# Model-T Railtruck Builder's Log



## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I was recently inspired by the live steam railtruck that was built by Sonny Wizelman and which competed in the 2008 drawbar contest at Diamondhead...and won it's division, I might add. 

I started looking for 1:20.3-scale plans for an early 1900's Model-T truck as the basis for my scratchbuild. In the August 2004 issue of Garden Railway Magazine, a Ted Stinson plan set was included for a 1927 Model-T Oil Truck and will be serving as my underlying design for the Model-T Railtruck. This scaled drawing is available from Sidestreet Bannerworks. I also found that Northeast Narrow Gauge (nemodel.com) makes model kits in its Tin Lizzy line that has some of the more difficult parts, such as, radiator, steering wheel and headlight castings for the 1927 Model-T. 










Although I was able to find documentation that Model-Ts were used as Rail vehicles, what I want to do won't be prototypical. I want to power it with a propane-fired boiler and steam-motor. But I want to stay close to the Model-T dimensions. The trick was going to be finding live steam components that'll stay within the dimensions of the Model-T vehicle. My initial searches didn't turn up any candidates until the last weekend's steamup, where Sonny gratiously brought his railtruck. It was obvious that staying within the confines of a 1927 Model-T truck was going to be difficult , if not impossible without making major extensions to the truck bed. But, lo-and-behold, Sonny's next live steam project required a small steam motor, boiler, and propane tank. Sonny had acquired the steam components for a "Pepper" locomotive but had since decided on a different solution and was about to return this little German made steam motor to Lutz Hielscher at www.hielscher-dampfmodelle.de. Size-wise, it looked to be just what I was looking for, so we made a deal. I now have a small steam motor, boiler, and propane tank hat will fit very nicely into the Model-T truck design requiring only about 3/4" overall extension to the length of the truck. 


Steam motor/Boiler/Fuel tank dimensions/specs: 

Overal motor size: 2" tall x 1" x 1/2". 
This wobbler engine is geared 40:1 to the main drive axle thru an integrated gear train. 
The flywheel is 1/2" in diameter. 
Piston diameter is 3mm. 
Stroke is 5mm. 
The final drive (integrated axle) is 2.5mm in diameter. 

















The single-flue boiler is 35mm in diameter & 56mm tall. 
The chimney is 26mm tall x 12mm in diameter. 
The boiler water capacity is about 30ml. 
Steam outlet pipe w/feed-thru lubricator is .080" diameter. 
The burner is an external blow-torch type aimed at the L-shaped flue. 

















The butane fuel tank is plastic 2 3/8" long x 1 1/8" x 7/8". 
w/built-in needle valve and on/off lever. 









Here are the steam components assembled. 









The initial "will it all fit" drawing shows the placement of the all essential running gear. 









The initial testing I did was to see how the burner performed. Like most needle valves, it has a very small range between all-on or all-off. 









The basic frame will be made from .032" thick brass plate and 5/16" square oak truck bed beams. The drive 
wheels (rear) will have external ball bearing journals to minimize friction. The front wheels will also have ball bearings, but the journals will be on the inside of the frame. 









Once I get the frame made and the steam components mounted, I will test to see how much weight this little beast will 
hustle down the track. According to Lutz, this steam motor and it's gearing should have no trouble. 

Any and all feedback will be appreciated.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Neat idea, look forward to the story. Might submit it to Steam in the Garden, Ron is always looking for articles. No pay for them, but you don't get paid here either! Jerry


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## steamboatmodel (Jan 2, 2008)

Fantastic idea! How long does the motor run on a tank of fuel? 
Regards, 
Gerald


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By steamboatmodel on 05/05/2008 6:42 AM 
Fantastic idea! How long does the motor run on a tank of fuel? 
Regards, 
Gerald

Gerald... 
I haven't tried testing run time yet, but the literature says about 15 minutes of run time can be expected. As soon as I get the undercarriage built, I'll give it a time test. I'm still looking for micro-miniature ball bearings (2.5mm inside diameter)for my journals...hopefully that'll help squeeze more run time by introducing a minimum of axle friction.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 05/04/2008 8:49 AM 
Neat idea, look forward to the story. Might submit it to Steam in the Garden, Ron is always looking for articles. No pay for them, but you don't get paid here either! Jerry

Jerry....that's a great idea...I might just do that. Thanks" border=0>


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By maculsay on 05/05/2008 10:53 PM
I'm still looking for micro-miniature ball bearings (2.5mm inside diameter)for my journals...hopefully that'll help squeeze more run time by introducing a minimum of axle friction.



Howard, 
try http://www.bocabearings.com/main1.aspx?p=quicksearchbearing 
I got my bearings for "Betsy" from them. 
Regards


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By HMeinhold on 05/06/2008 8:20 AM
Posted By maculsay on 05/05/2008 10:53 PM 
Howard, 
try http://www.bocabearings.com/main1.aspx?p=quicksearchbearing 
I got my bearings for "Betsy" from them. 
Regards 





Henner....that's what I did, thank you.....but I ordered via their online website.


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## norman (Jan 6, 2008)

Hi There: 

Here is a factory model of a Stanley steamer automobile. I don't know what the wheel gauge is. The mechanical components may be usefull for your project. 

http://www.ministeam.com/acatalog/Hielscher.html 

Norman


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By norman on 05/06/2008 10:24 PM
Hi There: 
Here is a factory model of a Stanley steamer automobile. I don't know what the wheel gauge is. The mechanical components may be usefull for your project. 
http://www.ministeam.com/acatalog/Hielscher.html 
Norman 





Thanks Norman....the steam engine/boiler/burner/tank I'm using all came from Lutz Hielscher at www.hielscher-dampfmodelle.de. Apparently www.mimisteam sells his stuff stateside. 

Of course, I'm not going to have to convert automobile running gear to run on the tracks, so I don't have to mess with steering, etc. The hardest part I have is designing and making the wheels/journals and undercarriage. The cab and hood should be pretty easy. 

Again Norman, thanks for putting me onto another Hielscher product source.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I have worked out some of the detail planning for making the undercarriage, which includes Front Pivot Bolster, 
Journals & Wheels, Rear Journals & Wheels, the brass Frame and the hardwood truck bed supports. 
I've located the miniature ball bearings from www.bocabearings.com and have them on order (they actually 
shipped today). Also ordered the 2.5mm & 6mm drill & reamer for making a snug home for the bearings in my 
journals and for drilling the wheel hubs for the 2.5mm axles. 

Anyway, here's my working drawings, so far. 


























Still have to do some adjustment to the brass frame drawing once I receive the radiator casting. 

