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Fuelrush

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Hello, everyone one! My name is Justin or Fuelrush. I live in East Tennessee at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains (which I love dearly). I work as a machinist and tool and die maintenance. I love working with metal and making things.

As far as engines, I've started a build of a Jet Turbine but that is on hold due to limited equipment at the moment. I hope to eventually complete it, if not I still learned a whole lot in studying these engines.

Now my current project is attempting to build a live steam locomotive. I've been drawing up a storm on paper and Mastercam. The plan is to totally scratch build the entire Locomotive. I have a prototype in mind but I just really want a working chassis more than anything. If all the detail comes together that would be even better but right now thats not my focus. Its been difficult getting started. I don't have a blueprint or anything of the prototype. All I have to work from is some basic specs of the engine and pictures for reference. I've been doing a lot of measurements from photos by taking something of a know size in the pictures and creating a scale to measure other parts on the same picture. This is a tedious process because each picture has to have another scale made. So far its been pretty effective. I've mainly focused so far on the cylinders, running gear, and all its working dimensions. Trying to understanding the Walshaerts valve gear has been a massive undertaking. I understand how it all works and what effects what but modifying and designing your own has proved very hard. It amazes me that someone came up with that well over 100 years ago. The prototype I'm trying to work with is a 1943 Baldwin Narrow Gauge Mikado with plenty oh history to be so young! The engine still runs today at a local amusement park and its pull me around since I was a child.

Thanks everyone, this seems like a great community and I hope I can contribute here and there to give back!

Here is the only picture I've got so far, but I have a bunch more work of individual parts.
IMG_0882small.jpg
 
Justin,

A couple of pictures re: Walshaerts valve gear

The animated one is obvious but the other is an adaptation for a marine engine.

Walscherts.gif



Walschvg.jpg


Best Regards
Bob
 
Welcome to the forum Justin.
There will be a lot of interest in your loco. Please keep the pics coming.
 
Welcome Justin, Lots of good people & info here !!!

Paul

Check your PM's

 
wEc1 Justin
Look forward to seeing some of your work
Ken
 
Justin,
Here is a link to Charlie Docksteader's valve gear program. It allows you to plug in dimensions to any of the supported valve gears and animate them and graph all the parameters with those dimensions. It has two Walshert valve gears in it. One for outside admission, which is standard for D slide valves, and one for inside admission which is the most common form for piston valves.

The programs are set up for 7-1/2 gauge locomotives. They sometimes do strange things with the graphics if you try to scale down to smaller sizes just using dimensions. When dealing with smaller size locomotives it works better to scale your dimensions up by a factor of 2,3,or 4 to get to the approximate dimensions that the default dimension in the program uses.

This program has been around for many years and keeps getting updated. I have been using it or at least ten years. It is free to download.

http://www.tcsn.net/charlied/

Gail in NM
 
Locomotives are awesome and anyone who builds them. I still remember the real thing when they were thick on the ground here in RSA.

Why is Walscherts so much better than Stephenson in that it supplanted Stephenson valve gear.

Ant
 
Hi Justin, wEc1,come join in the fun.

Ian (seagar)
Coffs Harbour ,
Australia.
 
Antman said:
Why is Walscherts so much better than Stephenson in that it supplanted Stephenson valve gear.

Ant

Walschaerts had many advantages over the Stephenson. One of the big reasons was weight. Walschaerts moving and rotating mass was almost half of the Stephenson. This in turn improved performance and wear. Also adjusting and accessibility was much easier as the gear was accessible from outside the wheels and not inside the frame.

Page 141 of this online book discusses the direct advantages of the Walschaerts vs. Stephenson.
http://www.archive.org/stream/walschaertlocom01woodgoog#page/n141/mode/1up
 
Welcome Justin,

Can't say much, other than your project is something I dare not even dream about. Called the wife in to look at your loco, and we are now in shock. Will send the doctors bill to you eventually.

Cheers from the other side of the world. Tasmania. (Look it up)

KenM
 
Welcome!

I have a 1941 Locomotive Cyclopedia with a Baldwin Mikado in it. Not much more than the basic data, but if it's the "K-36" style, you're looking at there have been several models made of it (most commonly the D&RGW 3' versions), so info should be out there if needed.

 

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