PRR A5 0-4-0

[tetters]

That looks really cool. I love the brass detail parts. Can't wait to see it with a coat of paint.

[Schraddel]

Next steps were the superdetailing of the shell:


Mostly was mounting of the brass detailing parts contained in the kit. But by comparison with prototype photos there was still something missed.
So i scratchbuilt a valve gear lever out of styrene sheet by cutting, filing and milling. Further i added an ashpan simply made out of an styrene half tube. Not quite exact as the prototype, but it looks right compared to prototype photos. Some tiny plumbing on the smokebox also was done.
This thin plumbings were simply recycled electric copper wire of suitable diameter.


I added a moveable bridge between loco and tender. Made out of an piece of brass. On the front edge i soldered a piece of 0.5mm brass wire which extends ca. 2mm. Then i made two hinges out of 0.5mm brass wire and mounted them on the rear cab wall.


On the front of the cylinder block i added an 1 x 1mm styrene stripe to simulate the flanges were the prototype cylinder blocks are bolted together.


Two other photos.


On this photo you can see clearly the milled area besides the smokebox. Initially there the running board was very massive.
So i milled the surplus material off and created a prototypical see through here. Two board mounting brackets were made out of brass stripe.


Further comparison with prototype photos. The footboards were to massive and looked not right.
So i decided to make new ones. Brass 4 x 2 x 0.5mm angled stripes and brass 1 x 0.5mm rectangular stripes soldered together and mounted.
That's looks much better.

Lutz

[doctorwayne]

Lookin' good, Lutz. A plumber's nightmare, just like the real thing.

Wayne

[modelsof1900]

Lutz, one word only -

Great!

[Puddlejumper]

This is truly amazing. Just, wow! Hopefully one day I can copycat you.

[Sumpter250]

Yes, I find myself speechless

[ocalicreek]

I appreciate the extra steps you are taking to ensure better fidelity to the prototype look. It's something I strive for in my models as well. It's not necessarily prototype accuracy (even though I imagine it is), but fidelity - capturing the 'right' look. Some of the details will go unnoticed to the untrained eye, but they will add to the overall 'rightness' of the model. That you're doing it with detail is even more impressive. Great work!

Galen

[Schraddel]

Here the first coat of paint was applied. Black is very dark indeed.
Also the wiring has begun. There are six wires running from loco to tender:
- two for current pick up
- two for motor
- two for front light
All wires are black for more invisibility later on.
So i marked them with this paper labels.
The weight on the kitchen scale is in Grams.


I made current pick up from all tender wheels. Necessary for uninterrupted switching to my enjoyment.
The wipers were made out of copper sheet. For the non insulated wheel they are wiping the axles. And they wipe direct on the back of the insulated wheels.
Right of the vise is the tender bottom partly visible.
Above is the tender shell upside down. I glued plastic profiles inside the tender walls to form bolsters for the bottom. Originally there is only the tender shell with two very massive mounting post for the trucks. One of them i milled away and the front truck is bolted to the new made bottom.
The glued plastic sheet on the ceiling is for insulation puposes to keep the smoke of the decoder inside
The two wires are leading to the tender backlight. The are actually the wires of an 3mm LED inserted in the lamp case. The soldered on plugs eases the mounting of the whole as you can easy put the components together.

To demonstrate how the tender is wired inside a photo form another project (German stuff)

The six wires leading from loco to tender are soldered according NMRA rules to an 8-pin socket. A second 8-pin socket is mounted in the tender and all connections from the tender as pick up and lights are soldered in a sideward manner to the pins. So the socket with the connections from the loco can be still plugged into the tender socket. And into this sandwich there you can now plug in the decoder. In the pictured case there is only an bridging plug.
It is also possible to run the loco alone without tender.


Loco and tender connected. I plugged an ESU Basic decoder in and start test running and programming in DCC mode.

Lutz

[Steamtrains]

WoW....!!! What seemed to be a mass of piping and fixtures has now coalesced into a single unit, beautifully put together..!!

Let's see some close-up pictures...!!

[e-paw]

Excellent work , She's a real looker...

[nachoman]

That was a popular kit - and this is perhaps the best build of said kit I have ever seen!

[doctorwayne]

Very nicely done!

Wayne

[ocalicreek]

Galen

[Schraddel]

When I looked at the prototype photos again, I saw many of Pennsy's A5s had spark arrestors. Made of wire mesh in an half spherical shape and mounted to a ring. This ring is hinged to the side of the stack. Bowser has included in the kit a lost wax brass casting which contains the hinge and the ring, but no wire mesh.
So what's to do?
The solution came when i had to replace the internal valve of the shower armature in my bathroom. There was an little wire mesh made of stainless steel in this now obsolete valve. O.k. never throw something to the waste until you have it exactly examined if there are usable parts for model railroad purposes in it.

The shape was not the right one, but the mesh was fine enough to be fine on a model and coarse enough to withstand mechanical forces e.g. by inadvertently rough gripping when the loco is busy switching on the layout.


Here we go. My drillpress, a bushing of suitable inner diameter, a vise, two brass blocks and an plunger made of some 4mm rounds.


Then do not drill, but only press.


Then cut the surplus material off with a cutting disc.


As stainless steel is not solderable, i glued it with CA.


Now it looks right and that little A5 has got an spark arrestor.

Lutz

[modelsof1900]

Lutz,

really a masterpiece of modelling art, your PRR A5. Congratulation and enjoy with this fine model!
I should start my own engine modelling jobs because all my locos will need a digitalization and most a bit more.