Since I'll be using modified "Ozark Miniatures" fully sprung Journals, part#1010, with an axle that is integrated 
directly with the gear train and steam cylinder, I will have to mount the little engine in a way to handle the range of movement allowed by the sprung journals. 

Now I need to find a source for 4 of the 10 or 12-spoke wheels...outside flange diameter is 1.563" If someone 
knows of a source for machined wheels, I'd appreciate getting a contact.....but if I have to machine them myself, 
then so-be-it. It's just that I'm in the process of machining 16 wheel castings for my Class A Climax project and I'm sick of wheels right now./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sick.gif 

More later!!


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I received my bearings from Boca Bearings....boy are they little ones 2.5mm x 6mm. The 
Tin Lizzy kit arrived from NENG, so I'll be using the radiator, headlights and 
steering wheel castings. I got some wheel castings from Diana and Tom at 
Sulphur Springs. They aren't quite the size I wanted, but I'll be able to machine 
them to close to the size I want. They are cast iron.....my first attempt at 
machining this stuff... any tips will be appreciated!! 








I made the frame from .032" thick brass sheet and will attach the 2 Oak deck 
beams (5" x 21/64" x 1/2") using hex head screws. The truck's bed decking and 
cab floor will be 1/8" thick mahogany plywood scribed to represent individual planking. 
The initial mockups of the truck's cab and hood/radiator was done and redone to get a fit. Particular attention was paid to the clearances needed for the butane tank & burner, since they will have to fit under the hood and pass thru the cab. The cab and hood/radiator will be made as a single removeable (lift-off) assembly. This should allow for easier refueling The cab will be made of .015" thick brass sheet. 








I've decided to give a try at making a working hinged hood, like the real Tin-Lizzies. Here's my first attempt at a practice hinge. It'll take 3 hinges. Also shown is the radiator casting. 








The hood pattern shows the placement of the 3 hinges. 1/16" brass wire will be soldered to the end-most edges of the hood. The upside-down Us are the front and rear hood supports. They are 1/8" brass U-channel into which the hood's soldered end wire will fit when closed. 
































I'll be using real glass (microscope slides) for the front windscreen. The lower half will be fixed, while the top half will swing out on a brass pivot at each end of the top edge. 
Once I get the wheels machined and know the dimensions, I can finalize the design for the journals and I can machine them. 
More later!!


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Howard,

Have you ever run across the following article, take a look at how Marc made his wheels...

*Tin Lizzy
By Marc Horovitz*


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, Looking good, I really like the idea of a steam powered truck. I was looking at your front axle design, does it swivel? If so how is it steered? With only 4 wheels and a very short wheel base I think it would work fine with a fixed axle. My little rail truck has two fixed axles and has no trouble with curves.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By placitassteam on 05/24/2008 9:43 PM
Howard, Looking good, I really like the idea of a steam powered truck. I was looking at your front axle design, does it swivel? If so how is it steered? With only 4 wheels and a very short wheel base I think it would work fine with a fixed axle. My little rail truck has two fixed axles and has no trouble with curves.



Thanks Winn, for the inputs. 
Interesting that you should ask about the steering As you can see I've designed-in axle bearings.....the idea being to reduce as much friction as possible since the steam motor is low powered. A swiveled bolster was to also help reduce drag in a turn, but I hadn't thought too much about fixed axle drag. Thinking more about the need for steering I'd recently had moved the bolsters pivot point forward of the axle and added a swingarm in order to add a centering spring. 








I'm still considering making a separate axle for each front wheel to even cut down friction a bit more. This may be way beyond what is needed, but I do some of these things just to see if I can do it/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By SteveC on 05/24/2008 2:11 AM 
Hey Howard,

Have you ever run across the following article, take a look at how Marc made his wheels...

Tin Lizzy
By Marc Horovitz

Steve...I had seen this article awhile back but had forgotten about it....thanks for the reminder and the link.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Howard: That looks like a fun little project. And a nice job on it to boot. 

Those cast iron wheels should turn fairly easily. If they are the same quality as a Stuart-Turner engine kit, they will turn like a dream. Turn cast iron at a much slower speed than other metals. The first cut is very critical. Run the lathe at the slowest speed and take a somewhat deep cut. You are trying to get under the outer scale of the casting on the first pass. Once you are into clean metal, the rest of the process is pretty much as you did on the bronze wheels for your Climax. 

Once in a great while cast iron develops a hard spot. It is called "chill". Chilling happens when the iron cools too quickly in the mold. Chilled spots are impossible to machine. Ask to casting supplier for a replacement. 

Looking good, Bob


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

I understand someone had and Accucraft "Goose" at DiamondHead that had been converted to live steam. 
Do you know what Live steam engine they used and would the little "PEPPER" engine work. 
Just looking for someway to use the "GOOSE" since I have trouble getting the "Sparkie" pickups to work.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Bobs...your comments are always appreciated. I read somewhere that the first...break-thru-the-outer-scale-cut...should be with a carbide tipped cutter. After that, HSS cutters are sufficient to finish the task. We'll see how it goes real soon.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By gibs035 on 05/26/2008 4:57 PM 
I understand someone had and Accucraft "Goose" at DiamondHead that had been converted to live steam. 
Do you know what Live steam engine they used and would the little "PEPPER" engine work. 
Just looking for someway to use the "GOOSE" since I have trouble getting the "Sparkie" pickups to work.

I wasn't at Diamondhead, but the rail truck that got me started on my Model-T rail truck was at Diamondhead. It's sorta resembles a "Goose", but isn't. Sonny Wizelman, the builder, used a Graham Industries http://www.grahamind.com/hm1.html HM1 Horizontal steam engine kit and a Heritage vertical boiler converted to butane. 
As for using the "Pepper" steam motor, I'm not to sure if it's strong enough to propel it down the track, since the Goose locomotives all appear to be larger and heavier than what I'm building. My Model-T Railtruck is just 10 inches long. 
Another problem converting a Goose to live steam would be the plastic material it's made from....that won't mix well with the burners heat.


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## steamboatmodel (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By maculsay on 05/26/2008 10:05 PM
Thanks Bobs...your comments are always appreciated. I read somewhere that the first...break-thru-the-outer-scale-cut...should be with a carbide tipped cutter. After that, HSS cutters are sufficient to finish the task. We'll see how it goes real soon. 




If you use the proper carbide cutter you can do the whole thing with it. 
Regards, 
Gerald


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, 
The Goose "2 that I have is all metal. I have contacted the "Andrea" people to see what they can do for me. Thanks for your help and reply.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard: These fine castings are probably investment cast. HSS tools work well cutting thru the crust. It's the bigger castings done in sand molds that can cause trouble. You nick a piece of leftover sand and the tool edge is gone instantly. If you go with HSS tools the worst you will have to do is maybe resharpen when you are done. 

