Building steam power

[Anonymous]

Ok im a mechanical engineer and i was looking at what it would take to build a steam powered loco. After revieving the parts and the cost to build and construct. It does not appear to be that difficult to make. Now making it look like a real engine is another matter but just building the pieces it does not seem that hard. Has anyone out there build there own from scratch or attempted?

[cabbage]

Yes.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sheila.capella/cabbage/heilmann.html

and:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sheila.capella/cabbage/brotan.html

regards

ralph

[two tone]

Just a comment Deathwing with steam REMEBER it can kill if you want to build your own think of the boiler thats the bit that does the damage if things go wrong. plus every 18 months or so it has to be pressure tested for saftey

[Semper Vaporo]

I agree that you need to be careful with Live Steam.  Depending on the size of what you build, it can be quite deadly.  But, in the very small scales that danger goes down considerably.  Still, even if the "boiler explosion" danger gets reduced to almost an impossibility, hot steam/water can "HURT" and damage skin if it spews on you (or a bystander), so caution is advised.

DO read and ask questions if you think you want to make your own boiler.  There are "standards" available that will explain what is necessary, don't think you can just use a cola can and some bubble gum.  KNOW how to design for pressure.

Better yet, buy the boiler from someone that KNOWS how to build them (at least for your first engine!).  There are several manufacturers that supply them for miniature railroad and water craft use.

Don't think that you can get a boiler designed to run a very small toy flywheel and substitute that single-cylinder "wobbler" with a dual double-acting locomotive engine and replace the safety valve to run it at a higher pressure!  Don't get a boiler designed to fire with Esbit (tm) tablets and fire it with oxy-acetylene!

And as for making it look like a real railroad locomotive... when you do some research into this you will begin to find that many people model the 'Backwoods Kludge' logging type of locomotive.  I think the reason for that is because it is easier to model a "kludge" using simple "brute force" machining of a few parts than to perform the "fine scale" artistic technique to model all the parts of a NYC Hudson.  You might have the skill and talent to make a true-scale "Big-Boy", but not have the patience to make 16 drive wheels, 16 brake hangers, etc, and dozens of little valve handles.

Take a look at all the different scales that are common.  How big is your shop?  How much room do you have to build an engine?  How much room do you have to lay track to RUN one?  Weight and size are considerations in addition to the cost of the materials and machine tools/tooling.

There are other scales besides the stuff that runs on "G" guage track.  If you have the space and the inclination, as well as the MONEY, you can build in the larger scales.  7.5/7.25 inch gauge is very popular, as well as 5-inch and 3.5-inch.

 

[John Busby]

Hi deathwing

What size are you thinking of??

Some things cannot be scaled down but it is still possible to make a well proportioned good looking loco that gives the feel and look of a locomotive

Keep the first one simple assuming G scale 20 to 40 psi should be more than enough pressure for a small loco

this web site might be useful

http://www.geocities.com/minidampf/brazil_uk/contents.html

regards John

[cabbage]

Could I recommend to you a couple of books?

"Model Boilers and Boilermaking" by KN Harris

"Model Steam Locomotives" by Henry Greenly

The original publication dates may startle you. But moden reprints abound -the last one was about 2005 I think(?)

Follow the calculations very closely in the first book. They will horrify you. I also downloaded the Australian Boiler specs and their fantasticly beautiful rules and regs for building them. Any boiler built to pass those regs will pass anywhere. I got mine from, "The Southern Group" -here in the UK.

The second book is wonderful -but it is not a design stage book. HG expects you to know what he is writing about. It is smothered with drawings, all of which I have found to be useful at one time or another.

regards

ralph

[Anonymous]

I was thinking somewhere along the line of G scale because anything bigger is really expensive track and ho is to hard to make cause how small it is. I have a pretty interesting idea about how im going to go about doing this i think that i will open up the possibilities and make it easier to do.

[John Richards]

Hi Deathwing,I`m in the middle of building two Live Steamers for myself in "Gauge 1", A

0-6-0 Tank and a "Adris" {named TARDIS} ;-} I`m preparing for my second inspection of both

Boilers on Tuesday Night at the Club.

By the Australian Standards the Boiler is inspected about five times in the course of the

Building up to the Loco`s first Steamup, at that point the Boiler becomes "Certified" and

you get your Certificate to frame and hang behind the "Outhouse Door" with all the other

Papers of importance!!.

You will start out building the Chassis, Axles, Wheels and Rods, then moving on to the

Boiler and associated fittings, Never be afraid or shy of asking questions on this and/or

other Forums, there is a wealth of information to be had just by asking,

If your interested you can view my Successes and Failures on my Home Page at

"http://www.upnaway.com/~bbml/" and follow thru` the links on the Sitemap!. 

Whatever you choose to build enjoy the experience, you`ll never forget it.

Best Regards,

John Richards. 

[New Haven I-5]

 If your talking standard gauge trains, go to www.fillmore&western.com  and there should be a link there to a page on how to build a steam loco.

[Anonymous]

I'm building a 1/3 size steam roller...I used the ASME Section I calculations, part PMB specifications, code materials, and all Section IX welding requirements even though in most states it will be smaller than the size they will usually bother to inspect..... However, it also cost about twice as much for me to do it that way.

Yes, I could have saved a lot of time, money and aggravation and still have had a quite safe boiler, but the burden of proof for any design is laid squarely at the builder's doorstep, and it's often easier to argue if you followed an accepted practice.... While the ASME code is absurdly impractical in Gauge 1, there are several standards, (British and Australian to name a couple) that are quite workable. (BTW I'm still having the devil's time getting my boiler inspected in Pa because nobody wants to be the first person to sign off on it.)

  I also strongly recommend using commercial made safety valves, even if you scratchbuild everything else...they really aren't all that expensive. If you can get one, a Bagely type is much better than a checkball and spring. Sizing is important, it should be able to relieve the pressure faster than you can build  even with a roaring fire...if in doubt use two, besides the full sized ones did.

  There are lots of other important things to consider... Like material selection -- Use copper and bronze for small boilers and fittings, not brass. Use true silver solder, not the cheaper silver bearing stuff. Also, try to design your fuel supply so that it runs out BEFORE you run out of water (that should be obvious, but it isn't always done, and cooked boilers are no fun). Make it maintenance friendly....Cleanouts-you really can never have too many, especially with a wet leg firebox. Accessibility- whatever you can't access easily will usually be the first thing to go wrong. Lubrication- should be obvious, grease and oil are MUCH cheaper than hard parts. If you have space an adjustable dead leg cylinder lubricator is better than a pass through, which is better than none at all....

 

Confused yet? 

[Semper Vaporo]

I am thinking that full size requirements are TWO safety valves, *EACH* capable of venting more steam than can be generated at the maximum firing rate.