Ill fated locomotive project

T

Tim Brien

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Another project started many years ago, however, this project may never be completed.as I feel that the loco is marginally too long. I decided to fit brake cylinders to the rear of the chassis and this extended the overall length making the loco look unattractive..

My hypothesis was that the Mason Bogie Locomotive Company did not fail in the early 20th century, but continued into the 1930's. The drive is articulated with a flanged wheel fitted to the centre axle and the rods repositioned to the rear axle.
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Tim Brien said:
Another project started many years ago, however, this project may never be completed.as I feel that the loco is marginally too long. I decided to fit brake cylinders to the rear of the chassis and this extended the overall length making the loco look unattractive..

My hypothesis was that the Mason Bogie Locomotive Company did not fail in the early 20th century, but continued into the 1930's. The drive is articulated with a flanged wheel fitted to the centre axle and the rods repositioned to the rear axle.
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Another interesting build:cool::cool:
 
I think it looks fine proportion wise, maybe move the rear truck forward a smidge? Otherwise a fine looking "what if" Loco
 
A potential buyer has encouraged me to complete the locomotive, so today I have progressed some details prior stripping for paint.
 
I think it looks pretty good too. Maybe think about a Pullman 3 axle truck for the rear. It might fill out the space a little better and take away the "too long" appearance.
 
Alas, truck choice is limited as a view of the underside will show the bolster position is fixed, plus the angled bracing from the firebox to the frame and the rear beam to the frame limit the truck wheelbase. An Aristo three-axle Commonwealth truck would probably fit, however, due their scarcity, the cost would double the price of the loco.
 
A little ingenuity was needed when it came to applying the clearcoat in one operation. The clearcoat had to be applied to both top and lower surfaces simultaneously. This meant that I had to devise a method to spray both surfaces. The boiler/chassis assembly is quite heavy as a Bachmann cast iron weight is inside. This meant a l;ittle heavy engineering. Steel strap was passed down inside the boiler and the assembly hung from a modified wire clothes hanger.

Fortunately, the weather today is rather balmy so I was able to spray the clearcoat in ideal conditions and as little wind and clear skies are expected, I am able to leave the assembly outdoors to dry.

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Tim Brien said:
A little ingenuity was needed when it came to applying the clearcoat in one operation. The clearcoat had to be applied to both top and lower surfaces simultaneously. This meant that I had to devise a method to spray both surfaces. The boiler/chassis assembly is quite heavy as a Bachmann cast iron weight is inside. This meant a l;ittle heavy engineering. Steel strap was passed down inside the boiler and the assembly hung from a modified wire clothes hanger.

Fortunately, the weather today is rather balmy so I was able to spray the clearcoat in ideal conditions and as little wind and clear skies are expected, I am able to leave the assembly outdoors to dry.

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Luckily no washing lines were sprayed during this process! Very clever solution.
JonD
 
This is the drive for the locomotive. It started life as a Bachmann Spectrum Anniversary locomotive and after a weight reduction programme I came up with this. The drive pivots on what was originally the forward mount boss for the cast iron weight.

The cylinders were moved inline with the forward driving axle, the centre axle is now flanged and the rear axle was modified to accept the drive rods. This entailed modifying all the rods including the valve motion. The drive is now a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement.

I also modified the drive for digital operation as the buyer wants to fit an XLS decoder.

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Tim Brien said:
This is the drive for the locomotive. It started life as a Bachmann Spectrum Anniversary locomotive and after a weight reduction programme I came up with this. The drive pivots on what was originally the forward mount boss for the cast iron weight.

The cylinders were moved inline with the forward driving axle, the centre axle is now flanged and the rear axle was modified to accept the drive rods. This entailed modifying all the rods including the valve motion. The drive is now a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement.

I also modified the drive for digital operation as the buyer wants to fit an XLS decoder.

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That looks like a very good basis for a Tralee and Dingle 2-6-0! No mention of the front Pony Truck that ai have found, looks to be LGB based?
JonD
 
Looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the finished article. How did you do the extended connecting rod from the piston to the rear wheel. I ask because I am doing a Mallet, using 2 Annie chassis as a base. Worked out and done the switch of the eccentrics to the rear wheel but cannot work out a neat way of extending the rod, just some brass rectangular section as a sleeve right now. Looks a bit chunky though on mine. Max
 
I used 'solid' brass channel section to obtain the extended rod length and used thinner 'sheet' brass channel to reinforce the join to the Bachmann cast rod end. At the crosshead end the channel was filed flat and tapped for an 8 BA screw. This then allowed attachment to the crosshead.
 
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Jon,
the pilot truck is a modified LGB 2080D vintage. From memory it is shortened and sprung loaded utilising the stock Bachmann swing aperture. Initially I planned power pickups but decided to add pickups to the trailing truck bogie.
 
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I'm not well-versed in US locos, but it looks great to me! And as a 'might have been', you can call the shots -perhaps there was an operating requirement -loading gauge or track radii- that dictated the wheelbase... ;)
 
Northsider said:
..........And as a 'might have been', you can call the shots -perhaps there was an operating requirement -loading gauge or track radii- that dictated the wheelbase... ;)
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From memory the last Mason Bogies were made towards the end of the 19th century and were standard gauge locomotives for use in Mexico. My theory was that production continued towards the 1930's and incorporated later technology like steel cabs.
 
Tim Brien said:
I used 'solid' brass channel section to obtain the extended rod length and used thinner 'sheet' brass channel to reinforce the join to the Bachmann cast rod end. At the crosshead end the channel was filed flat and tapped for an 8 BA screw. This then allowed attachment to the crosshead.
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Thanks Tim. I assume they are soldered together with the thin sheet brass. Is that so ? (Excuse I am total numpty) Max
 
The assemblies were Araldited with a 24-hour high strength as soldering could not be used with the pot metal rod mount that attaches to the rear driven axle.
 
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