10 Tips on Building A Live Steam Engine
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- We're giving you our top ten tips to consider before starting a live steam locomotive project. Thank you for watching this video here on The Steam Channel. If you have any questions, please drop them in the comment section below.
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Do not underestimate acquiring an older locomotive that is due for a rebuilding. There is much to be learned and the satisfaction level is on par to a new build.
Agree. It is a good way to entry the hobby.
Yes, and often they can still run so you can still enjoy it while you replace bits over the winters.
Hey, where could I get something like this?
This is a good idea. It gets you on the track quickly compared to a new build and you don't have to buy and learn how to use $1000's of machinery!
I would like to recommend Kozo Hiraoka's Pennsylvania A3 switcher book for anyone looking to build their first live steam engine! The book takes you through the construction of every part on the 0-4-0, and is geared towards the complete novice. You will need to know the bare basics of running a mill and lathe, however, so a machining class or two would get you off to a great start.
I've been working on my A3 off-and-on for about three years now, and have enjoyed the process immensely. I had no machining experience when I started, and I learned for the sole purpose of building this locomotive. I've completed the frame, suspension, fire grate, tender wheels/axles, and a few other things, all while working in other people's shops.
Three years may sound like a long time, but I've heard the average for a new locomotive builder is seven years. This is not a project for the faint of heart. It will take you a LONG time. Just think about it in terms of "one part at a time", and enjoy the process!
William Liebbe,
Houston, Texas
Does A3 require any castings or is it straight from block of steel to finished part?
Kozo Hiraoka's A3
The only castings required are the driver wheels, everything else is made from barstock. You can buy driver castings from Friends "Yankee Shop" models. They also have cylinder castings, which are optional. Kozo actually describes how to make patterns and have a foundry cast the wheels for you, if you desire. He builds literally everything on the locomotive from scratch, except the headlight bulb and some bolts.
I bought my mill and lathe from Precision Matthews and I'm extremely pleased with my machines. I broke one of the cardinal rules and started with a 4-8-4. I'm a retired architect and have NO machining experience although I've tinkered my entire life. The reason I started with a 4-8-4 is because I'm part of a group restoring the NC&StL #576 in Nashville and I wanted to also build a live steam model of it. I spent over a year measuring and making drawings before starting on the actual build April 2019. 16 months later, I have a completed frame, trailing truck, brake rigging, drive boxes and springs/rigging and am now finishing up the cylinders. It can be done if you're patient and willing to throw out a bad part or correct mistakes. I'm planning on being finished in another 2 years, but I'm at an advantage over most since I'm retired. Don't let the naysayers tell you that you can't do it. You can if you put your head to it. WARNING: be prepared to spend some serious $, but it's worth it for me. I'll leave my grandson a nice loco.
Having watched my neighbor maintain (and occasionally rebuild) his Pacific every season, I have figured out why diesels are king of the modern railroad.
Steam locomotives (regardless of the scale) are maintenance intensive. It takes a lot of time to get one running every time you take a steamer out. If the boiler fails, you are done (new boilers can be expensive and time consuming to build).
With diesels (or the gasoline powered model equivalents), you hit the start button and away you go. If the engine fails, you pull it out and put in a new one.
On the 7-1/2" gauge side, electrics are very popular, but they do have their draw-backs. When the batteries dies, so does the train (regardless of where you are on the track). I have found that I don't have to worry about battery charge (and pulling power) on my gasoline-powered box cab when making the run up to Hope Circle at Train Mountain.
It was great seeing you guys at Mill Creek on Friday. I had to leave on Saturday due to arthritis pain, but while we were there we thoroughly enjoyed our limited time there. I did build a 1" scale 4-6-2 back in the early 60s when I attended trade school to become a tool & die maker. I had to have the boiler built but the rest of the engine using LE castings I learned to machine. After running it for a couple of years I sold it to a fellow in southern Minnesota. A couple of years ago we visited the track at St. Croix and learned that the engine was in the process of being rebuilt. I hope they get it running again.
