75" scale, but another RMI chassis is 20 inches wide and so is the “Tram”, so we may follow that. Roof and parts of the “Nellie” were too big to bring it all home with other stuff, this trip. Will get parts to Carlyle, after the September Open House at FLLS.

#50

Different but reminds me a bit of the Maxitrak Chaloner in 2.5" scale. 7.25 or more correctly 7.5" (as you mentioned depends on region) guage track at 2.5" scale is used to represent 3ft narrow gauge equipment. Been eyeing this stuff for years. Got the room (40 acres) but the cost of the stuff is out of my pocket book though some of the Maxitrak imported by Accucraft is getting close.

#51

Ric Golding said:

Want to have an enjoyable waste of an hour or two? Google “Rube Goldberg”.

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This has wondered from the original intent of the Topic? Anyone able to come up with a better idea of scale? I’m actually beginning to think 1/2 scale and a full size engine running on 15 inch track for an industrial purpose.

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Your thoughts?

My thoughts are if you want to waste more than an hour or two? Google “Seth Wilmarth”

#52

25 August, 2019 - Been working on the suspension and distance between the drive axle problem. Everything I do is reflected/aggrivated by a frame that is not true. Time to “fish or cut bait”. After the testing proved that the principal of the boiler and “Coke Bottle” engine is sound, we are going to use a different frame and wheel set. This gets the weight closer to the ground and shortens the wheel base to a proven dimension, that is quite popular and used extensively on the “Conner Beam” vertical boiler “Grasshopper”. I already own this frame and wheel set, so much of the work is done. It also fits into the bed of the pickup with the other equipment, so is easier, and is a more manageable size. Scale equals 2.5 inches to 1 foot.

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A major item I’ve learned this Summer is to have check valves be very easy to access and don’t let poor appliances, like old axle pumps and poor plumbing designs control the project. In a way it feels like a step back, but in reality this is a giant move forward as ideas become solidified. Nothing to see in pictures right now, however stay tuned.

#53

19 November, 2019 - Rail Buggy works, we are back in Carlyle for Thanksgiving, ride on scale work bench(motorcycle lift) is empty and time to advance another project forward. First job - grind the old boiler mounts off the boiler and prep the boiler surface for the new mounts. That got done today. Next step, cut and prep new mounts to be welded to the boiler. They got cut and I’ll try to grind them smooth, plus drill the holes for mounting in the next couple of days. In the mean time, everything is moved, scootched, slid and proded in to place on the Conner Beam frame. Are we starting over? Nah, just starting a new semester. I’ll get a new picture posted.

#54

http://largescalecentral.com/filesharing/file/view/14476/19111901tram-jpg

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Its just more fun every time.(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#55

So the picture is of the boiler from the Tram and the single cylinder marine engine, “naked” of all the plumbing and apparel. Motor mounts are sitting in place and unattached. The frame and wheels are a Conner Beam project purchased in Semester 2. That was 2016, man have I learned a lot since then. I think its time to end this post and begin a new one dedicated to “The Assembly of Mariner”. Hope to be working on this down at Ridge this Winter.

#56