# Blue Comet Build



## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

This time, I will be building two engines. I started with just one but was talked into doing another at the NSS.

The Blue Comet was run by the Central New Jersey Railroad (CNJ) for high speed passenger service.
It was a G3 Pacific painted blue with matching blue and cream Heavy Weight cars

There are no color photos, just black & white and a color painting to go by.

Several models were made of the engine but none have every component corrrect (like the spoke pilot wheels, valve gear, etc.)

Aristocraft made a 1/29 scale engine and cars. Although the engine was just a generic Pacific painted blue, the cars are for the most part correct, even the interiors.

So, I will be making my models in 1/29 to pull the Aristo cars.

Here is the painting










And a photo









And the drawings










*ONE THING I AM NOT SURE ABOUT IS ABOVE THE FRONT DRIVER IS SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A WORTHINGTON FEED WATER HEATER BUT IT HAS AN ELESCO WATER HEATER IN FRONT OF THE SMOKE BOX. COULD THAT BE THE PUMP PART OF THE FEED WATER SYSTEM ?*

I ordered the wheels a couple of weeks ago and they came in Monday
They are castings from Walsall

The castings come with a step where the flange would be so I mount the wheel in the lathe with the outside jaws on the tread surface and trim off the back till I get to the spokes. I also drill the axle hole at this time.










I then mount it on my home made arbor and face the front of the rim to .233".










Then with a different tool, I rough out the tread which will be finished at Dennis' house with a plunge cut tool.










Finally on the outside jaws again, the hub is trimmed to .250"


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## rbednarik (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill,


Will look forward to the progress on this one. As a native of NJ, it is always exciting to see "The Seashore's Finest Train" getting some recognition. 

Incidentally colours are generally reported as; Packard Blue (body), Ultramarine Blue (roof) and Cream (coaches only). This was to represent the sea, sky and sand so reminiscent of the Jersey Shore. 


The pump you are questioning above the front driver is indeed the feedwater pump for the Elesco feedwater heater.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Great
Thanks
So the Ultramarine blue was on the roof of the engine?
Somewhere I read that the wheels were a darker blue but it was only in passing. Is Ultramarine darker than Packard?
Do you know anything about that?


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

The cylinders scale out to 1-1/8" outside. I don't have access to 1-1/8" stock so I take 1-1/4 and trim it to shape on the table saw using the metal cutting blade and the rip fence










Then I round off one corner on the router table









I cut the cylinders slightly over length on the table saw









And trim them to final length on the four jaw chuck. I then bore them out to .750"










On the mill using the circle drilling function of the DRO, I drill the head bolt holes.









The underside of the cross port plate is milled out with 1/16" by .080 deep ports ans a 3/32" port for the exhaust









Then the top side is done with a 1/16" end mill









The valve body is milled out with a 1/8" two flute end mill taking .050 cuts at a time









And here are the cylinder parts for the two engines


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## rbednarik (Jan 2, 2008)

Fantastic metalwork as usual Bill. Nice port sizing. What size are the passages from the end of the cross-port plate down to the ends of the cylinder? Look like 3/32" ovals from the photos


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

yes 3/32


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## virgal (Sep 25, 2009)

Bille

a couple of tips for you.

this book is very helpful. should not be without it.

https://www.amazon.com/Seashores-Fi...preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch


the device you mentioned is a feedwater heater pump. I drew up the plans years ago with the help of an engineer from steam town.
























These colors are very close to what you need.












Alan
_THE GAL LINE_


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks Virgal
I will probably use your drawing when it comes time to make the water pump


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill, I have that book already on order from last week and will be delivered by this weekend I think. You will need a higher res copy of that drawing posted. It wont scale to what you need to make.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

The cylinders have side covers and head covers.
The head covers are cut from a 1-1/4" aluminum bar and parted off at 1/8" thick (rt side of the photo)
Then a pot chuck (I think that is what it is called) is made by boring out a piece of 1-1/2" stock to fit the cover and then cutting a slot in it.


















Then I mount it in the lathe and cut out the relief for the head bolts.









