1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

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tyleire
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by tyleire »

The feedwater heater is 3D printed from a beautiful model designed by chaski member Fltenwheeler. The model pictured is just a test run with basic PLA plastic while the final version will be printed in resin. I'll have a detailed writeup about the model in the near future.
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NP317
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by NP317 »

Sounds like a good bet for Anthony Duarte's skills.
RussN
tyleire
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by tyleire »

NP317 wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:47 am Sounds like a good bet for Anthony Duarte's skills.
Would be nice. I've pitched the idea to him once or twice :)
Rwilliams wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 4:08 pm With the inclusion of the booster exhaust pipe, does this mean the trailer truck may be sporting a dummy booster when completed?
I have considered this but concerned about necessary plumbing in that area, particularly the propane line for the burners. Another issue is visibility, as my firebox side sheets extend lower than the prototype in order to hide the ash pan. I'm not sure the booster would even be visible. I would however like to model the interesting ball joint plumbing going to the booster.

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Here's how I relocated the stanchion holes on the jacket. I cut plugs using a hole saw, soft soldered to the jacket, then filed down the front with 120 grit sanding disks to blend.
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Working on a redesigned safeties shroud that more accurately follows the prototype. Modeled in fusion 3D and mocked up in 3D printed PLA to check the fit. It became apparent after printing this model that I needed to adjust the base to account for the downward slope of the rear course of the jacket, as well as reduce the overall height and width.
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The final version will be outsourced to a shop and machined in aluminum.
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JBodenmann
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Your Atlantic is looking good. As to booster steam lines, I just happen to have a set in stock :D
Jack
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tyleire
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by tyleire »

Those are absolutely beautiful booster details and as soon as I can figure out how to stuff all of this other plumbing on the model, I want to try to incorporate them.

Jack was gracious enough to lend me a hand with creating new forms for the copper boiler backhead sheet. Being my second time, it didn't take me long to form and I'm reasonably happy with the way it turned out.
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Next I needed a new steam manifold that could be positioned inside the cab so it wouldn't interfere with the exterior turret cover, with enough height to allow plumbing to cross beneath it and easy access to controls but had to connect to the dry pipe port just forward of the cab. This was quite the head scratcher but I eventually came up with this little offset adapter and some cut off pipe nipples. Looking back, a flange connection might have been a little easier to disassemble but I felt this wouldn't be too much trouble. For the manifold itself I drilled out with an extra long 3/8 bit then bent with a smaller radius makeshift die on a hydraulic press. It didn't have perfect curvature but I was able to clean it up on the belt sander later on. Once everything looked good I silver soldered the pipe nipples in place, clocking them offset about 45 degrees to allow for a tight fit.
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Next I figured I'd start on the turret cover to make sure I can fit all 20 lbs of goodies into this 5 lb bag. I drew it up in Fusion 360 and had it plasma cut to make sure each both faces would match the tapered boiler jacket radius and be symmetrical. I tack welded some 3/8 round bar for supports, I'll add more when I figure out how the hinge detail will be laid out. You can see the notch I cut in the rear piece for the dry pipe offset with just BARELY enough room and drive screws I found at a nearby hardware store for the rivet detail.
I'm not sure how I'll secure the front of this turret cover to the boiler. I had an idea of making the access hatches actually functional and swing open, then weld boiler brackets to the inside. This would look so clean but requires sturdy hinges and hasp, plus the cover must form nicely around the curves, which doesn't seem likely. More head scratching. Will circle back to this.
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Now that the framework for the turret cover is done I can work on plumbing.
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All of this is trial and error at this point, trying to figure out what fits where as well as operationally practical. I'm using most of Eccentric Engineer's beautiful new valves with a couple Locoparts items here and there, and a pile of brass PM Research fittings. Almost everything is threaded so decisions can be reversed. You'll notice a lot of older tubing right now purely because I fully expect to change my mind on stuff I've fabricated and bent, and intend to blow through the old scrap while I'm making mistakes. There's nothing efficient about this process but I've found working a little here and there, then taking a break and coming back to it later really helps me come up with ways to refine the plumbing layout.
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Odyknuck
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by Odyknuck »

Looking good however I would be concerned about the way your steam trap pigtail is piped. To keep the steam out of the gauge it should be piped under the it.
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Bill Shields
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by Bill Shields »

It is fine... unusual but will work.. you do not need the loop at the top.

The single loop down then up into the gauge is sufficient to trap water..
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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SPSteam2491
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by SPSteam2491 »

Reference the picture below. For mounting the turret cover, you can add angle brackets to the front of the cover that are welded to the boiler jacket (blue lines). Tabs would then weld to the turret cover (red lines) so when slide back on the jacket, they lock into place to prevent up/down and sideways movement. Screws in the green locations that are tapped in the turret cover and clearance holes in the cab would pull the whole assembly back and lock in place.

This setup can be welded in place before the cover for the turret cover is made. Then you can complete the additions to the turret cover like the cover, doors, etc. without having to reach inside of it to add screws.
Attachments
SP_Turret Mounting.jpg
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Thanks
John LaFavor
Pacific Design Shops
tyleire
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by tyleire »

Odyknuck wrote: Sun Nov 26, 2023 6:09 pm Looking good however I would be concerned about the way your steam trap pigtail is piped. To keep the steam out of the gauge it should be piped under the it.
These are just mocked in place currently, but I will modify the design to have the pigtail at the bottom.
SPSteam2491 wrote: Tue Nov 28, 2023 9:39 am For mounting the turret cover, you can add angle brackets to the front of the cover that are welded to the boiler jacket (blue lines). Tabs would then weld to the turret cover (red lines) so when slide back on the jacket, they lock into place to prevent up/down and sideways movement. Screws in the green locations that are tapped in the turret cover and clearance holes in the cab would pull the whole assembly back and lock in place.

This setup can be welded in place before the cover for the turret cover is made. Then you can complete the additions to the turret cover like the cover, doors, etc. without having to reach inside of it to add screws.
This is a great idea. I decided to build the rest of it first to see if I could make the access doors functional to possibly add screw in tabs inside. I think I might go back and reinforce the top with some steel bar stock to protect against a hand pressing down in the wrong place.
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The beautiful hinges and hasp/latch castings came from Jack Bodenmann. Everything is functional and its pretty fun opening up the access doors in the same way the prototype did to access plumbing.
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tyleire
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by tyleire »

Here's a shot of the reinforced structure and a comparison to the original LE casting.
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Because the steam pump is designed for the fireman's side, I'd need to plumb everything backwards, which would require air brakes, power reverse, cylinder drains, injector water line and steam pump line to all route back behind the pump. Because of the limited space I decided to copy the 3000 A6 which ran plumbing beneath the running boards.
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I made brackets out of 1/4 x 1/2 CR stock to attach to the sides of the running board brackets, then built a jig with the same spacing as the brackets to bend the 1/4" brass holding bracket. The 12 ton press worked fine with the 3/16 and 1/4 solid round pins just super glued in. Super glue was handy as I could pound out the pins as needed for different sized brackets.
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NP317
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by NP317 »

Nicely done!
RussN
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: 1.5" SP A6 Atlantic

Post by Greg_Lewis »

tyleire wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 2:22 am I made brackets out of 1/4 x 1/2 CR stock to attach to the sides of the running board brackets, then built a jig with the same spacing as the brackets to bend the 1/4" brass holding bracket. The 12 ton press worked fine with the 3/16 and 1/4 solid round pins just super glued in. Super glue was handy as I could pound out the pins as needed for different sized brackets.

Very clever. Thanks for the ideas.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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