Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)

[Kim]

Thanks John and CNR,
Hearing stories like this makes me feel somewhat less stupid for breaking things!

Kim

[Kim]

Chapter 14.3 – Steam Chest Covers

While waiting for the 1/8” end mills to arrive I decided to move forward with the Steam Chest Covers.  These are fairly simple parts made from 1/8” brass bar stock.  I cut two blanks out of a short piece of 1/8” x 2” bar, sticky-taped them together, then proceeded to mill them to size:


After that, I used the exact same coordinates to drill these holes as I used for the steam chests (and I used the RIGHT coordinates this time! )


Next, I drilled a hole in the center of the steam chest cover for a 3-48 threaded hole and made countersinks for all the steam chest cover bolts.


And here’s after tapping the center hole for 3-48.  Next time I’ll soft solder the screws in place and remove the round head to create a short stud.  This stud will be used to hold a decorative cover over the steam chest, hiding all the flathead CSK screws on the steam chest cover.


That was it for today, thanks for stopping by!
Kim

[cnr6400]

 

[Kim]

Thanks CNR! 


OK, now to solder up the steam chest covers.  This is the underside of the steam chest covers with a little bit of the machine screw sticking through and some flux applied.  The lower one has been soldered and the upper one hasn't yet (of course).


After a quick pickle, I filed the solder lumps flat and cleaned up the covers.  Here’s what they look like completed:


The 1/8” mill bits I ordered came in several days ago, so I’m ready to continue on with the steam chests.  I completed opening them up without further incident.


Finally, drill and tap a 3-48 hold in the O-Ring holder for a little set screw.


And here are the completed steam chests.  Note the extra cut-out in the upper corner of the right steam chest?  This is to connect up to the steam inlet passage in the cylinder (the steam chest is upside down in this pic).


Here’s a close-up of the steam chest showing how that extra cut-out makes a nice clear passageway for the steam ingress (lower right corner inside the steam chest).


And here are the beauty shots of the cylinders, complete with steam chest and cover.  Still a good way to go they are complete.


That’s the state of play as of today. Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Kim

[joe d]

Those are looking great, Kim!

Joe

[Dave Otto]

Nice looking pair of cylinder assemblies Kim!

Dave

[crueby]

Terrific progress!

 

[cnr6400]

 

[RReid]

Great looking pair of cylinders & chests Kim!

[Kim]

Thank you all for the kind comments, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to stop by and comment on my build.

Kim

[Don1966]

Great looking pair of cylinders & chests Kim!

Yep agree!………


Don

[Roger B]

I'm still following in the background and enjoying     

[Kim]

Thanks Don and Roger! 
Kim

[Kim]

Chapter 14.4 – Steam Chest Cover Casings

The next part up is the Steam Chest Cover Casings.  These are beauty parts to cover the top of the steam chests.  They were made from 1/4" x 1 1/4" brass bar.  I cut two pieces, sticky taped them together and proceeded to square them up and make them the correct size.


Then I drilled the center mounting hole – this will fit on the stud that was soldered to the top of the steam chest covers.


Next, I carved out a 1/8” deep cavity that will fit over the steam chest cover.  I took out the bulk of the material with a 1/2" mill.


Then switched to a 3/32” end mill to clean up the corners and do the last pass around the edges.


This is where I ended the day with the cavity carved out of both parts.


But I had to try it and make sure it fit over the steam chest, and it did.
Oh, and this shows one other thing I did today - I rounded the corners on the edges of the cylinder.  I believe that this is to make it look more like a casting.  Regardless, I think it looks pretty nice!


To make it more beautiful all the corners will be rounded over.  But that’s tomorrow’s job.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate the visit!
Kim

[crueby]

Excellent looking parts, its really taking shape.




I don't know if its common or not, but the Lombards had extra covers like that and around the cylinders to hold a layer of insulation for cold weather since they were mainly used in the winter. Seems like something locomotives would use too in winter?