Next up is an I-7 built from a Athearn/Roundhouse old time 2-8-0 I picked up at the same show I got the 4-4-0 which is now the D-8. There are a couple ways to do this class of engine. There is the low set key hole firebox boiler version, the higher set wagon top slide valves, and the wagon top with piston valves. They are not highlighted very much but there were quite a few of these engines roaming the system. To keep in my 30s-50s range I went with doing one of the later style versions of the class. Originally planning on keeping it slide valve, I changed my mind to do piston valve cylinders, mostly because I have not done a slide valve to piston valve conversion, so it was something new to try.With all the variation in the large class this is basically what I'm going for.This is the untouched Roundhouse engine.The engine was quickly broken down to what is needed for the project.Piston valve cylinders lean in a little on this class so the slide valve casting was ground down a bit on the outside then the inside of the box on top of the main cylinder. The saddle for the boiler was also ground down in preparation of an extension that will lift the boiler up.In the picture above you can see the base template for the frame work in the conversion. This was done be placing the cylinders face down on a piece of .010 styrene and tracing the cylinder. The top piston was traced using the smallest tube stock I had with right side of the circles being on the same line, then I drew a connecting line for the outside of cylinder and drew another line to slope the frame into the original steam chest. The piece is then cut using the lines as a guide. Once one is made you can trace it to make the three others needed.The pieces are then glued saddling the original piston, I eyeballed the angle they sit based on pictures.A piece of .010 is then glued to the frame starting close the the under side of the steam chest, wrapping all the way around to the steam chest again. The oricinal cylinder head was wrapped in .010 as well to bring it up to the same level as the new side wall and then I capped it with .010 and sanded the edges a little round to not have a hard edge. The stop piston was cut from tube stock to be the same width as the lower driving piston.The top piston is then also capped with .010 and also sanded to not have a hard edge.Once one side is done just repeat for the other.Now that the cylinders were set up attention shifted to the boiler. The plan is to use much of the weight of the original boiler, but resetting it in a way with a new tube making the boiler slightly bigger. To do this most of the detail was ground off. The smoke box was also cut shorter since Reading smoke boxes in general are quite short, I did keep the original mounting hole for the screw.This is the new boiler tube taped up being 5 layers of .010, the top 3 will be used.While setting the cured tube to what was left of the shell the steam chest extension was set in two layers of .040. One layer trimmed to the size of the chest and the top layer is set a little bigger for the boiler saddle.This is where it sits at the moment.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60361449@N02/
Anthracite Modeler - YouTube
Nice project. Very nice photos. Do show us how it comes out.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
love, love, love these build threads. I learn an awful lot from your descriptions and from the photos. thanks as always for taking the time to do this.
Jim
Always enjoyable to watch your locomotives take shape and come to life.
Wayne
Love it!
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Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440
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These I-7's have always fascinated me, partly because their appearance is such a departure from the expected RDG Camelback design with a Wootton firebox. I understand one or more I-7's was sold to the Ironton RR in later years.
Tom
The rate you are building these things you will need a semi to haul them all to the next Reading Modeler's Meet.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
ACY These I-7's have always fascinated me, partly because their appearance is such a departure from the expected RDG Camelback design with a Wootton firebox. I understand one or more I-7's was sold to the Ironton RR in later years. Tom
Yes the Ironton had examples of both the I-7 and I-8 class. The Reading only had a few non wooten engines the I-7 being the exaple they had the most of.
rrinker, the more I do the faster it goes but I also had a bunch of projects between show and rediscovering some things when moving. So I have benn kind of working non stop for a couple years haha.