Once upon a time I turned four cast iron wheels, 5 inch diameter, on a 6 inch Atlas, with HSS and they turned out well. 

Yours will be beautiful. 

Bob


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I decided to add a 1/8" layer under the cab/hood/boiler to facilitate raising the deck beams to help clear the rear wheels. To kill 2-birds-with-1-stone, the layer is high heat circuit board material...hence an insulation layer between burner/boiler and the rest of the brass undercarriage. Additionally, the cab & hood will be connected together so that it'll lift off the undercarriage in one piece. At the front of this .015" thick brass base connector is a piece bent 90degrees vertical and shaped to fit the backside of the radiator casting. The white metal radiator casting will be epoxied to front of its vertical brass backing. 








The next picture shows the insulation layer mounted to the brass undercarriage using three 2-56 screws which also attach the boiler. Each of the oak deck beams are attached to the 1/8" thick insulation layer by 2-56 NBWs. The deck's oak crossbeam is escutchion pinned and CA'd. 








This picture shows the wood cab floor positioned to be attached to the brass cab/hood base connector along with the front hood support soldered to the backside of the vertical radiator backing. 
















I added more detail to the cab side drawing....showing the positioning of the rear hood support and a wire beading that will be added along the edge of the door openings. The hood supports are brass channel bent to approximate the shape of the radiator. The open side of the channel faces out so that a wire beading soldered to the hood's front & rear edges will fit into the channel. 








And lastly, showing the rear hood support being readied for soldering to the cab's front wall. The opening for the front windscreen is yet to be cut using my nibbler. 








Now I've got to stop & allocate some time getting ready for the Big Train Show. It's so hard to divey up my time between all these fun things. Last week it was a steamup, yesterday a one-day AT&SF3751 steam excursion run to San Diego and back....when will I get time to cut the lawn....Whoa is me" border=0>


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Heck with cutting the lawn, this is more fun" border=0> 
I finished cutting the cab sides and connected the cab with the hood/cab base connector by soldering it to the bottom of the rear hood support. Onto the inside of the cab's back wall I soldered a couple of L-shaped brass pieces to secure the cab to the wood floor and in-turn to the base connector using escutcheon pins. (In the first picture one of the escutcheon pins is shown pointing towards the L-shaped supports.) The pins will extend down into the insulation layer as part of the cab's positioning/fastening scheme. Another pin will be used to positon the front of the hood and a single 2-56 screw down through the the floorboard and threaded into the brass undercarriage will secure the whole cab assembly. 
Across the inside of the cab's front, I added a reinforcing strip of brass to stiffen-up the top of the windscreen frame. Down each side of the windscreen, I added a length of 1/8" square brass tubing to form the 2 front posts. 
The top of the cab sides needed some stiffening, so I added a rectangular brass piece near the top at the back. This also holds a short portion of the sides at right angles to the back wall before allowing the sides to curve in towards the narrower front wall. Wire beading will be soldered to the edges of the curved door openings. 
















The brass roof will be hand-shaped and a wire beading will be soldered to the underside of the 4 edges. Whether to make the roof hinged for easy access or to just remove the entire cab has not been decided. 
I did a fit check to see if the clearances needed for the butane fuel cannister are intact and although very tight, they are as planned. 








And I placed the cab/hood assembly into place on the under carriage and it's all fitting as planned. 
























More later!!! Now the lawn/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif" border=0>.


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## Tenn Steam (Jan 3, 2008)

I always found the grass would still be waiting if I did something else before I got around to cutting it. When your car disappears in the grass, it is time to mow lawns, not before.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I produced a drawing for the truck's rear deck, stake & rails, then did a fit check prior to cutting wood. 









The rear truck bed's top surface (5" x 3 7/8") is made from laser-scribed hardwood plywood. The edge boards are 3/32" thick mahogany. The side stakes are 5/32" square x 1 15/16" tall hardwood and rails are 3/32" thick mahogany. The front stakes are 5/32" sq. x 1 5/8" tall. All stakes are attached to the rails with escutcheon pins and CA'd. The side stake pockets are Ozark Miniatures #1001. The bed has a cut out to clear the burner, boiler & steam motor. While the front stake & rails are physically attached to the bed and supported by 45degree brass rods down to the truck bed, the side stakes and rails are held in place by the stake pockets and consequently removable. 

































I cut the roof from .010" thick brass sheet and cut 2 3/4" square. The compound curve was accomplished by hand and using various diameter bottles found in our refrigerator A metal bracket on each side of the bed will extend down onto the rear deck beams and a third at the rear cross-beam. Escutcheon pins will be used to attach the brackets to the beams for ease of removal. 

















I've decided to add a short brass flange to the underside of the roof that mimics the top egde dimensions of the 4 cab sides. The roof will then be removable by lifting it off of the cab. All the detailing will be left until just before the painting. The color will be just as Henry Ford produced the original Model-Ts....a choice of 3 colors, Black, Black, & Black/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif 
Getting down to doing the machining on journal assemblies and wheels.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

At the recent Big Train Show in Ontario, CA., I picked up alternate rear journals 
in place of using modified "Ozark Miniatures" fully sprung Journals, part#1010. 
The replacement journals are Ozark's Coil Spring Braced Journals, part# 1011. 
I found that these new journals have a larger surface surrounding the axle hole. 
Enough to allow for the 6mm outside diameter ball bearings to be inserted without having to machine a whole new larger axle hole assembly (Bearing inserted on left and machined hole shown on the right). 








I made an aluminum bracket to hold the butane tank inplace. A single 2-56 screw, threaded into the brass under-carriage holds both the butane tank and the cab inplace. The bracket will also serve to hold the gas valve in the on position. The control over the amount of butane flow is built-in to the tank. 
Around the base of the gas valve is a short round lever (facing down in the picture) that controls the gas flow....it'll need an extension. 








The truck bed was fastened to the beams using some spare castings left over from another project. With a little cutting and filing, the castings where attached to the rear of the bed and hex head lag screwed into the ends of the bed beams. The wood parts received a mahogany stain to making all the wood pieces match. 








The front ot the bed was secured to the cab's back wall through front stake & rail using a single 2-56 screw (as seen at the top of the above picture). 
A windscreen was fabricated to swing open from the bottom. Microscope slide glass was cut to just under the width of the cab's windscreen opening to accomodate brass C-channel pieces on each side. The bottom of the windscreen has a piece of 3/64" dia brass rod soldered to the side channels. At the top, in order to get a hinge effect the side channels are drilled to accept a piece of 3/64" rod. With the end of the rods bent down at 90degrees, they insert into the top of the square channel that forms the cab's front posts. 








