Hello,
I recently purchased a 8 3/4 gauge ride on train set. The train itself is really nice, it has a 4-4-0 steam loco with a tender that has a 3.5 HP motor in it a 6.5' gondola and a caboose with about 1/4 mile of track with some grade crossing sections and a bridge and 3 switches (RH, LH, and a Wye)
The track is mostly T-Channel steel with wooden ties and a couple sections of track made of C channel steel with metal ties.
I would like to know how I could get a rail bender to aid in making more curved track.
I will post photos when the restoration is closer to completion.
Thanks,
James
So many scales, so many trains, so little time.....
James,
My guess is that you'll probably have make something yourself. Pattern it after a unit designed for G gauge track, only much larger.
It's a shame that you're now starting to work on your new layout. I just moved from Deep River, CT. to northeast Ohio in April. Otherwise I would have been happy to give you hand getting your new RR running (and I'm ex-Navy (surface) too!).
Good luck.
Walt
Right now the train cannot be used as the guy I bought it from lost the key to the ignition switch, so I have to replace it.
I have been spending a fair amount of time stripping and re-painting the train as I have been recovering from an injury received on base.
Here is more on the injury:
http://boards.msn./Healthboards/thread.aspx?threadid=662623
The caboose is about 75% complete. All that is left is to wire the marker lights and install the seats and smokestack, that and a few touch ups in the paint, and then lettering.
The gondola is about 85% complete. I have some trim paint to do and then the lettering.
The loco is a sorry mess. There was a mouse nest inside the body of the loco. A lot of the bolts are rusted in place.
The tender needs the switch replaced and new paint.
The last owner slopped on the paint over everything, making it hard to turn bolts and screws.
Due to the nature of my injuries, I cannot do any lifting to do work, so I have to wait for my wife to come home to pick stuff up for me, which is slowing progress a lot, but at least they help keep my mind off of the pain.
I am updating photobucket to try to show off my new project.
As a new member to the Live Steam community (even if your locomotive isn't technically a steam engine) let me welcome you. Two resources that you should check out are:
This forum: The first two topics on the top apply to live steam railroads:
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/index.php?sid=55596bcbe7d823ac337130b038c98371
and http://discoverlivesteam.com/
Also, you should know that the two scales most common for ride-on railroads in the US are 7.25" (in the Northeast, and in Europe) and 7.5" (in the rest of the US.) There are smaller ride on scales of 3.5" and 4.75" too. I mention that because you can build your own railroad to your own track gauge, but if you ever want to operate on someone else's then you will have to adapt. The scale you mention sounds like a commercial gauge, like you might find in an amusement park or something. While you are breaking down your engine, you might want to investigate bringing in the wheels the inch or so and making the train more "universal."
Then again, that it's your train. I haven't seen many topics regarding ride-on-trains in this forum because Kalmbach doesn't really have a magazine for this aspect of the hobby. Though, sometimes Model Railroader will feature an occasional article about one. I won't directly advertise other magazines that cover them here, but if you check out the links I posted you can find a wealth of information.
Have fun! (and post pictures )
Modeling the D&H in 1984: http://dandhcoloniemain.blogspot.com/
Can't get your link to work.
Annapolis, huh?
SeaHorse, SS(N) 669
Qualified SEP71
I am aware that 7.25 and 7.5 gauge are the most common ones.
I do not have the shop to re-set the wheel gauge, nor do I want to regauge all of the track that I have.
Plum Cove Studios is willing to make custom power ales and trucks for me, so more cars is not an issue.
I would rather much have a more stable train than be in the "norm".
I would like to find out the history of my train a little more and who made it.
It was in a petting zoo in Arkansas, then bought by a guy in Durham, CT, then I bought it. The guy in Durham slapped paint on and let his kids cause some damage to it, like the guy's son broke the smoke stack off.
Now I am getting closer to getting it to like new and removing all traces of the old paint job and of the damage sustained.
If you go to msn.com > health > Men's sexual health home > message boards > men's sexual heath, then look for a post about a painful hydrocele, with no command help,
that was the post I tried to put a link to.
Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760 wrote: It was in a petting zoo in Arkansas
It was in a petting zoo in Arkansas
That's the problem.......
Ole Toad
I do not see how it is a problem. The set was cheap enough, and I prefer the broader gauge for stabilty and the steel rail for strenght and durability.
I just need a railbender, everything else I eaither have or can easily get.
Here is a photo of Katya the Ferret peeking from the 4-4-0's Cab.
O, stupid me, thought it was G scale....
