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Dear friends,

just wanted to report from my next locomotive project - a KTM Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 where I just finished cutting tires. Making use of the advantages of "mass production" I found it a good approach to also do the wheels of the KTM 4-8-8-4 that are and exact match and therefore I can use the tooling for both models.

By studying some close up's of the 4014's big drivers I found out that the castings are missing a very visible detail of the original drivers, the actual box spoke backside. It took me some time to figure how they are constructed but there's a lot of info out there, also from the construction of the first driving wheels of the PRR T-1 by the T-1 Trust.

I use thin brass sheet material that I drill out for brass tubing that is soldered in place and then trimmed and cleaned up. Since the wheel centers are cast material that can  not be soldered I simply used CA to glue them in place. On the Challenger these are not so visible since the first driver of each engine is behind a lot of rods and the crosshead but it really makes a difference.

Next step will be the drive train where I'll try to implement two motors for individual freedom of front and rear engines. Two decoders will produce independent sound and hopefully smoke. Also have I never before painted brass, that's going to be the special thrill.

Cheers, Sarah







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@Pete M posted:

Outstanding work as always Sarah!

With two motors, decoders and speakers you'll be able to do neat things like this wheel slip by Linton Towell using LS decoders:

Sounds pretty decent in HO so I imagine it'll be amazing with a couple of the biggest Tang Band speakers you can squeeze intRo a  1:48 loco. 

Pete

Thank you Pete, that’s a fantastic idea!! :-)

@bob2 posted:

You sure those centers cannot be soldered?  Most look to me like plated brass.  Nice work - I admire folks who can make Proto-48 work.

You are right, It is possible to solder them by machining off the plating – but applying a lot of heat to the centers is a bad idea. I tried one and the driver threw it‘s tire. Not the insulated one, it just lost it‘s press when cooled. I fixed it with loctite nasty green stuff, fortunately prior to machining. So it’s CA or epoxy 2k glue.

@Sarah posted:

Dear friends,

just wanted to report from my next locomotive project - a KTM Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 where I just finished cutting tires. Making use of the advantages of "mass production" I found it a good approach to also do the wheels of the KTM 4-8-8-4 that are and exact match and therefore I can use the tooling for both models.

By studying some close up's of the 4014's big drivers I found out that the castings are missing a very visible detail of the original drivers, the actual box spoke backside. It took me some time to figure how they are constructed but there's a lot of info out there, also from the construction of the first driving wheels of the PRR T-1 by the T-1 Trust.

I use thin brass sheet material that I drill out for brass tubing that is soldered in place and then trimmed and cleaned up. Since the wheel centers are cast material that can  not be soldered I simply used CA to glue them in place. On the Challenger these are not so visible since the first driver of each engine is behind a lot of rods and the crosshead but it really makes a difference.

Next step will be the drive train where I'll try to implement two motors for individual freedom of front and rear engines. Two decoders will produce independent sound and hopefully smoke. Also have I never before painted brass, that's going to be the special thrill.

Cheers, Sarah







Sarah, you truly have a gift for making amazing trains with your hands. I salute you.....

Some progress on UP 3951 has been made. I managed to remove the cab for backhead detailing. Not so easy. There's a lot of work going into that locomotive, PCS parts are ordered and the Demko helical geared gear box is in place. Turns out I need a geared motor since the mechanism runs too fast. I aim for a 25:1 ratio or higher. There are many options for motors out there, Faulhaber, Maxon, Pittman and Assunmotor of China.

Since the Demko gearbox is not self locking like a worm drive, I might investigate the possibility of an electrical motor brake. That would surely add to realism a lot. Huh, big project!

https://youtu.be/JvfDGXFynXY

I was always scared of soldering around an expensive brass engine but now I really enjoy it.

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