Currently I am working on the locomotive boiler as well as a series of 1888 era passenger cars.  Future posts will cover these.

The top trim is fabricated from .010 x .018 brass bar.  I shape it to the contour of the side. 

Next I clamp it to the edge using cardboard to keep the back flush.  Once I have a section aligned I solder it in place working my way along the edge from the front to the rear.

This is how the completed edge looks. 

Day one of retirement.  No excuse for not posting regularly to this blog. 

The paper template was removed from the interior and I stripped off the black paint to get back to the brass surface.  I added the coal bunker face, deck and side panels.  The opening under the deck will provide a path for electrical wiring.

Next I added the rear tank deck and the slope sheet.  I used .005 thick brass for the construction I might have been better off using .010 as the thin stock tended to warp when heated with the soldering iron.  It all pulled back when it cooled but it added an extra challenge and was some what disconcerting when it happened.

Here is a view of the interior of the tender tank. 

This is the locomotive diagram drawing from archives of the Soo Line historical society.  It was published as supporting material in an article.  It was most helpful in the tender construction as it gives a number of important dimensions, in particular the tank.  

Symmetry is the key to laying out the side of the tender.   I learned about the advantages of symmetry when learning how to draw with CAD, if you could define symmetries you only need to draw a portion of the object and then fold it to get the whole image.  In the case of the tender side I identified a symmetry about the center of the rear tank wall.  I folder a paper and then drew half the tank carefully marking the locations of the fold lines for the bunker return, front, side and rear.  I then cut out the outline.  The above photo shows the folded template.

I used .005 brass sheet for the sides of the tender tank.  I sliced off a piece just a little wider than the template.  I sprayed it black with the intention of marking the outline of the template on the painted surface.  To hold the template in position while tracing I choose to use rubber cement to bond the template to the metal.  Since it was bonded I decided to skip the tracing and I just cut close to the template with shears, filing to the finished edge.

Here is how the sides looked after they were cut out and before folding.  The next step was to fold up the sides.  This is tricky as you need to fold both sides in the same sequence and from the same direction to keep the whole assembly the same size.  I folded from the front corners backward toward the rear corner.  I tightly clamped a straight edge against the surface of the sheet aligned on the fold lines and then bent the metal up.  Working slowly and carefully is the name of the game.  This is what the folded up tank appeared like when I was done.

Tender is completed.  This has been really fun, a lot of retries were required to get parts fabricated, soldered in place and aligned.  Learned how to solder with both the iron and resistance unit, each has there usefulness during construction.  I did not do detailed photos of the construction as I had no idea of what might work and what would not but I will post what I did take with some comments.  The last step will be applying the Micro Mark rivet decals, I ordered them today.

David

I worked on the L'anse depot after I finished the Rico model, completing it in March.  I then started the construction of a couple of DSS&A caboose models.  I used plans for the small window caboose that were published in the SLHTS magazine to build the model above.  It is scratch build from styrene and brass, and is painted /lettered in an early 1950's scheme.

This is a large window caboose built to the same dimensions as the small window caboose.  Since I was building one it was not much more effort to build a second one.  I used photographs as a guide in construction.  This model is painted in a 1940's era scheme.  

Modeling the DSS&A requires a great deal of scratch building, very few commercial models exist of equipment and structures.

Here is a model of the L'anse Michigan depot.  The plans were published in the Soo Line Historical Society publication.  This model was constructed in styrene. 

My current project is to build a model of an F6 consolidation.  I am looking at kit bashing a Spectrum Baldwin Consolidation.  The first step is to build up a closer representation of the tender.  The above picture shows where I am at in the project at this time.

Rio Grande Progress

I was doing a demo on craftsman kit construction at TrainFest over the past weekend.  I used the Raggs to Riches Rico depot model as the subject.  I spent the two days adding the planking around the perimeter of the building.  The kit is well engineered, I did not need to split any of the planks to make them fit the surface, amazing!