Mantua/Tyco 2-8-2

[Steamtrains]

Thanks for all the hints and suggestions...They'll all come in handy..!! Turns out I had a few photos of Mikes myself (some of Dr. W's and JGL Fan's...), but these additional ones are sure to be a big help...
I do have the detailing kit so I'll be dressin' er up with that. I'm thinking I'll leave the W'ton fwh as it is, just add some "widgits" to make it look "interesting", and just add the pump and associated piping. BTW, what's a good source for brass wire..??
'Nother question...What's that big box on top of the boiler just in front of the cab..??
On the installation instructions for the detailing kit they call for a throttle control rod coming out of the cab on the engineer's side and going towards the front of the boiler. Unfortunately they don't show where it ends up...Any ideas..??

Thanks again for all the input..!!

[nachoman]

Thanks for all the hints and suggestions...They'll all come in handy..!! Turns out I had a few photos of Mikes myself (some of Dr. W's and JGL Fan's...), but these additional ones are sure to be a big help...
I do have the detailing kit so I'll be dressin' er up with that. I'm thinking I'll leave the W'ton fwh as it is, just add some "widgits" to make it look "interesting", and just add the pump and associated piping. BTW, what's a good source for brass wire..??
'Nother question...What's that big box on top of the boiler just in front of the cab..??
On the installation instructions for the detailing kit they call for a throttle control rod coming out of the cab on the engineer's side and going towards the front of the boiler. Unfortunately they don't show where it ends up...Any ideas..??

Thanks again for all the input..!!

There was a detailing kit for the Mantuas? Who made it? Oh, and I get my brass wire from a little K&S display at the Ace Hardware store about a mile away. If you have an LHS, they will also cary brass wire. Just be sure you get the wire that comes in straight segments, instead of the softer, coiled "picture wire". You could also use steel music wire, but it is much stiffer and harder to bend and curve around the boiler. BTW, post plenty of photos. I absolutely love when people detail classic steam models.

[doctorwayne]

Detail Associates offer straight brass wire in various sizes, from .006" up to at least .052, and also many sizes of stainless steel wire, too. They also have brass bar in several sizes, some good for making your own sill steps for rolling stock. I prefer music wire for handrails on diesels and steamers, especially if they're going to be handled frequently, as it retains its shape much better than brass.

The box in front of the cab is the turret cover - on some locos, the pipes and fittings of the turret weren't enclosed. The turret referred to is simply a distribution point for steam for the various appliances found on the loco - these could include air pumps, water pumps, injectors, whistle, stokers, coal pushers, etc. The turret cover on my earlier picture of 4807 is a NYC-style, and similar to that on TH&B 202, a road partially controlled by NYC, while the one on Beeg Boy (the unpainted brass loco) is more like the one on your loco.

The loco shown below has an exposed turret, and that part is available from Cal-Scale. In my old Cal-Scale catalogue, it's Part TU-323. The various pipes are part of the casting and may be bent as desired by the modeller. If you opt for this version, the box on your model needs to be removed.


The throttle rod can go to either the steam dome, or to a front end throttle. The version to the steam dome is usually under the boiler jacketing, and wouldn't normally be visible. A front end throttle does have visible rods to control it, and they usually look somewhat like those on CNR 8414, shown below. The rod exits the cab just below the handrail and extends forward to a bell crank, with a second rod extending from the crank to a connection to the throttle itself, which is located just forward of the superheater, inside the smokebox.


This detail is also available from Cal-Scale and consists of the bell crank, throttle valve connection, and a number of guides for the control rods. The modeller supplies the wire for the rods. The part number is TL-268.

According to my re-print of the 1925 Locomotive Cyclopedia, the front end throttle was a fairly new innovation in 1925, but it quickly became very popular for the savings it offered and for its ease of maintenance. It was used on many new locos and retro-fitted to a large number of older ones, too.

Wayne

[e-paw]

Steamtrains, I have a few pics of one of those that was the starting point for this bash. It is a freelanced Mike classed M-1a of the Anna lines. It has a Wooten firebox and a custom cab on a carry boiler, with a Varney Tender.

[ocalicreek]

All this beautiful steam brings a smile to my face. A big smile.

Now the steel wire has one VERY important use, IMO, and that's for long handrails on the boiler and other places that might get repeated contact from big fumbly fingers (or even the most careful nimble digits). The softer brass wire will bend easily for sure, and you don't want that where it's important that the wire be perfectly straight.

Just don't use your Xurons to cut it. Read the warning on the package BEFORE you use it to nip hardened steel wire, like that found on Blue Point turnout machines or boiler handrails. Don't ask me how I know... :oops: :evil:

Galen

[doctorwayne]

In my opinion, the best way to cut steel wire is to use a cut-off disc. It's also useful, but not always necessary, when cutting the stainless steel wire. Smaller sizes of stainless steel wire and most sizes of soft brass wire are easily and neatly cut using the heel of an X-Acto #11 blade, working on a hard surface, such as a sheet of glass. I use an old blade, as the wire, especially the stainless, will nick the cutting edge. For small diameters, hold the wire under the blade and press down - make sure to hold the piece being cut off, too, or it will launch itself, never to be seen again. For larger diameters, hold the wire under the heel of the blade, and while pressing down, roll the wire back and forth with the blade. The wire should be either cut through or will be easy to snap-off cleanly at the break. These methods usually require little or no clean-up of the cut ends.