The I-7 had 55" drivers, had you considered using an 0-8-0 as a starting point to get the larger drivers? The I-7, I-8, I-9 all used the 55" drivers for a large portion of the classes. Unfortunately the model manufacturers tend to do either 50" or 62" driverson 8 coupled engines. The only engines I've seen with the 55" drivers were USRA 0-8-0's (or brass engines). The Roundhouse 2-8-0 is a nice starting point though.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Though the driver size is right, thats about the only useful thing on a usra 0-8-0 for a I-7. The only mass market 0-8-0 is the proto 2000 one and the way they are built they are quite a pain to make in to much else, plus those drivers are 50". Also the cylinders would be big, the boiler would sit too high, wrong counter weights on the drivers, the motor is too big for a smaller boiler, etc. The drivers on the roundhouse engine are listed as 52", big picture 3 inches in HO scale is miniscule.
Also the majority of I-8s were 61.5" drivers, and there was a later sub class of I-9s that were fitted with larger drivers in the 1900 number range.
I'm not so sure about the driver size used on the various scale models, but a prototype USRA 0-8-0 typically had 51" drivers, not 55". To get drivers in the 55-57" range, I think you probably need to find a brass engine representing an appropriate prototype. Santa Fe "1950" 2-8-0's, U.P. "6200" 2-8-0's and a number of others would fall into this category. Casey is right when he says 3" is miniscule in HO. In general, it's easier to justify smaller drivers than overly large ones.
The putting a fire box on the tube is not really different then putting a wooten firebox on, the frame goes trait down from the boiler instead of getting wider.This one I tried something a little different and set the bottom for the firebox, or mud ring, before wrapping the sheet of styrene over the frame. It was easier to set next to the reused metal weight without the sheet there. Once the wrapped sheet was in place and trimmed the jacketing layer was added on the rest of the boiler to match the height of the firebox sheet. The hard edges of the firebox were then sanded.The stack and domes start with the main barrel shape. The stack is a piece of tube stock the domes were pieces of .010 coiled up and glued to itself, with the seam being sanded smooth. While the dome bases were drying I made the steam delivery pipes from tube stock.The domes were trimmed down and capped with 2 layers of .040 styrene. Those layers were shaped by sanding, the steam dome on the I-7s were not a full dome shape on the top, it was a flatter dome with a harder angle on the outer ring. Once the tops were shaped putty was added at the bases and allowed to dry over night.The bases were then sanded to slope into the boiler.I decided to make the smokebox front removable to make getting the headlight wires in easier. Since the boiler is made up of the outer three layers of five used to get the width needed, I cut a strip from layer two, glued the ends together and glued the ring down on a piece of .040. This makes for an easy snug friction fit. The .040 was loosly cut out over sized and sanded flush to the boiler in place.The rest of the smokebox front is done in the layers of .040, .010, .040 on top of the already made base. The bottom layer sanded to be the puff out, the .010 to be the base flat part of the door, and th e top .040 being the puff out of the door. Then the layers were glued on the base.The latches, hinges, number board and headlight bracket quickyl followed, all made of .010 styrene. The engine now has a face.
Keep it up!
Im pretty sure others have said this, but I forgot what your response was, but:
Do you ever plan to convert to DCC?
If so, wouldn't it be quite hard to rewire the engine with the scratch built shell?
Charles
I don't really plan on it, between having a large older collection, picking up cheaper old engines, and not having to get electronics which makes projects much cheaper and I think easier to do, not having to work around some stuff crammed in. I also really have no interest in model sound, but a bulk of the built roster is DCC ready and only one doesn't have the motor isolated being an original open frame motor. If I got tied into a club I would consider putting decoders in which I doubt would be a problem. The shells are no more fragile then detailed mass produced models. It would also just be wires running to the tender to stash the decoder.
Looking good, Casey. I'm watching this one a little closer, I just dropped a loco to the hard floor, busted up the smoke stack. Gotta make a new one
RDG Casey:
Your creativity and modelling skills are inspiring!