Piston valve detail is turned out on the lathe.









a pattern is made for the side cover out of card stock. a brass sheet is painted with layout fluid and the shape if cut out with the 1/8" band saw blade and finished with the 1" belt sander. Rivets are embossed per the prototype.










The cover is then fitted to the cylinder using various size round bars mounted in a vise to get the desired bend.









The engine has a rather unusual frame in that the extension is angled up at a 1:16 ratio. The bolt holes in the main frame are drilled at that angle and the rear of the extension needs to be cut at that angle so the buffer is perpendicular. I measure it out and slide a spacer in till I get the correct angle and then cut the extensions all the same.









And here is the frame with the extension bolted and soldered on.









The wheels are painted blue with gold striping on the spokes and then clear coated in gloss


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Bill what a great build again! There is just a small info I can give you when I was a student at NYU back around 1974 My friend Peter Mc Gilligan who was a CNJ fan (at the time I was a B&M fan) and I drove out to Easton, PA (I think that was it, but I am not sure) real early to catch the 7 AM suburban train into Newark on the old CNJ mainline from the Lehigh Valley erea. Lo and behold when the train pulled in, the lead car behind (I think it was a U boat...) was the old Blue Comet observation still in its original livery. inside it had no seats if I remember we had the car to ourselves right behind the road engine. from which we enjoyed the beautiful west Jersey countryside with huge fills upon which the railroad was built. What I can assure you of is that the floor was diagonal black and white checkerboard tiles. As the car was empty of seats this looked quite impressive as we zipped through the countryside. The open platform was toward the rear of the loco, in position for the outward trip in the evening. Peter's wife Maureen drove the VW bus back to Newark and we met her there. Its a great souvenir for me living so far away from Appalachia. Unfortunatly Peter passed away a few years ago.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

This week I finished the engine covers on one chassis and made the crossheads and guides for both engines.
I got a good chance to see the blue on a solid piece and am happy with the color I selected which is just a little darker than the Aristocraft Blue Comet.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

We will be using Aristocraft cars with body mounted 1/32 KD couplers and working diaphragms
We will also have lighted cars
We ordered some step-up voltage regulators from eBay and got them yesterday
They will step the voltage from 9v to 22v which I understand is the best voltage for lighting and long bulb life for these cars.









The pickup wires are desoldered from the trucks and soldered to the regulator which is mounted with Velcro. the wires are glued to the undercarriage with Quick Hold.









I was going to Velcro the battery in but that would require changing the Velcro to any replacement batteries so I made a Velcro strap to hold it in place.










The car already has a switch which makes things easy.
Here is the diner with the lights on. People to follow.


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill
This building gives one flashbacks to childhood and wishing for a Blue Comet set. I appreciate the your efforts even more given the history and location of the icon locomotive and train near our location.
Of course the most current recall is the days of having an Aristocraft Blue Comet set.
Another iconic train goes into the files on Bill Allen legacy trains!


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

One thing that always suprised me about those Aristo heavyweights was the truss rods under the body. That's a throw back to cars built with wooden construction, steel cars didn't have that normally unless they were wooden cars sheathed over in steel. Which was quite rare. As I am no CNJ expert I wonder if these Blue Comet cars had them? But I think that they are quite accurate for that train. That observation seemd shorter than 80' cars, as much as I remember.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I am waiting on the wheels for the second engine before i go ant further on the chassis.
I started on the boilers. 2-1/2" copper pipe is cut to length and then is split on the table saw to the length of the fire box. then again on the table saw cuts up the sides are made.









The sides are then annealed and straightened out. A form I made in the past for 2-1/2" boilers is used to get the proper shape of the firebox. It is on the left. On the right I hold a cut piece of pipe on the top of the firebox to make sure the contour is correct.










Bronze bushings are used for the boiler fittings. I first mark the position out with a pencil measuring off my drawing and getting a line as close to the center of the barrel as I can. I then center pop them and then start a hole with a centering bit.









I then drill the holes out with a step drill. I like to use the step drill as it cuts well and the hole is about .020" smaller than the stated size. This about perfect if you are going to finish by reaming but in this case, I leave the holes undersized so I can have a step on standard size rod.









Here I am turning out a bushing from 3/8" stock. You can see the threaded hole and the step which will keep the bushing in place while it is silver soldered.









