Must have been pretty well worn, your counterbores look to have disappeared. Sleeves or bigger pistons?

Less than .170 taken out of the ID. Bigger rings.

That's just broken in.... is it she was built with no counterbore or just how it looks on my monitor?

She was built with a counterbore. The counterbore is not so evident in the photo I posted but it is still there on the finished product. I will post something soon.

What is the purpose of a counterbore there? I assume both ends? Thanks.

Just how it looks on my screen - all that shiny clean metal.

Counterbores help by providing a datum for dialing in the boring bar if you are overhauling, and to install pistons with rings in place, a least that's what I have done with them....

Mr. McGinley,

To paraphrase Dave's reply --- Counterboring gives you something to indicate off of, should you ever need to remachine the cylinders. Yes, it's on both ends of each cylinder, because you have to center the boring bar on both ends to make a true cut along the centerline. It also makes it a little easier to stuff the piston, rings, and ring compressor into the bores once you're done.

I hope it isn't a jinx to say this, but SO FAR we have had no reportable personal injuries on this project since I bought Audrey on April 11, 2015. Not only that, but so far nothing has got broke during disassembly. (Knock on wood.)

Once more, I have to thank all the guys (and Boilersmith's Kaitlyn) for an outstanding job. BRAVO.

Thanks both for the great explanation on how the cbore leaves a register for future efforts to true-up the bore.
Here is the 0-4-0 Porter I have been building.

Steam locomotive restoration is never easy, it is certainly not cheap, and you always find more things to fix once you get started. This particular bolt was one of 14 that attaches the cylinders to the frame. This bolt and several other frame bolts have been replaced. How many restored locomotives have been returned to service without someone climbing under the cylinders and carefully inspecting each bolt?

Once more, all I can do is say "Atta Boy" to Tommy and the 30 or so other good folks working on little Audrtey.

And, my apologies to Mr McGinley because somehow I missed the photo of his much more sensibly sized Porter project -- She's a beauty, Sir, and I bet she'll be a steamin demon with that copper boiler. Best of luck to you and your locomotive.

I didn't expect to see a Baldwin Flexible Frame Bolt in use on a Porter.... nice find.

It’s a two-piece bolt for mis-aligned holes. My favorites come pre-stripped for easier over-torquing.

That's a good suggestion, but we didn't think of it before reaming the holes and making new bolts. We're going to have to over torque them the hard way.

Judging from the traffic this thread has gotten, I'm not the only one to be smitten with little Audrey. Of course, I'm grateful for the interest that all her friends are showing, and especially for the devotion above and beyond the call of duty exhibited by those hired to work on her. Here's a bit about our progress:

Work on my project is being done by two firms that usually just do industrial work, on a "time available" basis. We have gotten a set of drivers turned, and I can report that the tires cleaned up nicely, and we still have enough meat left for two more turns. A busy wheel shop has this job, we're still waiting on the second set.

The springs were normal on the main drivers, but missing a number of leaves on the first set. Not only that but the deficiency was unequal side to side, and the spring bands had been broken and rewelded, then slipped out of position. I wonder if this is why Audrey was sitting nose down for so long, and I wonder how in Hell she got tore up so bad ?? We have a spring shop all set to make all new leaf springs, but they're waiting on the right material to be delivered, you know, pandemic delays... should be any day now.

The cylinders were lightly bored awhile ago, oversize rings are now being made by another subcontractor.

JC McHugh figured out that the back truck couldn't pivot, even though it was fitted with a kingpin and duck's nest, because for some reason an extra rigid brace was installed which effectively turned Audrey into a three axle rigid wheelbase engine. He thinks that is what (also) broke the rear frame extension, and some heavy hitters are helping us to sort out a redesign of this assembly. (Some heavy hitters are helping out with other things, too. More on that to come, stay tuned, everybody will get credit before this is over.)

Boilersmith is still going back and forth with us on the new boiler design. We are all mostly happy with it, but we're still trying to perfect the throttle linkage. Audrey had a stuffing box on top of the wrapper sheet, with the throttle handle and quadrant mounted above it more or less centered over the firebox. I had originally insisted that we retain this placement, because changing it would change the feel of the locomotive. To their credit, Boilersmith did a thorough investigation of the original linkage, and thoroughly documented with videos from several different angles the fact that the bell crank under the stuffing box had been hitting the crown stays for the whole service life of the engine. We have decided that we need to locate the throttle on the backhead in the usual position, so that the throttle reach rod clears all the staybolts. One reason I mention this, is that quite possibly other Porter dinkys have this same issue, and their owners don't know it yet.

One more lovely surprise for me (after I signed my life away for this engine), was the way that the collar on the saddletank which fitted around the stack, had funneled rainwater and snowmelt down over the tube sheet knuckle, and rotted it out in such a way that it was hidden until I went exploring in the smokebox. I mention it here because other Porter saddletanker owners may get the same lovely surprise someday.

Another Canadian, Dave Gould, has just helped us out big time on the cab carpentry by sending us some much better drawings and photos to work from. He also linked us up with the cab construction page on the Santa Cruz Portland Cement #2 website, which is very useful as well.

Finally, I have decided to go with two Penberthy 1 1/4" injectors. That's a fine idea, but we can't locate any new ones. These used to be called "Auto-Positive" injectors, and if anybody can help out on this, please advise me or Tommy of price and terms by PM.

And remember, "You can't keep a good lokey down".

Sammy -

Thanks for the update on Audrey. The saga continues!!!

Les