Northern 20 inch drivers on a 4-8-4 1/4 scale locomotive

The progress on the 1/4 scale northern You need to make a wooden pattern and have them casted at a foundry to get wheels this big. The side rods are weldments. The rear truck is a weldment. The wheels are turned steel. The patterns burned in the fire when the old shop burned in 96.We are needing a machinist whos got time to make an air compressor for it. We got the drawings but not the time.

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Autos & Vehicles

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• bnsf
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• 3776
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• mike
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• roundhouse
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• mega
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• lardass
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• great
• gross
• maxi

[paullubliner]

Why didn't you make patterns for the drivers instead of welding them up? Then you could have had them cast in ductile iron with correct cross section and all the detail and lettering found on the prototype. Also as you're laying your own track why not make it to scale: 14 1/8" gage. OR if you want it interchangeable with other 15" gage set ups you could have made the locomotive to 1:3.766667th size since your starting from scratch. Other wise the same age old discrepancy of scale and gage.

[petro062]

@paullubliner Mike made wooden patterns for the drivers and had them cast in steel. There were 3 of them I think. I got to see them just before the old shop burned. He lost all the patterns he had and hundreds of old train books from the turn of the century. Many patterns form 1/8 scale. Everything on his 1/8 northern that was aluminum and brass was a puddle on the floor. He was going to give it a proper burial. Stanley and me said lets salvage it.And we put the roundhouse up and rebuilt 3776.

[petro062]

@paullubliner We been working in this since 1989. It would never get done if we tried to get too many details on it. Some of the pumps and compressor is gona take years to fabricate. and now there is not enough people working on the small things to run it. The hot water heater has taken 6 months. We haven't started on the air compressor and the high pressure water pump will take time. But we are going to try to run without them till we get them made. We don't have a whistle or a break stand yet.

[jesse8444]

If you need any machine work let me know. My website is JD Locomotive Works.

[petro062]

@jesse8444 We got to build the hot water pump and some air compressors.

[amberb57]

That thing is big enough to pull full size 2 foot gauge cars! I hope you're able to get it done!

[lolz976]

I'm sorry but with the size of that you might be better off just building a narrow gauge full size loco JESUS CHRIST ITS AMAZING THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[petro062]

@bnsf261  Actually we made the whole thing from drawings of 1939-42 originals.

[petro062]

About 3/4 mile if we can get the rest if the track. Right now we got some 20lb rail but it isn't enough to get all the way around. Ye got to find some 20 or 12 lb rail to make it all the way. That is why the turntable is 35 feet long. it has to fit the engine and tender together.I for got how long the bridge is.