Plans and Goals.

Kaveman

Kaveman

Treehouser
Joined
Aug 23, 2023
Messages
1,749
Location
Show Low, Arizona


Every body has dreams, things they want to accomplish in life, or a particular "place" they want to be. Those things beyond the day to day, those things we want just because we want them, no matter how silly or intangible...

A 7 1/4 inch hobby railroad would be at the top of that list of silly dreams. Needs a piece of land, preferably fairly flat, and a great deal of work.

There is an alternative goal, one that grew out of my hobby railroad fantasy meeting pragmatism. A traction engine. Not full size, but not a tiny toy. Something about this size, or a bit bigger.
IMG_3247.jpg
Much larger initial outlay, but no need for rails or maintenance thereof, and I'm definitely not confined to my own property, or worried near so much about hills and grades. Bumps though...

Despite my going on at length about a hobby railroad, I'm really leaning towards a traction engine. Regardless, I'll be giving little kids rides and having a great time, but I could drive the traction engine in the local parades. BUT, a train doesn't have to be steam, a traction engine does, else it's just a weird, small tractor thing. A train could be gas, electric, a combination of both, or even diesel electric! That makes a locomotive much cheaper to buy build.

My favorite steam locos are the Challengers, Big Boys, and the PRR T1. My favorite diesel locos are the EMD SD70 and the Alco Century 420.

505f24f9187fe7b568db5c45ca8ec4a9.jpg
Alco C420, in my favorite livery, from my favorite shortline Apache Railway.

EMD_SD70M_Demo.jpg
EMD SD70, grandad used to work on these.

611594a5110e3.image.jpg
The famous Big Boy, 'nuff said

Union_Pacific_Challenger_3985_01.jpg
Challenger, the loco Big Boys design was based on

T1_color_photo.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad T1, possibly the fastest model of steam train ever built.

Steam is very expensive, regardless which kind of road it runs on, arguably, building a scaled down diesel-electric is the most attainable, regardless of actual power source. If I can get in contact with some other hobby railroaders, I could likely find places to take my locomotive to, and run around on someone else's track, till I build my own. Oh, yeah, I kinda have to have an engine before I build any track, because it has to be tested once it's built.

What do yall think? Which locomotive is your favorite? Should I shoot for the traction engine, or become a tiny train tycoon/tyrant?

It's all a long way off, but everyone needs something to reach for.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and know I cut a LOT of autism out of this post. There were rambles about grades and tractive effort, and maths that nobody wants to see...
 
Yea, trains are cool, but I'm not /into/ them. I like the older style with a distinct smokestack. For something weird to get into, I always kind of wanted emu. It would be fun for a kid to ride around on a big bird.
 
Yes they can. I have been kicked, bit, rubbed off by going under a low branch, rolled in water. I don't think I was ever thrown off but I did ride one down to the ground. Got my leg out from the down side before it got crushed and then straddled the horse. It had to get up with me on its back. I would still like to ride wild horses, but realize I am not bulletproof.
 
But on the train and steam thing-my grandfather was a huge steam engine fan. His father owned a steam tractor and threshing machine. My grandfather used to chase steam shows across US and Canada. He built model steam engines and had a gas boiler in his basement. He would have a bunch of them running when we would go there for the holidays.
 
Great idea for a conversation. (I am 62) my wife and I are starting to work on retirement planning, wills, insurance, medical directives etc. I told her I also want to dream about the fun stuff! (Like this thread)
All these dreams are somewhat provisional depending how healthy we are and how healthy our bank account is.
Her first thought was time with the grandkids.(provisional depending if our two adult offspring have any kids)
My first thought is more hobby tree work and recreational climbing.
I also was making plans to build a wooden boat before tree climbing became a high priority.
See Penobscot 14 Wood Boat Plans, Wooden Boat Kits and Boat Designs - Arch Davis Design - http://mobile.archdavisdesigns.com/
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18
Eric H-L said:
Great idea for a conversation. (I am 62) my wife and I are starting to work on retirement planning, wills, insurance, medical directives etc. I told her I also want to dream about the fun stuff! (Like this thread)
All these dreams are somewhat provisional depending how healthy we are and how healthy our bank account is.
Her first thought was time with the grandkids.(provisional depending if our two adult offspring have any kids)
My first thought is more hobby tree work and recreational climbing.
I also was making plans to build a wooden boat before tree climbing became a high priority.
See Penobscot 14 Wood Boat Plans, Wooden Boat Kits and Boat Designs - Arch Davis Design - http://mobile.archdavisdesigns.com/
Click to expand...

