Well, after the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha and the 1” scale Porter, I’m back at it again.
I received an Aristocraft Mikado motor block for Christmas and now it’s time to put it to some use.
The Model Railroader Steam Cyclopedia yielded a nice line drawing of this loco and after playing with the scale a little, I was able to come up with some proportions that will allow the use of the Aristo block.
The first step I took was to print out a copy of the drawing and begin to cut and tape it together. I usually use about three of these drawings for my projects so some more copies will need to be made before I go too much further.
Below is a photo of the motorblock laid out on the drawing.
The first thing I will need to do is to beef up the thickness of the tires.
As supplied, they are just to thin and don’t represent the same chunkiness that the Birk requires.
That means that the supplied counterweights will need to be removed. New ones fabricated.
And some very thin circular pieces of styrene will need to be glued to the spokes to build up the tire thickness.
This should keep me busy for a day or so.
This morning and afternoon were devoted to thickening up the tires on the motor block. I used thin slivers of PVC pipe to make the thicker tires.
Once glued in place, I powered up the block and used a hobby knife to trim off the extra material.
I then cut out some new counterweights and glued them in place.
Finally, I gave everything a coat of paint to see how it would look.
still need a little filling.
One-step forward, two steps back!
After taking a good hard look at the tires last night I came to the conclusion that they just did not look right. Instead of heavy tires, I had something that resembled a badly scaled up version of an old American Flyer tinplate loco.
So, this morning I went out to the garage and tore off the plastic inserts. Below you will see the result.
This also has the effect of making the drivers appear larger which is desirable because they actually are about 3/16 under sized.
I’ve spent the past few days in the garage working on this beast and I can say that The Berk is much larger than I was expecting. The boiler is well under construction, with thin wedges of styrene plastic glued on the PVC pipe base.
I then warped the wedges with some thin styrene sheet and glued everything together.
The firebox will come next, but I will have to make a rivet punch first. To some one who follows the “ten foot rule” this is tantamount to drawing pentagrams on the church floor.
I’ve also done some work on the trailing truck and was shocked to discover that some major cutting and gouging are going to be required on the motor block to get the rear truck anywhere near where it should be.
In any case, below are some photos of the trailing truck progress.
Finally as I write this, the mold for the Buckeye trucks is setting up and should be ready to use by next week. Provided I can actually pull the master out of the rubber!
They ain’t pretty, but these cast buckeyes will work just fine for my purposes. The technique is simple enough. Mash your mater pattern into a block of plastic clay (available from tap plastics).
Pour in a little casting resin
Drop in a piece of brass or metal rod for strength and then just sit back and watch the reaction.
Th next little project was to build a rivet maker which is nothing more than a small hole drilled into some brass and a drill bit that has been cut down and had the tip rounded off.
Using this thing to make rivets is a snap!
Below is the boiler and firebox so far.
I also test ran the motor block with the trailing truck and found that it had no trouble negotiating my 10 dia. curves. We’ll see if this changes when I put the pilot truck on the front.
Ok, I snapped some photos of the pilot truck that I made yesterday. It sits very far forward from the first driver and looks funny without any cylinders yet. I also took it out for a test run and it seemed to run just fine without derailing on the 10-dia curves.
Well, work has interfered with my model building a little this past week but I was able to make up for the down time.
The sandbox was the first little project and was a little tricky because it sits on the cone shaped piece of boiler. Tighter diameter in the front than at the back.
I overcame this by cutting a “V” into the bottom of the wood block. I then taped a very thin piece of plastic over the boiler. Finally, I smeared the “V” full of JB Weald and stuck it on top of the thin sheet. All of the excess epoxy oozed out the sides and once it had hardened, I had a perfect contour of the loco boiler on the bottom.
I then simply sanded it to shape and put on several coats of clear varnish to disguise its core material.
I’ve also managed to put the rivets on the smoke box.
Finally, I went to the hardware store and bought some pluming fittings to make a custom drum sander to sand the firebox contour into the smokestack.
The stack was turned on the lathe and then the curving contour of the smoke box was sanded into the bottom.
