Bringing up the rear end....

I've been working on a 1" scale wood caboose, closely modeling a B&O Wood caboose. The original prototype that I am following is located in Covington, KY., and can be viewed at this link: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=862604

I printed out photographs and figured out how many strips of wood there are that span the length and width of the caboose, and approximated the stripwood to be about 3" -- and this gave me the dimensions for my caboose.

I've already framed the caboose, and have, in fact, already applied the stripwood around the perimeter of the caboose. At this point in time, I believe the roof segments have been completed as well. I am working on completing the windows (I didn't properly plan out the window work, thus I have to fudge it at this point in time). I already have trucks, which have been built. They require a little bit of work to be completed, including paint.

Current Condition:

A conversion in progress....

Among the pile of projects that I've got in the apartment right now, is a conversion of a 1" Scale Little Engines 0-4-0 into a 2-8-0. This project includes adding two drivers, a pony truck, and fabricating a different boiler for the locomotive. I will have to fabricate special valve gear hangers, as the originals are designed to go where the #2 driver will actually interfere with it.

Currently, I have a laser cut frame, however I've been leery about the laser cut frame, as it's 3/8" thick, whereas the original frame for the 0-4-0 is 7/16" thick. I am thinking about ordering some 7/16" stock and directly machining a frame out of this material. That is where this project sits at right now, as the driver assemblies are complete (except for one driver set needing new crankpins), the cylinders are complete. After the frame is machined and assembled, I intend to fabricate suspension rigging, as well as install the components. After I've installed rigging, I can move onto valve gear work.

I'll update when I make some progress!
-Mike

Welcome!

I created this blog as a way to be able to post updates about the various projects that I have lined up. Currently, I am finishing up my senior year at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and upon completion of my degree, I plan on going into the workforce. As soon as I've settled in, I fully intend to start working on the projects that I've got piled up on the back burner. My goal is to take photographs and post updates about the progress that I've made on various projects for all to see. I also hope that as my blog posts progress, I can receive feedback from my readers about the updates I'm making. If you have recommendations about the format of my updates, different methods of performing a specific task, or simply compliments, I look forward to hearing them!

Currently, I am working on figuring how blogger works, and will be making several posts about different projects that are either in progress or that I anticipate starting in the near future. I'm hoping that if I can get those set up with the proper labels, I would theoretically be able to automatically sort out the different projects by using labels/keywords, and also by date... So bear with me as I get started on blogger!

Thanks for reading!
-Mike