Atlantics 2023

[bob turner]

So here it is - piping, cab details, pilot and smokebox stuff, and then searching for paint almost as good as Scalecoat - to go. Valve gear is just hanging; I still have to solder the crosshead guides. Those, and permanently attaching the running boards, are next on the agenda.

[sleepmac]

Bob, looking good!

Dan Weinhold

[bob turner]

Update - not much progress of late, but I have levelled it out a bit and started the heavy booster piping. Tonight it gets washouts and lag clamps, and that bare cab now has window frames and awnings. The primitive sand cast trailing truck got a lost wax booster last night. As I mentioned in another thread, paint may happen in early June. And that daunting Skytop Lounge window setup is staring at me from my box of screwdrivers and files - daring me to solder something - anything - to the horizontal structure pieces.'

Too bad that guy on OGR never got the 3D printer file done - I have some access to a really good printer (one of my flight students owns a development company).

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Update - not much progress of late, but I have levelled it out a bit..........

Proportions look off despite the attractive nature; front truck seems out in front too far? Trailing truck not trailing enough? But maybe that's the prototype? Looking forward to seeing more progress!

[bob turner]

They could be - I use drawings for the boiler, frame, etc., but there is never any guarantee that the drawings are accurate. Plus, when I am cutting metal I sometimes just keep cutting until it looks right. My Harriman ten-wheelers are a case in point: I did the boiler on #2 three times before I got it to the point where I was happy.

The trailing truck is further forward for SP than it was for PRR or B&O. Part of that may be that SP put boosters on some of them, but long before boosters that inside bearing wheel was pretty much lined up with the forward bulkhead of the cab. When they cut the cab back (called a "Sport Cab") for access to stay bolts, the rear axle was left pretty far forward of the slanted bulkhead.

Lead trucks are always a problem. For a two rail model the rules are simple - the insulated wheels cannot touch anything, and no wheel can be allowed to impact the cylinder or frame with enough force to derail the model. On a three rail model, insulation is not critical, but going around corners requires smaller cylinders, smaller wheels, longer smokeboxes/pilots, non-existent tail beams . . .

I am losing my touch - I dismantled the test loops two years ago to cure a skylight leak. Cured the leaks around the skylight, but now have a major leak over the southwest curve. That curve remains in what loosely could be called "storage." That, plus I ran out of gearboxes a while back, and this model may never pull a string of Harrimans. But I will still adjust the lead truck in accordance with the above.

Update - Washouts and lag clamps are soldered as of today. Booster went on last Friday - steam pipes line up with cab rear bulkhead. I have to look for a better trailing truck - sometimes the Lobaugh castings look primitive in comparison. Maybe just some good journal box covers?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Lead trucks are always a problem. For a two rail model the rules are simple - the insulated wheels cannot touch anything, and no wheel can be allowed to impact the cylinder or frame with enough force to derail the model.

Yes, and why I questioned the lead truck position in the photos; seems not aligned with the frame to optimize clearance, or the wheelbase is too long?

[bob turner]

The contour on the frame will be blended to the pilot spacer block. I may adjust the wheelbase, but not sure. I have minimum 64” curves, so the front wheel set could be moved aft.

[bob turner]

Closing in on it - need smokebox work, lead truck work, pilot details, bell, pop, reverser, a couple handrails . . . and paint. Next post will show the paint and decals. That will happen in June.

[sleepmac]

Bob, looking real good!

Dan Weinhold

[De Bruin]

Yeah Bob, looks real good, maybe for a Houston to Corpus Christi/Brownsville Border Ltd?
Sweet!