Big Jim posted:gunrunnerjohn posted:From the Catskill Archive Website, the simpleing value appears to indeed be a standard feature for the Mallet style locomotives.
John,
That is correct, but, one must take into account that Baldwin pretty much gave up on the Mallet type and their way of doing things limited the operation of the locomotive.
A better representation of the way the mallet works is the ALCO version, also found on the Catskill site. This will be the way the N&W and C&O (and others) articulateds worked.
Great link, that really went into some detail. I love it when a thread expands the knowledge base. 
As for the OP assertion that should be this way or that, he couldn't be more wrong. The two engines operated independently from each other and their drivers/rods could be seen in any position in relation to each other. The only reason for doing what he did is entirely aesthetic depending on the individual's taste.
Yep, as I illustrated, even the models have them all over the place. If you ever take them apart, even if you don't take the worm out, you only have a 1:4 chance of getting them aligned again unless you go out of your way to make sure they're aligned. If you take the worm out for any reason, you have an infinite number of possibilities as the wheels and driveshaft can have any orientation.