Here are the fittings for both engines. I hadn't blown the chips off when I took the photo.
At the top are the well nuts (called that because like a well the hole has a bottom) These are to mount the smoke box and the throttle.
Then comes a larger well nut used for the front boiler mount. Then the 6mm banjo fitting bushings and then the 5mm ones for the safeties. and then the large 3/8-24 ones for the steam dome and the filler plug.









Here the tubes are laid out each boiler has 5 - 1/2" and one 5/8" tube









Here are most of the parts ready to go in









Here is my setup for the 6 mm sight glass. I am using 5/32" tubing which is 1/8" inside so all of the drilled holes are 1/8" or larger. the banjo fitting which I used to use 5mm bolts are now increased so I can get the 1/8" flow through throughout. The dogleg passages are 5/32"









I repainted the wheels as I wasn't happy with the pin striping. They now have a finer width. I think they look a little bit better.


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## virgal (Sep 25, 2009)

Simon

A little background on the Blue Comet cars.

First off, none of the cars that when into Blue Comet service were new. They were pulled from the CRR of NJ roster and converted to Blue Comet service. All the cars were “70 ft” steel heavyweights except the diner. The 2 observation cars were converted coaches. Only the diner had truss rods.

The dining car, Giacobini, was the oldest car on the CRR of NJ roster when the Blue Comet was created. It was a wooden car with arched windows and truss rods. For Blue Comet service it was sheet metaled over to give the appearance of a more modern car. The window arch was not removed but was visible within the car after the upgrade and had been frosted and etched with comet designs and back-lit. 

The clerestory windows on all the cars, except the diner, were covered with sheet metal.

One of the things that was most impressive with the Blue Comet was the level of detail added to the interior of the cars. Special carpets, lots of nickel plating, custom seating etc.

Alan - _THE GAL LINE_.


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## josephunh (Mar 27, 2013)

Wish I could have one of these in electric.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

The boiler shell and crown sheet are measured out for the 3/16" stays. They are center poped, center drilled and finally drilled out









The front tube sheet is in place and three copper pegs are insertrd to keep it in place during the solder process









The stays are flattened out on the ends to keep them from slipping through and snippets of solder are set in place before the soldering job.









And the finished boilers









The safety bushings have a chamfer to hold the o-ring









The larger banjo bushings remain flat for a different setup.









The axle blocks and pump eccentrics receive ball bearings









The pony truck frame has ribbing along the top and surronding some holes. The top ribbing is 1/16" square bar annealed and bent to shape and the rings around the holes are turned from 1/4" bar stock. They are soldered on with Staybrite.









And the chassis to date


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Wow Bill: Your tutorial on boiler making makes it look like a cinch! Which I am sure it isn't, but at least it gives us the desire to try our hand at it, one of these days.
I really apreciated your info about the Blue Commet rake (not being a knowlegeable CNJ fan, myself, just enthusiastic); And I was glad that I could understand what the reason for those truss rods were, and that they were real at least on the diner.
When I studied at NYU in the seventies I used to model the old B&M which I had known living in Lincoln Massachusset for six years. They had some old wooden cars sheathed over too, I think there was one even at Edaville (or was it Maine Central?). This was done here too, as a mater of fact most wooden cars on the continent were sheathed over, probably due to the oceanic climate, to protect the wood. 

I am finnishing my three steel fourgons for the NORD railway of France, one for my friend Chris Ludlow one for my friend John Butler and one for me. After which I plan to concentrate on my NORD mikado tank and its cosmetic Cossart gear, and finnishing work on the chassis. Your posts are a constant encouragement.
In order not to polute this thread I posted photos in the model making part of this forum where they belong.
Best to all.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

There is some kind of pump above the valve stem on both sides. there is no clear photo of it but I do have a drawing of it. It has a lot of tubes or something around it which I will attempt to duplicate after the valve gear is in but for now i have created something between the photos and the drawing. the neat thing about it is where the SS bolt is, a lever will be attached which goes th the combo lever giving it another source of movement.









