The locomotive (Allen Ten Wheeler 4-6-0) in 1/8th scale (or 1.5" = 1 foot) that I will be building is a freelance design by Gene Allen, and this engine will use many (but not all) of the Allen castings, and many parts I decided that I could fabricate myself.  I am going to backdate it to the same era as his American (4-4-0) about 1880s vintage, using the longer cow catcher, the spoked pilot wheels, and an older style wooden cab based on the American's.  It will be built for both 7 1/4" and 7 1/2" gauge track using the threaded dual gauge driver setup, shown in the construction section.  I have not decided whether to modify the pilot wheels in the same way, or try to either rig the wheels to be easily changeable, or build another pilot truck assembly. I am also contemplating building it as a narrow gauge engine (or 2.5"= 12", about 1/5 scale), so the cab and tender would be larger. By building a narrow gauge locomotive in the larger scale, it will run on the same tracks as a smaller scale model of a larger engine, and also be of a comparable actual size, and thus also pulling power.  Additionally the cab of the locomotive ends up being larger (narrow gauge engineers are still the same size as standard gauge ones) in proportion, giving the full size you more room to work in. The tender would also be proportionally large, giving me a larger seat.  This would also make the locomotive distinctive, as opposed to building Allen's standard design.  I also am going to be fabricating my own frames from 1/2" steel plate rather than Allen's 1/2" square bar stock design.  This will make the frame more prototypical, more rigid, and add weight to increase the pulling power (heavier means more traction).

    Using the same gauge tracks is important as by necessity the track layout needs to be quite large (several thousand feet long), and thus running on a club track is desirable, and they generally only build and maintain one gauge.  Thus by joining a club, and helping in the construction and maintenance, you have available more track than you would generally be able to have at your house (there are of course exceptions).  One very important advantage of joining a club is the friends you make, and the support you can get from them.

    The locomotive below (not the one I'm building) represents a narrow gauge locomotive that is a beautiful example of a well constructed machine (the photography is also out standing)!  The castings for this smaller locomotive are available from Allen Models.

An Unusual Weekend - A wonderful story on driving a steam locomotive by Charlie Lear from New Zealand!

Live Steam Construction Articles  (Updated 07/23/2000)

Ten Wheeler - Construction of my first Steam Locomotive (I will be posting my progress as I go)!

     1.    Building my first Steam Locomotive!
                                    I.    Deburring
                                  II.    Clamping
                                 III.    Tender Trucks
                                IV.     Building the Frame
                                 V.     Rear (Cab) Frame
                                VI.    Pilot Truck
                                VII.    Valve Gear
                                                1. Valve Gear
                                                2. Valve Gear Eccentrics (Turned from bar stock)
                                                3. Valve Gear Eccentric Jig (For use in 3-Jaw Chuck)
                                VIII.   Drivers
                                   IX.  Cylinders

Links to other Live Steam Pages:

Chesapeake & Allegheny Livesteamers - A club located in the Baltimore Area

Florida Live Steamers Home Page  provided by Keith Manison

Live Steaming - Home Page  provided by Ron Stewart

Pioneer Valley Live Steamers provided by Jim Cook

Montreal Live Steamers - provided by Jim Legget

Will's Railroad Resources  Will Jordan's Site
 

Go to Metal Working Links page
 

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