It was good to talk with you Ray, I hope you are feeling better!
Thanks Blake,
A video on servicing a locomotive for winter is needed, one for cleaning a boiler, and one that shows wear and tear to locomotive and what it takes to fix it. I enjoy the videos that you have made.
My machining experience was turning on a lathe in 8th grade metal shop. I chose a Allen Fitchburg Northern. Had to buy toy sized 9" Iathe and bench top mill and tooling. Total cost $9,000. My machining isn't great but my engine runs well, a tribute to steam power.
I've always been fascinated with live steam, I currently own a little engines mogul that I purchased, but ive always wanted to build something of my very own. This year I am taking machining classes at my college, learning how to use lathes and milling machines, as well as saving up for buying all the equipment required to build one.
Thanks for the video! Was very helpful, as well as your little engines northern videos, I am seriously considering buying one of these kits for myself once my skill level has reached that point.
Blake,
Thanks for a very realistic and detailed talk on building and owning a live steamer. Some thoughts I hadn't been aware of. Very good advice!
Remember that mods can be made after you are done with the kit, like split boxes for driving wheels.
I'm 17 and have always been a fan of steam engines. Watching this has just made me even more keen on one. I want to try and recreate the Sir Haydn model but to a life size scale.
Thanks for sharing!
Great job 👍. Thanks
Very nicely done video guys!!
Thank you so much for this! As someone hoping to start a live steam engine sometime in the near future (1-2 years from now), i found this very helpful, along with the other videos on your channel. I have a few extra challenges though: A) I want to build a 1.5" scale narrow gauge (4 3/4" gauge) mogul. Not too different from standard gauge stuff, but different enough. B) my nearest club is about 4 1/2 hours away, so a long way to drive (for me, anyway), which is unfortunate, but oh well. C) I don't currently have access to, nor can I afford, a lathe or mill, so I'd have to use the equipment at the club (aside from what I can get finished in metal fab classes, which probably won't be much). But, to be fair, every hobby has its challenges. And really, by the time I'm done, I know I'll be proud that I built it myself, and I will have had fun along the way, as I've always loved designing and building things. Anyway, thanks again, and sorry for the long-winded comment.
Thank you for letting me know!
Thanks guys, this was really insigtful
Great tips and things to consider for sure. The second you put a fire in the belly of one of these suckers, they start to tear themselves apart naturally.
For those without a machine shop or who want to put a little engine together with all the parts included,(or those on a tight budget like me!),I recommend the Accucraft "Ruby" kit. It's a little freelanced 0-4-0 based on Baldwin practices with lots of room for creativity. I have one I put together and it has its flaws, but it's fun to fiddle with.
Nicely done, Blake 👍. 10 great points for potential builders to consider. A little forethought, sensible planning and realistic targets often prevents costly mistakes and a weighty headache. The aim must surely be to both learn from, and enjoy, the hobby, not be driven prematurely grey by it...
Well conceived list. Live steaming is totaling addictive!
It is great channel to watch. The thoughts of manking an engine would be my dream come true. Love the design of engineering that goes into the making of these loco.
Greetings from Dublin Ireland bless you.
these tips are nice for absulute beginners and none machinists,
if I wouldn't spend 3 1/2 years hand crafting and machining in my professional school, I'd go insane figuring out how to
make all this stuff needed.
I for my self could wrap up an running locomotive in a month, but then it's only a 0-4-0 self propelling case of beer or a tank.
Details are what makes it take for ever, no mater the Scale or what you building, in the end you want it to reensamble a prototype.
Happy new year.
This is really helpful because im doing a project soon to build a Locomotive
Excellent advice from a knowledgeable person!
That bit about the tender construction is so true for me as it was the last piece of equipment I completed.
I would add a couple of points.
If you have no machining experience whatsoever, take some night school courses at the local community college. This will save you much time and aggravation, and best of all, you get to practice on someone else's machinery.
