Another Pennsylvania A3 Switcher

Excellent!  That's a  major milestone.     

Excellent work!  It's always nice to see them run smoothly.

I really need to update my post on my A3 progress...

Todd

Thanks Kim for the comments. It was particularly satisfying to see the enthusiasm of the local club members when they saw another live steam loco being built. It does not happen that often any more. At least not in these parts of the world.

Quote from: cruebyExcellent!  That's a  major milestone.

Thanks Chris. I guess the next major milestone will be running on compressed air, prior to taking on the boiler...

Quote from: Prowler901I really need to update my post on my A3 progress...

Todd, please update your post! Your work is both inspiring and humbling!

I still had to drill small dimples in the rear axle for the grub screws of the pump and lubricator eccentrics. The quartering jig came in handy to hold the rear wheel assembly for drilling.




After a couple of mishaps, the side and main rods are now complete.





I am still waiting for an M2 die to arrive before I can complete the top half of the dummy cotter pins.

In the mean time I have noticed rust appearing on the tender wheels. The rods and valve gear motion are now also unpainted mild steel. This begs the question - what is the best way to prevent these parts from rusting? At the time, I sprayed the tender wheels with clear 2K paint, but this clearly worn off when running on the rusty club track. I am thinking of oiling everything and then store it (even the tender) in a sealed plastic bag with some silica gel.

This is a great build! I enjoyed reading through and catching up, and I’m looking forward to more of this high quality work you’re doing!

Thanks Riedoux313 for the kind words!

Due to various other commitments, progress has been slow lately. But the phosphor bronze cylinders are finally complete.

Below are a few shots along the way.

After rough shaping:




Bored and faced with steam ports:




Screw holes and steam passages complete:




Cylindrical surfaces machined on the lathe as suggested by Kozo:



While working on the cylinders, surface rust started appearing on some of the mild steel frame components . It will not be possible to paint the frame in the near future, so the components were treated with a phosphoric acid based rust remover. It quickly removed the rust and covered the surface with a layer of iron phosphate. The components were thoroughly washed and dried afterwards. According to ChatGPT the iron phosphate layer is relatively stable and provides a good surface for later painting. Any comments/advice on this will be much appreciated.

I am now off to the UK to visit the kids. Hopefully this will include a visit next week to the annual Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition!

Those cylinders look great, nice work 

Look forward to seeing you at exhibition hopefully ........

What Sanjay said!  Those cylinders look great! 

There are a LOT of operations involved in making those.  Plus they are left and right-handed, so you have to keep your wits about you as you machine them.  Looks like you've done that admirably!

They are a lot of work, but very satisfying to have done, aren't they! 

Kim