I now have the option of using the turned wooden stack, or I can try to use it as a pattern for casting one out of metal.
Hmmm…
It’s amazing what you can get done in an hour before you have to leave for work!
Yesterday I was able to turn a steam dome on my lathe.
Today I cut out a circle for the front of the smoke box, cut a bunch of octagonal styrene for the front and got all of those little bits glued into place.
BTW thanks to Charles for posting those detailed photos of the Aster Berk under the live steam forum.
There was a brief intermission in the work on the Berkshire the other day when the Fed Ex truck showed up. If you think it’s fun when the UPS guy shows up with a package, you can imagine how much fun it can be when a truck shows up with a lift gate on the back to get your package out. In any case, after some tricky work with a cherry picker, I now have a new 10X20 lathe sitting in my shop. Can’t wait to play with it!
The smoke box front is progressing nicely. I have turned the front door, installed the dogs on the front and began working on the numberplate supports. Photos below show the progress.
If you look closely you can see that some of the dogs have fallen off.
(I was a little too ambitious and began working on the numberplate supports before the glue was dry. I’ll tackle the lost ones tonight, but instead of using solvent glue, I’ll super glue them in place.
Today seems to be one of those days when nothing goes right in the shop. Parts caught on fire, small peace’s melted, and electricity failed to flow. As a result, progress was minimal. I was able to get a good start on the headlamp and after several failed attempts at powering it, it finally worked. So I’m calling it quits for today. I’ll leave you with some photos of the progress so far.
Joel
Short update for today.
The headlamp has been painted and the number boards have been stuck in place.
A coat of gloss paint finished off the job.
Below is a photo of the test fit on the smoke box front.
I hope to start on the cylinders today.
Joel
Please excuse the excessive number of photos in this post. I just got a new camera and I’m testing it out.
I have started on the cylinders this past week and have been having lots of fun with the new lathe.
I cut out a park of patterns for the body and used some ¾ inch brass stock as spacers between them.
I figured the weight couldn't’ hurt much.
I cut the cylinder heads out of sheet styrene.
Roughly cut them to shape.
Drilled a hole in the center and mounted them on the lathe.
The front cylinder heads were trimmed on the lathe and then I added a taper to them.
The point in the project when I mount the motor block to the body of the loco is always one of the most exciting times. This is when the model goes from being something inanimate to a living thing that comes alive with a twist of the throttle.
Today I was able to wrap the skirt around the cylinders, stick the motor block onto the boiler and take it out for a test run.
Right off the bat I found out that the pilot wheels hit the cylinders and caused a derailment.
This was solved by moving the pilot wheel ¼” forward. The second test was successful but now I need to shorten the front of the pilot. This was not much of a problem because when I initially made the part, it was about ¼” too long to begin with.
So I’ll wind up with a better looking and performing model by making this change.
Oh one last thing, I gave the tires a coat of silver paint…just because.
Inspired by Rod’s K-27 bash, I have begun to cut the running gear out of some brass stock. Actually, it’s the remains of a brass doorplate that I have been slowly cannibalizing over the years. Looks like the last 6”X6” piece will serve as the running gear for my model. A much better fate that simply being screwed to a door to protect it from kicks!
Below are some photos showing how I made the link support.
The process is simple:
Glue a copy of the piece to be cut out onto the sheet metal.
Use some metal shears to cut the outside curves and general shape.
Then use a punch to cut any circular openings in the part.
Finish off the part with a “nibbler” available at most electronics stores like Radio shack.
To make an identical piece, I took the first one that I made and soldered it onto another peace of brass sheet.
I then used the first piece as a guide for cutting the second.
That's it for now.
I’ve made another attempt at silver soldering and this time, thanks to some good advice found in one of Kozo Hiraoka’s live steam books, I was successful. As a result, the hanger for the valve gear is finished. It started as being one peace but I soon found out that it was causing a short circuit and had to be cut in half to break the circuit. Once that was done, the model ran freely.
The next step was to cut down the Drive rod supplied with the motor block to the correct length and fabricate the crossheads.
Connecting the crosshead to the piston was a little tricky and required a little milling and more silver soldering to get it right.