Wayne

[Steamtrains]

WoW..!! Thanks for all your comments AND pictures..!! They'll all be a great help on this build...!!

Yes...The detail kit was purchased from Yardbird Trains....They have LOTS of detailing stuff...I also purchased the "cow-catcher" assembly that has two air cylinders on it...Looks a sight better than the stock plastic CC...BTW...Does anybody make a boiler "backhead" casting, to cover up the motor that sticks halfway into the cab..?? That motor sure looks ugly in there...

I'll be taking a look at Cal-Scale for that throttle control, and additional details...

E-Paw....What is that "fixture" on the engineer's side below the catwalk and behind the air cylinder..?? (First picture...). Mi engine has that cast in, but I don't know what it is.... :oops:

I'll be posting some pics as work progresses (slowly) in a separate thread. Hopefully this won't take but a couple of months to get done....

[ocalicreek]

I found a boiler backhead casting in a detail parts lot on eBay. I made a mold of the part since it's the only one I've ever seen (here come the copyright police...I can hear them already...) and I might want to reuse it. Not sure who makes it since, as I said, I hunted through several detail parts catalogs and could not find one. I suspect the eBay parts lot may have been duplicates or excess inventory from some LHS.

That said, I don't have a Precision Scale catalog. Your LHS may have one and let you look through it so that you don't have to pay $18 for one, just to order a part or two. I have enough parts now to work on the couple steamers in my EOY contest entry but I've been collecting them at shows or online from time to time when I see a good deal.

A quick scan of eBay just now turned up a few promising listings. I searched for "HO backhead" but also look under HO detail parts or HO brass parts.

Galen

[doctorwayne]

BTW...Does anybody make a boiler "backhead" casting, to cover up the motor that sticks halfway into the cab..?? That motor sure looks ugly in there...

PSC offers backheads for several specific prototype locos, but don't show sizes. Many are for tea-kettle type locos, but they show one for a WM M-2, a D&RGW L-105, and a B&O EM-1. I'm guessing that they're plastic parts as these three are all listed at $6.75 each. They also show superdetailing kits for cab interiors, with prices extending well-past the $100.00 mark.
You should be able to construct your own from sheet styrene, and, depending on the cab you use, it could be constructed to be part of a plastic cab. Another option would be to pre-curve some sheet styrene, then use ca to cement it to the inside of the curve of the boiler, and extending rearward into the cab. Cut the rear edge so that the top extends just past the top of the motor, and the bottom extends somewhat farther. Use solvent cement to put a styrene back on it, add whatever details you want (there's all sorts of backhead details available if you want to spend the cash, but you can simulate a lot of it with bits of wire and styrene) and paint. While the extra details can be very impressive-looking, most are almost impossible to see when the loco's on the layout. If the exposed motor is a can-type, a coat of paint is usually sufficient.

E-Paw....What is that "fixture" on the engineer's side below the catwalk and behind the air cylinder..?? (First picture...). Mi engine has that cast in, but I don't know what it is.... :oops:

That appliance is a power reverse - used on all modern locos to move the valve gear to adjust the loco's running characteristics and, of course, to reverse the whole shebang. There are many styles and sizes available from Cal-Scale and PSC.

By the way, if you order from PSC, there's a $30.00 minimum. It's actually not too hard to drop much more than that on detail parts: the Mantua Mike that I posted earlier (the fuzzy-looking photo) has well-over $100.00 worth of parts added, and that's at late '70s prices. It's not just recently that I've become nutz, y' know.


Wayne

[Schraddel]

Hello!

@Steamtrain

This boiler backhead and cab floor was made of styrene sheet.
Only the curved piece has to be bended in form.
If you dive the styrene in hot water it will soften a little and so you can bend it. Fix it until it has cooled down, so it will hold its new form.
If not satisfied try it again until it has the right fit.
For not scalding your fingers take two pliers
Good luck!


Greetings Lutz

[doctorwayne]

Thanks, Lutz - your picture tells it better than my words.

Wayne

[Steamtrains]

Thanks for the heads-up on those parts....And the info on the reverser...I thought that's what it was, but it looks a lot (I think...) like the pump for the "W'ton" fwh...
Lutz, that's one nice backhead you made there...Any pictures of the cab side..?

[Schraddel]

Yes Gus, there are photos of the backhead.


I never detailed the inside of the cab. The only things i done was painting the whole cab interior matte black and placing engineer and fireman.
You have only a minimum of chance to see fine details in this cab, especially when the cab rear wall is mounted, so i decided in this case not to detail the interior.

Lutz

[Steamtrains]

Thanks Lutz....I follow the same principle..."If you can't see it under "normal" conditions, don't bother with it..."

[rrinker]

Steamtrains, I have a few pics of one of those that was the starting point for this bash. It is a freelanced Mike classed M-1a of the Anna lines. It has a Wooten firebox and a custom cab on a carry boiler, with a Varney Tender.

Very CNJ-ish with the feedwater heater brow.

--Randy