Mounting the cylinders to the chassis

I wanted to get the cylinders mounted to the chassis for my last step before I take a break in building due to my work schedule and not having my set of needle files arrive yet. The next section will require a bit more filing for fit than previous sections. So, I got the front and rear motion plates on which will attach to the slide bars.

Then it was time to mount the first cylinder and get the steam and blast pipes lined up.

Next, I got the second cylinder on and then fastened everything up. While the blast pipe is snug between the two cylinder steam pipes, the valve chest steam pipes do not sit quite as snug against the center steam admission pipe (threaded one). There are 0 rings inside, but I won't know till I do an air test if it will hold or leak there due to it not being quite as snug.

I also have a bit of rubbing from the front screw/washer attaching the coupling rod to the first set of drivers on the engineers side (right side looking from cab to smokestack). It seems to rub a bit when the side play allows the axle box to slide on the axle as if the train were making a left handed turn. It does not bind up the drivers but I'll have to keep an eye on that as well when I do the air test. Other than that, it went together fine. Section 3 was rather mild compared to the previous section and not as fun, but still good to have everything on the chassis and it is definitely looking more and more like a real steam locomotive.