You must have tired arms after doing all that sanding!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
The boiler bands were next to go on except the one towards the front of the firebox, I wanted to get the running boards placed first. These are strips cut from .010 styrene. Also an ash pans was place, that will mostly be blocked by air tanks later, space with .010 pieces making sure they did not rub on the drivers.The running boards were made from .040 starting with the section glued to the steam delivery pipes on the cylinders, then the main running board. The main running boards step in at the third driver with rounded corners. They are glued to the side of the firebox, and I used a small .010 scrap piece as a brace to the boiler on the front of the running board.While the running boards were setting I started work on the pilot, using a dremel to cut the old one off to the coupler pocket.The new pilot beam was glued to the couple pocket sides and the extra space filled with scrap styrene.Making a foot board pilot is really just the vertical frame with the boards attached. I build it right on the pilot starting witht he vertical frame.The cab on these engines sit on top of the fire box ending at the back head, so though these engines were not anthracite burning or camelbacks they would have felt like you were basically running the same thing in the cramped cab. The cab starts with the front and rear walls making the width just under edge to edge of the running boards the height of the steam dome. setting the piece on the running boards on the rear I traced the boiler shape to be cut out of the sized cab wall piece. Where the roof slopes down to was eyeballed to be at the height of the boiler and was cut out with the doorways. I left a little foot on the front wall the rear wall was cut strait down as you would not be wanting to trip over that all day working on the engine. The rear wall was set at the end of the running board with a little anchor piece at the top, which in the end will be hidden. The cab length was set based on average cab sizes. The rod coming from the steam dome would be a cover/guide for extended throttle linkage, another set up borrowed from camelbacks on these engines.The cab sides are .010 with window frames put in before the sides are set, just easier in order that way. The air tanks were also set at this time.Still without a tender, starting to look like an I-7.
Shifting focus to the tender, I started with salvaging the original pickups and fitting them to Bachmann trucks. The bearing pocket needs to be drilled out a little to fit the metal one, and the pickups fit best up side down from the way they were positioned on the original arch bar trucks. The old clip mount of the bachmann trucks gets cut off and a hole is drilled for a mounting screw in the center. The wires run through holes conveniently in the original molding of the truck.The tender frame is made of .040 styrene starting with main flat plate, then the end beams are added. The side bars running the length and the center spine are then fit to inside the space of the end beams. The spine is made up of 3 layers with 2 additional layers as pads for the trucks. Holes are drilled on both sides of the main spine for the wires.The shells starts with the main tank , gluing the back and sides together. On this one before the front opening pieces went in a gave the box some stability by adding the rear top plate in first. Then the front pieces went on followed by the top front pieces. Two .040 strips were added to the inside corners as filler for sanding the corners round. This allows a broader curve with out jeopardizing the structure.The rest of the coal bunker was then filled out which does not have to be shaped like this since with will realistically be covered in coal when done. The gangway height is set by having the shell on the frame and marking the height a little lower then the cab floor of the engine so make room for a foot plate.Then the corners were sanded.The top of the coal bunker was next. It was not very tall on these tenders though some had an extension, I'm thinking this one will not have one. The rear of the tender was pretty much just big enough to fit the water hatch with the light sitting kind of oddly, but I will get to that later.Here is an over view with the tender.
Following your progress is like a tutorial. I'm working on a couple steamers, and I think I'll build the tenders like you do here.
Keep it coming!
Southgate Following your progress is like a tutorial. I'm working on a couple steamers, and I think I'll build the tenders like you do here. Keep it coming!
I have done tender shells with thin styrene but I have found I prefer using the thicker material. Using thinner .010, a under frame is needed for something to build on and to maintain the shape, .040 will hold it's shape and if the pieces are cut square the shell will be square as well.
Yep, I agree. I use .040 styrene so much I finally went and bought a 4x8 foot sheet of it.
