I'm about 20 years behind all you 9F builders. This D51 kit is from 1986, it's quite amazing how different the engineering is in that 20 years. I've built a stack of Asters and this is by far the most difficult. The chassis was very challenging. The cylinders don't register or lock to the frame, so it was a long process of fitting, tightening, adjusting to get everything lined up so that the crosshead guides, etc. were all running free. The brake rigging fouls the siderods and required some extra fiing and fitting. The running board framework ran afoul of itself, and the instructions were backwards for mounting the crossframes and running gear hangers. The tender parts just didn't line up. Fortunately the shell finishes out beautifully, but everything mounted to it is a custom fit. The backhead plumbing is a complicated arrangement, thank heavens it held pressure on the first go! It sounds like I am complaining, not so! It's nice to have a good challenge. It's quite amazing to see how this one goes together versus recently engineered models. I ran it on the test stand last night and it runs great. I had the chassis running evenly on 3 psi air, and it paid off under steam. I have one nasty leak in the steam pipe to cylinder saddle inside the smokebox, but I can get in there and fix that easily. I'll prove it out one more time, then finish up all the details. Too much fun. Wish I could take it for a few laps at D'head...
-Richard
-Richard
