# My grandson's train



## iamapiper (Nov 8, 2022)

This is the cab for a train that I am building for my grandson. I have acquired a ranssome 728d 4wd mower that will act as the power unit.  Because train wheels for something like this are mostly unavailable, I have bought a Leblond regal 13 lathe to true up the wheels I intend to cast for the train.  Though on a whole it seems a daunting task I have learned that all big tasks can usually be broken up into relatively simple little tasks or at least I hope so.  The front party in the image is going to now be used to make a tender to ride behind the power unit.  The mower I am using will allow me to attach the cab directly to it saving having to move all the moving parts, do I hear a hallelujah., The unit will be about 8 ft and be powered by the 28 hp diesel in the mower.


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## TorontoBuilder (Nov 8, 2022)

Got rails?
Lucky grandchild


I should have added that one of my goals is to have a garden railway when I get a rural property....  that circumnavigates a fish pond of about 5 acres


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## Winegrower (Nov 8, 2022)

I would really like to do something like this for my grandkids but by the time I finished, it would be for their retirement parties.


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## francist (Nov 8, 2022)

What a great project! Looking forward to seeing how it develops. 

-frank


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## iamapiper (Nov 8, 2022)

Winegrower said:


> I would really like to do something like this for my grandkids but by the time I finished, it would be for their retirement parties.


Actually my original plans which would have entailed installation of motor, drive train, etc was greatly shorten by the mower which I purchased. I can now mount the cab directly to the mower frame adding a hood between the engine and cab to fill in where the hydraulics are housed. Bingo; probably a couple months saved.  I will post a picture of the mower and more details when I get the chance.   Never say die.


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## iamapiper (Nov 8, 2022)

TorontoBuilder said:


> Got rails?
> Lucky grandchild
> 
> 
> I should have added that one of my goals is to have a garden railway when I get a rural property....  that circumnavigates a fish pond of about 5 acres


Finding material suitable for rails without having to sell my wife will be a challenge.  you will be looking at 1600-1800 ft of track, nice.
I am going for 2500 initially since I have 25 acres.


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## iamapiper (Nov 8, 2022)

iamapiper said:


> Finding material suitable for rails without having to sell my wife will be a challenge


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## TorontoBuilder (Nov 8, 2022)

iamapiper said:


> Finding material suitable for rails without having to sell my wife will be a challenge.  you will be looking at 1600-1800 ft of track, nice.
> I am going for 2500 initially since I have 25 acres.


I know, if I won the lotto I'd do 7 1/4" track and use trains to shunt goods between shop, greenhouse, house and storage areas.


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## great white (Nov 8, 2022)

When I read the title I thought I was going to open it and see a model train set in a basement, 

Certainly not what this is. 

Kinda cool.


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## Bi11Hudson (Nov 8, 2022)

I was sorta involved in 7-1/2 gauge (1-1/2 scale) for a while. Then life kept getting in the way and I am no longer physically able to pursue the idea. I had intended to use real rail at some locations and 3/4 angle for most of the rest. Instead of casting wheels, I intended to use disk brake rotors from small automobiles and cut off the disk, leaving just enough for a flange. The hubs I actually started with were of many sizes, I was going to pair them up to make wheelsets. Cast aluminium cores with steel bands would be a fairly solid substitute.

What you  are conceiving will be a larger gauge, 12-15 inches. And only remotely scaled. I would say that with iron wheels, you could easily use 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 angle iron for track. Switches, turnouts, can be easily fabricated from angle iron, especially for 4 wheel cars. 2 X 4 crossties on 10-12 inch centers, ~30 inches long. Pressure treated of course.

There are many web sites on the subject, mostly for semi-scale 1/8 scale, 1-1/2 "/ft, 7-1/4 " gauge. I don't have the links handy, but you could spend days prowling around to find something in your area of interest. I am partial to electric propulsion, steam is dangerous and a hobby in itself. Gasoline driven electrics are not *as* common but definately a viable system.

.


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## iamapiper (Nov 9, 2022)

Bi11Hudson said:


> I was sorta involved in 7-1/2 gauge (1-1/2 scale) for a while. Then life kept getting in the way and I am no longer physically able to pursue the idea. I had intended to use real rail at some locations and 3/4 angle for most of the rest. Instead of casting wheels, I intended to use disk brake rotors from small automobiles and cut off the disk, leaving just enough for a flange. The hubs I actually started with were of many sizes, I was going to pair them up to make wheelsets. Cast aluminium cores with steel bands would be a fairly solid substitute.
> 
> What you  are conceiving will be a larger gauge, 12-15 inches. And only remotely scaled. I would say that with iron wheels, you could easily use 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 angle iron for track. Switches, turnouts, can be easily fabricated from angle iron, especially for 4 wheel cars. 2 X 4 crossties on 10-12 inch centers, ~30 inches long. Pressure treated of course.
> 
> ...


I thought of angle but bending curves would be a challenge.  The wheels will be cast iron (i have been collecting old rotors from my neighbor and will melt them down if I can break them up),  I try not to get too far ahead of myself.  For now my time will be spent cleaning up the lathe I just bought and getting it set up.


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## Bi11Hudson (Nov 9, 2022)

Sounds like you have a long, hard pull ahead of you. If you have enough rotors stocked up, just cutting the rotor part off and leaving the hub would be a lot less work. As a job, melting iron was a hard way to make a living.(US Pipe & Fdy) Doing it for fun would be something I would leave for younger men. If you get enough hubs set by, pouring them full of aluminium would be an option. Since I had lung damage, I was going to use plywood and epoxy. Most of the ones I have stashed away have a slight taper, necessary for stability. A matched pair for each axle, but different sizes on other axles is ok as long as they look right.

Since you aren't shooting for BLSM accuracy, having a wider (2-3x) tread will pay off long term. But building a railroad is hard work, unless you have a crew to do the bull work. And maintaining it is actually more work still. Wider treads will help in areas where the gauge gets a little loose.

Bending angle iron wouldn't be that serious a problem. 1-1/2 scale has an absolute minimum radius of around 35 feet. For locos and cars with more than 4 wheels, 50 feet min is more reasonable. If you had access, there is an angle that is 1-1/4 on one side and 3/4 on the other. A simple band roller could bend the curves. I would bend them a fuzz tight, they will spring open some with less warping. I suspect you will be using a broader gauge, likely 12 inch. The curves will be broader for that gauge.

"Red Ball" aluminium rail is the actual rail I had started with. Steel rail isn't to be had around here. Too many steel recyclers for the mills. Even nails are hard to find used. The Red Ball rail cost me too much, why I went with angle. I have a small machine shop at my disposal, making frogs was fairly easy but I had to find a welder for the aluminium. That was another reason for opting for angle iron. I can weld steel and a frog can be bolted if desired. Any rail needs to be pre bent for a curve. Not to a close tolerance, but close enough to spike by hand. Joint bars were just strap iron, no specific grade. I had a jig so they all got drilled the same. The outside rail in a curve tends to straighten itself, I curved the joint bars before using them. I'm sure your'e aware that gauge widens on curves. I had a 3 point gauge for 7-1/4 that was only ~2 feet long. For 12 inch gauge, it would need to be 3 or more, getting cumbersome.

My lot is tiny, less than a half acre in town and only 3 plus up in the woods. Not much to work with but I like trains and will build anythying that strikes my fancy. These days I'm stuck rebuilding Mantua H-O models, pre Tyco brass stuff. I can do those at my desk, being in a wheelchair makes going next door to my shop a bit of problem.

Suppertime. . . I will be back later.

.


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