An O.S. Porter Journey

Where users can chronicle their builds. Start one thread and continue to add on to it.

Moderator: Harold_V

User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

An OS Porter journey

My interests in the hobby are rather broad in nature to include several scales and gauges along with a diverse interest in locomotives. I even find myself building or refurbishing diesels and gas mechanical equipment much to the chagrin of my pure steam friends. Building locomotives and rolling stock is my passion, but the time it takes to build an engine is obviously long so for some years I kept an eye out for an engine I could run in the interim without putting a ton of work into it. In particular, I wanted a ¾” scale or 3-1/2” gauge engine I could run with my friends while other projects made their slow way towards completion in the shop. Used engines however are often suspect and I was rarely impressed with perceived condition or happy with the prices as I looked around.

A couple of years ago I stumbled across an O.S. Porter kit on a related site and was intrigued enough to reach out to the seller that same evening, finding in the process that the engine for sale was a virgin kit…untouched by previous owners even to the point of having completely sealed bags for all of the parts. Kits from O. S. Engines are stunning in quality and exhibit outstanding attention to detail and I have friends who either own or have owned completed engines and they were all impressed by the company’s products so this seemed like a no-brainer from the start.

The price was higher than I wanted but we worked it out, so the short version of the story is that within perhaps a week I had purchased the kit and received it about a month later after a good friend drove it across the country for me in his commercial truck.
Unopened kit
Unopened kit
User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

The prototype engine for the kit was an 1880’s product of the HK Porter Company for export to Japan. It was built as a 42” gauge engine and was known as a Class 7100 mogul according to the always accurate and well known website source . (At 42”, this model would therefore be in 1” scale on 3-1/2” track) I’m not a 42” guy, but this is a cool subject and the kit is very nice! These have been out of production for an unknown number of years. Mine has a date of 2000 on the instruction book and the frame is stamped with serial number 675. I’m sure I can build this in a few months…after all it’s a kit!
Attachments
hokkaido_mogul_7101_benkei_by_rlkitterman-d82aa39.jpg
User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

This kit comes with just about everything! It arrived in two long boxes plus a separate display track which was loose but undamaged. It has thousands of fully bagged parts, three booklets of instructions including the parts list which identifies not only the inner box but the bag within the box in which the part resides! Included are wrenches, nut drivers, and metric taps, metric Allen’s and steam oil too. One amusing piece was the still unopened silicone “packing” as they call it for sealing various components. (The tool box was not included)

The hardware in the kit was very extensive including many hundreds of bolts, nuts, washers and rivets in many sizes all of which were held in little plastic bags. Getting organized was easy with a couple of divided boxes from the local big box st
IMG_1915.JPG
IMG_1916.JPG
ore.
User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

Off we go!

I missed taking pictures of the bare frame before I decided on the paint scheme but this is close enough. Early in the decision process, I thought that black was a little boring so I chose a Virginia & Truckee painting scheme as my inspiration. But before our V&T friends ask the question, I will not be duplicating a specific engine but rather using it as a guide and perhaps creating a fictional railroad to reflect the 42” condition. (More on that later) Suffice to say, I chose wine color from a paint scheme I admire. Choosing from some rattle-can options, I find that I like “Claret Wine” best. It comes in satin only, a disappointment but we have some options for that too.

I’ve seen at least one OS Porter in the flesh and others online and one of the issues I’ve noticed on most of them is the tarnishing of the brass components of which there are many. Most of the brake gear, tender truck side frames, and cylinder covers all look awful later in life so you’ll see in the earliest photos that the spring rigging and other components have been chemically blackened.

The springs are beautifully done in bronze and brass. But even they get the treatment.
I also found a minor fit issue with the lifting arm shaft but a little reaming and brass bearing action filled that nicely.
Frame front
Frame front
Attachments
Paint options
Paint options
First step
First step
Springs
Springs
Springs on frame
Springs on frame
Lifting arm
Lifting arm
User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

I think one or two more for today...

Now for the hard part!

I’ve never painted wheels (or drivers) like this before so off to the inner web (as one of my friends calls it) and I find the wonderful book “How not to Paint an Engine”. It’s a great read in the Queen’s English, but of course I choose to ignore it just a little…

The drivers and wheels are gorgeous castings…even having letters cast into the side per prototype practice. Very nice stuff! So I clean them thoroughly, spend hours on masking and shoot the pieces with rattle can primer in a lighter gray. I want that red to pop! This is “Apple Red” from the rattle can company we all know and love.

