Plumber's Nightmare, a United model of a New York Central H10b Mikado got a new suspension for the delta truck:


Before


And after. First i closed the usual huge gap between firebox and trailing truck.
Then i made the sprung axle boxes on the delta truck working by deburring and reaming the delta frame. A slide bar for the delta truck was also mounted by soldering a piece of brass profile onto. There is an additional spring between the trailing truck and die slide bar. So there is a smooth sprung action of the trailing truck.

Some years earlier i did the same with a Spctrum Mountain with styrene sheet:

Before


After. The gap did not satisfy me really. So i close it.


Simple two pieces of 0.5mm styrene mounted in a vee-shaped manner glued on the underside of the main frame. The vee-shape still allows the trailing truck to move freely sidewards.


Now it is done in brass. Two pieces of thin brass sheet are soldered onto the main frame.

Lutz

Hello Lutz---your NYC Mike is a real beauty.I have a similiar gap issue with one of my locomotives---thanks for offering a solution to the problem

"The Gap" is a real problem on so many of these engines, supposedly in order for them to negotiate tight turns. But after seeing your solution I wonder if there isn't more that manufacturers can do to correct this problem in the design phase.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your work - the modifications you've made (piping, etc) are terrific. That beast is indeed a plumber's nightmare. I seem to remember a picture of one of those in the Kalmbach Steam Cyclopedia.

Galen

Mind the "Gap" or closing the "Gap".
Here are some more pictures.


Spectrum 2-10-2 USRA light, still miising the slide bar for the delta truck.


So is was made. The spring is for sprunging the trailing truck.
Here a short coupling device (Kurz Kupplungs Kulisse) was mounted. Causes a very short distance between loco and tender. And it is possible to go through relative small radius without having trouble of hooking loco and tender each other.
The Spectrum trailing truck was modified to became a more close look to original delta truck.



Spectrum 2-6-6-2 USRA.
Similar done as above.
Here the Hodges truck was modified.



Brass 2-10-2 USRA light.
Two stripes of brass sheet, bended and cut to fit.


The strange formed bronze sheet is the spring for the trailing truck. This 2-10-2 was a junker. There really was a monday in Korea in the 1970's...

Lutz