The cab's roof mounting flange was soldered in place. 
















The roof's underside was sprayed Hi-temp flat black while the top was sprayed with a black textured metallic coating by Dupli-color. The cab & under-carriage were also sprayed. All sprayed parts received a coat of Dull Coat (lacquer). 








In the next picture the windscreen is inplace & brass beading has been soldered around the cab door opening. 








More later!


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking nice, great solder work. Where did you get the little bearings? I've been looking for some. 

Jerry


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 06/14/2008 6:17 PM 
Looking nice, great solder work. Where did you get the little bearings? I've been looking for some. 
Jerry

Thanks for the encouragement Jerry. 
Bob Starr suggested making short flat pieces of solder and placing them along the fluxed joint, then heating the joint with a torch. I used a flat nosed, smooth grip pliers to squeeze-out thin solder ribbons. You never get too much solder this way and lots less cleanup afterwards. 
The bearings came from http://www.bocabearings.com/main1.aspx?p=quicksearchbearing


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## Duncan (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, Howard!!! 
I am absotively awestruck... 
Fantastic modeling and vision!!! 
Dang!!


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Howard, looked them up, but could not find the bearing on a search. You have a #? 

Jerry


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 06/15/2008 9:44 AM
Thanks Howard, looked them up, but could not find the bearing on a search. You have a #? 
Jerry




Jerry....my bearings are 2.5mm ID, 6mm OD x 2.6mm deep, stainless, shields, flanged. The part# is SMF682X-ZZ 

Maybe this happened to you with their search results....their search looks like it doesn't find anything...but just scroll down the page.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Duncan on 06/14/2008 8:29 PM
Wow, Howard!!! 
I am absotively awestruck... 
Fantastic modeling and vision!!! 
Dang!!




Appreciate your kindness, Duncan.


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## highpressure (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard' 

Very nice  job & it "LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE HAVING FUN".


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

I had the pleasure of seeing this in person at the BTS. It is a wonderful piece of craftmanship. 

Here are a couple of pictures I took. 



















Tommy 
Rio Gracie


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

The hood is made with 4 pieces of .010 brass sheet, some .0625” dia. copper tubing for hinges, and copper wire for hinge pins to fit inside the copper tubing. The hinge at the top of the hood is a full piano type hinge since it’s visible, while the side hinges are simpler, a single hinge point at each end of the hood and one in the middle. The side hinge is not visible from the outside of the hood. 
Here’s an updated hood pattern: 








Using my patterns spray glued on the brass sheet, I used my nibbler to cut the “teeth” in the both the left & right sides of the top hinge. 
















And then for the hood’s side hinges. 








At this point, I carefully soldered a piece of copper tube along the top hinge’s fold line with the teeth of the 2 hood halves intermeshed. Here where the trick to make ultra thin pieces of solder is key to not getting solder to flow beyond the each individual tooth. Careful application of flux also limits the flow of solder into places not wanted. After the soldering and cleanup, a careful cut through the copper tube between each adjacent tooth yields a working hinge when a piece of thin cooper wire is inserted down through the adjoining copper tube segments. The hinge pin extends slightly into the cab’s front wall and into the radiator’s backing plate through holes drilled at the center-top location of the hood.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By tmejia on 06/16/2008 6:27 PM
I had the pleasure of seeing this in person at the BTS. It is a wonderful piece of craftmanship. 
Tommy" border=0> 
Rio Gracie




Tommy, thanks for the cudos. It was good to see you at BTS....and on Sunday meeting your wife & daughter.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I’ve started turning the cast iron wheel castings and have a question about the need to face-off the front side surfaces beyond the tire and flange surfaces. I kind of like the look of a casting-like surface of the spokes, rim face and hub. 
These castings are so uniform and true, I may not need to surface the front face to achieve a true running condition. The important machining, the diameter of the outside rim, the tire surface taper, and the inside face of the flange...all being concentric with the drilled axle hole will be done. 
Completed back side machining: 








Front side before turning the tire and flange surfaces: 









What do you all think?


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard: Looks like you cracked the code on turning cast iron. Great job. My vote is to face the rim and hub. Polished cast iron rims/hubs with painted spokes make a quality statement. 

You the man, Bob


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By xo18thfa on 06/19/2008 6:47 PM
Howard: Looks like you cracked the code on turning cast iron. Great job. My vote is to face the rim and hub. Polished cast iron rims/hubs with painted spokes make a quality statement. 
You the man, Bob



Bob, I was impressed on how the cast iron cut, once I got through the surface crust. It machined like butter It turns out the the front face of the rim wasn't as true and uniform as I suspected. So I had to machine the rim's front face after all. 

I noticed that the machined surfaces started to oxidize very quickly. Any pointers? 

Thanks for the input.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I've been using a 1:20.3 scale model as a basis for this build. To maintain a correct Model-T spoked wheel profile, I've patterned them as close to the scale model's wheels, as possible. Even though the casting is a little larger than desired, I'll be able to machine it to about the right size. 









Wheel Drawing: 








The dimensions for the above drawing: 
outside dimension at flange 1.720". 
front rim at tire 1.531" dia. 
tire surface angle 2.5% 
wheel thickness (excluding hubs) .250" 
flange thickness at base .086" 
front axle hub .063" high x .3750" dia. (as is) 
rear axle hub .1250" high x .498" dia 

The casting was chucked up in my 3-jaw chuck on the smallest of the diameters 
of the casting's front side. The backside was faced-off. The backside was further 
machined to form the rear axle hub at .490" dia. x .1563" deep and to reveal the 
spokes. The thickness of the wheel at this point was .250”. The back side of the spoke portion were further recessed another .0469”. The outside rim's [flange] flash was cleaned up to a rough diameter of 1.750" since the chuck jaw's were too close to machine to the final diameter. Without the work piece being removed from the chuck, a 3/32" [.0938”] diameter hole was drilled thru the hub and then reamed to the final axle diameter of 2.5mm 
[.0984"]. 

















The casting was then reversed and chucked up on the newly turned rear axle hub. The front axle hub, its diameter was left as is. The outside rim (flange) was turned to its final diameter at 1.720". 
Now I was ready for the 2.5 degree taper machining of the wheel's tire. Again, without removing the work piece from the chuck, I setup my compound slide and set the taper to be 2.5 degrees and turned down the tires surface until the outside diameter of the front rim edge was 1.531" and leaving the flange .086” thick at its base. 









