Coach 9 - Official Work Thread

[Joe Fox]

Harold this is amazing craftsmanship you are performing at a remarkable pace. Keep up the good work. Very fascinating reading how each piece is made. You have really done a thorough job researching and documenting the process.

[John Kokas]

Harold,

I will start off by saying this is only a theoretical question:  Using your process, how much of an effort would it be to create parts for two or three additional coaches?

[Harold Downey]

John,
I am not sure how to answer this.   The quick snarky response:  two to three times as long.     It is already as efficient as I can make it, since the setup time is minimized when you then run 40-100 pcs for each setup.   My planer is small and therefore slow, so that could be improved.  I think the RR's planer could do stuff faster.

Mainly it would take more volunteer labor to make it happen, which is the strength of this museum.   We need to capitalize on that.   I am enjoying doing this, but I underestimated how much work was involved.   It seems fast because I am working on this nearly full time.   

Once we complete coach 9, I think we will be in a better position to plan the next one.   We are learning many lessons already.   By then we will have worked out the best suppliers for raw materials, and probably will be able to improve things a lot. 

[John Kokas]

Harold,  maybe I worded that a little obtusely, but you got the drift.  I can see a lot of sub-assembly work being accomplished in the "new" wood shop.  It becomes mostly a "right equipment and right people" to make it more of a production versus a one-of type of job.

BTW - I would have been disappointed if I hadn't gotten a "snarky" comment - this can be a rough crowd so I need to keep sharp on my correspondence.   

[Bill Baskerville]

Harold,  maybe I worded that a little obtusely, but you got the drift.  ...BTW - I would have been disappointed if I hadn't gotten a "snarky" comment - this can be a rough crowd so I need to keep sharp on my correspondence.   

John, you are one of the more clever wordsmiths on the forum. We expect obtuseness from you and you are always sharp and don’t disappoint.

[John Kokas]

Thank You Bill for your kind words,

I will continue to attempt to expand linguistic horizons of those who read the forum but only as long as my proclivity for profundity does not go to the point of being verbose.


That being said, I'll just shut up! 

[Bill Baskerville]

...I will continue to attempt to expand linguistic horizons of those who read the forum but only as long as my proclivity for profundity does not go to the point of being verbose. ...

Eschew obfuscation.

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

 or an issue of obfuscation  OK I get the hell out of that forum;

[Bob Holmes]

Yeah, let's refocus on Coach 9...

[John Kokas]

To get refocused, is there a particular piece of equipment that we still need in the wood shop to really help make it more productive?

[Ted Miles]

This thread has mainly been about the wood parts of the new car. But what about the wheels? Does the project have a source for the wheels the car needs?

I follow the doings of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in Colorado. They seem to be buying a lot of new wheels to go into their new or rebuilt trucks. They may have a good, that is reasonable source. My guess is that the eight wheels will cost $14 or $15,000? 

Ted Miles, WW&F Life Member

[John Kokas]

I know both Wayne and I are constantly on the lookout for wheels and axles, but 20" wheels are a bit of a rare commodity.  Any help in locating stuff like this is always appreciated.  BTW - couplers, we're good on.

[Rick Knight]

When Old Edaville quit there was a pallet In the Agway building where the big lathe was of new wheels and axles. I think I remember 8-10 new wheels and five new axles. That pallet made it to the MNG and I had is stored in the museum. Where is that pallet now, I don't know, but someone should ask around. Rick.

[Harold Downey]

A few pictures to show some of the interim progress.   

The Main Deck End Sill (which goes across the ends of the coach above the windows and the door):



The platform end beams and the platform deck carlines, all loosely assembled:



This is all the material finished, stacked and banded.   But, there is more to do...



This is a picture of the lower clerestory beam from BRV's #11, showing the stepped scarf used (photo by Alan):



I made a fixture to do these scarfs for all of the long structural stringers and beams.  It's an 8:1 scarf with 1/4" steps.  The final scarf, on a test piece, looks like this:



Here are a couple of shots of the fixture:





Next up -- the clerestory beams consist of a bottom stringer, a top stringer and short vertical members connecting them.   The verticals are the only part of the coach structure that is visible in the coach interior, so they are made from quartersawn white oak.  They are made with tenons that engage mortises in the stringers.     They are about 7" long and 4" wide.  Here is one of them.  Note the center bead and the stopped chamfers on the front edges.





This is a portion of the assembly.  You can see additional joinery: the mortises in the lower rail receive the clerestory deck carlines, the notches in the top receive the main deck carlines, and there are vertical holes that go all the way through and will receive a 3/8" bolt to hold it together at each post.  In between the posts are where the clerestory windows are mounted. 



Similar to the clerestory beams are these pieces that are at the ends of the coach above the doors.  There will be a pivoting panel that goes in the opening. 

[Wayne Laepple]

More fabulous work.