I will be using the same axle pump I have done in the past. my latest version has two 5 mm banjo fittings on the bottom which makes servicing easier than compression fittings.
here is a diagram of the body passages









The pump on the rt has the 1/8" snippets of rod soldered into the cross passages and on the left they have been cut off with dikes and sanded flush









The two holes that get the balls are tapped out to 10-32









The mounting base is soldered on and then from the top, the passage holes are drilled through the mounting base and from the bottom, the holes are drilled out with #16 drill and tapped to 5 x .5 mm for the banjo fittings










The threaded plugs at the top have two purposes: the first is to seal the hole and the second is to limit the ball movement to .020" .
With the ball in place, I measure the depth with a caliper and then make the plug as shown in the above drawing to a length .020" less than this measurement. The plug is then put in with purple Loctite, screwed in all of the way and then backed out .020"

Finally the pump is tested. A piece of silicone tubing is put in the intake hole and dipped in a bowl of water. The pump is hand worked and checked for output. Then the outlet is plugged off with my finger and the pump is pushed in with great force. If the piston goes in, there is a leak which needs to be fixed, If there are no visible leaks, then the inlet ball is leaking and the seat needs to be reworked. Thankfully both pumps passed the test.










The Scotch yoke works great in tight situations especially with the ball bearing. the two strips on the outside are to keep it from rotating









And here it is in the chassis


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## rbednarik (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill,


The "pump" you are describing is the mechanical lubricator. Commonplace on Steam engines, usually driven off the valve gear via a crank lever and racheting cam. One would be to feed motion oil to various spots on the motion, axleboxes, flange lubricators, and guide plates, while the other would be to supply steam/valve oil to the cylinders. 


As things became more advanced, it was not unusual to see up to 4 of these lubricators on the larger 4-8-4's, of which the later ones had some 100 points of force fed lubrication to reduce service intervals and keep turnarounds as quick as possible without downtime.


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## Captain Dan (Feb 7, 2008)

Hi Bill,


Quick question.


I see that you use a table saw to cut brass for many of your projects. You write that you are using a "metal cutting saw blade."


I can't tell from the pictures, but are you using a 'Carbide Tipped' blade or some other blade?


I have used carbide tipped blades for thin metal, but have never tried to cut large (up to 1.5") brass rods and squares like you do.


Dan


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Hi Dan
Most carbide tipped blades will cut brass but not steel. 

These newer metal cutting blades cut both with the added benefit of making a much smoother cut on brass

They don't have a set that is required for wood cutting and the teeth are like a cross between a wood blade and a hack saw blade. The material is a harder carbide (Titanium Carbide I think)

Here is the one I use
https://www.amazon.com/Tools-Metal-...983277&sr=8-4&keywords=8"+metal+cutting+blade


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I was able to get a drawing and a photo of the tender trucks. From that Dennis was able to do a CAD drawing which we sent off to Shapeways to make one in the high res plastic. We also had them do the axle caps in standard plastic.

I then made a silicone mold from the high res master and cast eight frames in urethane.

I had to sand the Shapeways axle caps as they were a little rough and I had a little problem priming them so I got some Rust-Oleum 2X which is plastic compatible and it did the job. The axle boxes/caps were attached with JB Weld but were designed to just snap into the frame.

This will be glued to the metal frame which will be CNC cut to match this

The photo shows from top the high res master, the axle boxes, the resin casting with the boxes glued in and the primed frame.


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## Tim Hytrek (Jan 2, 2008)

nice!


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill, Those look great. I used a laser cut styrene kit for the rear truck of my live steam Mason Bogie. It could not handle the weight and eventually fell apart. What do you use for casting urethane parts? Also do you use some kind of adhesive to assemble them?


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## Captain Dan (Feb 7, 2008)

Bill,
Thanks for the brass cutting info.
Dan


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

The smokebox is rather distinctive with its Elesco water heater and multi dog cover.

I turn the water heaters on the lathe then drill 20 holes on both ends for rivets









The brackets are cut out on the 1/8" band saw and then contoured on the spindle sander and 1" belt sander. They are screwed on to the heater cylinder and soldered. Then they are attached to the smokebox front from the back side with 0-80 screws.









I am using 16 dogs per door. I machined them out of bar stock and then cut them on the mill with a slitting saw but I wasn't happy with the look as they were too high. I then cut 1/16" off of each one individually on the mill.









