Subject:
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Re: New pictures of 700, Potential challenge to big red
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Wed, 6 Jan 1999 16:40:25 GMT
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Reply-To:
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lpien@ctp.iwantnospam.comNOSPAM
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Viewed:
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701 times
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Ben Fleskes wrote:
>
> Finally, (Thanks to Steve) some new, cleaner pictures are up on the PNLTC
> webpage of my SPS 700 4-8-4 Steam Engine.
>
> http://www.pnltc.org/Articles/Article_700.html
These pictures are a vast improvement over the first set, thanks for the
redo
> I was browsing Larry's designs and he seemed to note that Big Red was the
> longest non-articulated engine around.
When I said articulated, I mean that the body itself is hinged (ala 4551
or Eric Brok's green Croc), not that there are hinges or joints in the
wheels. So my Big Red, which has a small articulation in the trucks to
allow them to be long wheelbase 6 wheel, counted, because the body was
solid, unjointed.
Your engine has an articulated set of main drivers but under this
definition, is non articulated, so counts.
Now, as it turns out, I am misusing the definition a bit. In the
prototype, articulation refers to the frame, not the body. For example,
probably the most famous US articulated, the UP Big Boy, which is a
4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, has an articulation point in the frame
between the first set of drivers and the second. This front subframe
also carries the lead truck, and the cylinders. The steam pipes leading
to the front cylinders from the rear cylinder exhausts (remember, this
is a Mallet, and therefore compound) have flexible joints, which is OK
because they are low pressure.
The "boiler" is not hinged but is straight. The entire front part of the
"boiler" from about 10 feet forward of the articulation point, is
actually a smokebox, and thus is much lighter than the boiler proper.
That front part is held up by a sliding saddle that sits on top of the
low pressure cylinders.
Real articulateds don't have to cope with the travel angle we do. They
bend at most 5-10 degrees. We have to design engines (when we are in the
70 stud range) that bend almost 90 degrees from pilot to cab back! So
things like sliding saddles are not going to work.
Where was I going with all this? Just to say that this 700 model would
probably be considered an articulated in the prototype sense, but
certainly not in the sense of the word when I threw the gauntlet down...
> Hmmm, perhaps my 700 is a little
> longer.... Of course, my design isn't a purists' since I did machine the outer
> flanges of my lead truck wheels. So perhaps it doesn't count.
You could easily change over to small LEGO train wheels on the pilot
truck long enough to survive a "purist challenge" so I don't see that as
an issue. I'd say you have me beat by a good 20+ studs. Hmm...
Well, not to worry... I have the longest single train car! <grin> It's
well over 150 studs long. But of course it's 5 units with articulation
between each unit.
I don't see myself building a big steam engine until something is done
about drivers by TLG. Your approach works for you but not for me.
--
Larry Pieniazek http://my.voyager.net/lar
For me: No voyager e-mail please. All snail-mail to Ada, please.
- Posting Binaries to RTL causes flamage... Don't do it, please.
- Stick to the facts when posting about others, please.
- This is a family newsgroup, thanks.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | New pictures of 700, Potential challenge to big red
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| Finally, (Thanks to Steve) some new, cleaner pictures are up on the PNLTC webpage of my SPS 700 4-8-4 Steam Engine. (URL) was browsing Larry's designs and he seemed to note that Big Red was the longest non-articulated engine around. Hmmm, perhaps (...) (25 years ago, 6-Jan-99, to lugnet.trains)
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