Time.............

Well,

I got the rest of the valve gear on the chassis and spent quite a bit of time on "timing" the valve events. It involves setting the crank pin at the right angle, then having the other crank pin 90 degrees different. Then you have to adjust the slide valve via the block and set screws which bind down the block to the valve spindle. After reading over and over the directions and looking at the matching diagrams AND talking with a few people, I feel I have the valves timed for Forward motion pretty good. I put the nuts on the cylinder studs and now have to do an air test. Pushing the chassis along a length of track is great. Seeing all the working levers, arms and gear and feeling that compression from the cylinders is unlike any electric locomotive experience. I can see why those who have gone to live steam never look back at the electric train hobby.

Here are the parts for the dummy brakes

What a wonderful Wife

I just wanted to take this moment to say thanks to my wonderful Wife, Erika. She is always happy to upload my pictures I have taken during my building. I then copy those and arrange them in my posts, but she really makes things easy for me on that end. I love her and she is also the reason why I am still building. She saw the passion I had this hobby to allow me to purchase it. I would not have done so without her support. It is a sacrifice for both of us. I know that it will bring me hours of joy not only because I will get to run it, but I will get to share it with my family and especially my children, Shannon and Forest. Thanks Erika.

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.

Cylinder success

I have just completed half of section 2 which is the cylinder and valve assembly. Following the directions and using some common sense the assembly went smooth as steam oil. I chose to use Steam cylinder oil to lubricate the gaskets for the valve chest and cylinder covers. The directions call for packing compound which is a silicone caulk, but one needs to be extra careful when using it as it can squeeze into places where it should not be and clog up the steam works quite literally. I know steam oil has been used by builders before and it is something which belongs in the cylinder block anyway. It was not as messy and easier to wipe up than the silicone caulk too.

I then proceeded to put the gasket rings on the piston and assemble the cross head and slide bars which will keep the piston motion straight in the cylinder bore. Here is where some common sense is needed when deciphering the directions. To be sure, the directions are fine, however sometimes things do not translate well, but thanks to the exploded drawings, things can be figured out with some careful thought. The directions call for the builder to not tighten down the screws which hold the slide bars to the rear cylinder cover. Later I learned that the only way to access the top screw was to tighten it before installing the steam chest. I think the idea was to keep the slide bars somewhat loose to allow for correction when making sure the piston slides smoothly without any hindrances.

Next was installing the steam branch pipes to both the cylinder block and steam chest or valve chest.

Then it was time to put those cylinder studs in the cylinder block. I had previously measured them and they needed to be 12mm in height when screwed into the cylinder block to allow for enough threads to hold the nut which sandwiches everything together after the valve timing is set at a later part of the build. I did add a bit of loctite 222 to the bottom of those threads to keep them from turning when I put on the nuts later.

Now it was time to set the valve and valve block into the steam chest. I added a bit of steam oil to coat the bottom. This will come in handy later when I do an air test. I had to install some set screws into the valve block which will bind down on the valve spindle. The block grips the valve spindle which is what moves the valve back and fourth over the ports, which in turn allow steam into the cylinder to move the piston.

The valve block has two holes for those set screws. It also has a hole running the length of the block which allows the valve spindle to slide in. The hole is at the bottom of the valve block and the holes for the set screw have a countersunk depression so it is clear which side is up. The diagram clearly shows the correct position of the valve and valve block, but it is hard to mess that up as the hole for the valve spindle which runs through the valve chest clearly shows which direction the valve and block need to face. I did have to lift the block up a bit to allow the spindle to enter it and this made the block rise up and slant down sort of like a ramp. I had talked with David Leech and he said this was normal. As the valve spindle is attached to the combination lever everything will line up as it should.

Here is where the I found the directions in section 2 to be a bit out of sequence. It calls for the assembly of the cylinder back plate and valve spindle guide to be added and then the valve spindle cross-head to be installed. Here is the problem with that order. The cylinder back plate has to go on the steam chest as it is being slid down the cylinder studs for it to clear the slide bar set screw which is holding it to the rear cylinder cover. The valve spindle cross head can not be attached to the valve spindle with the valve spindle guide already attached to the valve chest. So, I had to follow the diagram more than the written instructions, but in the end everything is as it should be. The piston moves smoothly as does the valve via the valve spindle.