I installed the prototypical piping by soldering them on to the heater but they are not fixed to the other end allowing for easy disassembly. The rivets are set with 680 Loctite









A tab is silver soldered on and one rivet on each side id replaced with an 00-90 screw to hold the front on.









I just need to make the headlights and add some more rivets


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## josephunh (Mar 27, 2013)

your work is amazing. Sure you don't want to make any electric ones?


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I had a big project in the back yard and Dennis' CNC mill had a problem so nothing got done for a while but the mill is back in operation and my project finished up last week.

The expansion links and rods are milled out and assembled with the double ball bearing method I have been using on my builds.
Here is the assembled link on the left and the component parts on the right the rods are assembled with peened over pins except where stainless screws are used for disassembly purposes 










The valve linkage is assembled









The reverse arm is unique in that it is curved and fluted so it must be made on the CNC mill. I want it to match the prototype but also provide the proper clearances and movement. I make some wood mock-ups and on the fifth try come up with something that works for the full travel of the link. Here it is in both directions.



















The lube piping is added to the lubrication pump and the lever and linkage is installed. The crank arm is a mock-up and will be replaced with a CNC cut one.


















The steam and exhaust piping is installed.









And the chassis to date which has been air tested and is ready to go


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Always an exciting time when you get a chassis running on air. Looking real good Bill.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I am leaving on a three week vacation tomorrow morning so I finished up the details I could today so I won't forget where I left off when I return.

The curved and fluted reverse arm is CNC milled and a link is made and installed









One engine has painted rods and on the other they are the natural stainless finish.


















The boiler is fitted and mounts are made.


















The headlight and water heater are installed. The waterheater will have the "The Blue Comet" placard below it and the headlight will have the numbers on the sides and below.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I got back from vacation on Tues and started right in on the boiler wraps. These are very challenging as they are tapered in the center and the firebox is curved and needs to fit perfectly with the cab which is stepped back at the bottom. I decided to use .032" brass sheet and anneal it to get the shapes I needed.

I start by wrapping the front with a layer of 1/8" fiberfrax insulation. Then on the band saw, I cut tapered strips for the cone shaped piece. The rise is .160" all the way around. I then follow the tapered strips with straight ones going back.









Using a cone formula, I cut a piece of Fiberfrax for the tapered portion and then use that as a pattern for the brass sheet which covers it.









The brass piece is cut and bent and then 1/8" square stock pieces are drilled out on the mill and then silver soldered on as lower clamps.









It is then soldered in place with Staybrite. The insulation keeps the wood strips from burning.









The boiler is set on the chassis and strips are cut for the firebox covers. Wheel clearances are checked.









A fiberfrax wrap is cut out and from that a brass cover is cut out to go over it.









Clamps as shown are soldered on to all sections.









The rear section is cleaned up and soldered to the front two sections. I still need to finish the firebox cover front and a few more details but the hardest part is done.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good Bill, really neat way to get the fun tapers needed for the boiler, glad it worked out. I get to try it myself at some point in the near future when I finish my Colorado Central Porter with a wagon top boiler. Chassis all done and running on air years ago. Too many years ago. 



Did you solder in place the joints?


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Great job Bill, reminds me of "Lagged boilers are easier" back in the sixties in old model railroader. It sure is going to be a beautiful engine in that royal blue.
Best, Simon


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I like the way you did the clamps. Much easier than using bent tabs with nuts and bolts.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Winn
The clamps are better but I still use the nuts on the bands. Here is an easy way to do it. I dril out the end to 1/16" and use a tooth pick to hold the nut in place while soft soldering it on.


















The sand dome is oval shaped so I mark the boiler curve out on an aluminum block and cut it on the band saw. thne I finish it up on the drum sander.









The rest is just shaping it to the look I need on the band saw and belt sander. The pipe outlets are shaped to scale and a pocket for them is cut on the mill









The air pumps and water pumps are made on the lathe and mill. Stainless rods are inserted per the prototype piston rods.


















