Hello,
Another new steam locomotive has been built from the rails up. This fine piece of work has come from the Meiningen Locomotive Shop in Germany. Yes, it's a German design, but steam is steam and this is a nice example. Apparently, the railway needs more motive power-----how great is that?
Meiningen is one of the last complete steam builders and as can be seen on their site, it appears to be a quality shop.

http://www.molli-bahn.de/Dampflokomotiv ... 295.0.html

Respectfully,
Dave Griner
arizonamechanicalengineering.com

That sure is interesting work seeing all those parts being made and coming together. It is somewhat surprising to see a drafting board and track drafting machine in the photos.

Very good news. Newly produced steam will help keep steam going for generations.

Interesting to see that the cylinders are fabricated! Cheaper than making the patterns for casting, and presumably substantially lighter too.

This is the same shop that built the LNER Peppercorn Class A1 boiler a few years ago. I wonder if they could build a boiler for the PRR 1361?

I'm sure they could if someone could afford to pay for it.

In England they have worked out a way that supporters pledge a monthly payment to support ongoing projects. Here in the states we ask for donations and have levels of support; $100 - trainman, $200 brakeman, $300 engineer, $500 trainmaster.

I wonder how it would work if organizations here tried to get a larger number of people to pledge $20 per month instead of going for the big once a year donation. This would provide a steady source of funding and in theory if you were able to keep adding folks as you go along it would grow at a steady rate.

This might be the way to take on a K-4 project... or maybe a B&O pacific instead. :-)

I would note that the German locomotive was purchased by an operating railroad as an asset to be used to generate revenues, not a non-profit, publicly funded "Let's replicate a lost class" project. Very different circumstances.

Also, adaptation of modern production techniques in replicating an old design is a wonderful demonstration of how it has never been easier or better technologically do build a new steam locomotive than it is today - economically, maybe not so much......unless one is in the happy circumstances of the Mecklenburg narrow gage.

FW&W could benefit from their fabricated cylinder / saddle production techniques for their one-off repair job, relative to creating patterns for just one use. Perhaps if they sent the busted casting to Meiningen a new replacement fabrication could be returned to be bolted on?

dave

The use of modern fabrication techniques in steam locomotive production have interested me. I know the PRR used fabricated cylinders and cylinder saddles, but did any other U.S. railroad or builder use the technique? I remember reading that the Pennsy used a large oven to heat the completed cylinders and saddle to relieve stress. Do you have to still do this today?

I always theorizied that if steam locomotive production continued in the U.S., that the then high-tech casting technology would have given way to welding and fabrication of the "large bits" of a locomotive, including frames and cylinders.

Yes Dave! A weldment cylinder would be the way to go, recommend they contact Wasatch Railroad Contractors. Dave Griner has already designed a weldment cylinder for a much larger locomotive though it was never built.
In regards to other locomotives having weldment cylinders, if my rememberer is working...the santa fe applied a weldment cylinder with ?poppet? valve gear (experimenting with modern valve gear design)to one of their 4-8-4s.

Meiningen has already replaced the old cast cylinders on the rest of this class with fabricated assemblies. The Australian version of N&W 611, the 3800 class, were built with fabricated cylinder saddles. Nothing truly new about it - just postdated our steam era.

Based on what I have heard about fabricated complex assemblies, I do believe stress relieving through controlled heat cycling is a very good idea. It is being done in even simple weldments, like replacing a chunk of boiler shell now. It has also been done with castings - the only warm place at Glover's in January was next to the annealing oven when we were baking out a new truckload of unfinished castings from the Cordele foundry.

I'd wager there are several vendors that could provide it - but I don't know who in this country has had the specific experience found at Meiningen. I have a few ideas who not to call........

dave