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

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Keith,  Leon told me that the magnets were removed when the engine was rebuilt.  The block has a number of upgrades like aluminum pistons, balanced crank and oil fins.  Yes, the T has no oil pump so the fins splash/distribute the oil.  There is a sight glass on top of the transmission housing that indicates the oil level.  The engine was rebuilt by a professional who restores Model A engines, he rebuilt our T engine because it was a special project for the railroad.

[Robert Hale]

After reading this post and doing some searching, model T engines are really interesting about how they were so crudely built, but worked. The oil picked up by the flywheel moves to an internal oil tube and flows down hill to the front of the engine, where it flows back to the sump under the flywheel. On the trip back to the sump there are 4 "mini" sumps that hold some oil and the lower part of the connecting rods fling it all over the valve train and lower pistons. There are mods that can be done to the oil pan to retain more oil, and a mod that increases the size of the oil tube and moves it outside the engine. I love this, looking up old tech and to see how they solved problems and engineered solutions.

[Glenn Byron]

YEP, The Model T boys can show you many Ford blocks where the front bearing was loosened by lack of oil because the old farmer kept his oil level in the "LOW" petcock on the side of the pan instead of the "High" one.  When the T climbed a steep hill, the front journal was starving for oil.  Of course, Old Henry had a method. Fuel was gravity flow and many times the T had to be backed up a hill in reverse.  No problem for oil flow now. Then some Ford Engineers cured that problem on the last T edition by putting the gas tank in a higher position, but that only made for more bearing repairs built into your new car. At least folks weren't laughing at those T's backing up hills anymore. This won't be a Rail Bus problem, I hope. (How steep is that mountain?)

[Bill Sample]

Sue and I certainly enjoyed our long-awaited ride on the railcar.  I was talking with Steve Z after the ride and he thought we finally got the ride to the end of the line on our 3rd try.  Actually it was my 5th try!
Once again, thanks to Leon and all who helped him for making this work of art possible. 

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Hi Bill,  I'm glad you finally got the full ride.  The length of the trip is up to each operator to decide if they want to back down to the red flag.  My decision is based on the weather, if it's over 80 then I won't back the car that far.  When we first began testing the car it boiled over running backwards.  With cooler days I have run to the red flag while listening to the engine for water boiling in the radiator.  There are parts ordered (Motor Meter gauge) that will go on the radiator cap to show the operating range of the cooling system.  The gauge will take the guess work out of the decision to give riders a full trip. 

Hope to see you on the work weekend.

[Stephen Hussar]

Here she is, zipping along with some very happy passengers...
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=341193&nseq=0

[Paul Crabb]

What's the latest regarding the ignition problems with the railcar? Gordon Cook worked on it during work weekend and I believe discovered a problem with the distributor and made a modification. He had the railcar running by the end of the weekend. Jut wondering what has transpired since. Maybe the info is already somewhere on the forum but I couldn't find it.

[Mike Fox]

The distributor was removed last weekend and readied to be sent out. It turned out to be one of 25 that was manufactured incorrectly. There was also an issue with the main pulley from the crankshaft. The pulley was removed and parts were to be ordered. I think now we just wait for delivery.

[Paul Crabb]

Just wondering what was manufactured incorrectly.

[Glenn Byron]

As I've said on other posts:  You are foolin' with Ol' Henry's original design.  Throw all that distributor mess away.  Join one of the Model T Ford Clubs and learn what is keeping Thousands of Henry's finest going without problem. We need an original timer and four singing coils.  That Rail Car will run dependably and be the crowd pleaser Mr. Weeks intended.  Railway Museums depend on member participation, Model T's depend on just the same thing.

[Mike Fox]

Paul,
  Don't honestly know. I gues the timing kept advancing or something. Should be fixed shortly.


Glenn,
  I don't remember the exact way it came about but I think the motor was bought rebuilt with the distributor drive installed. Just using what was there.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

A footnote on the ignition system ...   The Model T distributor upgrade goes back to the WWI era when American Bosch offered a complete new assembly.  Leon has a copy of the 1918 AB catalogue with the parts listed.  A number of Model T owners have stopped by the museum and told us that they have the distributor upgrade and it works well.  Of course people who show their Model T's do not change them from the as-built set up so there are still many with the original timer and buzz coils.  The defective distributor on the railcar made it impossible to time properly.  There was a problem in the drive stem gearing that caused the points to fire out of time.  Gordon figured it out and it was confirmed by the manufacturer.  As Mike noted, new parts are ordered and should come in soon.   

As to getting parts - There will be no problem keeping the railcar running and keeping it a true Model T because there are at least 3 companies that sell new parts.  You can get just about any part for a Model A or T whether auto or truck, in fact some parts are still made by Ford.  Others are made under license from Ford.  Maybe that's why Ford is doing so well these days.

[Mike Fox]

Looking through the most recent Railpace Magazine (November), there is a very nice shot of the railcar at the south end of track, facing north. The description was fairly accurate, accept the part where the photographer mentioned the railcar was "owned by WW&F member C. Stewart Rhine". Or am I somehow mistaken?

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

It's nice to be noted in the railfan press, but a few mistakes got into the Railpace caption.  The Museum's name was written out wrong.  The top speed of the railcar was listed as 45mph and the ownership was wrong as well.   The mistake probably came from mixed up info on two pieces of equipment when questions were asked about where the Model T and Model A came from.  Mr. Connell was told that the Model A used to belong to me and he may have mistaken the Model A info for the Model T.       

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Sometimes visitors ask how much fuel the Model T railcar uses and I don't have an answer.  Well, I've done some figuring to come up with a mileage report.  

The tank holds 10 gallons and uses about 7 gallons of it on Sat/Sun operation.  The railcar can run up to 7 round trips each day but generally runs about 5 times.  Each trip is around 5 miles (a bit less than the train since the car is turned at Rose Wood).  If you figure the car runs 50 miles on a given weekend and uses 7 gallons, the car gets about 7 miles per gallon.  The number doesn't sound all that good but when you consider that some of the operation is in low range within the Yard Limit with the engine at a higher rpm it's not as bad.  Also, the car weighs 3,500 lbs without passengers and crew a lot more when full.  The T engine was designed to haul an auto that weighed less than 3,500lbs so it works harder, especially when the car is full.  I can say that the fuel consumtion has improved over last year when the tank ran dry in just one day.  

So there you have it, she gets about 7mpg.  Jason, James and Dwight ... your mileage may vary.  

BTW, there's a railcar operators motto -  Live Young, Drive Old!      

Stewart