I hadsn't noticed the rivet detail on the firebox but Jay pointed it out. I probably would have had a hard time getting it right on the main cover and on further inspection, believe the original had a secondary cover which looks like it was covering up buckles in the original cover. In any case I made these out of .010" copper which was easy to conform to the firebox with JB Weld,


















The cow catcher was a real doozy
It had 14 vertical pipes flattened on the ends and riveted on
I stuck with the original build method as much as I could.
I first flattened the ends in the mill vise and then made drilling bed out of hardwood where I could lay the flat end on and get the hole in the same place for all tubes. The top rail was then driled out with .140" spacing betwen holes.
I used 1/4" long rivets which were hammered into the fire brick, holding it in place and music wire pins held the bottom in place. for silver soldering









I then cut the tubes to length with dikes and flattened them in the vise.









The lower rail was bent to shape and silver soldered on.









It was then trimmed up and the side supports were bolted on and soft soldered for additional rigidity. 









The air and water pumps are mounted and the running board is cut out around them.


















A card stock cab mock up is done and the front has been sent to Dennis who will CNC cut it out along with the odd shaped front windows


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## ddrum31 (Aug 30, 2017)

Beautiful!


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Really a very nice build log, Bill
By the way there is a very nice article in a special by Le Train Nostalgie N° 11 (a historical magazine published by Le Train), On those algerian garrats. Le Train is a French paper published and backed by Eisenbahn Journal. 



Their adress is ublitrains eurl- 18 rue du docteur Deutsche- CS 80010 - France - 67660 Beeetschdorf. it's in Alsace, thus the German sounding adress. 



But still no news about its livery... Aparently they had short lives as their engeneer was the man who ordered the Liberation mikados from US and Canadian builders and he pushed rapid dieselification of the Algerian system right after WW2, as he had seen how diesels (the FTs) were doing well in the US when he was there to negociate the order. The fact is that Algeria had the very same problem that the AT&SF had in New Mexico, Arizona and California, a dry desert with bad water or no water at all.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I have been making mostly small parts for the boiler

The steam dome is three coats of paint : light blue, dark blue and gold lining between the colors









There are two boxes on the front deck I am not sure what they are but the upper one seems to be some kind of electrical box.









The bell is mounted on the tapered section of the boiler so the base needs to conform to the radius and slope of the boiler wrap. I do this to a 1/2" rod on the spindle sander holding one end of the rod up to get the slope









I then check to make sure the rod is vertical









Then on the lathe, I drill a hole for centering and part off my base.


















Dennis cut the step sides on the CNC mill with .250" centers between the holes. I then cut the steps and drilled holes in them The holes on the sides were .040 and on the steps .032. This gives a little wiggle room for the .032 rivets.









Things are assembled for soldering









When soldering rivets into holes, they have a tendency to pop out from the expansion in the hole pocket. Here I am clamping them down with strips of carbon. I bend the snippets of solder at the ends to keep them from sliding down while soldering









I make a card cutout of the bell shape from the drawing









Then on the lathe with a bull nose bit, I shape the bell.









I make the steam generator similar to my previous buildes, although it is not a working one, it does emit a plume of steam.









I duplicate the power reverser from the drawing and photographs









The finished bell









The front deck with steps and running board.
The lower box holds the battery for the lights.


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## rbednarik (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill,


The boxes on the front are the battery and relay boxes for the Automatic Train Control and cab signalling equipment that the CNJ used. 

As they shared trackage rights with the PRR in Southern New Jersey to get to Atlantic City (using the PRSL mainline east from Winslow Jct. to AC), they had to have both the US&S apparatus as used on the PRR and the CNJ/RDG style cab signaling apparatus. Things like universal train control and cab signalling systems were a long way off.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks Ryan
Now when someone asks me, I will be able to give them the correct answer.


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## Alan in Adirondacks (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill,

Beautiful work!

Best regards,

Alan


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I'm finishing up on the boiler accessories

The short air tank on the right side will be a dead leg lubricator on Jay's engine









I paint a lot of the things separately and then mount them. I cut some grooves in a piece of wood with the band saw and use it to hold the bolts while I paint them









Here is the 90 degree fitting I use at the end of the superheater. It makes hooking up with a long allen wrench easy


















Jim's engine has a three tone whistle setup. I eliminated the lubricator and the power reverser in lieu of a longer air tank. The valve will be RC and at the back under the cab.









