Vigdis building "Billy"

[Svein]

Today Vigdis started an exiting journey; the building of her first live steam engine kit! I will try to keep this thread updated with pics during the construction, she's building the "Billy" model from Roundhouse.

First she will assemble and adjust all parts for the undercarriage, to make sure everything fits, before dismantling and painting the frame. Here's how it looks this evening:



Svein

[Sumpter250]

Svein, I know that you are going to be quite proud of this build. Vigdis certainly has the talent to make it an extraordinary journey in modelbuilding.
I have four daughters, so, Vigdis, I've spoken these words many times before - - - You go Girl !!

[Svein]

Slow but steady progress here. I think Vigdis must have assembled and disassembled the drivetrain three times by now, there's always another spot that needs some filing and adjustment to run smooth. The final adjustment (under steam pressure) is still to be done, but here's how it looks this evening:



Svein

[modelsof1900]

Great progress of a real steam engine!
Here you can see the valve gear postion as I have written in an other thread a few days ago. Slide valves at cylinders and with this the position of eccentric crank must be set backward.
Good success for Vigdis' work!

[Sumpter250]

Regardless of scale, from 1:1 down to 1:220, side rods pistons and valves have to work smoothly!
Lookin' Good so far

[Steamtrains]

That looks to be quite a building challenge....Will follow it closely...

On what gauge track will this beauty run on..??

[Svein]

On what gauge track will this beauty run on..??

The kit is available for both 32 mm and 45 mm gauge. We are using Peco SM-32 track and turnouts for our garden layout, so all our engines and rolling stock will be narrow gauge.

Svein

[Svein]

This thread had been put on hold for the winter, but now it's time for a revival. The nice spring weather called for some outside work, and our hi-tech paint shop was ready for use :



While working outside today, Vigdis suddenly got an unexpected visitor:





I was inside when it landed just a few feet from where she was working, but she came in and told me about our new guest, so I grabbed the camera and went outside. I know these can be a little aggressive at this time of the year, so I was very careful as I approached it. I was about 6 meters (20 feet) away when I took the first pic, and I got even a little closer before it got up and strolled leisurely down the slope in the background.

Svein

[Steamtrains]

What a beautiful bird...What is it..??
The only birds we see around here are blackbirds and robins.... :-(

[Svein]

It's a male Capercaillie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Capercaillie), probably a young one. I've never seen one this close before, only from a distance. Many years ago I witnessed their courting ritual in a clearing in the woods, very early in the morning. Quite a spectacular sight, with the male surrounded by at least ten hens as he sang for them and displayed his tail feathers!

I've heard of several people actually being attacked by them if getting too close, so I was very cautious as I got closer to him.

Svein

[Steamtrains]

Thanks for the info...
Good idea to keep your distance. That beak could really cause some damage...

[AF350]

Interesting bird, we have lots of ravens and small black birds along with doves and sea gulls all of which gather in numbers and make a big mess I remember walking to school in grade school and the Geese would migrate south in the fall and return in the spring but now a lot of the Canadian geese stick around all year here. We get tons of small birds that come and go in the summer but we seem to have a lot of Cardinals and even a few humming birds as well. There is a pair of hawks that have taken up residence in the trees at end of street have seen the squirrel population drop after they started nesting also some of the smaller birds are not as many as well.

[AF350]

All ways wanted to build a live steam loco, maybe someday but not now.

[Svein]

Just to wrap up the bird story... I read in the local online newspaper this morning that the bird was killed on wednesday. It had been seen around the neighbourhood for a couple of months, and was sort of a local celebrity around here. The Wildlife Committee tried to catch and relocate it earlier, but without any luck. Apparently one of my neighbours threw a rock at it to scare it off his property, as he has a four year old daughter who was afraid of it. Hitting the wing and injuring the bird, he had no choise but to put it down.

The capercaillie is protected in this time of year, and the police has started an investigation. The guy throwing the rock says he never meant to kill it, and is prepared for a possible penalty.

A sad ending to this story.

Svein

[Svein]

Oops, almost a year since my last post..! :oops: Well, there hasn't really been much to post about, but after our trip to a hobby fair two weeks ago she finally found the spirit to pick up where she left off. Here's a pic from today's work session; getting everything together and preparing for timing of the valve gear and first steam test run:



As I'm posting this, she's busy mounting the gas tank, burner, pressure gauge, lubricator and reversing lever, bending tubes and fitting everything together. I'm impressed, to say the least!

Svein