Before putting a roof on the cab, I wanted to get some resemblance of some controls in the cab. I started with the injector lifter which is a reused from a spectrum 2-8-0 and cut in half to sit on either side of the cab wall.While I was at it, the bell, generator, and power reverse were placed. The power reverse is another reused spectrum part.Some quick resemblance of break valves, throttle and reversing lever were added made from styrene. Then roof supports were added to make sure the roof doesn't want to bend down.[While the cab controls were setting I made the power reverse linkage cover. Made with .010, using the smokebox front as a guide for the curved front of the box that hugs the boiler.Before the roof goes on the interior of the cab is painted black since the roof is glued down and painting would be quite difficult. The rood is a sheet of .010 rolled a little to sort of hold the shape for eyeballing line up. Once the main sheet is set up the vent is cut out. The under side of the roof gets a quick shot of black before getting glued down. After set the outer trim, gutters and vent are added, all .010.Instead of using a calscale casting for the tender light I went for making the Reading style back up light that look like and upside down U. Starting with a piece of styrene tube about the size of a sunbeam headlight.The tube piece is set on a piece of .040 and a piece of .010 is wrapped around making the U shape.A backer piece of .010 is loosely fit and then trimmed flush. The holes in the front are filled and number boards are added made to about the size of the calscale casting.The bracket it sits on starts as the base plate and the mounting rails which are glued to the edge of the base plate.Once set the section sticking out is bent down at about 45 degrees and can be glued to the tender.On I-7s and tenders like it, the headlights actually sit over the coal. After the base is set on the rear bunker sheet, vertical braces are set and extra tall to so the headlight proctor has something to "bolt" to. The headlight protector is then set using .010 and then the light is self is placed. I am reusing the LED lights from the roundhouse model and have the light coming from under instead of from the back. The inside of the light got a quick coat of silver to not be white.Here is the current overview.
Super job so far. That tender light is a piece of art! I like your logic in painting the cab innards at this point. Your locomotives are obviously more fragile than most, at least on the details. You must have a gentle touch when handling them. Dan
Fantastic Job, RDG Casey. I love what I'm seeing!!
Mitch
Thanks Mitch and Dan.
Work this week was a lot of little things. Thinking a trip to the hobby store was needed for break cylinders, I decided to just try and make them. A styrene tube piece was capped with .010 then a piece of rod was centered on a side. The rod was drilled for a .020 wire and a .010 arm was glued to the wire. Seeing a rear angle of an I-2 (basically the same engine but smaller) gave me the safety valve set up. for a while I thought there was only one valve figuring that was wrong. In most 3/4 views the one valves is hidden perfectly by the one sitting in front of it.Focus then shifted to the tender, the coal bunker doors made using .010 styrene.Boxes were then added in front of the bunker on top of the tank, seen on almost every tender of this type. The trim around the bunker was also added which is a strip of .010.The water hatch is made with a base of .040 topped with .010. Strips of .010 are used to make the hinges and hatch split.On the frame the steps and foot boards were added all made of .010.Lastly for tender the ladder and rear number board were added, once again all .010 styrene. The number board is spaced off the tender .010 with strips on both sides of the rectangle.Wanting to get a test run in, I wanted to get the brake shoes in first to make sure they don't interfere with the running gear. This was started by gluing wire bases to the bottom cover plate. The shoes are a simple design being a triangle with a curved bottom and a strip on top as a swing arm. the shoe is drilled and fit to the wire frames.The engine ran well in the test run, not having to tweak the shoes, here is how it sits now.
good job!
All these terrific loco builds, makes another spot on engine an expectation from you!
Another quick light test was done before the next step.Next was rivet decals, mostly the smoke box and tender. The tender has somewhat of an odd pattern, but I saw it in a few images of I-7 tenders.Final detailing took place over the last couple days but moved along rather quickly. Next will be paint and then delivery to the Reading. The bell ropes and cab doors will be done after some base coats of paint.
I've enjoyed watching the progress on your loco buildup. Your work is inspiring me with my own loco projects.
The I-7 is ready for service. It preforms well pulling 20 cars no problem. I haven't pushed it to slipping yet so I'm not sure it's full limits. Decals are champion, a show find.I may take the rest of the day off, before starting the next thing, haha.and a video.
Great build!
What did you use for the headlight clear lens?
Also, I don't know whether its just for Reading engines, but is it accurate in that the fire box is wayyy back, or is it shorter, like in most engines?
Thanks