Here is the superheater line installed behind the exhaust tube which is screwed in below the boiler 









Here are a few photos of the work so far.


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## fsts2k (Jan 13, 2009)

Wow, that is really fantastic work. I hope i get to see it one day


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I have been working mostly on backhead and under cab pieces.

Each engine will have three mini valves which will control low pressure actions. They will be for: steam to the faux steam generator, boiler blow down, and tender water heater.

The knobs can get hot so I have been using Stainless for them which is better than brass but still can get hot. Rob Lenicheck made some interesting ones from peek plastic. It is very hard and withstands high temperatures so I decided to try some. The valve is threaded at 2-56 so I drilled the knobs and tapped them out. Than I drilled a counter hole to accept a 2-56 nut driver and locked the knob down with a 2-56 scale nut.


























The female parts of the valve have 1/16" holes drilled through them. I use a length of music wire to make sure they stay positioned during the solder job and that solder doesn't seep into the holes.


















I drill a hole in the brick at an angle to solder the manifold onto the banjo fitting at the right angle.









the manifold and valves are mounted onto the boiler. The other fitting is the pipe for the whistle valve.









The bypass valve is mounted on the frame and the handle is installed. It will be painted black.









Here is the whistle valve. I forgot to photo the guts of it. On the legt goes a 1/8" stainless ball and a 1/8" spring which holds it in place. Then there is a threaded plug which is sealed with thread lock. From the other end, there is a 1/16" pin that opens the ball when the lever is pulled.









Top view of the cab components.









It is a little tight on the left side with the whistle valve just above the bypass valve.









Two servos are located under the cab floor. The one on the left is for the whistle valve and the one on the right is for the throttle.









And here is the back of the cab









And the side









Two safeties are set at 5 psi apart









I was going to put the lubricator in the cab on the engine with the whistles but it just wouldn't look right. I found just enough room to put a small air tank ahead of the long one and just high enough to clear the reverse arm in reverse position.
This photo is out of focus but you can get the idea,


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Fabulous detail. The layout of the backhead is very neat. You have a lot crammed into a very tight space. I hope I get to meet you and see some of your work at the convention in August.


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Again Bill thanks for the many great ideas and solutions found and explained to all who can make good use of these. I can't wait to hear how that two tone whistle sounds I was thinking of doing that for my Accucraft T1 by adding another whistle to the existing one for that American sound. hiding it under the streamline casing shouldn't be a problem. I also find the superheater to cylinders connection brilliant.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks Simon but it is actually a three tone whistle. one on each side and one between the firebox and the firebox cover.


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Thats what happens when you look at the photos and don't read the captions. Oh well...
It should sound even better. I am interested to see if it works, thinking that the more whitles might eat up all the steam off the whistle valve. If it does work, and most likely it will it will? it'll be a great way to have nice whistles on US steamers. Right now as I will be at last moving to the south shortly, no building projects are in the shop, but when it will be done I will try it. I love whistles on steam engines. On our continental ones it isn't a big problem as most French engines at least, had a Banshee type whistle, but on US locos its part of the romance of american railroading and the blues. 

Wel merry Christmas to all.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

It works well. I actually have four on my first Garratt
The whistle valve with a 1/8" ball provides more than enough steam but you need to use 1/8" tubing. I used 3/32" tubing once and it wasn't large enough.
I have already tested these whistles on air and they work fine but they are always a little different on steam. I don't know if you noticed but each whistle has a needle valve to adjust the air/steam intake


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Add Steam Turbine ? These came from Germany through Bob Weltyk. Maybe someone has one you could reverse engineer.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I got the etchings for the front of the engine today









I have been working on the tenders. I start by embossing the rivets on the side









Then I bend the sides to shape and solder the pieces together









The front is a little tricky. I just make each part and solder them one at a time.









On Jim's tender, the batteries and RC will go in the front so the upper half needs to be removable.


















The rear deck has a water hatch and a cover for the water scoop goose neck. A cylinder for the water scoop will go in the third section and will be used as the gas valve knob.









The ladders are made in similar fashion to my prior builds.









Here are the parts for the hand pump. All of the check valves are identical and vary the action by the placement.


