If I were to build a model from scratch I'd build the boiler first, or buy one. Making a copper boiler with flanged joints to be silver soldered is not a trivial job. For good joints a gap must exist between the joint surfaces from .002" to .004". This will give a joint strength that exceeds that of the parent material. If you have no experience with this start with small jobs. However, a locomotive boiler, even in 3/4" scale, is a 2 man job especially the larger sizes. Many a locomotive chassis was abandoned for lack of a boiler.
For the raw beginner I'd recommend building 2 or 3 stationary engines of increasing complexity. This will confirm to you whether the hobby requiring so much machining and hand work is really for you.
I've been wanting to build this live steam locomotive for quite a while
Very good, just about to start on a Hercules in the uk
1. I'l start with a LMS Princess Royal. Theres a video on building LMS 46207.
2. My dad has a "shop" so he can help me.
3. Read 1. For metal, read 2.
4. I'll try to find one as I am in a rural area.
5. I will. Don't worry.
6. I am aware locomotives can take days, months or even years.
7. I may buy a LMS Brass Stanier tender.
8. I agree.
9. I am aware of this.
10. If I ever bring it somewhere, I can probably ask one of my uncles or my dad.
It took me 6 years to build my first locomotive.
Is it okay if I can build a Steam Locomotive that you see in America, Great Britain, Japan, or Australia? I just like those countries and what Steam Locomotives they have or use to have.
Sometimes a good place to start is to get one used that needs some work. As you attend to it, you will learn a lot. And will probably be able to use it sooner than if starting from scratch or a kit. I think some people do that so they can have something to run while they are working on the "big project". Also, since it can take a long time to build one, there is risk of being discouraged. Having something operational early on can keep you interested.
Agreed, but do not buy a basket case!
@@BasementEngineer That is probably relative to each person. Some might need one with only minor issues Others can replace bushings and bearings and similar wear points. The are a few who would have the capability to do all that and repair or remake a boiler if necessary. Or repair a rusted out tender tank.
@@trainliker100 For a raw beginner such a choice should be a running model at least. If any deficiencies can be identified before purchase so much the better.
It should also be a very plain model without the usual "jewelry" such as bell, steam boiler feed pump, whistle, turbo-generator, lights etc.
This would lower the price and less to require repair.
I love small engines
Hmm good advice I totally want to build one of these trains someday buut I’m in high school and the project can’t start unless I have a break or finish it. And it could get in the way of school
Even when I’m done with the system there’s no machinery all the metal stuff I have are scrap metal I found off the ground thinking “ this could be used for something “ and it was I built a telegraph from scrap metal back in 7th grade and it worked
The telegraph was made from
A door hinge from school that I stole I watched the train mountain saftey video twice and wanted to go there one day and run a train there but I don’t have one and all of the trains I have are in ho ( half of O ) scale
And they are all diesel from southern pacific with the first ho scale locomotive I had being a BNSF switcher
3:00 where can i find blue prints for locomotives? is there a website for that or do i need to go somewhere for that?
if you don't have those tools,
I recommend using wood and plastic type materials
since..
you need lots of tool equipments.
You don't use wood and plastic when building a steam engine in 1/8 scale.
Why do you have to all that work to design and build the tender? Can't you just place your completed locomotive in a tank of boiling water for 4-5 hours? Wouldn't that make the engine tender?
That’s funny
For quite some time, I’ve been considering a Little Engines Light Northern kit which shares the same family of castings and parts as the Little Engines Atlantic and Pacific. My most favorite locomotive in the whole wide world is a Bulleid Pacific, and man this video has made me think “maybe if I really want to build a Bulleid Pacific, I can’t do it as my first locomotive, but maybe I can do one as my third or fourth. Does anyone know about the Little Engines Light Northern kit as this video often talks about the Little Engines ALCO Northern.
I am working on a rolling mill for making track.
But what if I don't live near a live stream club (like if the nearest one is across the ocean) what should I do about running a live steam locomotive?
Build your own track, or put the engine on a roller track.
Would it be a good idea to build a very old engine as a first? Like a John Bull?
