The photo above shows the frame sitting on the track, with a piece of PVC supporting the frame over the pilot truck (I have yet to install the truck mounting pin). My friend Charlie did the welding on the frame, which is very free rolling. I erred when I laid out the welding jig for the frame. The front part was too low, the result of drivers that are slightly smaller than scale size and pilot wheels that are lightly larger. I had to cut the front part of the frame off and re-mount it 1/2" higher. I notched the frame to clear the rear pilot wheel (as suggested by Charlie). The new brackets that hold the frame together are made from 3/16" x 3/4" steel.

The pilot truck is a story in itself. A friend had welded one of the side frames together (the side close to the camera). For whatever reason, he was not able to successfully complete the other frame. After waiting two months, I made new pieces, drilled and bolted them together. You can see the springs (1/4" x 3/4") that my friend Bob acquired holding the bearing blocks in place. The springs are stiff, and I may end up with just one spring on each bearing. It will depend on the finished weight of the loco. On a model this size, the pilot truck really does lead the loco through curves. Here, the truck is only about 1/2" off-center; on this stretch of 25-foot radius track, the lead driver's flange was not touching the outside rail.

This is the first time I have had the loco frame on the rails. The counterweights on the drivers are much heavier than the side rods, making the loco roll strangely. Gives me more respect for what real steamers did to track!

I started the locomotive's tender by acquiring a pair of arch bar trucks with two powered axles from Plum Cove Studios. At the time, I was not aware of the availability of Andrews trucks, a more prototypical style for SP #260. However, I soon learned of the Andrews trucks from Wayne Godshall of Godshall Machine Works. Wayne's side frames use the same size bearings as the Plum Cove axles. While the Plum Cove axles are a bit shorter than the Godshall versions, they fit the side frames; I added some washers to keep the axles centered, but no other modifications were needed! Incidentally, the Godshall axles also fit the Plum Cove arch bar trucks, which will end up on a flat car in the future.

I used 3/4" square aluminum tubing and 3/4" steel tubing for extra strength. The body bolsters are 3/8" x 2" x 7.25" steel from Precision Steel Car Co., drilled and tapped for 3/8-16 bolts. Cross braces are 3/4" square and 1/8 x 2" aluminum, securely bolted with 10-24 machine screws to the bolsters and the side rails. When the frame was complete, I took the 10-24 nuts off and added Lock-tite to be sure the frame stays together. The end sill, coupler pocket and coupler are from Cannonball, Ltd. I needed a sprung, top-release coupler (for smooth coupling and prototype style). The aluminum parts are easy to clean up and drill. To end up with an end sill that was roughly square, I added three pieces of 1/4 x 1 1/2" oak and bolted the end sill to the wood parts. I also added pieces of 1/8 x 3/4" aluminum bar stock to fill the recessed part of the Cannonball end sills to more closely resemble the real tender's.

The steps are 1/16 x 1" aluminum. I used two pieces of stock so that I could bend them at the same time, creating two nearly identical steps. I did the same for the front steps, although they have a different shape and required different techniques to form. All bending was done by hand, using ¼" aluminum bar stock as clamps to help get sharp angles on the bends. The front sill is a 1 1/2" square, solid piece of oak, cut 14 7/8" long. It is mounted to the front of the frame with 10-24 screws. I mounted the power truck on the front bolster, so the motors would be close to the control board. To keep the motors oriented properly, while allowing enough play for the trucks to follow track variations, I loosely mounted two pieces of 1/4 x 1" aluminum, drilled to match the holes already in the Plum Cove motor mounts.

The batteries for the electric drive are situated in the center part of the tender, under the raised portion of the water tank. I put three pieces of 1/8"-thick aluminum on the bottom of the frame, mounted cross-wise, to support the batteries. The center cross piece also supports the brake cylinder and lever. I had to counter sink the screw heads so that the batteries could sit flush on the cross pieces. The fit of the batteries ended up being very tight in the front-back dimension, but about 1" of space on the sides of the batteries allows ventilation.

I cut the tender tank panels from 3/16" luan plywood. It is very smooth. I did my best to carefully measure and use a guide when cutting with my circular saw, to be sure the panels were all the same height. All the wood parts are glued together; I held them together with clamps and #2 x 1/2" wood screws while they dried. The tank has two sizes of side panels; the batteries sit within the wide, tall part. The oil tank at the front of the tender holds the control board. My wife Alicia had a great idea: put guides in the tank so the board can be slid in or out. This worked out very well when I connected the board. I placed a removable top on the oil tank.

All the curved corners are made with 11/16" quarter round. To simulate the raised lip on the tender tank, I planned for the 3/16" plywood sides to sit slightly higher than the deck. I cut the quarter round with a Dremel tool to continue the lip around the corners. The top of the water tank is hinged so I can easily access the batteries for charging. I mounted the hinges to a piece of ¼ x 1" aluminum securely fastened to the front edge of the tank and added two pieces of 1/8 x 2" aluminum to the top to support the seat. I used 3/16" half-round from my local hobby shop to represent the round beading on the top lip of the tank. I removed all the wood screws I had used to hold the tank parts together when gluing (I plan to replace them all later to represent rivets). When I had sanded the entire tank, I coated the whole thing, inside and out, with sanding sealer. A couple of days later, I lightly sanded the outside again, and painted it with Rustoleum gloss black.

As of 8-31-11, the tender was in operating condition, with the control board installed and hooked up. I had even installed two ½" bolts on the front part of the tender as foot rests (they slide in and out as needed).