That’s all for now.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard: Use a sheet of 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper (the black stuff) on a flat surface, with a few drops of oil. Gently work the wheel face in a circular or figure-8 pattern. You will get a nice satin smooth finish. You can repeat with 600 grit and work your way up to the finest paper available (I have some 2000 grit). Cast iron will polish up like glass, if you want to go that far. Just quit when it looks right. 

The cast iron surface will always need a light coat of oil from now on to prevent oxidation. That's just part of your periodic maintenance program. 

My vote is to polish the rims to high shine and paint the spokes black. That would look just too cool, especially if you are a Raiders fan. 

Good show on those wheels. Cast iron is great to cut once under the skin. 

Bob


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, 
Thanks for the good instructions on turning the wheels. I have some castings I wanted to do. I printed off this page! 

Jerry


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By xo18thfa on 06/20/2008 9:23 AM
Howard: Use a sheet of 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper (the black stuff) on a flat surface, with a few drops of oil. Gently work the wheel face in a circular or figure-8 pattern. You will get a nice satin smooth finish. You can repeat with 600 grit and work your way up to the finest paper available (I have some 2000 grit). Cast iron will polish up like glass, if you want to go that far. Just quit when it looks right. 
The cast iron surface will always need a light coat of oil from now on to prevent oxidation. That's just part of your periodic maintenance program. 
My vote is to polish the rims to high shine and paint the spokes black. That would look just too cool, especially if you are a Raiders fan. 
Good show on those wheels. Cast iron is great to cut once under the skin. 
Bob 




Bob...I tried your "polish-it-up" advice, but only to the 600 grit. Really worked well, thanks.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 06/20/2008 10:47 AM 
Howard, 
Thanks for the good instructions on turning the wheels. I have some castings I wanted to do. I printed off this page! 
Jerry

Jerry, in hindsight, the only thing I'd do differently would be to leave a little more thickness to the wheel during facing-off the rear side of the rim. Since I originally was going to leave the front side of the rim natural, I had brought down the overall thickness of the wheel's cross-section to .250" by the facing-off the rear side of the rim. Then the facing off the front of the rim to get rid of the casting's crust would allow you to shine-up the rim's front surface as suggested by Bob Sorenson.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Adding a boiler heat shield is necessary to protect the wood surfaces near the boiler. I used the drum sander on my drill press to create some additional space between the boiler and the truck's wood bed beams/decking. I then added a brass heat shield/radiator between the boiler and beams/decking. I soldered a ring of 1/16” brass rod to the top edge of the heat shield to provide some rigidity since openings in the shield were needed for the burner/flue at the front and for the steam motor mount at the rear. In between the brass heat shield and the boiler are 2 layers of hi-temp gasket material surrounding 2 layers of ceramic boiler insulation. 
























It's been way too hot to do anything outside (111 degrees in my patio) so I'm finishing up the last of the wheel machining. The rear journal fitting and mounting are also nearly completed. 
I anticipate using one of the "Permatex" hi-temp thread sealant products to attach the drive wheels to the rear axle. Which one is the question? Any help will be appreciated.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

The rear journals can now be fitted based on the finished wheel dimensions. A 1/8” x 17/32” x 3” mahogany spacer was cut to provide adequate positioning of the journals, both for wheel width & distance of axle below the truck’s bed beams. In order not to have the truck sitting way too high over the rails, some relief had to be cut into the bottom edge of each deck beam to accommodate the curve of the wheel & flange. I again used a sanding drum on my drill press to make this recess. For ease in removal, the spacers are screwed to the side of the bed beams using threaded inserts and 2-56 Hex head screws & washers. For a mechanical connection, the coil spring braced journals (Ozark part# 1011) have been modified by removing the center, cast-in NBW and replacing it with an 0-80 hex head screw with its washer & nut facing out in addition to using CA between the spacer and the journal. During the fitting, it became apparent that more space was needed between the wheels to get the 1.740” between the flanges. Consequently, I had to face-off the front hubs to a greater extent. The wheels will be secured to the axle with Permatex hi-temp thread sealant. 

























It's starting to get close to that time to disassemble and cleanup surfaces to do some final painting, but first the fenders, front journals and cab interior.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

After making the bracket that will allow the butane on/off valve to be secured in an on position and securing the steam motor to the under carriages motor bracket with a silicone rubber band, I set the Model-T up on blocks to lubricate the gear train, to fill the lubricator & to do a test firing. I had placed a hole in the radiator backing plate that will allow for filling the butane tank without having to remove the tank from its tight space. 
In this picture you can just see the little brass bracket at the rear end of the tank showing the cutout into which the on/off valve lever is secured: 








Butane refilling process: 








I filled the butane tank to just below its outlet tube (a little more than half a tank). I added the recommended 30ml of distilled water to the boiler. It took less than 4 miniutes to get a good head of steam. I flicked the flywheel in the correct direction a few times and off it took. It sounds like a bumblbee. It ran for a full 15 minutes as advertised, but that was not under any load, so it might not get 15 minutes when on the track. The boiler cladding worked well…I was able to touch the boiler cladding with little discomfort. When it stopped running, it still had 2ml of water, the lubricator was mostly empty, but only about ½ of the butane was consumed, so the water will have to be watched closely. 
In the next test, I counted the drive wheel’s revolutions per minute to calculate how fast it will travel down the track. The main drive wheels turned at 135RPM. With a wheel diameter at 1.531” x 3.1416 = 603” in 1 min. or about 50 feet/minute. 

In 1:20.3 scale speed, that’s about 11.8 mph 

All-in-all a successful test…I’m very pleased.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard: Looking real good. Can't wait to see her on the track. 

Bob


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I updated my front journal/bolster drawing. 









The 2.399” front axle is 3/16” brass rod with .624” at each end turned down to 2.5mm to accept the ID of the ball bearings. 








The bolster and journal frame is machined from a single piece of aluminum to its finished size of 1.300” long x .469” wide x .694” high. A 6mm (.2362") hole is drilled though the length for the axle and to accept the OD of the bearings. The center .0885” section of the aluminum is machined to a depth of .504” to form a rectangular U-shape. At the center of the top section, a hole is drilled at the pivot point just under the radiator casting. Between the bolster's top and the under carriage is a .250” dia. Nylon washer. 








Like the rear wheels, they will be attached to the axle hubs using Permatex thread sealant. 
For the radiator, a hole was drilled to facilitate butane refills. At the top of the radiator, a small eyelet and short escutcheon pin simulates the radiator cap. Near the bottom of the radiator casting a hole for the starter crank was made. The crank was made from a 1/16” x 1” escutcheon pin and a short piece of brass tubing for the handle. Another short piece of brass tubing is extended through the hole in the radiator casting and CA’d inplace. The crank is inserted into the tube and the end of the escutcheon pin is bent over to allow for rotation. Once the radiator casting is squared up, it'll be epoxied to its backing plate. 
















