THE TWO FOOTERS                    

Issue 42                                                                                                                                     July/August 2009

Last Saturday, we tested the new boom crane my son and I built to off load rail and ties at the new Sebring site.  The boom is 2" pipe with 2-1/2" piece slid over and welded in the middle for support along with the truss rod.  A 5" pulley is mounted in the top end.  The winch is a 12 v 1000 lb unit, suitable for boom work that is bolted to the boom so that it swings with it. Neighbors Bruce and Bill came over to help with the added bonus that Steve was down visiting. It worked great and in short order all was off loaded, and we were ready to head home for another load. This load of rail will go in the (three) recesses in the floor of the barn.  This will allow the rail head to be flush with the floor. When all the rail is moved then this boom will be mounted on a railroad car to assist in the laying of track.

Our major event at the Veterans Memorial Railroad this two month period was the first steam-up of our Crown coal burner.  We also dedicated the new depot/museum.  It was called Tom Keenan Day in honor of my efforts to improve the park as well as the railroad. Our practice steam-up tried several types of coal as well as wood firing.  Only one of the coals was suitable and wood was abandoned since we couldn't burn enough wood to keep the steam up.  Coal is getting very hard to get here unless you want to order a 100-ton car load.  Way beyond our budget and needs.  Also, we run through pine woods and the fire danger is always present.  We are vacillating between oil and propane firing it.  Propane is the easiest to install but costs 4 times as much as fuel oil per million BTUs.  At our work day Saturday, we have decided to go with oil as soon as we solve the problem of atomization of the oil while building up steam pressure. 

We have finished restoring the 2' gauge NAD steam outline that once ran at "Old Tucson".  It originally was equipped with a Ford  tractor engine and the same drive mechanism as all the NAD "Century Flyers."  I heard there were only 10 or 12 of these engines made around 1959. Since the engine had been removed before I bought the loco, it gave me a chance to install a diesel/hydraulic drive using the NAD vertical gear box and existing drive shafts to each truck.  That is now finished except for sending the hydraulic valve spool off to a friend in Michigan who can feather the edges of the spool to allow smoother starts and stops.

Back to steam again is the ex-Brookfield Zoo 2' gauge 2-4-2 built in 1962 by the Sandley Light Rail Works in Wisconsin. The entire railroad was commissioned by the late Elliott Donnelley of RR Donnelley and Sons Printing then donated. It was part of a very extensive railroad at Cook County's (Illinois) Brookfield Zoo. The zoo had 2.5 miles of mainline, two steam locomotives and a gas mechanical locomotive and a very good shop to maintain them in. The railroad was dismantled in 1985 and stored. In 2001, negotiations started between Hesston and the Cook County Forest Preserve District who took possession of the train. The museum accepted the donation of the entire railroad and organized the transport of all the equipment to our site in December of 2002.

There is a very nice three-part article of the life of the Brookfield Zoo Railroad on Discover Live Steam LINK: http://www.discoverlivesteam.com/magazine/A-e-magazine.htm The 2-4-2 was restored over a two-year period by museum volunteers and now steams on the Hesston Steam Museum's 2.5-mile dual-gauge railroad. It had a very easy life at the zoo, since it was pretty flat.  Hesston's railroad resembles a logging line and really makes the little engine work. Plans are in motion to restore the 0-8-0 from the zoo as well to run on the line and restoration is moving along to the gas engine as well. Hesston Steam Museum is also home to a 14" gauge and 1.5" scale live steam railroads and is home to the last narrow gauge Shay built. link: www.hesston.org

What do you do with all the extra parts that you have piled up over the years from your motorcars? Our two cars have had all wheels and all brakes replaced along with various other parts. Most of the parts were still within limits, but unsatisfactory for long trips.

Back in 1993, I was introduced to a family out in St. Mary’s, Pa., that owns a two-foot gage railroad called the Bucksagahuda and Western. It was our first convention of the Two Foot Gage Owners Association. I was amazed at the collection of industrial equipment that this family gathered together over the years. Among the group of Brookville, Plymouth and even a working Henschel steam locomotive, the one piece that really caught my attention was an original two-foot gage Fairmont motorcar.

The next day we went to another two-foot railroad owned by two brothers. While their equipment list wasn’t as large, their operation was just as impressive. On their roster the one piece that really caught my eye again was a speeder, but this one was home built. Well the bug bit me, but it would be a few more years before I would scratch at the bite.

In 1997, I created my first speeder for the two-foot railroad that I was associated with. It had 20-inch wheels, a Briggs 8-hp engine and a go-kart transmission. Brakes were go-kart as well on the rear axle. There was no reverse, but the car was easy enough to turn. That same year I bought a Fairmont M-19E with the intentions of narrowing it down to two foot. When I asked a friend in the railroad business about help in locating parts and getting it running, he put me in contact with NARCOA members Al Elliott and Ed Mangold.

