WW&F Railway Museum Discussion > Work and Events

WW&F No. 11 - Official Work Thread

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Stephen Hussar:
All, Bernie Perch sent these new pictures of the just received castings for No 11's bell bracket -- which look fantastic...thanks Bernie!! I almost cropped the second picture showing Bernie's shoe, but I thought it was good for scale...so I left it in...shows how big this stuff really is!!  

Bernie Perch:
I would like to thank Stephen for posting the photos because my computer skills in this area are non-existant.  An extra special thanks to Wayne Laepple who encouraged me to become involved in this project and who shared the cost of making the castings--an expense which I didn't care to do completely myself.  We are donating this to the #11 project.  Foundry costs are esculating like everything else, and there is a lot of sticker shock involved with this project.

Wayne brought the bell down here from Sheepscot after a track weekend.  It was an old, tired, and rough casting.  I believe it was from an EMD diesel but a perfect size for our narrow gauge.  It came with a collection to the museum.  Having polished several rough bells, I knew what was underneath all that crud.

We decided to do a bell and bracket early on so that it could become a recognizable part of a display featuring the construction progress of #11.  Most everyone has a good idea of what a bell is all about.

Finally thank you everyone for your positive comments.  They are the fuel which keeps my desire going on this project.  I'm sure that everyone up there who is working on all the projects looks forward to the compliments.

Bern

David Johnson:
Having seen the pictures of the great patterns that Bernie made, I really appreciate seeing the photos of the new bell hanger castings.  It's great to find that you have a foundry that will do loose patterns and that will produce quality castings.
Dave Johnson

Bernie Perch:
Even though we took the patterns to the foundry "loose", and they were returned that way, there is evidence that they may have been mounted on boards.  There was a $50 "one time set up fee" for each of the four patterns.  Some foundries charge extra for core work.

When I sent "loose" patterns to Active Brass in Perkasie, PA. for Project 113, they mounted them on boards with all the gates, risers, etc.  They were returned that way so that for the next trip, they were ready to go.  Of course there was a charge for this.



Bernie

Wayne Laepple:
Some folks may have noticed the four "feet" on the bell bracket casting. Bernie decided to add these so that the bell will be able to stand on a floor or shelf, and when it's time to mount this bell on no. 11's new boiler, the feet will be cut off. The actual base of the bracket is curved to match the radius of the boiler.

When Bernie and I went to Fairmount Foundry in Hamburg, Pa., the plant manager and shop foreman both expressed admiration for the craftsmanship and beauty of the patterns. They were quite amazed that Bernie, as an amateur, had done such a fine job. Those of you who saw the patterns for the spoked pilot wheel for no. 11 know what I'm talking about. Wait until you see the driver center pattern!

All of the above is to remind us how fortunate we are that Bernie Perch is willing and able to manufacture patterns for us. Thanks, Bernie.

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