I had some problems with the coupling rod striking the nuts that held the main rod to the piston so I had to take the hole thing apart and do some more milling to make everything flush. This took a lot of swearing.
To the layman, it may seem that swearing is uncalled for, however anyone who has worked with metal realizes that swearing is necessary. Swearing is an effective lubricant that seems to make bound parts free up. It also imbues metal with extraordinary malleable properties that allows the swearer to bend stretch and flex metal in ways that the non-swearer could never hope to attain. Remember though, swearing is like heavy lifting. You don’t want to just start out with full force. I would recommend starting gently. Under your breath is the best way to start. Some times that is enough to free up a stuck tap. Once you have a feel for the problem, you may begin to exhort more freely, calling into question the offending part’s lineage and ultimately calling down the wrath of the All Mighty. Should this not work, I recommend threading and weaving your profanity into a rich tapestry with witch to wrap the part. Done over a prolonged period I will have some effect…not always on the part though.
Till next time.
It seems like I’ve spent a lot of time on this project with out much to show for it lately. Is this the way all steam engine builds go? The past week has been dedicated to working on the pistons, rods, cross heads and all the other associated little moving parts on the side of the loco.
Once I was sure that I had eliminated any binding of the main rods, everything was taken apart again and the details were added to the crosshead guide.
I also took this time to finish radius rod holder and combination lever.
I’m definitely glad that I did not choose this as my first scratch building project or I wold have become frustrated and set it aside long ago!
In any case, it’s a lot of fun now.
It’s been a while since I last updated you, so here is the latest progress on the Berkshire.
I glued the sand lines in place and started work on the walkways. I also made up a pair of air tanks out of some K&S brass tube and a couple of plugs that I turned on my new lathe. (Boy is that thing nice!)
I then cast a couple of air compressors using my standard practice of mashing a master into some clay and then pouring resin into the cavity left behind. One of these days, I’ll take the time to make some proper rubber molds for these parts. Maybe on the next project.
The front steps were next on the list of parts to be made. They are sheet brass that was cut to size, bent and silver soldered together. Those two peaces took up most of the hour and a half of shop time that I allow myself before going to work.
Finally, I cut an end beam out of some styrene and also started fabricating a mounting plate for the beam and cowcatcher.
Once that is done and in place, I can mount the air compressors and build some compressor shrouds.
Below is a photo of a “test fit of the compressor under the steps.
Here is an interesting way to have some fun:
Spill some CA glue on your counter top and then promise to “clean it up just as soon as I get finished with this little peace”.
Then, while distracted, set your safety glasses in the glue, being sure to thoroughly soak the parts that make contact with your temple.
Crazy glue in its “lurking” state can remain as a liquid for a seemingly indefinite amount of time. However, once the glue makes contact with human skin, say the sensitive and thin skin on the side of your head, it dries instantly assuring that you will not be removing your safety glasses in your accustomed fashion. I can assure you that an activity like this can keep you occupied for quite some time!
On the plus side, I was able to mount the steps, the air compressors and the front beam following my bole experiments in amateur dermatology.
See photos below
That's it for now.
I practiced modeling of a different type this week, namely posing for a wedding photographer with my wife!
As I was carrying my bride over the threshold I happened to notice that there was a nice light yellow package from Aristocraft sitting on the doorstep. This immediately threw Hillary into a panic because she though I would drop her and make a snatch at the package. Fortunately, everything worked out and I got most of the stuff I had requested from Aristocraft. Oh…and the wife got across the threshold without being dropped!
Here is the progress on the Berk so far.
The coupler pocket has been installed and painted
A new cab arrived from Aristocraft
The cab has been fitted into place.
It’s really starting to look like a Berkshire now!
 Posted - 18 Jul 2007 : 08:47:11 
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A minor update for today, I finished the chicken coop pilot. Next will be the handrails.
Joel
Ok, Charles was quite correct when he said the devil was in the details. Just making two sets of handrails has eaten up a lot of my playtime in the garage. It’s looking better all the time yet there is still so much detail work to be done!