At this point I still did not know about NARCOA. Al, Ed and I had a few phone conversations before they drove down to see our little operation. We became good friends and on New Year’s Day 1998, they took us out for our first standard gage speeder run. This time when the bug bit me, I scratched. Less than a month later I came home with two operational MT-14’s and joined NARCOA. By 2000 I was working for a local short line railroad part time and had built a hyrail so my spare time for the two foot dropped off. Last year my friends in St. Mary’s were finally able to talk me into going back out to their railroad to get a semaphore working for them and in our down time out there we ran the speeder. That bite started itching again. So the question remained. What to do with the still operational parts?

I wanted something that could run in a wide range of gages. Most of the commercially built motorcars only narrowed down to three foot gage. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something that I might only run once a year. My friends had a velocipede tucked away in one of their shops that had a multi-gage arm. That’s when the idea hit me, I can build one of these.

I took some quick measurements of the gears, wheelbase and length of the car. When I got home I searched the net for a source of gears. I also tracked down every book that had any information on the original manufacturers. When I asked my friends why they didn’t use their velocipede, they replied that it was prone to tip over towards the seat side and with 3 wheels you couldn’t back up due to derailing.

After looking at the different designs of the cars, I decided on a 4 wheel, 2 seat version. The extra wheel plus a tool tray would help out with ballasting the outrigger side when narrowed down to two foot. The extra wheel would also allow me to back up in all gages.

Next purchase was the wood. After reading the different manufacturer catalogs, I decided on white ash. The axles and bearings had to be created after that. Right side axles were made from 1” round stock with 3/8” plate welded to it for the hubs. The bearings were standard pillow blocks. For the left side I used ¾” go-kart hubs with bearings and a 3/8” plate to adapt the hub up to the wheel pattern. The crank, pump and brake axles were made of 5/8” rod. The side rods were made from 1”x 1/2” flat stock. I had a local cabinet maker turn the spindles and handles for me.

Knowing how rough a ride is in an un-sprung car I decided to use a set of rubber tired wheels on the right side. This meant I had to have a flange brake instead of a tread brake. For now it is a cast shoe but may get changed over to wood. The left side received steel wheels.

The gearing allows for 23 feet of travel with one full pump forward and back. In the two foot mode, the car tracked very well on a 30-ft test track in the backyard. However, when the outrigger extended out to standard gage, it wanted to twist. Some ¾” copper pipe flattened on the ends and bolted to the out rigger from the main frame in a vee pattern seems to have stopped the twist.

The car is partially complete as of this writing. I still need to add the front seat, build two tool trays and add the foot rests. The opportunity came up Memorial Day weekend for me to try the car out and see what will happen before I went any further with construction. Here’s how it went.

After a 7-hr. drive out there due to holiday traffic (it’s normally is less than 5 ½), I decided that I still had enough energy to try the car out on their Camp Branch. It’s approximately ¾ of a mile end to end with two dirt public crossings. There are a few ups and downs but I didn’t think they were that bad. Within 20 minutes, I was back at my trailer ready for a shower and bed.

The next morning I decided to get brave and try the main loop. It is approximately 7/8 of a mile with a steep down grade, sharp right hand curve at the bottom, then two not as steep climbs with the second climb curving back to the top. Boy was I nuts!

I started out through the yard and down a slight grade past the Camp Branch switch. Now the fun begins. I spent the whole time downhill fighting the pump handle and pulling hard on the brake. By the time I got to the bottom I was worn out. I made it through the curve and across the bridge. When I hit the first climb, I made it about half way up it and had to get off and push. The second climb had the same results. The temp that morning was 62 degrees and I was drenched in sweat. My arms and chest felt like they were on fire from elbow to elbow. I needed another shower and a gallon of water.

By the time my friends arrived, I was back to normal breathing. I had the car sitting on a set off for them to see on their way in. When they saw it they asked me if I tried it out yet. When I told them the above story, they looked at each other and laughed. I told them that after this trial I really needed to reconsider the gear ratio since there are some standard gage lines with close to a 3% grade that I want to use this thing on and that I really need to get the front seat on for a second source of power. They smiled again and explained to me that the ruling down grade on the line is 26% and the 2 upgrades are 11 and 14% and that I should have no problems with only going up to 3%. I will let you know sometime after July.

I had planned on building a standard gage hand car, but, after this experience, I have definitely decided that I like motors over manual labor. There are still 8 more 16” wheels looking for a home. With a spare motor and transmission sitting in the back yard I think a three foot to two foot multi-gage car will be the next project.

 (ABOVE) Here is a picture taken by Matthew Waldren, one of the youngest members of the Welsh Highland Ry. He is using his Dad's old camera and is showing he really has an eye for a picture.  I would bet everyone wants to sit in the back.

The picture below shows the home-made frog at the B&W RR. The shop crew decided to try their hand at making a frog when no # 8 or 10 40-lb frogs could be found. It will be used on the stub switch for a run around track on the camp branch.

The Two Footers
534 Armory Road
St. Marys, PA  15857

tpbauer@windstream.net
 

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