Now, I need to assemble the other cylinder and then it will be on to section 3 which is putting the cylinders onto the chassis.

UPDATE I have completed the second cylinder. I'll try and get some pictures up later tonight. For those interested I was given an excellent website which has tons of info on steam locomotives, but in particular with the USRA Light Mikado. You can read about it here as well as get some photos of them.

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mikado/

I might shave using my cylinder block as a mirror.

Well, perhaps not.

Either way, both cylinder block faces and slide valves are lapped to my satisfaction. I ended up making them a bit shinier. I used a nice thickness of mirror I bought at IKEA. My wife will use it now that it has served my purpose. I like multipurpose items. Indeed if you pay attention to my work area, it isn't exactly something you would see at an Aster factory. I have bent wrenches as opposed to buying a socket set and so far it has worked perfectly and saved me some money. However, there is something to be said for a nice tool kit to accompany your working live steam engine.

After lapping items, I thoroughly rinsed them with water to rid them of any grit from the emery paper. Then I set them in a nice secure place to dry. The next item of business will be the assembly of the cylinder and valve chest. In between I took my slide-bars and made sure they were flat and straight and that they slid freely back and fourth in the cross-heads.

The heart of the beast

If you can imagine the human body, you can get an idea of how a steam locomotive would work. These small scale models are working models of the prototype, or "life-size" steam locomotive. This Aster USRA light Mikado is 1:32 scale or "Standard gauge". What this means is that it would take 32 of these small scale engines to represent the length of 1 prototypical sized USRA light mikado. It would take 32 stacked atop each other to represent the prototypical height and the same for the width. So all total, it would take 32,738 of these small scale live steamers aranged in 32 high, 32 wide and 32 long to equal the general outline of the prototype USRA light Mikado. (Thanks Charles)

As to our comparison here, in the human body you have the brain which sends the signals to the heart to beat which in turn sends out the blood to the parts of the body enabling it to do what the brain tells it to do. In much the same way, the engineer is the brain of the train and he would turn valves and pull levers which would send signals to the brakes, cylinders, pumps and valves to work the engine. The blood is replaced by steam in the train which enters the cylinders (heart) and moves the cylinder piston to generate motion to the coupling rods which move the driver wheels all together.

This is quite a simple comparison, but I am about to put together the heart of this beast I am building. The first thing I need to do is "lap" the face of the cylinder block and the bottom of the slide valve which will slide over the ports, which in turn allow the admission of steam into the cylinder and the outlet of exhaust into the smoke stack. When Aster machines the cylinder blocks and slide valves, little marks where the parts were milled can be seen. Putting a piece of emery paper on a flat and thick sheet of glass or a mirror allows me to smooth out these traces and gives the surface a very smooth and mirror-like finish. The Thick glass assures a flat and level surface.

I was advised to do the lapping in a "figure 8" motion so as not to apply uneven pressure going in a back and fourth motion. Some will lap with various grades of emery cloth from rough to fine and get that surface to a literal mirror-like finish. Others will do just enough. I was told by a man who works on these that no matter what finish, in the end, the slide valve will eventually create normal wear and one day for an overhaul of maintenance I might have to lap them a bit more.

I obviously will lap them enough where I won't have any steam leaks as the gasket material will create a seal between the cylinder face and valve chest. The few groves that may be left would also allow good adhesion for the cylinder steam oil. Here is a great point to say that there are differences between oil and steam oil. The basic difference is that steam oil has tallow in it which allow the oil to bond with the steam and still allow lubrication in the Cylinder assembly. For further reading on the differences you can check this article which is posted on Jim Pitt's site. http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/misc/steam-oil-hwade.htm

I have decided at this point to lay out all the pieces required for the next section on a white towel. This will serve two purposes. Firstly, it will be a great way to show the many small pieces which make up the final build and secondly it will affirm that all pieces are accounted for and milled correctly.

