I’ve gone off the deep end! 2-8-2!

I’m starting to work on the running boards. They had nice brackets towards the front of the locomotive, but the rear of the boards were just soldered to the sides of the firebox. I’m going to make brackets for the rear… once the boards are mounted I can start on the air tanks and lines…

As for the tender, the auction ended early but it still hasn’t shipped, so I’m beginning to wonder about it. I have sent a message to the seller and I’m waiting for his response. I might still be on the hunt for a tender…

Tender’s here… looks like a good fit to me…

Yeah, it fits quite nicely. Glad it worked out. Should fit even better once you've got it sitting on those Auel trucks.

Tell us how you dismantled the boiler/cab and what you used to solder it back together. Did you use any jigs or clamps when it was reassembled?

I'm enjoying watching your restoration progress.

Well, the boiler sort of disassembled itself… I was trying to clearance the bottom of the boiler and it came apart on its own. At that point I removed the cab and the firebox pulled away from the backhead… the front half of the boiler was fine, so I separated it from the rear. I made a brace for the inside of the boiler, put the cab back in place to act as a form for the firebox, and used a couple clamps to pull the boiler back together and then pinned and soldered the brace to the inside of the bottom seam to hold it together. Then I re-joined the front half of the boiler to the rear with a few braces  on the inside to hold them in alignment while I soldered it together.

Not sure what I’m using for solder, it’s an old roll that the label has long since worn off, but it works really well!

Also- the trucks came today!

Still gotta find appropriate screws to mount them, but the height is almost perfect! Many thanks to Johnbeere!!

You got those assembled quick! Glad I could help.

Slight change of tenders… I’ve purchased a “parts/fixer” Atlantic (you’ve probably seen the thread on it) that came with a really nice brass tender. I’ve decided that I like that tender better than the all-nation one, so I’m going to use the brass tender (with the Auel trucks of course) with the Mike.

It’s the same length as the all nation tender, but the water tank is a bit taller. Coincidentally the water tank on GTW Mike #4070 appears to be a bit taller than a standard USRA tender… that coupled with family ties to the GTW might have just made the decision on the paint scheme… (I know, I know… 4070 is a light Mike, and this one is definitely a heavy Mike, but if you don’t tell I won’t tell…)

Edit: added a quick picture…

@Steaming Jon posted:

... so I’m going to use the brass tender (with the Auel trucks of course) with the Mike.

Gotta love those Auel trucks.

The only thing I don't understand is: you obviously have the skills; what took you so long?!? 😁👍

Mark in Oregon 🎄

GTW, huh?  Let me see what kind of photos I have.

Yeah, GTW. Grandpa fired and great grandpa was an engineer in the Detroit area right around the end of steam.

Mark- I don’t know what took me so long, this is fun!!

So I guess the next big issue is the big gaping hole on the front of the boiler… if anyone comes across a good smoke box front let me know… it measures about 1.830” in diameter, or just under 88 scale inches…

Stevenson Preservation Models.

Here you go - Grand Trunk

@bob2 posted:

Here you go - Grand Trunk

Bob, that is a great looking locomotive. Who made it?

Thanks, Ron H

@Ron H posted:

Bob, that is a great looking locomotive. Who made it?

Thanks, Ron H

If I can guess... Bob probably built this himself...🙂

Mark in Oregon

Making railings…

Well, the handrail is on the tender…

It might not be perfect, but I think it looks good!

Got the wiring connected to the tender, gave it a quick test run. Yeah, it’s a little noisy. I’ve got to mess around with the motor alignment…

Sounds like an Alco diesel. 😁 Coming along very nicely.

Is that a Kenwood receiver in the background? Sansui? Equally nice...

Mark in Oregon 🎄

Sansui 3900Z. Right at the tail end of the good stuff… sounds really nice! Vintage audio is one of my other hobbies. I’ve refurbished and flipped a whole bunch of speakers…

That Mike is Overland Light USRA, with domes and feedwater relocated.  Tender is scratch.  Decals custom by Jim Wilhite (RIP).

Does anyone have a go-to source for brushes for these old motors? I’m thinking mine look a bit worn out…

Unless they're really short, and you plan to run it a lot, they're probably okay. You could clean up the faces the same way you clean up the commutator, and if you want, lightly sand the faces. They'll need a break in period if you do that. I've never had to replace brushes (it takes a lot more running to wear them out than I'll ever do), so I don't have any suggestions where you can get them.

I’ll pull them out and post some pictures later (maybe Thursday, the Christmas season is really busy for me) and you can help me decide if they have any life left in them…

Someone made a spacer for the brush spring because there is no tension on the spring due to the wear on the brushes!
This motor must have a bajillion miles on it… but it still runs…

That much wear is really impressive. I guess you could try to make your own brushes by cutting larger brushes down to size until they fit just right.