MDC/ROUNDHOUSE locomotive rebuilds

[doctorwayne]

That's coming along nicely, Glen. The Bachmann boiler assemblies are a great source of parts. I have five of them on-hand, bought mainly because I've made the Bachmann cab the standard for most of my freelanced roads.

On a Varney boiler riding on a Bachmann Ten Wheeler's running gear:



On a slightly modified IHC Mogul:



On a modified brass Mogul, formerly a B&M B-15:



...and, of course, on the Bachmann Consolidations, too:



Wayne

[cnrglen]

They all look great Wayne, I just hope mine come up half as good.
I continued with the boiler of the consolidation today:

I finished gluing in the feedwater lines, then I added the compressor, air tanks and I think the water trap(?) to the right of the compressor. I ended up using the MDC compressor, the Bachmann air tank and a water trap out of the parts box.

I am a bit puzzled by the plumbing below the cab in the prototype photos, it almost looks like the injectors have been located there? I'm not sure If I'll duplicate that, maybe just adding the tender feed line and the blowdown line like I did with the 4-6-0.

[doctorwayne]

Thanks, Glen.

The N-4-a Class consisted of locos 2515-2686, all built originally as Richmond compounds for the Grand Trunk Railway. Over the years, their appearance varied widely. Your photo of 2629 appears to show a non-lifting injector below the fireman's side of the cab, and the one on the other side would likely be the same. A photo of 2626 appears to have lifting injectors, although they're inside the cab. At least five of the class received Worthington BL-type feedwater heaters, including 2646, 2648, and 2654. Many of the class, if not all, had sheathed smokeboxes, too.

Wayne

[cnrglen]

Thanks again Wayne. I guess it would be easiest to work with 2616 as my example a I don't have lifting injectors available. Just asking though, what is a 'sheathed' smokebox?

[doctorwayne]

A sheathed smokebox has asbestos lagging applied to it, the same as the rest of the boiler barrel, which is then covered with sheet metal. This makes the smokebox area the same outside diameter as the portion of the boiler to which it's attached. I should have noted that these locos originally had sheathed smokeboxes, but the sheathing was removed as the locos were modernised.
The Bachmann injectors do represent the lifting type, and they're suitable for, from the photos I have available, 2606, 2607, 2611, 2616, and 2626. Most of the control area of this piping is located in the cabs of these locos, not exposed as on the Bachmann Consolidation, so you'd have the line from the tender (larger of the lower two Bachmann pipes) and the overflow visible beneath the cab, then the delivery pipe to the check valves visible on the boiler's sides.

Here's a somewhat blurry photo showing the control rods for lifting injectors which I've added to my locos. These and the pipes and fittings in the immediate vicinity would be inside the cab, unseen, on your locos:



A photo of 2617 shows non-lifting injectors, so it's not adviseable to assume that consecutively-numbered locos were all converted from lifting to non-lifting types.

Wayne

[cn nutbar]

I'm always amazed by the outstanding workmanship and creative skills of all those indivduals (too many to name) who make their "works of art" I am very fortunate to have a good friend in Doctor Wayne who has been the source of most of my collection.Here's an example of a standard Bachmann Consolidation that was modified by Wayne to represent a N3 CNR locomotive.

[cnrglen]

Thanks for all the help. I drew up this crude sketch on paint:

This is what I was going for to make a reasonable facsimile of 2616's piping. Am I on the right track here?

[sailormatlac]

Interesting Wayne, I took a look at builder's phot of the Grand Trunk 2-8-0 and it's impressive how these locomotives changed so much over the years. They used to be so plain. It's funny how almost nobody in Canada dare to model the Grand Trunk while it was the most extensive network for decades and left an indelible mark on Canadian National, Canada and United States.

Glen, the fun part about detailing a steam loco is figuring out how the plumbing works and bits of interesting history.

Matt

[doctorwayne]

....I took a look at builder's phot of the Grand Trunk 2-8-0 and it's impressive how these locomotives changed so much over the years. They used to be so plain.....

Yeah, the modernised versions bear little resemblance to the original locomotives.

Glen, your sketch looks about right. Basically it's the same set-up as used on the Bachmann Consolidation, but with most of the "working parts" hidden inside the cab.

Wayne

[cnrglen]

Thanks Wayne, I'll get back to the project now :mrgreen:

On the other hand I've been also working on Four CP diesel engines that I've had on the works, distractions, distractions

[cnrglen]

Just a bit of progress on this project today.

I mounted the cab using the same procedure that I used on the old-timer 2-8-0 at the beginning of this thread. I need the cab in place so I can figure out mounting for other items and piping. I'll let the epoxy set overnight before continuing.

[cnrglen]

I did a light weathering job on the 4-6-0 this afternoon


With a small mixed train like the photo

This was all I was able to do today. I was going to do some more airbrushing on the 4 diesels I am working on but my compressor broke. The cooling fan attached to the motor shaft came loose and the electric motor overheated, causing it to quit. The good news is that once it cooled down it ran fine but now the fan is being 'J-B Welded' back onto it's mounting collar and I can't spray anything until tomorrow.

[cnrglen]

I went ahead with the piping on the boiler and frame today, starting with the cooling coil beside the air tank.

I used some Phosphor Bronze wire this time instead of the brass, it bends a bit easier. I used the second air tank from the Bachmann shell as a guide for length.

I taped and pinned it down to some hardboard and slipped the flat brass rod under.

Then I soldered everything together. After this I used a hobby knife to clean up the soldering joints a bit.

I bent the remaining wire to go in the compressor on one side and the air tank on the other. I also added the compressor-cab line.

Then I flipped the assembly over and added the tender water line and the blowdown line, as well as the air line assembly. They all came from the Bachmann shell as well. The air line assembly doesn't fit quite as well as I had hoped but it's good enough. I doubt I could do better myself.

I then added the tender and blowdown lines on the compressor side. I had to assemble the frame and wheels onto the boiler so I could get a good look-see to where the lines would sit on the finished model. This pretty much finished the plumbing work, now I have to work on the chassis.

[cnrglen]

after looking at the prototype photos of 2616 I just wasn't happy with the Bachmann air lines on the engineer's side. They are also made of delrin plastic so they don't glue very well. I did consider using the back end of the air lines and adding brass wire:

But that would be mixing two different lines and again trying to CA delrin is like nailing jello to the wall.
I ended up spending the afternoon making a whole new assembly:

The hardest part was the bends to make it follow the cab to boiler transition. It was made pretty much like the cooling coil, but with 4 separate wires and a lot more soldering.

In the end I think it looks better, and the glue joints fro brass to the zinc boiler will be stronger as well. I also added the power reverse, it fit nicely under the air lines. I'll trim and bend the lines properly when I'm satisfied the CA has cured properly.

[sailormatlac]

Excellent work Glen! It's easier to make them from scratch than bashing delrin parts.

Matt