We are preparing to build a repair stand for 8 1/2" cross compound air compressors here at the Monticello Railway Museum shop. Does anyone have a good design for one of these that you would share with us?

Some of the features we are looking for are:

1. A base that can be lifted with either a fork truck or overhead crane.
2. A mounting arrangement that allows plenty of room around the compressor to work during assembly.
3. A design that will hold a fully assembled compressor and allow it to be laid down on its back or stood upright while mounted on the stand.
4. Built from standard, readily available steel shapes.

Any ideas will be appreciated. Thanks for the help.

Russ Fischer

I doubt anything is available commercially, but you may want to do what the New York Central did and cobble up your own from angles and plates, and mount the whole thing on a base that would be both stable and have the holes in it, like a pallet, for your forklift. Just hope the forklift has enough lift for the stand with a compressor on it!

http://books.google.com/books?id=EY4jAA ... nd&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=PJQjAA ... nd&f=false

Hope this helps out.

For single stage air compressors, we've had great results with bent bars of steel bolted to a metal bench. It allows you to work around the air compressor, and being located next to a crane makes installation easy. Plus, steam up a locomotive and connect a flexible steam line to allow for easy bench testing. The small metal bench can easily moved out of the way with a forklift.

I built a stand like this a few years ago that is now owned by the Travel Town Museum Foundation. I built it out of heavy wall box tubing and heavy angle. I mounted a 20 or so gallon tank on it for the compressor to pump into for an orifice test. I have photos somewhere, I'll try to dig them up and post them.

You might try getting a hold of the CMO at the NMSL&RHS. The club built a stand that held both of our cross compound compressors while they were rebuilt. The only thing it did not do was lay over on its side. (your #4)

Here is a shot from last years open House.

http://nmslrhs.org/images/photos/Open_h ... _1506.html

This is the club web site.

http://www.nmslrhs.org/index.php

And just for fun here is a shot from last Sat. at this years Open House, with the compressors remounted.

http://www.nmslrhs.org/images/photos/11 ... 10019.html

Regards,
Kevin