WW&F Railcar No. 4 (RC4) - Official Work Thread

[Gordon Cook]

Some pictures from the WW&F version of "The Lord of the Rings":


With apologies to Johnny Cash, fortunately no one fell in:


The ring master dropping a hot tire onto the wheel center:


Basically, the assembly went very well, with Jason's modified Model T rear end going together nicely, and then the wheels were pressed on over at Ken Boudin's (I think that's the right spelling) machine shop, thank you Ken! Once that was done, it was back to the new car shed extension where the tires were heated up and dropped onto the wheel centers.
The culmination of many many hours of work by our volunteers and a big leap forward for the Model T railcar.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Excellent documentation of the job, thanks to everyone who filmed and posted the views. 

[Mike Fox]

Here is a pictutre of Bernies pattern. Roughly the same angle as my second shot above. Incase no one has seen it before.

[Bernie Perch]

It is amazing what is being done at the WW&F shops.  Each person adds their own talents and cumulatively the whole job gets done.  The whole process seems slow, but each step requires careful planning and measuring.  I really appreciate all the planning that went into the "ring of fire" assembly, and of course, all the machining to make all the parts fit perfectly.  Keep up the good work.

Now, like all the guys who start dreaming about the next locomotive, I will throw out a suggestion for the next Model T railcar:  How about a single seat pick-up vehicle similar to RGS #1 at the Ridgeway Museum, or the work goose at the CRRM, except give it that distinctive "Maine Look".  It should be aged by letting all the dents in the olde parts and paint it a flat black, so it would look like something that was just wisked out of the past after it spent several years out doing maintenance work.  The tool space would just be rough boards, and it would be great for doing trackwork.

Bern

[Bernie Perch]

Mike,

Thanx for posting the picture of the wheel center pattern.  I'm hoping the next one will be the driver center pattern.  Great photos Gordon, Mike and Steve.

Bern

[Ira Schreiber]

Bernie,
Great job, as always.
I like your idea on the "work T". Since I am a short drive from the Colorado Railroad Museum, I would be happy to supply on site information on the three Geese housed at CRM. Motor #6 is the work Goose and it is at CRM.
Ira

[Mike Fox]

I like the T pickup railcar idea too. It would be keeping in the time period while being functional.

[Paul Horky]

Jason
 Guess the next item up for the motor car will be pedistals and bearings. Have you found something comercally availible or will Bernie Perch have to make a pattern for that?

[Stephen Hussar]

Here are a few more beginning with Gordon at the press...


Gordon pressing wheels onto the rear axle

Mike Fox roughs in the position of one of the tires...

Mike and Jason monitor the temperature...



A few taps with a lead mallet and she drops...

Front wheelset for the railcar ready to go.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Great pictures everyone.
Does anyone know if Jason was successful in getting the 4th tire on this morning?

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Steve,  Thanks for the great pictures.  Seeing them is almost as good as being there.

I like Bernie's idea for a Model T work/pickup railcar.  The RGS #1 type car would look great as a two foot gauge Model T.  We could build one along the lines of a TT truck with a C cab and wooden flatbed that would look good and come in handy for track work.  Of course any additional car will need everything we have been making for the current Model T.  If we do not build a work T I'd like to see us build a replica of the WW&F's original open touring car that Manley Glidden built.   The running gear would be the same as the parts we just built and everything above the frame is easy to get.  That car would be a little safer for passengers, especially small children.  If the open touring car were built the current Model T could become a work T by removing the seats - although I think it's too pretty for that duty.  Leon did a beautiful job on our current Model T and others have spent hours on the project.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the car on the rails this Summer.  I can already see a photo op at AC with #10 on the siding with a freight train and the Model AA truck waiting at the crossing as the Model T railcar scoots by. It's all good!!

[Ed Lecuyer]

Does anyone know if Jason was successful in getting the 4th tire on this morning?

It has been reported back to me that the 4th tire was successfully installed on Monday. Congratulations, Jason et al.

[Bernie Perch]

I am not making patterns for the pedestals and journal boxes.  If these parts are being cast, someone else is making the patterns.  I am assuming that these are being fabbed in some way.  Maybe someone else up there can fill us in on how these parts are being made.

On Leon's railcar, some sort of easily removable guards could be put in place to keep people from falling out.  I don't think he would approve of it being downgraded to work status if a sedan were made.  I know I wouldn't.

Bernie

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Bernie, I agree that the Model T should not be reassigned to permanent work status.  My thought was that the car could be used from time to time by a Saturday morning track crew going out to make some quick repairs if 52 was not available and the Brookville didn't start.  You could slide a few tools under the seats from the back and a piece of canvas on the deck would protect the floor.  In that case removing the seats would not be necessary.  When the crew came back and removed the tools the car would be ready for passengers.  The nice thing about the car is that it will be available for qualified operators to take visitors out during the week without putting a train together.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

There's a Model TT truck on ebay, item number 120375846143.  This type of truck would make a great work railcar.  The bed would have to be narrowed a bit.  The listed truck is really pretty but imagine it in flat/faded black paint, this is what a two foot gauge work T would look like.  Of course with all projects it would take $$ and many hours of volunteer time to bring to fruition.   

BTW - Ed, I tried to post the ebay link but it didn't work.