Happy 4th


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## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, 
I realize that "cute," "adorable," and other obscenities are not allowed in model railroading, but I gotta say that your truck is all of those things and more. This has been one of the mostest funnest projects to watch in a long time. Thanks for the wonderful progress pictures.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Carl....I appreciate you following along on this project and for your most kind comments. Doing this project was a break-away from my more serious Class A Climax build. This one has really been fun to do. 

Again, thanks for the support....it keeps me going.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

HOward, looking good! Some guys use Loctite to hold their wheels on. They put some grooves on the axle, so it can settle in there some and grip tight. Jerry


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 07/06/2008 9:18 AM
HOward, looking good! Some guys use Loctite to hold their wheels on. They put some grooves on the axle, so it can settle in there some and grip tight. Jerry



Jerry....I hadn't thought of making grooves...that would probably do the trick. I wish I new this when I was turning the axles/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sick.gif 
I was just using Permatex on the bearing flanges (carefully) and that seems to work well. Thanks for the hint.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

The fender/running board patterns were glued to a light cardboard for the fit check, along with the mechanical fittings for installing it all to the under carriage. 









Once the fitting was done & adjustments made, the fenders/running boards were cut from .010” thick brass sheet. Here I’ve bent the 3/64” dia. brass rod to fit the fender and running board pattern: 









After removing the pattern and cleaning up the brass, a brass beading was soldered around the edge of the fender/running board. 

















Next I did the shaping to conform to my pattern by hand using various cylindrical shapes found around the house. 









I added a layer of Mahogany Veneer Edging by Woodtape for the running board after scoring the length of it to simulate footboards. 

















The attachment fittings were formed in a way to place the running boards in line with the axles. The end of the attachment fittings were slipped between the under carriage and the insulation layer. The existing screws were sufficient to hold the fenders/running boards in place. 

















A note at this point: the quarter panels between the fender and the hood base could not be used. To fit the 45mm track, the axle length is quite a bit narrower than the standard automobile 1:20.3 Model-T’s axle length. Consequently, any use of a quarter-panel was not possible. 

More later!


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, Great build!! It is really looking very good. I'm impressed that you were able to steam power it, mine of the same scale barely fits an electric motor and 2 AAA batteries! I like the job you have done using brass and wood much better than the styrene I used. Thanks for all the great posts.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By placitassteam on 07/08/2008 3:50 PM 
Howard, Great build!! It is really looking very good. I'm impressed that you were able to steam power it, mine of the same scale barely fits an electric motor and 2 AAA batteries! I like the job you have done using brass and wood much better than the styrene I used. Thanks for all the great posts.

Winn..thanks for the praise/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif" border=0> 
Although all the running gear and steam components fit and operate well, I'm still not sure how well it'll trundle down the track. Hopefully I'll get to run it this week yet. 
The last real fabrication step I have to do is the Hood's louvers which needs a forming tool to be made on my mill. I'm also doing some final painting and detailing. Getting close now. 
This "build" will be the subject of one on the clinics at the Summer Steamup in Sacramento, July 16-20./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/unsure.gif" border=0> 

Aagain, thanks for the support.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I ran the Model-T on the rollers tonight with similar results seen when run up on blocks. The main differences were that the drive wheels were now attached to the drive axle with Permatex Thread Sealant, the steam motor had to overcome any resistance of the rollers and full weight of the rail truck was being exerted on the wheels. Here you can see the flame shooting into the L-shaped flue on the front side of the boiler. 
















Applying some manual resistance to the wheels rotation only slowed the RPMs down slightly, so I’m anticipating that it will indeed get around the track quite nicely. I’m planning to try it out on my track this weekend.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I got one run of the rail truck on Saturday night, but we had some thunderstorms run though here with their accompanying downpours so I had to quit. 
Now it’s Sunday and I just made a couple of successful runs around my test track. The rail truck ran well and took my tracks slight grade better than my stock Ruby did initially. All-in-all, I’m very satisfied on how it ran. 









































I still need to add the fenders, which have been painted and the work on the hood and it’s louvers still needs to be done. Some of the exterior details have been completed and mounted in place, as you can see in the pictures. Also, the Model-T now has a driver. 









The weathering of the whole rail truck is still ahead of me. 
Now it’s time to concentrate on getting ready for the Summer Steam Up.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, 
That is SOOOOO neat! Hope to see an article in SitG soon! Jerry


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Jerry. How about this:


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

THAT IS A FANTASTIC LOOKING LITTLE RAIL TRUCK. YOU HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN YOUR BUILD. 
ALL YOU NEED NOW IS A CHUFF ENHANCER. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue.gif 
i DID NOT CATCH THE SOUND OF THE LITTLE ENGINE. pARDON THE CAPS I AM NOT YELLING. 
AGAIN A BEAUTIFUL JOB YOU HAVE DONE.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

The fenders and running boards have been added. 
In this picture the tool box and lantern detail have been added to the drivers side running board: 









Fenders from the front: 









Passenger side detail: 









Steam driven water transfer pump with water hose and nozzle hung from the truck bed’s front rails.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

From NSS 2008: 
This was taken on Dwight's portable track...thanks Dwight. 

And now, after the completion of the Shay Up on the big track, I was no longer intimidated by all of the big dudes. So here's a short video of the Model-T on the "'big boys" track" border=0>


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## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, 
A spectacular culmination of events ! 
Good show.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, that is SOOOOO sweet! GOOD job! Jerry


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## GeorgeMMR (Jan 19, 2008)

Howard, 
I showed the videos to my wife, and she is already excited about being able to see your truck running at our steam up in November. 
And frankly, so am I! 
George


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Someone at NSS 2008 suggested that I add a small cow catcher to the rail truck. In all my internet searches for parts I hadn't remembered ever seeing a cow catcher small enough to fit my rail truck, so I kind of filed the idea in the back of my memory. But it happened that the Brandbright folks had a vendor table setup at the steamup and lo-and-behold they had a small brass cow catcher for sale. What luck!! 

So here's a picture showing the slightly modified cow catcher attached with two 0-80 hex head screws: 









I'm going to chemically blacken it. 

I found that I needed to add an attachement point for the fenders, so I drilled & tapped for a 2-56 screw at the point where the fender naturally touches the under carriage.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

It just keeps getting better. You may be sad when it is all done.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Great work Howard! Looks like a superb runner with that oscillator. 

