Anyone who has completely stripped down a steam loco or assembled one from a kit must have struck this assembly challenge - I have 3 valve gear members on each side of the loco , poking out variable amounts & not all parallel, reluctant to slide into the tight fit slots of the cylinder block.
I could use 3 pairs of hands at this point. Somehow need to hold everything nice & steady & parallel on each side.
What tricks do steam loco folk use to get the cylinder block into place on the valve gear??
Thanks
Tanked
TankedEngine wrote: Anyone who has completely stripped down a steam loco or assembled one from a kit must have struck this assembly challenge - I have 3 valve gear members on each side of the loco , poking out variable amounts & not all parallel, reluctant to slide into the tight fit slots of the cylinder block.I could use 3 pairs of hands at this point. Somehow need to hold everything nice & steady & parallel on each side.What tricks do steam loco folk use to get the cylinder block into place on the valve gear??ThanksTanked
I've assembled several Mantua/Tyco and a couple Bowser locomotive kits, plus done tear down/reassembly work. It's a bit tricky, takes a bit of practice, and takes longer to read this than to do it:
1. Remove the motor. You want the drivers to be able to turn.
2. Turn the drivers so that one side's crank pin is closest to the cylinders.
3. Lay the locomotive frame in your hand and hold the cylinder assembly between your index finger and thumb.
4. You'll notice that the three elements (crosshead guide, piston rod, and valve rod) are at different lengths. One of the two rods (piston rod or valve rod) will stick out farther than the other one. Put this one in first, followed by the other rod. The crosshead guide will move independantly of the other two, so put it in last.
5. Turn the locomotive drivers so that the crank pin on the other side is at the top or bottom. Repeat (3) above for the other side.
6. (Mantua/Tyco) Align the rear of the crosshead guide with the mounting point on the frame and slip it on, repeat on the other side and drop the cylinder casting into place. Full assembly instructions from Mantua/Tyco are at (using the Mikado as example):
http://hoseeker.net/assemblyexplosiontyco/tyco282mikadopg1.jpg
6. (Bowser) The crosshead guide assembly (usually both sides are joined in the middle) is simply screwed to the frame.
HOSeeker.net is a good resource for the assembly instructions of many brands of locomotives and cars.