Oh yeah, who is the gal in photobucket flashing her grade crossing signals?
I gotta find me one of those!!
And i don't just mean the flasher!
Whoops!
That was a picture of my wife goofing off in front of one of her friends.
She had a couple of friends of hers help out with unloading track to it's present storage location because I cannot lift much because of the extent of my injuries and the complications I am presently having.
(I can't pick up the caboose by myself at this point in time.)
http://boards.msn.com/Healthboards/thread.aspx?threadid=662623
I already told her that her goof off photo made it into the gallery, and she said she doesn't care.
I am more embarassed than she is.
Well, the loco is mostly pulled apart. The poor thing had a big mouse nest in the boiler.
The paint has been stripped off of the boiler and silver paint apllied to the boiler front and smoke stack.
The wheels will be cleaned up and fresh red paint applied. The cylinders and cowcatcher will be given frech coats of red as well. The smoke box will be silver, handrails gold, and the rest a gloss black.
I am trying to figure out how to repair the headlamp, or to get a replacement. I am also looking into installing an air cylinder inside of the boiler to provide for an air whistle.
(I know I could use a motor, I may do that as well, use a compressor set to provide air for the whistle), and and repairs to the bell.
I will post photos on photbucket of the work and try to get the photos to work on here.
Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760 wrote: I already told her that her goof off photo made it into the gallery, and she said she doesn't care.I am more embarassed than she is.
Hey, ain't nothing to be embarassed about there!
Funny, that was my wife's reaction. I took the photo down, she insisted it go back up. So, enjoy.
I started the boiler repaint.
I am now unsure what I will do to maintain my sanity once I finish the restoration. I need the light duty project to keep my pain-killer addled mind occupied.
I am still having problems with posting using photobucket.
-James
No matter what I do, I cannot seem to get the photos to work, I have followed the instructions given.
I read the entire thread regarding your medical problem. Do whatever you need to do to get this fixed because it sounds as though you're on your own. When you're well again, then worry about who pays what.
But a word of caution ..... you're part of a very in-bred society that lives by a really strange set of standards. Anyone who steps out of the circle is regarded with utmost hostility. So be very careful what you do and what you say. Make sure you have good records and are on solid legal ground because I'm afraid that you will ultimately have to seek redress from civilian rather than military authority.
Most civilians are very sympathetic toward members of our military. We understand that you are all under much pressure these days and be assured that most of us are totally behind you.
Good luck to you.
I am already in hot water because I am not well by now. It has been almost 3 weeks. My command wants me backat work, but I cannot go back because I need narcotic painkillers to function on a basic level.
I have tried to get help, I have written a lot of letters, made a lot of calls, and nothing so far.
The thing is that I am damaged and I need surgery, otherwise I risk becoming completely sterile or worse.
Just giving me pain killers and telling me to take it easy is not a cure. The healing process without surgery will not end. In order to function I need to take a lot of motrin and vicodin each day.
It isn't life threatening enough to warrant futher care. I have already been turned away by an ER doc (Dr. Catherine Glazer at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, New London, CT) who told me that I should have not gone to the ER for the swelling and pain, and she rolled her eyes at me when I told her that I could not stand the pain. She did not even examine me, past taking pulse and BP. She also told me that "Every time a guy gets hit down there, they think it is the end of the world."
When the nurse pressed on the swelling, and I screamed in pain did she actually take my pain somewhat seriously. However, she had a crap-eating grin on her face after I screamed.
The ONLY thing keeping me going right now is my trains.
Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760 wrote: Whoops!That was a picture of my wife goofing off in front of one of her friends.She had a couple of friends of hers help out with unloading track to it's present storage location because I cannot lift much because of the extent of my injuries and the complications I am presently having.(I can't pick up the caboose by myself at this point in time.)http://boards.msn.com/Healthboards/thread.aspx?threadid=662623I already told her that her goof off photo made it into the gallery, and she said she doesn't care.I am more embarassed than she is.
Let's see if that'l work now.....
Byron C.
Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760 wrote: It isn't life threatening enough to warrant futher care. I have already been turned away by an ER doc (Dr. Catherine Glazer at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, New London, CT) who told me that I should have not gone to the ER for the swelling and pain, and she rolled her eyes at me when I told her that I could not stand the pain. She did not even examine me, past taking pulse and BP. She also told me that "Every time a guy gets hit down there, they think it is the end of the world."When the nurse pressed on the swelling, and I screamed in pain did she actually take my pain somewhat seriously. However, she had a crap-eating grin on her face after I screamed.
