The courage to start on 622’s tender

Okay, so I didn’t spend the eighties and nineties blithely hacking apart diesel shells to turn GP35s into GP38s. It seemed, from reading Model Railroader back in those days, that this was the way to enjoy the hobby. Model Railroading is Fun when you approach it with a razor saw! Well, I never had the […]

Bachmann’s tender trucks look good for 622

When I stopped in at Central Hobbies a couple of weeks ago to check out the Bachmann 4-4-0 tender, I failed to notice if the trucks would be a match as well. Of course, the Bachmann catalogue is useless for discerning detail. As with so many of the model railroad online and print catalogues, the […]

Weights and wires for 622

There are two things that I didn’t design well when I built #10 (okay, there are more than two, but I’m going to write about two tonight) — weights and wires. Weight, even on the first iteration, was largely composed of scraps of lead that I squeezed into nooks and crannies wherever I could. On […]

The wonder of a local hobby store or It looks like Bachmann’s tender shell will work for 622

Today I stopped in to Central Hobbies to see if they had any of the parts I need for 622. It’s all esoteric stuff, and so I was happy to walk away with the gear box at least. It must be said that Central Hobbies is one of the better hobby stores I’ve ever encountered. […]

Tender sketch for 622

There’s not been much modelling going on for a couple of weeks as summer catches up with us. You know, warm evenings, barbeques, etc. The good life. I did, however, manage to scrape out an hour to roughly sketch the tender. I’m considering buying the tank from a Bachmann tender, but this sketch is scaled […]

622’s Fall plate will be removable

On #10, due to a lack of foresight, the fall plate was simply an extension of the cab floor. This was never satisfactory as it meant that it hovered slightly above the tender deck, rather than, well, falling on it. I also feel that it is vulnerable, hanging off the back of the engine as […]

Fake suspension for 622

Parts for 622 continue to appear on the drawing board. It’s easy to get carried away when you’re modelling in CAD. The keys that retain the springs, for example, are really miniscule – about .01 x .01 x .02. Will the 3D printer be able to resolve them? I hope so. I’m wondering if I should […]

Brakes for 622

As in modelling, drawing follows the 90-90 rule. The first 90% takes 90% of the time. The last 10% also takes 90% of the time. I’m in to the last 10% of this drawing. The trouble with brakes on steam engines is you have to remove them before you can remove the wheels. My previous […]

622: Backheads are harder to draft than make

It’s generally invisible except through the windows. So I don’t want to spend too much time on the cab interior and specifically the backhead. A modeller’s sketch is sufficient, I think. If I recall, the backhead for #10 took an enjoyable day of modelling. It was styrene plus a few pieces of lost wax jewelry representing […]

622’s pilot and the power of parametric CAD

I just finished drawing 622’s pilot. Actually, it is 623’s pilot as I don’t have any photograph showing 622 after she lost her link and pin. I think it’s a pretty good match to the photo. Perhaps the angle needs to be a little more acute. But here’s the thing: five minutes ago, it looked […]