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Well I'm home with my daughter today who's got the flu, and it's raining and I need a project
I'd like to add something like the cable, rope, or whatever it might be, to the bell and whistle on a Mikado and a Pacific. I've done this with engines that have shorter runs, like a Bachmann ten wheeler, by stripping a length of stranded wire and separating out some strands to retwist. But I can't get it to look good on a long steam engine, especially one where the bell is mounted on the smokebox. Also it's very hard to strip the insulation of a long piece of small wire
How were the whistle and bell operated on big steam? I'm guessing they probably had some kind of solid bar linkage. I was thinking of using thin unwound guitar strings, which are pretty stiff, and which I have a million of, and maybe mounting them through the eyelet ends of a few fishing hooks. Cut the hook off and drill a small hole in the boiler shell for the hooks
But I don't actually know how they would have been connected to the cab and I've had a hard time finding good images
I'd like to add something like the cable, rope, or whatever it might be, to the bell and whistle on a Mikado and a Pacific. I've done this with engines that have shorter runs, like a Bachmann ten wheeler, by stripping a length of stranded wire and separating out some strands to retwist. But I can't get it to look good on a long steam engine, especially one where the bell is mounted on the smokebox. Also it's very hard to strip the insulation of a long piece of small wire
How were the whistle and bell operated on big steam? I'm guessing they probably had some kind of solid bar linkage. I was thinking of using thin unwound guitar strings, which are pretty stiff, and which I have a million of, and maybe mounting them through the eyelet ends of a few fishing hooks. Cut the hook off and drill a small hole in the boiler shell for the hooks
But I don't actually know how they would have been connected to the cab and I've had a hard time finding good images