The trucks were made by having a printed master done by Shapeways from a CNJ drawing and then casting the frames in urethane. A steel backer plate was then milled out on the CNC mill. The cross plate was silver soldered to one backer plate and a brass strip on the other end. This allows for movement between the two frames and giving it, in effect, a three point suspension.









The pivot is around this 4-40 screw which is loctited in.


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## Steve Ciambrone (Feb 25, 2014)

Bill,
Where did you get the etchings done?


Steve


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Narrow Planet
https://shop.narrowplanet.co.uk/


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## Steve Ciambrone (Feb 25, 2014)

Thanks Bill,
they have many products and a large selection of etchings must place an order.


Steve


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

He will also custom etch anything you want. He is slow so don't be in a hurry and order way in advance but it is good work and very reasonable.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

bille1906 said:


> Narrow Planet
> https://shop.narrowplanet.co.uk/


I agree with everything said about them. I have several sets of their nameplates on my locos.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I finished the one tender up over the last week or so
The beading at the top is made with 1/16" copper tubing. A 36" length is cut on the table saw using a zero clearance throat and a metal cutting blade. I cut a little less than half off. The side material is 1/32" and the i.d. of the tube is 1/32. Cutting less than half off makes for a tight fit over the sides.
I use a 36" length so that I can hold it close to the fence as in the picture but the feeding is done with the other hand at the end of the tube. I cut it to the mid point and then turn it around and do the other side, always keeping my moving hand at least 18" from the blade.









I then anneal & glue it on with canopy cement which I choose because of its setup time and easy cleanup with water.









I painted the inside the same color as the outside and then mounted the fuel tank and hand pump.
I used brass fittings through the bottom of the floor with o-ring seals. The return line comes through the bulkhead and is sealed with the silicone tube which bridges the tender to engine gap.









I added a holder for the pump handle.











The front of this tender is removable because it houses RC equipment.









The water scoop has a cylinder which raises and lowers it. I took a little leeway with the angle of it and am using it for the gas valve knob.









These small rivets were done with decals from Micro Fasteners. They are O gauge but work well in this application.









Here are several photos of the project so far. The gold lining was done with a bow pen on the verticle and a striping wheel on the long horizontal lines.


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## josephunh (Mar 27, 2013)

You really have me wishing you make some electric motor ones. Your craftsmanship is amazing!


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Beautiful tender. Cutting 1/32 tube with a table would scare me.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Winn
It is actually 1/16 outside but still can only be done with a sharp carbide bade and precision tools and jigs. I have a Delta Contractor saw with a heavy cast iron bed. I clamp a piece of hardwood to the fence which touches the bed so nothing slips under the fence. But the real secret is using a long un-annealed piece of tubing at least twice as long as the piece you need. The photo shows my hand close to the blade but a block of wood with a 1/16" notch in it could also be clamped where my hand is and then no body parts would be close to the blade. Mark Horovitz did an article in Steam in the garden. on doing this in a mill. which may be less intimidating.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I have done a similar operation with a band saw and belt sander. Probably a lot more time consuming. Thanks for the reply. I always enjoy your posts. Are you going to be at the convention in Portland?


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

No, I don't attend them except I did when it was in the Bay Area. There is defiantly a lot of interesting things there but not a lot of live steam. I do go to the Summer Steamup in Sacramento


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Only 6 months to NSS. Very exciting!


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

It has been a little muddy out back for a while but we had a week of dry weather so we tested Jim's Blue Comet out Friday and Bill took a vid on his iPad.
It looked a lot better on the iPad in high def but this gives you an idea of the run
Jim converted eight passenger cars to 1/32 body mount KD connectors and installed diaphragms and people. We had one truck causing a problem which he fixed and we got a great run at the Hiller steamup today but I was hitting the button wrong on my new iPhone and only got shots of the floor.
Here is the vid from Friday.


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## steamermeister (Feb 20, 2013)

That's a beautiful locomotive.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Really looks and runs great Bill. The tall drivers make it look like its not even working hard.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks Jay
The combination of the 3/4" cylinders and large drivers along with the locomotive style, ceramic burner, boiler produce effortless pulling at any speed


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