But first we deal with the white rims which in the book seems really challenging to address. I chose to paint the rims white immediately after priming (It is actually an off-white) followed by a good dry session and some very carefully made vinyl-cut masking from my friend Linda at work. After applying the mask, the wheels get a light spray of off-white to seal the mask edge and then off to red after drying. Peeling the mask later reveals problems in a few areas which I attribute to insufficient cleaning of the wheel. These are fixed as needed.
Attachments
Apple red
Apple red
Pony truck
Pony truck
Mask 1
Mask 1
Mask 2
Mask 2
Done!
Done!
User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

Last one!

Now this is where things start to go weird on me.

As Jack often says, I can’t seem to color inside the lines. Once I see some cool detail from a prototype, I seem to go crazy with modifications. As I’m looking at pictures of the narrow gauge Glenbrook up in Nevada, I see the polished steel cylinder covers. Polished brass looks nice in many respects, but those Glenbrook covers look awesome! So I’m off into the rat hole for detail.

I didn’t take any images of the initial process, but the simple approach is that I bought a chunk of 12L14 from our friends Mr. McMaster and Mr. Carr and went to town. Once the pieces were cut off, I made a mandrel for the outside finishing part. The front ones are easy as they have only a center hole for the bolt but the back ones fit around the gland fitting on the rear cylinder head so they were much fussier. Once the center hole was done, I filed and ground the shape to fit. It even gave me an excuse to get out the goofy vertical filing attachment on the lathe so I could shape the internals better.

More coming up soon.
Front 1
Front 1
Front 2
Front 2
Rear 1
Rear 1
Filing gizmo
Filing gizmo
Check fit
Check fit
Done!
Done!
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10459
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
Contact:

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by Bill Shields »

It will look like this when assembled.

This one was built to run on propane - circa 1980
abqaiq live steam porter on track.jpg
abqaiq live steam walter porter test - small.jpg
abqaiq live steam walter testing porter 1.jpg
abqaiq live steam porter assembled.jpg
Attachments
abqaiq live steam walter porter test - small.jpg
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
User avatar
NP317
Posts: 4557
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by NP317 »

Very nice. You are most fortunate to locate that new-old-stock kit!
Decades ago a Friend of mine purchased the same O.S. Porter Locomotive kit, so I got an up-close look at it.
A truly awesome product.
Keep having fun and keep us informed.
RussN
User avatar
mikeyg
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: Garden Grove, CA

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by mikeyg »

Bill, that 1980's Porter is very nice! And I love the little propane tank on the riding car too. I've considered running this on propane as well but haven't made a final decision yet. But I think mine will look a little different than the you show as I see Baldwin lineage in the outline. OS even made a Baldwin version later in production as shown in the attached advertisement image.

NP317, Agreed! I was frankly shocked to see a now nearly 20 year old kit completely untouched. Every bag was sealed and the parts in many cases still coated in oil. It was like Christmas when I opened it!

More soon. I'm not content with some of the parts regardless of how nice they are. I've even gone to changing out the tender frame but I'll detail that in a later post.

MG
Attachments
Advertisement from OS
Advertisement from OS
User avatar
Benjamin Maggi
Posts: 1409
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:38 pm
Location: Albany, NY

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by Benjamin Maggi »

This looks like it will be a fun project!
"One cannot learn to swim without getting his feet wet." - Benjamin Maggi
- Building: 7.25" gauge "Sweet Pea" named "Catherine"
Andy R
Posts: 441
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:18 pm
Location: So. Calif.

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by Andy R »

Although Mike has mentioned that he "... wanted a ¾” scale or 3-1/2” gauge engine I could run with my friends while other projects made their slow way towards completion in the shop..." he may be building a mantlepiece queen like his Falk. I've been watching the detail work that he's been putting into this kit. It will be gorgeous. Just wait until he posts about the tender modifications.
User avatar
JBodenmann
Posts: 3855
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: An O.S. Porter Journey

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Like Andy, I can't wait to see what Mike does with this engine. It will be really the most, to say the least!
Jack
Post Reply