Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel

[crueby]

On a side note, got sent this photo of the prototype Lombard Log Hauler which was his first experiment with a gas engine - it is a standard steam chassis/tracks with a Brennan 4 cylinder egine on top. The engine has a 9" bore, 10" stroke, 4 cylinders. Notice the row of radiators at the front - standard iron house radiators! It was built in 1909.

Here is what they looked like by the time they went into production with a gas version:

Okay, back to the steam shovel....

[scc]

Interesting development Chris.   I wonder why they put the engine weight over the front axle rather than over the drive tracks.      Terry

[crueby]

Interesting development Chris.   I wonder why they put the engine weight over the front axle rather than over the drive tracks.      Terry

The rear area above the tracks was used as a cargo deck. Having the engine forward may have been to give the wheels enough bite to steer in the summer, not sure. I will ask Terry up there...

[crueby]

Getting close on the timing - the new linkages are working quite well, but I drilled the left control arm pivot holes just a little too far apart, and the links are not even with the right hand ones. So, need to drill another hole slightly lower and hope to finish the timing.

Both cylinders needed the valve center adjusted a bit - I did the right one first, and removing/replacing the steam chest cover was a pain in the elves patooties since the steam chests face each other and the backstay rod is between them. Need to find a mini ratchet handle for my Wiha sockets to get into narrow spaces at a right angle. Got that one adjusted, back together finally, and was about to start on the left side one when I noticed that I could just see the bottom of the valve through the exhaust port! That one went much quicker, using a magnifier headset and a light to see into the port, could just see the inside edges of the d valve at either end of the travel.
Taking a break from it for a while, went and cleared the driveway again, will fix the control arm later or tomorrow...
 

[crueby]

Interesting development Chris.   I wonder why they put the engine weight over the front axle rather than over the drive tracks.      Terry

I asked Terry up at the museum about it, wondering if it was for the steering or to leave cargo room, here is is answer (he has done LOTS of research into the Lombards).
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A little of both. Like a tractor pulling at a pulling competition at a fair, the machine wants to pivot raising the front end. That long moment arm with the weight of the engine offsets it to a considerable degreeand of course that weight on the front allows the skis to be more effective.
Interestingly most of the surviving Wisconsin engines have had the bottom of the oil pan knocked out. This was caused by trying to start sleds that had frozen in. The friction heats up the runners (much like an ice skate) then whenthey stop they cool-off and freeze in. The standard procedure was to start the sleds by pulling at a slight angle to break them loose one at a time. Sometimes they didn't do this - resulting in the front of the machine rearing-up and slamming back down.Often the motor mount bolts would break and the engine would slam down on the cross member knocking a hole in the oil pan. My motor has a wonderful backwoods patch because of this.
Yes, they used the platform from time to time for carrying stuff such as fuel drums or perhaps some supplies heading for a camp.
Here is another tidbit: All (5 total) of the surviving gasoline Lombards that came from Lacroix's Madawaska Co. operations in the Allagash had  every other grouser on the track pads ground off. This was to increase the point load on the remaininggrousers and increased traction considerably.
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[crueby]

And - major milestone - video uploading now.....   


 

[crueby]

             

All right! It Works!!!

 

Ahem.


Yes.

Where was I? Oh yes - got the last mods made to the control link for the hoist engine reverse gear and finished retiming it. All that looked good, runs fairly well, with the exception of the fact that the blue loctite I had put in the left side crank pin threads was obviously not enough, and when running in the hoisting direction it unscrews itself after a minute or so! 

But, good enough for a test with the hoist gear train hooked back up - put in my manifold so I could have the hoist clutch (which is also steam operated on a handle at the front control station) in play, moved the model back to give it room to raise the bucket, started the camera, and got this:
[youtube1]https://youtu.be/Ha_j5vybxh0[/youtube1]

                     

The hoist throttle is not made yet, so I just started the engine off the compressor knob and left it running - it only needed about 15 psi for this run, which I am very happy with. I could have used the brake band to control the lowering, but didnt think of it in time.   

[tvoght]

You have got to be happy about that!
--TIm

[Brian Rupnow]

Happy dance for you!!!

[Kim]

That is just too cool, Chris! 
Kim

[Ye-Ole Steam Dude]

Hello Chris,

Way cool and it looked so smooth and positive. 

Have a great day,
Thomas

[steamboatmodel]

That is one brave Elf standing in front of the bucket.
Gerald.

[crueby]

That is one brave Elf standing in front of the bucket.
Gerald.

He is the range safety officer!   

Yup,. looking good.... Looking good.... Not so far forwar.... (Squish)

[cnr6400]

Great video Chris, and wonderful to see it working. 

That's one RSO that was glad to be just out of range! 

High regards too for your diagnostic skills to figure out the control linkage issues. They are not easy sometimes.

[Dave Otto]

That's pretty cool Chris.
Great progress!

Dave