2-8-2 - THE BUILD

[nachoman]

I prefer brass wire, and use whatever size looks good (comparing to a prototype photo). I used to have MAJOR issues attaching the piping to the die cast boiler. CA will glue it, but without some kind of mechanical connection it easily breaks off after a few months. If you can drill small holes in the boiler casting and fit the ends of the wire into the holes, it will be much stronger. This works with pipes that terminate into the boiler, smokebox, or an appliance, but does not do as well for many sand or air lines that can't be supported at both ends. For pipes that cant be sufficiently supported by the ends, I drill a small hole in the boiler casting at a place where the pipe needs more support. Then I make a tiny little hanger by bending a piece of thin copper magnet wire into a u-shape, straddle the pipe with the magnet wire hanger, insert the end of the hanger into the hole, and glue in place with epoxy or CA. This is similar to wire staples that you may use to attach a wire to the wall of your house, or to the bottom of your layout. I learned the technique from this thread at the old forum:

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Page 3 explains what I am talking about.