To help fuel that desire, check out this link.

devlinboat.com

Devlin Designing Boat Builders

Artfully designed and crafted boats since 1978
devlinboat.com devlinboat.com

I've built a few stitch and glue boats, from plans in the back of Outdoor Life magazine. I haven't had a proper workshop in years so I bought a plastic kayak this time around. Most of the "lakes" around here are fairly small and have horse power limits, so just rowing or paddling suits me just fine.
 
Kaveman said:
To help fuel that desire, check out this link.

devlinboat.com

Devlin Designing Boat Builders

Artfully designed and crafted boats since 1978
devlinboat.com devlinboat.com

I've built a few stitch and glue boats, from plans in the back of Outdoor Life magazine. I haven't had a proper workshop in years so I bought a plastic kayak this time around. Most of the "lakes" around here are fairly small and have horse power limits, so just rowing or paddling suits me just fine.
Click to expand...
This is literally about 1 mile from me.
 
I had an older neighbor over to see my shop and current work. He is a retired dentist. I knew he had built a boat and asked him about it.
“It?” he said… five boats, the largest being a 39 ft skipjack!
I asked if next time we visit if he could bring over photos!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #21


Holy sheets! Some of those trestles must be 30 foot up or more! And the bridges! My little railroad is nowhere near so ambitious an idea now!

The video popped up on you tube after I Googled a few parts and pieces to get an idea of what it'll cost to get my project started.

Ready-built locomotives run a few thousand dollars, around 6k and up, most all the ones available are small switcher engines. Nope. I'll build my own. I want a road engine. So, there's a journey down the parts rabbit hole in my future.

In my adventures, I learned a little something. Aluminum rail is popular and desirable because it wears faster than the steel wheels of the rolling stock and engines. Rail doesn't wear out all at once, but rather in sections, like the outside rail of a curve for example. A 10 foot stick of aluminum rail runs $12-20, a wheelset costs $100.

There's a fairly large club in the Phoenix area, and I plan on trying to get down there and bounce ideas around. It's also easier to get the measurements I need in person rather than online, same with the full sized locomotive that I'll be modeling, whatever I end up choosing. I need to know the coupler height, max overhangs, and a few other things. Those measurements will help make sure that my build is compatible with other railroads, so when the opportunity arises, I can go play in someone else's yard. Those measurements will also help set the scale of the engine once I measure the full sized unit. It may not look exactly right next to a proper "scale" build, but it should be properly proportional to the original.

Once I've annoyed the proper folks with my tape measure, I can start collecting pieces. I can build most, if not all of the chassis without a welder. The body won't be too hard, since I'm not going for that rivet counting level of detail, and the diesel trains i like are all quite blocky. The power system is what will eat up the cash. That, and the various things I'll actually need to buy, like the wheel sets.

The sooner I get going on this, the sooner I'll have it locked into my head, and all the things that have to come along the way, will get jerked into place as I pull the line tight. Can't imagine staying in a apartment for every long with a rideable model locomotive in the living room. It'll be a few hundred pound albatross around my neck, pushing me down my desired path. I don't want this to be a retirement project, I want my daughters to still be young enough to really enjoy it when the time comes for their first ride, and I don't want to wait until I'm to old for fun, to have any.
 
Bobby LOVED steam engines. And by dint of association, so do I.
We rode the Durago to Silverton steam railway, we went to every steam festival we could find in our travels.
Here in Tasmania there is a permanent exhibit called Perns Steam World about an hour or so from here, and they have one of those little rubber wheeled traction engines that trundles about, as well as massive traction engines and steam powered equipment.
Every year there is the Sheffield Steam Festival that goes for three days, massive traction engines, chaff cutters, saw mills, rock crushers and on and on...Light Horse demonstrations, tractor pulling.
Great fun
 
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