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New Toy - 7.5" Gauge Falk

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Dwight Ennis

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Today, Henner and I drove up to Rancho Cordova to meet with Les and Casey Wilmunder at the Sacramento Valley Live Steamers track. I came home the proud owner of a 7.5" gauge Falk. :cool:

She's going to need some work - lots of her external fittings are leaking, and she needs cosmetic work - but she passed her hydrostatic boiler test and is basically sound, so I'm a happy camper!


Here, she's undergoing her boiler test...



Another view - that's Casey standing beside me...



I'll try and get some more photos tomorrow (Henner took these today). She also came with a short tank car which holds the propane tank.
 
Gary Armitstead

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A Steamed Elder
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#7 ·
Dwight,

I'm very curious about this engine. Are these engines ready-made here in the U.S. or are the made in Europe? Kit-form? I've never seen this engine in 7.5 gauge before! More pictures please.:cool:
 
E

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#8 ·
There was a construction series on building the Falk that ran in Live Steam & Outdoor Railroading magazine a few years back. The prototype is preserved in one of the National Parks out west, and they occasionally take it to full scale steamups. I ran across a nice photo of a Gauge 1 version that Joe Ross took at NAMES and posted on Flickr:







Joe Ross's Flickr page is http://flickr.com/photos/joeross/2498392166/in/set-72157605097161243/
 
Dwight Ennis

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Discussion Starter · #9 ·
Thanks Gents - ya gotta love steam locomotives! &nbsp:D

Bob - yeah, it is really small. I can lift it by myself without difficulty. If I don't bring my track to the BTS, I can probably fit her in the RAV.

Eric - sounds like a plan. I'm still a member of GGLS. You need to get busy! hehehe

Gary - it's scratchbuilt from plans in a book this guy put out - sorta like a Kozo locomotive. The workmanship on this one isn't the best. I guess this was one of the first locos this guy built when he got into machining (the same guy who built Henner's 1" scale Kozo Heisler), but so long as the basics are sound, the rest I can fix/redo. I'll get some more photos later today and post them.
 
Bob Starr

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#10 ·
RE: New Toy - 7.5" Gauge Falk

Hey Dwight this will put your other project on hold for awhile. But should be good practice for it. Get that new lathe set up :)" border=0> You're getting too many new toys, yer makin' me jealous :)
 
Gary Armitstead

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#13 ·
Dwight,
With the skill you have shown with #21 AND with the NC set-up you have, you should have no problem getting it up to your standards. I'm going to check with a couple of guys I know down here about the availability of some 7.5 gauge "snap-track". We have to see this engine at the BTS. Maybe the bigger stuff can draw some people to the live steam track. Our Memorial Day Spring meet will be next weekend at Los Angeles Live Steamers and I'll inquire about some track. I have about 150 feet of track, but it has wooden ties and is NOT very transportable. These are ten foot sections. Bummer!:)
 
Dwight Ennis

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Discussion Starter · #14 ·
RE: New Toy - 7.5" Gauge Falk

Gas - what happened to coal firing that's proper?
Myself, I'm happy that it's gas. I'm not ready to fart around with coal yet. :)

Still going to build one of Kozo's engines?
Absolutely. I've been going back and forth between the Heisler and the Climax. The other day, the idea struck me to see if I could make minor modifications to Kozo's Heisler plans to make a model of WSLCo #3 (my favorite locomotive in the world). The Gazette published plans back in '87 (I believe). I need to order that back issue and then see how feasible it would be. But however things turn out, I'm still going to build SOMETHING!

We have to see this engine at the BTS. Maybe the bigger stuff can draw some people to the live steam track.
Right now, she is NOT runnable and there's no way I could have her so in time for the BTS. Maybe next year.

She's missing parts on one of her cylinder cocks which I'll have to make/acquire, most of the external fittings/lines are leaking water/steam, the exhaust lines from the cylinders to the smokebox are missing, etc. She's gonna need some work before I can steam her. :)
 
Gary Armitstead

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#19 ·
Hey Dwight,

Very nice-lots of character! Being able to pick it up and carry it, is a big plus. My ten-wheeler weighs a shade over 525 pounds (dry) and is eight feet long. How much water will the tank hold? That would be the only factor about running at some of the longer mainlines.
 
Dwight Ennis

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Discussion Starter · #20 ·
The tank is not really a tank - not for water anyway. I plan to rebuild it to carry some water. I was thinking of a square wooden tank like the ones used on fire trains. That could carry both the propane and some water.

As for where one sits, that's a good question. I'll probably need to build a short flatcar for that purpose, or lengthen the frame on the tank car and turn it into a flat with a square tank on the rear half. It could form both a tank and a back rest if done properly. :)

Village Press (Live Steam & Outdoor Railroading) www.villagepress.com puts out a book called Falk No. 1 Locomotive by William M. Harris, which has plans for the Falk at 7 1/2 gauge, I think its $15.95 US.
I ordered that this morning as a matter of fact. Henner loaned me his copy of "Logging with Steam" which contains the Falk and several other projects, including a 1-1/2" scale Mich-Cal #2 (my second favorite locomotive in the world). So much to build and so little time. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif Wish I'd gotten into this 10 or 15 years ago!
 
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