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It all started with a question by the nefarious Ed Kelly of the Park Train Guide on the Parktrains list in August about building an inexpensive locomotive for fun:
From: gtngrr@---.com
Thinking of doing a homebuilt steam outline for fun...with no metalworking tools except a bandsaw and a welder.... I'd probably eventually build a track for it but with a brand new spacious shop out back I might as well take advantage of it.... The "boiler" is obviously a drum of some sort. I don't know where to find these but they're around. I'd do the frame myself. I'm better with wood than metal without a lathe or mill. Just trying to figure out the work involved and how easy/hard it would be to make. Of course, all of this would be done on a no more than $5000 budget. Thanks and Happy Rails,
Ed Kelley
Then like a shot out of the blue Tim Flood of Ohio responds:
From: "Tim Flood" <tflood@---.com>
Ed, You could probably build your project for much less than what you allowed in your budget - if you're good at scrounging materials. Believe it or not, I managed to build my 5" scale Shay for around $2000 out of pocket. Most machine work was done on a $50 scrap 17" lathe and a $250 scrap horizontal mill. The majority of parts were welded frabrications which were then ground and machined to look like castings. The project took a long time - but I too was on a budget.
Tim Flood
Needless to say we were all blown away by the suggestion that a machine of dreams could be built for such a price and the following photos and details really did the trick!
Mr. Flood provides some details of construction:
The gears are off the shelf Boston bevel gears. I realize they are not prototypical, but the price was right. I approached an industrial salesman who frequently calls on and sells large quantity items to the company I work for. One day, I ask him what the company's cost would be for these gears. Once I told him what I wanted them for - he simply gave them to me.
The single most expensive items were those used to fabricate the boiler, which is 18" in dia. The key is, can you wait long enough to find materials at a cost that you can afford?
Following are some specs:
Engine - 3" x 4" bore & stroke, with enough cylinder wall to increase bore to 4". Complete engine & crank are weld/fabrication. Crank throws 120 degrees apart.
Boiler - 18" dia. barrel; 31 1-1/4" dia. tubes; grate size approx. 16"x18". Fuel is wood; 150 psi operating pressure; all-welded construction, including steel grates.
Wheels - 11.88" dia., grey cast iron from my pattern.
Trucks - archbar w/brake beams and steel shoes machined from an ID OD burn-out.
Brakes - steam jams. Brake cylinder body from an old brass air cylinder; brake valve body cast from my pattern.
Overall Dimensions - 12'-4" OAL; 54" to top of cab roof. Loco weights approx. 2 tons.
Journals - axle and crank mains are babbit.
Tim continues:
One of the nice things about a Shay, besides the probability I could hook on to a rod loco and forcibly drag it anywhere I want, is the simplicity of construction. All you basically have is an I beam frame with a boiler sat on it and a self-contained engine bolted to the side. The wheels are independent except for the drive shaft and U-joints.
Such simplicity with a lot of homegrown engineering has resulted in a handsome and beautiful machine worthy of inclusion with the finest of the five inch scale group, at least from this online vantage point. It has inspired our efforts to build a working geared steam locomotive for our 18" gauge line as it may be easier than the rod locomotive we have been imagineering for some time.
This may be the beginning of a geared locomotive section of this publication investigating the many large locomotives of the type around the country and world. Any contributions by engineers of such kenetic works of steam artistry are welcome.
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posted 22.09.2002