I’m looking forward to the relatively clean lines of the Pennsylvania 4-4-2 Atlantic for the next project. If might not be streamlined, but it sure has a nice clean boiler.
Anyway, below are the photos of the handrails.
The long ones on the side are held in place with very small cotterpins that I picked up at the local hardware store and silver soldered into place.
Joel
A lot of progress has been made.
To start with, I finally was able to make a good rubber mold of a buckeye truck. The castings look much better than the first set, which were done in clay molds.
Next was the installation of marker lights on the smoke box,
generators,
a whistle,
some piping and a stoker.
The stoker line will serve as the drawbar connecting the tender to the loco.
The tender is now under construction as well. A set of pine board have been cut to shape and I have been busily punching rivets into styrene sheets.
One side has been finished and the styrene has been glued to the wood and given a coat of black primer.
It’s now too hot to work in the garage so I’m calling it quits for the day.
I spent the pat few days working on the tender and was able to glue the base and sides together. Still no sheet styrene on the back, front or top but I wanted to get the rough shape of it before I started assembling the trucks.
The buckeye castings that I made a few weeks ago have had holes drilled into them to accept wheel axles. I currently am out of Bachmann wheels though so I had to cannibalize a few of my freight cars to get the wheels that I needed. Hopefully Santa will bring me some replacement wheels this winter but until then, I’m without a flat car and a refer. Railroad revenue will suffer, but the increased freight capacity expected from the Berk should make up the difference.
Even though I carefully measured the location for each axle hole, I still had to do some matching up to find which side frames worked well with each other. Once that was done, I cut some brass and used it to hold the sided frames to each other.
The next step was to start fabricating a bolster mount of some kind. I think I will try to use two pieces of brass bent in a “c” shape and silver solder a piece between with a pivot point soldered on as well.
(See crude drawing)
That should keep me busy for a few more days.
I can never seem to be able to bend metal accurately, don’t ask why; it just always comes out being too long or too short. This was true for the bolster portion of the tender trucks. I finally just wound up cutting most of the pieces in half and silver soldering them together. This worked but does not look very nice. Fortunately, these pieces will be out of sight and once painted black, should be invisible.
The photos below show the technique used to hold the side frames together.
Once everything was lined up properly, I glued the metal support in place and made sure that the wheels were free rolling and the frame was not warped.
Once that was done, I drilled some holes in the resin castings and drove some bolts into the plastic. I usually don’t tap these holes as the plastic has a tendency to “grab” the bolt as it is being inserted.
That’s all for today.
Tender tails…
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist that title)
I took the Berkshire out for its first test run with freight consist and quickly discovered two things. For starters, it is too light. Secondly, the headlight does not work.
Once back in the garage I popped the front of the smoke box off and began to address the problems. I quickly learned that I had accidentally glued the light bulb into it’s socked so I had to drill it out and replace the fixture.
Problem solved.
Next, I dug into my metal drawer and found a nice piece of copper pipe. I poured about 2 Lbs. Into the pipe. The pipe was then glued into the boiler.
The weight solved problem and it pulls very well now.
Next I turned my attention to the tender. I built a few hatches then handrails, a ladder for the back and finally a set of steps for the front.
The handrail was done in my usual cotter pin over 1/8” brass rod. Then it was bent to shape, the holes were drilled and the railing was pushed into place.
The ladder was made of ½ hard ware cloth (I think that is what it is called. (This was another great trick that I picked up from one of you guys)
The front step was the final task for the night. I bent up a piece of brass strip. Silver soldered the steps into place. Then cut the whole thing in half to obtain the needed steppes.
Here they are glued in place
That's all for now.
More progress today!
Yesterday I received a set of vinyl letters from G-Scale Graphics and was able to apply them today.
They look very good but I accidentally cut off 2 letters in my graphics order and did not notice the mistake until I had applied them. This is not a big problem because I can get some rub on letters to fix this.
I also installed the safety valves on the loco but I don’t have any close up photos of those yet.
Well, now that this project is close to finished, it’s time to post a video of the Berkshire in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE0zh2I2N2A
Hope you enjoy and thanks for all of the encouragement you folks have given me.
Joel
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