I think it was Steve Lee who said: For every hour our steam locomotives is out on rails it takes 100 hours of maintenance and preparation".
Not for a model. But 3 to 5 hours is not unreasonable.
Will a mini lathe (not the wood caving) will do?? Or would you recommend investing in a heavy one to be safe? Thank you for the video and your time.
Depends on the size of the driver wheels of your contemplated locomotive.
The swing over the lathe ways should be at least 1/2" more than the wheel diameter.
You can't do what I did anymore. I learned on a 4-8-0 Baldwin consolidation full steam loco. I was 17 when I started that career path and left it and did full certified welder. But I was firing the loco for 2 years before I changed.
Any hobby requiring you to build something takes time. Working in aviation, lost track of people I ran across who started building a kit plane and quit midway through the project. The sad part is its hard to sell a parcel built aircraft. All that time and money waisted because the builder had unrealistic goals.
Really want to get into the live steam hobby, but I don't have any access to the equipment or space to run or store anything. I'm also in a tight spot because I don't think anyone makes the engines that I want to run (2 foot and 3 foot narrow gauge B-class Shay locomotives). So if I want to build those engines, I'll have to design every part and piece from scratch; which I don't mind doing. I've taken a machining class in high school, and CAD classes in college, so I have a fair start on the process. I've also thought about what kind of machining equipment I'd like to get, and while I definitely would get a lathe, I wouldn't buy a milling machine. I'm thinking of getting a cross compound table (essentially the same thing as a milling table, but without the milling machine) and mounting it onto the lathe carriage. The endmills and saws can then go into the 3-jaw chuck inside the lathe. Kozo Hiraoka's book Building The Shay has an article on the tools that you should get for building a locomotive and it's definitely a good starting point.
If you go this route tou better get a really good understanding of locomotive valve gear.
Would a Forney tank engine be a decent starter?
My plan is to build a stationary steam engine in the 20-30 HP range. Do you know anyone in the USA that sells un-machined castings in a kit for an engine that size? Thank you for your video and your time.
How wide is the track is it 5"?
Is there plans available for the 4120 shown at 2:40. Where can I get them?
The 4120 was a custom built engine and there are no plans for it.
What is the starting price of such locomotives if we buy it ??
I would love to also buy one of these locomotives but I dont have the money for one and they cost so much
What if you are 14 and you start bilding your train and if you have a friend that works on one and has a track
How is the progress coming on the scale model of the 844? Is she being built in one place? Or multiple places? Looking forward to seeing her! Thanks for all the videos that you have put up here!
Rudy Carlson I finished editing the next installment in the series this morning. It will be published 9/4 and will cover fabrication of the stainless steel side rods. Gemini is handling all the major fabrication work on the project and will be seeing it through to completion.
Thank you for the reply One more question where is the boiler being built?
Rudy Carlson Gemini will be fabricating the boiler as well.
Appreciate it The reply
Question; The engine shown at 4:48 the 614 with READING on the tender, what is that one called? And what would it cost to build something like that?
That locomotive is known as a camelback, due to the cab centered on the boiler as opposed to behind it. For more details on the ngine itself, look up Reading Railroad 1187, which was recently purchaed for restoration. As for cost, it's really just an 0-4-0 switcher, presumably 1.5" scale, so you should be able to find a rough estimate based on that.
@@nicholmansgarage3501 Thanks!
👍
What about the bill Conner beam engine
The steam channel Building Miniature live steam locomotives 4472 The Flying Scotsman that was my own dream to build when the steam locomotives UK
Watching this because I want to build a steam car.
You can be a beginner and start with a northern/big late steam, just go small scale like 3/4" or 1". So many sleep on the small scales!
Still takes time to make all the parts. Technically, it's harder to build a smaller engine than a larger one because the tolerances are so much smaller and the parts are tiny. While yes there is less metal and weight involved, mistakes are much harder to cover up.
True, although I was coming at it more from the "bigger engine = bigger tooling needed" point.
