Best Of Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) 0-6-0 Project

[mmagliaro]

First, thank you guys again, as always!

Now, to answer a few questions:

1. CNR552:
That M1.0 screw is indeed bridging across the split in that piece of PC board.  But that piece of PC board
(like all the PC board spacers) is only soldered to one side of the frame anyway.  As long as I chamfer back the copper
along the edges at the opposite end of it, where it touches the opposite frame half, it won't short across.
In fact, if I had thought about that initially, I would never have sliced through the copper on those PC board spacers at all. 
There was no need to, and they would have been that much stronger.

2. davefoxx
Steam locos generally work really well when the weight is centered over the drivers.  That is true.  But in actual
practice, they work and pull better when there is a little more weight concentrated on
the main traction driver, if there is one.  In this case, one driver is geared and has the traction tire on it.
That wheel will by far be doing the lion's share of the pulling.  I can't go overboard here.  We don't want
the front end of the engine to start lifting when pulling a load, or compromising the electrical pickup on the
front two drivers without the rubber tires.  But a little more on the traction tire driver would be best, I think.

And don't be fooled by that photo.  I just slightly tipped the balance in favor of the rear driver by a couple of grams
in that photo.  Without the weights, it was tipped the other way - not good.  And it's darn hard to balance it to within
a fraction of a gram, nor is it worth it.

[davefoxx]

That makes sense.  Thanks for the response, Max!

DFF

[CNR5529]

Makes sense, thanks for the insight. Inspiring work as always Max!

[mmagliaro]

Hello everyone!
It has been a while, and there has been a huge amount of progress, so there are many photos in this installment.

This segment covers:

Wiring / dropping voltage
Addition of weight
Driver installation and quartering
Nickel plating of the drivers
Tender frame, pickups and wiring
Working test siderods
Changed motor gear ratio
Testing

...and......

For the first time, some video of the engine actually in operation!
It has now been about 18 mos since the start, and there is a long way to go, but seeing it actually run
is an enormous hurdle.  It means that eventually, after many many more months, this thing is going to
become a finished engine!

------------

Wiring:

The basic circuit for limiting the motor voltage with zener diodes.  I am using a 3v Faulhaber motor.
Even though it can be driven well above its rated voltage with no problem, I thing 12v would pushing it,
not because it would burn, but because its RPMs would get so high that it could physically fly apart internally.

So I am limiting it to 5.1 volts as follows:




Weight

In this next shot showing my added weights, you can see the two zener diodes on the upper right just under the overhanging swath of thin tungsten rods.








(You'll see this wrapper on the engine in later photos...)



Drivers/Axles/Quartering Jig











Nickel Plating








Tender Construction

































Working Test Side Rods











Future Smaller Crankpins (and the spacers needed for them)

These little crank bolts won't appear on the engine until the next installment, but here's the prep work for them.
They will replace the big ugly Phillips Head screws I've got in there now.














Gearhead Replacement (reduced speed, increased gear ratio)



























=========================================================================

And at last, after 18 months...

IT RUNS.

Video:

[svedblen]

Truely amazing! Well done 

[davefoxx]

Just plain wow!  The satisfaction that must come from knowing that you built that with your own hands must be incredible.  Kudos, Max!

DFF

[Lemosteam]

Speechless, save one question.  Did you also compose and record the music?

[mmagliaro]

Speechless, save one question.  Did you also compose and record the music?

Yep.  That's just me, some guitars, a little digital 4-track recorder, Audacity editing software, and a quiet bedroom to record it in.  I did not put the same level of effort into that music as I did into the engine, so don't be too hard on it 

I just made up the progression and riffed on it until I had something.  It seemed to fit the look of a little steam engine tooting around a layout.

Oh... and THANK YOU!  (about the "speechless" part)

[Missaberoad]

Wow... truly awe inspiring... there isn't enough up votes for that, you challenge what I thought was possible in N scale!

[narrowminded]

NICE!!!!   I love the consideration to detail and later servicing.   

I also really your spacer cut-off jig.  That's one that you had a thread on and received... help(?) on.    But you got it anyway!

I've used and will be using a double jawed vise rig for cutting off lay shafts, pins, and such that has the same principle in play.  It's also a common device on manufactured cold cut-off saws.  The idea being that with both parts clamped there is no little tit left where the part breaks off at the end of cut which leaves a deburring nightmare if the part is otherwise finished, not getting that face cut in a lathe or mill.  Really sweet!  And it's in your same rig for the quartering so all special tools are together in the event you need another one some day. 

Just NICE all over!!!

[strummer]

I knew it, I knew it, I knew that was you on guitar! Is there anything you can't do well?

Loved the stationary, BTW.....

Mark (also) in Oregon

[mmagliaro]

NICE!!!!   I love the consideration to detail and later servicing.   

I also really your spacer cut-off jig.  That's one that you had a thread on and received... help(?) on.    But you got it anyway!

I've used and will be using a double jawed vise rig for cutting off lay shafts, pins, and such that has the same principle in play.  It's also a common device on manufactured cold cut-off saws.  The idea being that with both parts clamped there is no little tit left where the part breaks off at the end of cut which leaves a deburring nightmare if the part is otherwise finished, not getting that face cut in a lathe or mill.  Really sweet!  And it's in your same rig for the quartering so all special tools are together in the event you need another one some day. 

Just NICE all over!!!

Thanks, man!  Actually, I made the spacer-sawing jig in the same block as the wheel quartering jig because that block of aluminum was already sitting there on my workbench, and has already been faced on all 6 sides, so it's nice and square.  It just saves time if you can use another part of a nice neat square metal block instead of making another one.

I even cut a second quartering slot in that block, with aligning pin holes, to fit drivers on a brass Key/Samhongsa engine because somebody wanted me to cut traction tire grooves in it.  I needed to be able to get them back on their axles in proper quarter, so... why not?    It saved me time because that block is already machined to be the proper width between the drivers.

[mmagliaro]

I knew it, I knew it, I knew that was you on guitar! Is there anything you can't do well?

Loved the stationary, BTW.....

Mark (also) in Oregon

That stationary is courtesy of the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans (now United Spinal Association).  I've been a donor to them for years (not because any of my family are paralyzed veterans, but because it seemed like a darn honorable cause).

And I can't roller skate for bupkis.

[peteski]

I'm not speechless Max, but the only thing I can manage to say is WOW!  I love following your build.

[Cajonpassfan]

Wow. It seems so inadequate to give you just one up vote for all this. Just wow.
 And the soundtrack is very cool, too.
 Otto