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It may partly be what he had available, but most likely he wanted the extra wieght to help pull passengers, would give the loco more traction. I built his New Shay, and with all the brass it came out to about 55 pounds. Lots of that was the copper boiler, it was 20-ish pounds as I recall. He did specify 303 stainless for certain parts, and I liked the way it worked I am using it for most of my Lombard build, also on my Corliss build last year. It cuts pretty nice, no rust, takes silver solder well, and is lots cheaper than the large sizes of brass. Brass is available in more of the smaller sizes, but you can get 303 in round, square, hex, flat in a lot of sizes. For the thin sheet for tank sides, etc, brass is still better, but thin sheet brass is still fairly cheap.
When I went through Kozos book I came away with the that same thought: I'd have to use cheaper materials!!!I about a week I had all the substitutions worked out in my head. If the fertilizer hadn't hit the fan I'd be building it in 7 1/2"......Great book-- gonna sell mine....Pete
Brass is only slightly heavier than steel. Certainly many of the parts could be steel, esp. if you're going to paint them.
Quote from: crueby on July 22, 2017, 11:15:48 PMIt may partly be what he had available, but most likely he wanted the extra wieght to help pull passengers, would give the loco more traction. I built his New Shay, and with all the brass it came out to about 55 pounds. Lots of that was the copper boiler, it was 20-ish pounds as I recall. He did specify 303 stainless for certain parts, and I liked the way it worked I am using it for most of my Lombard build, also on my Corliss build last year. It cuts pretty nice, no rust, takes silver solder well, and is lots cheaper than the large sizes of brass. Brass is available in more of the smaller sizes, but you can get 303 in round, square, hex, flat in a lot of sizes. For the thin sheet for tank sides, etc, brass is still better, but thin sheet brass is still fairly cheap.Thanks Chris,Since I don't expect to actually be running this on a track anywhere, I'm not worried about losing a few pounds of weight on the engine Yes, I think the Stainless stuff I'd leave as is, and some of the brass, but for a lot of the framing and structural work, I'm hoping that steel would work just fine. Mainly for the cost savings. Even the thin and smaller sized brass seems to be about 2x the price of steel for anything I checked. The stainless is cheaper than brass, but more than steel.But since you've built the New Shay, you have a much better idea of how his construction techniques might or might not work with steel vs brass. So I really do appreciate your thoughts on this!Kim
Plus, I've always wanted to build a steam locomotive!
Quote from: Kim on July 22, 2017, 09:09:05 PMPlus, I've always wanted to build a steam locomotive! The slippery slope......If you must then may I suggest you use some castings http://www.friendsmodels.com/productsforsale/kozowheelsdrivers.html
I used the Friends castings for the wheels and cylinders on my build. Very good quality.
Quote from: Jo on July 23, 2017, 07:35:14 AMQuote from: Kim on July 22, 2017, 09:09:05 PMPlus, I've always wanted to build a steam locomotive! The slippery slope......If you must then may I suggest you use some castings http://www.friendsmodels.com/productsforsale/kozowheelsdrivers.html Hmm.... the castings might seem like their own slippery slope. "Its just drivers, come on, give it a try! You can quit anytime you like!" I don't know Jo, I think you might be the cautionary tale here... Yes, Brass is pretty broad. But generally, I'm thinking of 360 leaded brass. Or maybe 260 cartridge brass for sheet/plate stuff.Thanks for the link, Jo, and all the input. I do appreciate it!Kim