That pisses me off!!!!! I wished your wife and someone esle was there then file on her sorry but not with the hospital but State level!
I have had to go about three Dr.s for my illness and found one I could relate to and get right scripts too.
Just keep looking for Dr.s!
BTW if she got hit there she would go down and tears in her eyes also, I know I was a ex-texas peace officer and had to do that to a woman who was going to stab me with a stake knife. Ask your wife, she will tell you, it hurts them too.
Get well sooner than you want!!!!
My wife was in the waiting area, as she was not allwed in the exam area with me.
And it does not hurt them as much as it hurts us.
I have been writing a lot of letters and made a lot of calls, and nothing.
These durgs I am on are destroying my mind and my life.
I have filed complaints with the state medical board, I am waiting for a response from the hospital regarding my request to see the medical review board. They do not have any sort of link or contact info on their website.
As it stands right now, the right one is really painful and swollen up. Even on the vicodin and motrin.
Between the pain, crap from work, and the narcotics, I have had a lot of suicidal thoughts over the past few weeks, and the main thing keeping my mind focused and off of such thoughts are my trains - all scales.
Rail benders, ok, you can make one but don't think you want some of these. Just a idea.
http://www.harmersteel.com/catalog/4/19/rail_benders.shtml
http://www.allenrailroad.com/RailQuick/rail_benders.htm
www.rdso.gov.in/machine/Spec/TM_5.doc
http://www.discoverlivesteam.com/magazine/48.html
http://www.discoverlivesteam.com/A-forsalepages.htm
Enjoy!
Toad
I am putting the entire rail-bending thing on hold for now. When I finally go to get more steel for track I am going to ask what they would recommend.
I am going to keep myself occupied with the restoration of my loco. My wife helped me pull her apart last night. There is a lot of rust on it. I am treating the frame with a generous portion of RUST-Be-Gone to treat the rust, especially the cast iron weight it has.
I took Nicholle's good off photo off of photobucket.
She wants it back up when we get our own website. We are trying to find the best company to go with, I want to make up sections for each peice of rolling stock, especialy the restoration process.
We are assigning names to each article of rolling stock, except for the tender, as it is "assigned" to the loco and that is not normal railroad practice to name tenders.
The loco will be named the "Gloria McLaughlin" after the wife of a dear friend of ours, Terry "Mac" McLaughlin" a guy who served in vietnam and the first gulf war, and was gassed by iraqi forces, and as such succumbed to "Gulf War Syndrome", he ran a model train booth at a flea market, and sold/gave us his entire American Flyer Collection for $1300. (Massive collection at that with about 2 dozen steam locomotives and two diesels, and several large boxes of track and accessories and parts. It has the 234 C&O GP7 Diesel)
I have plans on making a large diesel type loco which will be named after him.
The caboose will be named after Cheyenne, a cat that I had that suffered from feline leukemia that struggled to stay alive to see me come home from deployment. (She crawled into the bathtub with me, started purring and then stopped breathing.)
The gondola has not been assigned a name yet.
We have a list of names of people and cats that have meant a lot to me and Nicholle (or at least me) to assign to the cars.
We have plans to make a bobber caboose for our train (for a 4-wheel electric) and naming it Nena, after another cat that we had that also died in similar fashion, except she crawled into bed with me and the died while purring. (She died after my 2005-2006 deployment, while Cheyenne after my 2007-2008 deployment)
I know it may seem kinda morbid, but it is how I decided to memorialize those two.
I am thinking of naming the gondola after a friend I had that joined the Marines and got shipped back in a body bag.
With the curved track, I plan on getting more of it after I get a place of my own after I leave the Navy. I am planning on going back home to the south (I used to live on a farm in GA), and go back to having a small farm with chickens.
I already have a small tractor, a small 1969 Ford 120 LGT. I will post photos on photobucket.
I appreciate the concern, it is helping me keep going right now.
My wife has written to her congressman twice, my dad wrote to his, and her mother the same. I have filed many complaints, and I am getting nowhere fast.
Right now, my trains are the only thing keeping me going, my wife is still sticking up for a freind that ridiculed my injuries, and my kid is too fussy, and has taken advantage of my injuries several times. (I tried to take him away from a ferret he was harassing and he punched me in the groin, I pick him up and he kicks me there and giggles.)
I really appreciate having people like you trying to keep me going.
Thanks
Sent you a email with my number so you can call me about photobucket. Give me a call.
William AKA Toad
Toad,
I have not received an such number at this time.
Once I can get the copy and paste feature to work with these blasted posts, I will post links.
I follow the instructions and they do not work.
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