Best Of The Stephenson Rocket

[NtheBasement]

Very cool, you've gotta be pleased.  I would have gone nuts long ago.

Could you get some place to make the printed parts out of sintered metal?  That would add a few grams.

[peteski]

WOW!

[NDave]

Oh yeah... the speed range is very good.  Top end  is barely 20 mph.  I have been working on it since I took this video.
I can run it under 5 mph.  The pickup is the killer.  If I can get some more weight into the boiler, I think I will be able to
make it crawl without it stalling for lack of more pickup.

Don't know that you could fashion engineer and fireman from tungsten... but lead should be possible. Engineer on the rear platform of the loco, fireman on the tender. Might help put just a little more weight on the wheels... Maybe even a couple railroad execs in top hats along for a ride-along, sitting on the water barrel of the tender.

[TVRR]

That is the most amazing thing that I've ever seen in a small (tiny) loco. Your abilities and ingenuity continue to astound!

[Angus Shops]

And it looks fabulous as well. Amazing work. Not surprised in the least given the builder.

[glakedylan]

yes . . . wow! wonderful.

sincerely
Gary

[nkalanaga]

Beautiful.  Another reminder of 50 years ago, when the "experts" said N scale would never be a true "modeler's scale".  At least some of those experts have lived to see how wrong they were!

Carter: I have a "very pointed and short handled shovel" in my Chevy Aveo, in case I need to shovel it out in the winter.  It was sold as an "entrenching tool", but would work fine for a job like firing the Rocket.  It might be three feet long, with a "loop" handle, and the blade is 6 to 8 inches wide.

Yes, a few winters back, I did use it, coming home from work.  I hit a slick spot on an overpass, at about 20 mph, and slid into the plowed snow against the side of the bridge.  No damage, and not really stuck, but the road was too slick to get enough traction to power out.  The right front wheel was stuck, and the left just spun.  That little shovel worked fine, and I doubt a bigger one would have been any better, in the confined space under the car.

[peteski]

Beautiful.  Another reminder of 50 years ago, when the "experts" said N scale would never be a true "modeler's scale".  At least some of those experts have lived to see how wrong they were!

Eh, those "experts" would still turn their nose ad Max's wonderful miniatures.  They would probably say that all the fine details are too small to see.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Just a quick update.

It runs!
https://youtu.be/9MXj4WUvGT4

I am working on it to make the motion more uniform and the pickup more reliable.  But this is one hurdle.
And as shown in the video, it is quite capable of pulling (pushing) the two coaches I bought for it.

Yeah, I had to cheat with that coal load, but there will have to be compromises simply dictated by the sheer tiny size of this thing.

Holy *****.

[mmagliaro]

Holy *****.

LOL!  I said that many times while I've been working on it.... without the "Holy" part. 

My only regret is that the shells are Shapeways plastic.  Not gonna lie.  I'm no fan.  It's brittle, and compared to
brass or injection styrene, it's miserable stuff to work with. 

[nkalanaga]

"They would probably say that all the fine details are too small to see."
That's what magnifying glasses and cameras are for!

Like the On3 modeler years ago that carved a sink plug from a pencil eraser for his caboose, when nobody could see inside, except through the windows?  Great modeling, but, really, what's the point?  It doesn't run any better, and it can't be seen.

But HE knows it's there, which is all that really matters.  Better than the person who finished his stock car with a chunk of real sheep manure!

[Maletrain]

"They would probably say that all the fine details are too small to see."
That's what magnifying glasses and cameras are for!

Like the On3 modeler years ago that carved a sink plug from a pencil eraser for his caboose, when nobody could see inside, except through the windows?  Great modeling, but, really, what's the point?  It doesn't run any better, and it can't be seen.

But HE knows it's there, which is all that really matters.  Better than the person who finished his stock car with a chunk of real sheep manure!

Reminds me of the 1960s vintage "lady in the shower" that Walthers used to sell for its HO passenger car interiors. If you aren't even supposed to see it, why model it?

But, I can still see rivets and wire grabs on N scale cars (when I have my glasses on, anyway).  I may not notice the molded on stuff in a train passing by at speed.  But, when switching, I even notice the parts that I have broken, already. 

[SD452XR]

When are you putting a sound decoder in there?  Amazing job

[peteski]

"They would probably say that all the fine details are too small to see."
That's what magnifying glasses and cameras are for!

My point was that those old larger-scale curmudgeons will never recognize N scale as anything but a toy scale. Even if shown models like what Max builds, they will find an excuse to dismiss them.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski: True, unfortunate, but true.  There are those with unchangeable biases in every field.