Topic: The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre Railway - The Steam Engine

[Ferd]

Now that is one big project. Is it just my imagination or is the engine constantly growing. Seems bigger every time I see pics of it. Guess it takes more than two to lift it.   

[russ]

Our Steam Engine Finds Its Home & Its Tender!

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The TRHC's miniature steam locomotive was moved into the newly cleaned and painted roundhouse blacksmith’s shop.  In the first picture at left, we find Dave using the chain hoist to lift the locomotive from a rolling stand onto a more secure elevated assembly track.  Then  we see TRHA Director Michael Guy is sitting on the tender in the engineer's position.  The locomotive and its tender are seen together for the first time in the this next picture. Finally in the last picture, we see the engineer’s view of the cab interior.
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[russ]

Is There a Plumber in the House?
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Juts when you think you have an almost finished steam engine and tender, you are challenged with the need to work up all of the water and steam lines and associated fittings. You quickly discover that this work seems to take a lot longer than one expected.  This was my experience with completing what looked like a finished engine of my own that I had bought from a fellow modeler.
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Our “tender men” have just invested the needed time and energy and have completed the “plumbing” for our steam engine tender.  In the pictures below you can view some of their handiwork.  In the picture at the bottom, you will find a complete view of all of the plumbing required to bring fuel oil and water to the front of the tender where flexible hose connections will bring these essential fluids to the engine itself.   As you can see, we have fitted valves in various spots to allow us to control the flow of these fluids and to drain the tender tanks if necessary.
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The tender is now ready to be shipped out to the roundhouse where it will be temporarily united with the steam engine. The next step will be to disassemble both to be able to ship the appropriate parts out for painting using a powder coating paint process.
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Russ
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[russ]

Moving the Steam Engine to its New Home!
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Recently, our steam engine was successfully moved today from our assembly shop space in Markham, Ontario, Canada to our machine shop space at the roundhouse.   In the first picture below, wee see the engine and the cab in one of our team's van ready to leave the assembly shop. In the next picture, we see the engine being lifted into the roundhouse thanks to the generous assistance of the contractors working at the roundhouse.  Finally in the last picture we see the steam engine resting comfortably in the roundhouse machine shop.  It will now awaits its being reunited with its tender and then a subsequent partial disassembly for painting.
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Russ Milland
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[russ]

The Steam Engine Cab is Now Complete!
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The "tender men" have now completed the cab and it will be sent shortly to the shop where the steam engine is being assembled. Once it arrives there it will be test fitted on the chassis before being sent off for painting.
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Russ
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[russ]

Finishing the Steam Engine’s Cab
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Now that the Burlington, Ontario based team has completed their work on the steam engine’s tender, they have been working on assembling the cab which is now almost nearly complete.  In the above pictures we find Pat in action fastening the cab sides to spectacle plate.  Once completed, the tender will be reunited with the steam engine at the Roundhouse.
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Russ
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[tomc]

Thanks Russ,  It is coming along nicely.

Tom C.

[russ]

Sure, Tom .. I have been a little lax in keeping up here .....

Fitting out the steam locomotive!
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In the first photo below, we find Michael running an Induma vertical milling machine to put a rectangular hole in the bottom of the Sweet Creek smokebox to clear the steam and exhaust pipes. This was one of the few instances where the holes provided by the vendor were too small and in the wrong place.
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At the shop, the team had a great time sorting out pipe fittings and dry-fitting them to the boiler to find out where everything went and whether 'this' elbow needed a nipple 'that long' and if it went over 'there' with 'this' union and a valve. By the end of the weekend they were almost out of plastic bags of fittings and the steam engine looked more complete than ever.  In the next picture, we find the team admiring the assembled locomotive. In the last picture we get a close up view of the backhead where most of the fittings are applied.
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We were also able to pressurize the boiler to 90 psi with shop air to check for leaks (we found none), run the chassis briefly and blow the whistle for the first time. The whistle has a nice three note chime and although we took some movies with sound the small cameras didn't do justice to the actual sound which has a more full and rounded tone than is apparent in the video.  
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Russ
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Click on the video link below to listen to the whistle!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfZ0LsmvB00 (The video's owner prevents external embedding)


Click on each picture for a closer look!

[tomc]

Russ,  any more pics?  

Tom C.

[russ]

Sparks Fly as the Tender Takes Shape!
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We have made further progress on the assembly of the tender.  The first image below shows the hind bulkhead support plates being welded by Michael to the riveted angle and channel sections.  They are not directly welded to the tender sides to avoid any local distortion to these smooth surfaces.  The other welding image is the same operation on the fore bulkhead support plates.  The use of support plates, rather than direct welding in of the bulkheads, allows the bulkheads themselves to be removed improving access to the plumbing around the tanks.  In a further operation metal beading was spot welded along the top of the sides of the tender providing an attractive edge.  Next up is the installation of pipe fittings and valves.  Once these items are fitted up and copper pipe bent to fit we will be sending the tender frame and body off for painting.
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The “tender men” (as they like to be called) did such a great job on the tender riveting (see middle picture below) and assembly that the team has been rewarded with the opportunity to make the steam engine’s cab look just as good with Michael leaving the cab parts for the team as they left for the day.
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Russ
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[Ferd]

Right out of a Frankenstein movie. Congrats on the engine so far. Would have been a blast to be there.
cheers Ferd 

[russ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLqahAxQDlM
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“It’s Alive” – A Milestone in the Assembly of The Steam Engine
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Once the chassis of our miniature live steam locomotive was fully assembled, we tested the chassis on compressed air instead of steam to ensure that the steam engine and the running gear work properly.  Yesterday, this was done with our steam engine and as you can tell from the beaming faces of Mike and Arno, the test was a great success. Congratulations to the assembly team on a job well done!
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Russ

[russ]

Every Steam Engine Needs a Tender!
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I have so far been mainly reporting progress on the assembly of the steam engine in a workshop in Markham, Ontario, Canada.  Another team of TRHA volunteers is simultaneously working on the assembly of the tender for this steam engine in a workshop in Burlington, Ontario
In the first picture below, we see Pat, Michael and Michael working on the riveting of the tender body.  In the next picture, we see the dry-fitted tender body.  This picture gives you a good sense of the massive size of this tender.  There are two stainless steels tanks in the tender, one for water and one for fuel oil.  In the last picture, we see one of the tender trucks which have already been assembled.
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Russ
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[russ]

Test Fitting the Steam Engine!
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We met recently with the TSSA (the Technical Safety and Standards Association who oversee boilers in our jurisdiction) boiler inspector and our engineer. The boiler was looked over and we were given permission to continue to assemble the locomotive and add all the fittings and pipe work after which a 150 psi hydro test will be performed. We still require approval of the boiler as to type and it must have the appropriate number stamped on the plate. This matter is why we have a professional engineer handling the paper work.
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After these gentlemen left, the boiler, smokebox, ashpan, cladding and domes were dry fitted to see what went where and if it fits. In the pictures above we begin to get a sense of what our finished locomotive will look like.  The parts fit very well.  The engine will now be disassembled and the chassis flipped over to continue the assembly process.
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By Russ; Pictures by Brian Cole and Michael Guy
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Click on each picture for a closer look!

[russ]

Thanks, Tom

I spoke to Michael about your suggestion of swapping 12 lb rail for 8 lb rail and he said he has communicated with you through e-mail.

Russ