Looking forward to the next, Bob


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

The steering column was trimmed to its final length and a canted floorboard structure was cut and soldered up using brass sheet. The steering column’s base is soldered into a hole drilled through the floorboard. All of the brass elements will chemically blackened. So far, I’ve skipped making & attaching the 3 pedals because of limited space. 

















More later!!


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought I might document the bulk of the interior and exterior detailing in this one message. 

On top of the column is the steering wheel casting secured by an escutcheon pin and soldered to the inner brass column. 








Using the next telescoping size brass tube as the outer steering column, I slipped the inner column into place. On the outer steering column I added the 2 control levers, “Spark Advance” and “Throttle” by soldering 1/16” sq. channel to each side. 
A 1/16” dia T-pin, bent to 90 degrees with an attached copper lever is slipped down the square channel. 








The front portion of the brass floor board structure is canted at about 45degrees and is only on the driver’s side. 
I fashioned 3 pedals out of brass, a brake pedal, & 2 pedals representing the “then state of the art” planetary transmission controls, the forward and reverse pedals. 
The steering column is soldered into the floorboard structure, while the pedal assembly was JB Welded to the floor board structure. 








Since the butane tank is coming through the center of the cab, the seat and seat back needed to single seats. 
The passenger side will not have a seat and will be used as a place for a dog to sit. 
The seat & seatback is a piece of balsa wood carved to represent the shape of a seat cushion. 
An escutcheon pin has been inserted in the center to achieve that upholstered look. The seat & seat back is made to be one piece and is CA’d to the cab floor. 








Escutcheon pins attach the driver to the seat & the dog to the floorboard.(dog not shown) 








The headlight castings were chemically blackened & enhanced by adding pearlescent snap buttons as the light's lense, then CA’s in place. The castings were attached to a 3/64” cross piece and CA’d in place on the radiator casting. 
















A conductor’s oil lamp (Ozark part# 86) with the red glass was hooked to the rear bed beam as the tail light. The tail light hangs from a hook which allows it to swing freely. 
I will be using Ozark Miniatures Switch Oil Lamps (part# 98) as marker lamps for each side of the cab. 
















A Water Can (Ozark part#1085) & an Oil Can (Ozark part# 1086) was added as part of the truck’s load. 
A Tool Box (Ozark part# 1084) was placed on the driver-side running board, a conductor’s oil lamp (Ozark part# 86) with the green glass, and a Water Bag (Ozark part# 1083) was hung from the truck bed’s rails. 
















On the opposite running board, a water steam transfer pump (Ozark part# 1038) along with coiled-up fire-hose hanging from the truck bed’s stakes was added for fire suppression duties. This is real 1/16" dia. rubber hose from Michael's Crafts with florist wire inside to assure that it will hang the way I want. 








A wood load was created by splitting pine firewood down to approx. scale size. 








A brass water tank was made as the supply for the fire suppression water pump. 








The water tank, wood load, oil can and the water can are all screwed on from the bottom thru the decking using lag screws for easy removal. The running board items are CA’d in place. 








The rear view mirror is made from small glass squares obtained from Michael’s Crafts. I cut it approx. in half. 
From the garden supply aisle at OSH, I picked up some adhesive-backed copper strip, the kind used as a barrier to snails. I fashioned a copper container to fit around the glass mirror, like the leaded glass technique. After fluxing the back and sides of the copper-clad mirror, I applied solder to lock the copper and mirror in place. 
I took a brass grab iron (Trackside Details part# TD-231) and soldered it to the backside of the mirror assembly at about a 45degree angle, yielding a rear-view mirror with a mounting frame. Holes were drilled in the cab’s front corner post to receive the mirror’s mounting frame. 
I used grab irons formed to the shape of the lower portion of the cab’s door as hand rails. 








And with it all in place: 
















Now on to the louvers!!


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## Alan in Adirondacks (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, 

Beautiful work... and it just keeps getting better! I got to see your truck run on Dwight's track at NSS but unfortunately did not shake your hand. Maybe we can meet and talk next year. 

Best regards, 

Alan


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

You've done a great job on this little truck Howard. She's a joy to behold running around the track and a real little conversation piece! Congrats!


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard: Very nice. Congratulations. What are ypu planning for the hood, paint or bare?? 

Bob


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By xo18thfa on 07/23/2008 4:29 PM
Great work Howard! Looks like a superb runner with that oscillator. 
Looking forward to the next, Bob



Bob, I'm very pleased on how well the oscillator steam motor worked. Not too fast and not too slow. It also pulls quite well on a slight grade...well what would one expect with a 40:1 gear reduction. I'm also getting longer run times than before....it's getting broken in. 

Posted By xo18thfa on 07/28/2008

Howard: Very nice. Congratulations. What are ypu planning for the hood, paint or bare?? 

Bob 




As for the hood, next is the cutting & forming of the louvers and then I'll paint it with gloss black Dupli-Color ceramic engine enamel and then sealed with a Krylon Matte finish. 

Thanks for your nice comments.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Alan in Adirondacks on 07/27/2008 2:22 PM
Howard, 
Beautiful work... and it just keeps getting better! I got to see your truck run on Dwight's track at NSS but unfortunately did not shake your hand. Maybe we can meet and talk next year. 
Best regards, 
Alan




Thanks Alan.....I'm also sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you at the NSS. We were all way too busy making things go 

Appreciate your nice comments.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Dwight Ennis on 07/27/2008 5:53 PM
You've done a great job on this little truck Howard. She's a joy to behold running around the track and a real little conversation piece! Congrats! " border=0>




Dwight....I really appreciate you having your track there. I was way too intimidated to venture out on the big track until the ShayUp was completed/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif 

Thanks.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 07/22/2008 12:09 PM
Howard, that is SOOOOO sweet! GOOD job! Jerry




Jerry, thanks for the cudos. They are appreciated. 

Posted By Jerry Barnes

It just keeps getting better. You may be sad when it is all done.




I still have to make the hood louvers, so the tooling I'm making for that will take a couple more days. 
There's a few more things I want to do with what's visible underneath the frame, like a simulated drive shaft, exhaust pipe and muffler, lower end of the motor and transmission and a number of tie bars. 

Now that you mention it, I am experiencing a twinge of withdrawals....but I just received some more Ozark Miniature's details, so I have few more days to go on detailing, then of course weathering.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By weaverc on 07/22/2008 11:19 AM
Howard, 
A spectacular culmination of events ! 
Good show.




Thanks Carl. It's neat when things come together.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

After looking at the cow catcher, I decided that it had a closed up look, not like the cow catchers I’ve seen. The entire bottom was a solid piece of brass joining the vertical ribs so that one could not see through the ribs down to the tracks. 
Here’s the before picture: 








So I used my vertical mill to remove the solid bottom portion, opening up the bottoms of the vertical ribs and then chemically blackened it. 








