Best Of SP&S 4-4-2 Atlantic project

[peteski]

SWEET!

[mmagliaro]

Thank you, guys, for the nice compliments.  I do really appreciate it.
And I also really appreciate the criticism.   Each little thing that another pair of eyes notices helps me make it a better model.

The coil spring... ha ha ha!   Forgot about the FIREBOX!!!    The firebox is supposed to go down below the walkway, and back under
the cab, so the lower left and right sides of it
fill up that space between the top of the trailing truck and the bottom of the cab.

 I'm making up two styrene strips with rows of rivets on them to fill up that space.  Then you won't see the spring anymore.

[Lemosteam]

Max, Now you're talkin'.  It really looks great.  Would love to see a YT vid showing your exquisite linkage in motion.  I wanna see that up close! 

Dang.  After this Peteski is gonna make me redo my minitrix linakge on my Decapod to L1 conversion! (I will not etch new linkage)  I think you knocked these out of the park, and I don't think I'm capable without etching them.

Did you find a boiler mounting solution?

[mmagliaro]

Here's the boiler mount I decided to use.  It's simple and run-of-the-mill, but it works.  I'm tickled and amazed that the screw can go right through the dome and into that wire-mounting screw on the frame.
By the way, you can click on the lower 3 images to see them in high-resolution.









And here is the engine with the new GHQ tender truck sideframes on it, and the firebox sides under the cab, which hide the trailing truck spring.

[mmagliaro]

Here's the video of the valve gear in operation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21HATZk2Uws

[Lemosteam]

Max, I'm awestruck, one that the mech works so well, second that you took the time to make that video.  Sorry I was so blunt on the spring thing.  I did not mean to come across insulting, especially knowing the loco is still a work in progress.  The firebox sides really finish up the underside nicely.

[mmagliaro]

John,
I didn't think you were harsh at all, so fear not.  Pointing out the spring is what made me realize the
firebox sides were missing, and I'm really glad you mentioned it!

The video only took 10 minutes to do, so it didn't put me out any.   Remember, a big part of why it works so well is that beast
of a motor/gearhead I've got in there.    That thing has always made this model run great.  Rivarossi gears are 15:1.
With the gearhead, I have 60:1, which is just perfect for high torque without losing too much high-end speed.

I did like your magnet idea for mounting the boiler.  But in the end, I decided that even with neodymium magnets, I wasn't
sure I could mount them in a way that would keep the boiler locked down in the same way every time, with good
positive pressure on my LED headlight spring contacts.    The screw looked like a better way to go.  I wasn't
sure I could make the screw work, because I couldn't see a place near the middle to put it, but then
soldering the nut on top of the screw so it could do double-duty solved that problem.   And luckily, that spot goes up through a
dome where I can hide it.

By the way, making all these valve gear parts so that they work smoothly isn't the hard part.   Making them so they look
good and don't come apart is the hard part.  Unless the joints are really bad or the rods somehow jam against each other,
there really isn't much mechanical friction added by the home-made parts.  Like any model steamer, they all just float
along for the ride; they aren't actually doing anything.  The trick was cutting pieces that small, with holes drilled in each end,
and filing them so they has a bit of "dogbone" shape.    Not easy.  I definitely made each one several times before I got
them right without ruining them.  The shortest linkages are bits from the Gold Medal Models steam loco set (the
coupler lift links).   The tough parts were the longer links I had to make, and that curved radius rod with
the slot in it: that one is brutal.

[mmagliaro]

Latest update.  Got all the "appliances" on.  Piping and handrails will be the next phase.
(click to zoom them up bigger)

[superturbine]

Those hangers make a huge difference in fine pipe work.  Engine looks great!


While I came up with the idea of the hangers thanks goes to Gold Medal Models for the final product.

[peteski]

Those hangers make a huge difference in fine pipe work.  Engine looks great!

While I came up with the idea of the hangers thanks goes to Gold Medal Models for the final product.

Superturbine, I PM'd you a while back with my address but I never received any of those hangers you promised. I didn't even get a reply to that PM. I'm willing to pay for them!   

Max, the pilot wheel faces look 1000% better now that the axle is protruding a bit.  Good job!

[mmagliaro]

Superturbine, I PM'd you a while back with my address but I never received any of those hangers you promised. I didn't even get a reply to that PM. I'm willing to pay for them!   

Max, the pilot wheel faces look 1000% better now that the axle is protruding a bit.  Good job!

Thanks, Peteski.    And of course, they are not all that hard to do.  Hold the wheelset in some needlenose pliers, use
a Dremel cut-off disk to slice off the pointed axle tip, and then then run the flat of the disk against the end to
take it down as far as you want.  It just leaves a nice flat, round, centered "hub" on there.  It's easier to do that
than to dish the whole thing out like I originally did.

[Chris333]

Outstanding work!

[Lemosteam]

Max, WOW!!!  That is looking so nice and those pipe hangers are awesome. 

If you look really close at the proto photo you will see flat triangular support ribs under the center of each step.  Hard to see but I don't think any thickness of end-welded material cantilevered that far out could support the weight of a human without a brace so I'm pretty sure that they are there.

On the proto, do you know what that housing is at the base of the stack?  It looks like it has a hinge in front for cleaning or something?

That GHQ etching fret is great for so many things!

Can't wait to see the next installment.

[mmagliaro]

Thank you, folks!   You are kind.

John, to address your two questions, I don't think there are any supports under those steps.
Here is an ultra-close-up.  You can click to zoom this way up.   There is nothing under that step.
I think in the other photo, it may just be a shadow.  OR it could be that some of them were modified.
I have many photographs of these 10 engines, and they went through a myriad of haphazard
changes over the years.  The only thing that is consistent is that they all got Delta trailing trucks, steel-tube
pilots, and solid cast pilot wheels in the 1920s and 30s.  Other than that, they had diffrerent headlights, all sorts
of different appliance positions, a zillion different tenders, etc.

The second photo (below) addresses your question about the stack.  I don't know what that thing is that appears
to be maybe a "hinge" on the front of the stack in my earlier photo, but it's not typical.  All the ones I can find
with any close-up clarity show only a bolt-on flange ring, as shown below.
(I've been thinking about adding that, but it would be pretty absurdly small.  I suppose 2 tiny loops of #30 wire wrap
wire would be about right, and forget the bolt detail.

[Lemosteam]

Well Max, shake me and call me an idiot!!     I can guarantee my fat A$$ would bend that sucker in half if I stepped on it!    I figured you had more pics. but those must have been shadows on your original proto photo.  It really is looking great.