The big parts of the train went together pretty fast as per normal. Now it is time to get to the details. Lots of details. The thing to remember on this project is the train will be high up on the trestle. It will be viewed up close only from below. So we will concentrate the bulk of the detail to that best viewing advantage. The top of the cab (at the top of the door level) is sealed to keep out the weather. Anything inside the cab below that level won't be seen anyway. We still have to add the guages to the pipes.
The back side of the little Shay locomotive is relatively plain compared to the business side. Even so it will be plenty fancy as we add the rivets and other details.
Tomorrow we'll begin work detailing the trucks and wheels. I'll be designing the steam drive and driveshafts and then fabricating the pieces to make it all real.
Out front the bottom of the stack, the steam whistle, grab handles and a bunch of piping add a whole bunch of interest to the train in a hurry.
The funnel train smoke stack is being custom made by a machine shop in town that has the specialized equipment necessary for the task. I have feelers out for a whole bunch of rusty chain that will be used to make this train authentic. I still have to locate some old tools for that last little bit of bling.
Now it gets fun. Stay tuned...
-grampa dan