I made a muffler and exhaust pipe out of various sizes of brass tubing. I added a drive shaft & rear axle support rods, all attached to a wooden simulation of a transmission and Model-T’s IC engine’s lower end. In this picture you can also see the machined bottom side of the cow catcher. 








I painted up a number of Ozark Miniature detail items; track tools, jacks, hammer, wrench, shovels, rake, pick, chains, bucket and added them to the truck bed area & driver’s side of the bed’s stakes & rails. In the 1st picture you can see the exhaust pipe just below the bed's frame on the left side. 
























I also converted a CO-2 type fire extinguisher casting to simulate an old carbon tetrachloride fire extinguisher like those available in the 1920s and mounted it in the passenger’s side of the cab. The Model-T driver now has a companion dog riding along in the cab. 








You'll notice that the hood is missing in all of these pictures. I'm in the middle of making louvers for the side hoods. The louver forming tool is designed and machining has started. 
More later!!


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Just like the Beatles song, 'Getting Better All the Time'! Jerry


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

OKAY, I’ve completed making louvers in each of the hood’s side pieces. 

Here I’m documenting the design, building & testing of a dedicated piece of hard tooling used for making the hood louvers---another first-time-ever activity for me. It’s probably not very helpful to anyone else, since it’s unique to the Model-T Rail Truck project. I’m after repeatability here, so that’s why I’m making this tooling. There’s always a possibility that I will need to make another set of hood louvers or for that matter, another rail truck. I also will be able to try different louver widths, if needed. 
Anyway, here is a picture of the prototype hood louvers I’m going for. 

















The louver forming tool is made up of 6 pieces. The tool itself is 3/32” x ½” oil hardened flat tool steel stock while the base/die & its retainer/stop, the tool holder & its retainer and the side alignment stop pieces are all aluminum. Here are the plans I’m using: 









At this point the aluminum pieces have been rough cut, faced-off to size, marked up with Dykem blue layout marker and ready for laying out the drilling positions. I’ve also cut 3 copies of the steel tool, so I can experiment with the louver’s possible end shapes and whether I’m going to use the tool strictly as a forming tool by precutting slots through the brass louver material or to use the tool as a punch by sharpening & then hardening the edge of the tool so that it can be used to punch thru the brass. 









The aluminum for the base/die is 1.5” x 1.5” x 2.5”. It has a side alignment stop secured to the base/die by 2- 4-40 x 3/8 socket head cap screws. 








The die portion is for a single louver shape is ½” long by 3/32” wide. The die is machined into the edge of the base piece at a 30degree angle. It creates a louver that protrudes at a 30egree angle from the flat hood surface. Because of the narrow width of each louver (3/32”) a work piece retainer (1.250” x 1.5”) is secured with 4- 4-40 x 3/8 socket head cap screws across the face of the die to keep the formed brass in line with the front edge of the die. 








It also aligns the front face of the base/die with the front face of the tool holder. 









The tool holder is aluminum 1.5” x 1.5” x1.0”. It has a slot milled on its front face to match the width & depth of the actual tool. 








A 1” x 1.5” retainer bar is screwed across the front of the tool body’s milled slot giving a repeatable movement of the tool against the die. Again 4- 4-40 x 3/8 socket head cap screws were used. 









The 1/2” wide x 3/32” thick steel tool itself is machined at a 30degree angle on one end in addition to being ground at a compound angle at the top & bottom edges, yielding the shape of the louver and its edges. 

























The tool holder’s bottom face is secured to the base/die’s top face by 4- 10-32 x 1 ¼ socket head cap screws. The screws provide for firmly holding the work piece in place while forming a louver. Loosening the screws allows for advancing the work piece to the next louver position. 









The die represents the outside shape of a louver while the tool is shaped to be the inside shape. Using a hammer to hit against the top of the tool, the brass work piece is formed into the shape of the die. 

For a first test, I used thin .006” shim brass to see if I could punch through the brass with the tool and form a louver. If this test yields successful results, I’ll oil harden the tool’s edge for use on the thicker brass of the hood side pieces. 
















This test did not produce the uniformity of one louver to the next that I wanted. Alignment for punching the next slot was, at-best, hit’n’miss. 

I decided to precisely precut slots in another test piece with my mill, this time using .015” thick brass like the actual hood side pieces. I did a 6 louver test to see how repeatable and uniform the results would be. 
For this test I needed to cut 6 slots, ½” long every .134” across the face of the test piece. To do this, I mounted my .012” thick x 1 ½” dia. slitting saw blade/mandrel in my mill. I mounted the brass test piece to a wood block and CA’d it in place; then mounted it in my mill’s vise. To get the ½” long slot, I laid out a ½” long chord on the face of my slitting saw blade. The distance from the center of the chord to the edge of the blade was measured at .047”. Then by advancing the x-axis .047” the blade would plunge into the brass/wood block, producing a ½” long slot. Now I could advance the z-axis .134” to position the blade for the next slot, and so on. Here’s the saw setup: 








With the slots so accurately cut, by removing the tool retainer, aligning the tool with the next slot was very precise. After running the test piece through the forming tool process for each of the 6 louvers I got the following: 









Much better quality, but I’m going to reduce the space between each louver from .134” to .118” (about 1/64” closer together). So, now I’m on to repeat the above process for the real hood’s side pieces. Here’s one of the hood side pieces completed & the other being setup In the forming tool with 4 of the 6 louvers completed. 









After some sharp edge clean-up of the formed louvers with a file I reassembled them with the rest of the hood. 

















Another possibility mentioned early will be to decrease the width of each louver….a future task will modify the forming tool to allow for a 1/16” width tool, 1/3 narrower. 

But for now, I think I’m done, if that’s ever possible with one of these projects. 









































Thanks to all who have added their ideas and supportive comments. As always, it's appreciated.


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## steamboatmodel (Jan 2, 2008)

It looks fantastic, but you need someone in the back to chuck wood in the boiler. 
Regards, 
Gerald


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## k5pat (Jan 18, 2008)

It's a beautiful piece of work, Howard. You're a very talented guy.


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## Reed (Jan 7, 2008)

Howard, That is one fine truck you made. Thanks for the pictures and descriptions of how you worked it all out. 
Reed 
Sa 240


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Howard, That is a great looking little truck!!! Sure was a lot of work to form 12 louviers. That tool should come in handy if you do any more old vehicles.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

OUTSTANDING Howard! Now, get an article on it to Ron. Jerry


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