Taking on a new look

Well, having had a really nice and relaxing vacation in upstate New York, I am back in the sweatshop we call Florida. I decided it was time to finish up Section 1 which is the chassis of the Mikado. I already had the drivers and connecting rods on the frame so I needed to add the section in the back which will hold the cab and burner cups under the boiler. I also added the pilot slats, and that part alone gives this undercarriage that distinctive "steam locomotive" look. So now it was time to install the front and rear pilot pins which will hold the trucks (to be added much later in the build) to the frame.

Now, here is where I want to emphasize that building such a piece of art requires a bit of a sense of humor. What I found next simply made me laugh. These kits come from Japan. http://asterhobby.com/link2.html

The design of the model is drawn up and the pilot model is made. Then you can either purchase that engine as a kit or as a Ready To Run factory built model. While looking at multitude of small parts in the kit is daunting, it does lend to the reasoning behind some people's wish to just go with a factory built one which will steam up out of the box. However, for me, the kit will always be the way I would go if I were to give this model brothers and sisters in the future. Just the building process and sense of accomplishment I have already experienced justifies my reasons for why I went the "kit" route. I also want to say that Aster Japan has given us in the hobby of live steam a great option to get to know the ins and outs of these small scale live steam engines. The exploded drawings are very helpful and fun to follow when married with the written directions.

With that said, it should be known that in much the same way that a new novel will still have some grammatical and spelling errors that were not caught by both the human eye and computer, so too will mechanical kits, like this Mikado, have some things which will need corrected before the process of construction can be completed.

In my kit there have been a few things missing here and there, but all have been righted. I was to find that this would continue. Like I said, you can either laugh or cry about it. In this case I chose to laugh. Of those pins I mentioned earlier which will secure the front and trailing trucks to the frame's underside, three are provided. Two for the pilot truck and one for the trailing truck. The drawings clearly show that all three look different. The first pin is the longest with the second one being the shortest and the trailing truck pin being slightly longer than the second pin.

The first two pins are secured by running them from the bottom up through a hole in the frame and then fastened down with a washer and nut. The third pin simply threads into the frame which has a threaded hole. Now, when I looked at the three pins in the drawing and then the three pins I had laid out on my work surface, I began to suspect that the worker who packed my kit together at the factory may have had a bit more sake during the break than the next guy. Either that or it was simply a matter of his or her eyes seeing threads on a pin which had not been threaded.

A nut will go on threads, but try putting one on a smooth shaft. Doesn't seem to work as well does it? Well, my part 1-11 which is the second and smallest of all three pins did not have threads. I made sure I looked at it from all angles and re-read the directions a few times while looking at the corresponding diagram to be certain I in fact had a problem on my hands.

So, I had two options. I could contact Aster and request a replacement part, which I knew would put my building on hold for a few more weeks at best, or I could call up Norm Saley and see if there was anything he could do.

I had the privilege to get to meet Norm Saley back in January of this new year. He had me over to his house which is about 20 minutes away. There he fired up his Accucraft mogul which I got to see, smell and hear. If I was not hooked on the hobby of live steam before, I certainly was now. Norm Saley not only runs live steam, but he is a guru in the field of live steam repair. He invited me to bring it by and he would look at it.

Well, on Monday the 18th I did just that. He had that pin threaded in less time than it would have taken to steam up the Mikado. Easy as that and I got to watch him work. I know there are those in the hobby who have also shared this privilege at places like Diamond Head, but unlike some of those people in the hobby, I did not have to wait till next January or mail the part to him and wait for it to be mailed back. So, upon returning home, I installed the pin and Section 1 is officially completed. My next task will be lapping and building the Cylinder and valve assembly.

My Mikado chassis is really starting to take on the proper look of a steam train. At the end of the day, it felt much better to laugh about all this rather than to panic and place blame on some poor soul in Japan who might have been having an even worse day. Now, what challenge awaits me in the coming sections of this build I wonder?