According to your experience ,how much the minimal budget to build a steam loco ?
Budget might not be as big of an issue as you think. Steam locomotives are constructed one part at a time. Baby steps. You don't have to buy all the materials at once, just what you need for the part you happen to be working on. The size of your locomotive will affect the cost as well- my 0-4-0 is going to be a lot less expensive to build than an Allegheny! Also, if you're crafty, using scrap metal can save you a bit of money in the end.
Overall, if we're just talking about the locomotive itself and not tooling, you could easily reach $5,000-10,000. But don't let that discourage you! Let's assume it takes you seven years to build your first locomotive (the average for first time builders). If you spend $7,000 on materials, that's only $1,000 per year, or under $100 per month. Of course this depends on the speed at which you can build your locomotive!
My main point is that you're not going to spend all your money at once; that's not how you build a locomotive. You're going to spend a little at a time as you work on it through the years.
@@williamliebbe6323 thanks a lot for your comment, its very encourge me..i hope i can build it one for indonesia, and i think it will be the first mini loco in my country,
1:05 or grab a 3d printer for prototyping and learn some cad, at that point you could spend extra money and have the parts 3d printed from metal if you lack the skill or equipment to make them yourself.
Здравствуйте, скажите пожалуйста, где можно прочитать текст вашего рассказа, на слух я понимаю мало, а мне очень интересны ваши советы
Love the video but hate the idea of the second tip. Essentially came across as forget your dreams, just settle for what you get. Id more suggest, start small but dream big. A small locomotive to ge your feet wet in the world of hobby machining and once you have a fun little project complete that you can use, then move on to the bigger projects. But never forget your dreams, as they should drive you to get better, not be pushed away into the realm of unachievable. Anything is possible with enough time and commitment.
It’s about the fact many people want to go for the big boy but those take very longer and most costly to the point where you can’t make it
Does anyone know how to build a very simple but easy locomotive?
Start with cardboard!! No joke thin cardstock and hot glue is excellent to mock up running gears in model form
Can you buy them whole?
Yea if you have 20,000 dallors to spend
So, I want to engineer a self-contained scale steam ship that won't require ridiculous amounts of maintenance and procedure before running. What engines and boilers can I employ for ease of use, as well as requiring "minimal" maintenance?
I came here because I determined there is a fair amount of carry-over between live steam locomotives and other live steam machines; my plan is to build a couple scale steam ships that I can just put together and sail, without having hours of "pre-trip maintenance" every time I drop it in the water. Obviously, I acknowledge there will be procedure involved, but I just want to make it as user friendly as possible.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Steam power and minimum maintenance do not go together.
I need in Brazil
What about if I make a terrier
The live steam 'industry' is missing a huge market for those of us who would love to buy a 'ready to assemble' kit requiring no machining. Station Road Steam offers this in England but they don't offer North American models.
They aren’t missing anything. All the money is in the machining and fabrication of the parts. These engines are not mass produced model trains - every build is a one off...even if the builder is using a common line of castings.
Little Engines original owners offered fully machined parts long ago. The cost becomes staggering! But nothing wrong with that if you can afford it.
I am mildly interested in building a Diesel engine but the main thing stopping me is the money that would go into it.
The money would go into a lathe and required tooling.
I really want a live steam locomotieven But buying or building a live steam locomotive is basicly impossoble I dont have the money or the skill to make 1
Well the cheapest way is building it the most expensive way is buying it as no one will ever give away their hard earned money time to someone else
It’s good to learn skills
Hell I made a telegraph from scrap metal and it works
And you must maintain one as they don’t fix themselves parts west and tear over time from running it
I am Nathan Frankly
never paint a locootive until you have it running. you'd hate to have done a beautiful job and have to redo it becuase something with the locomotive wasn't functioning right.
can I make a nickel plate road 759
I don’t plan to make one
I just really like trains
This dude narrating lives the life 😂😂😂😂 mad jealous
Build a trailer.
ha ha its now 1k likes ha ha