Tender stuff!

Just a few pictures showing the work in progress on the 3003's tender, but first, a couple of shots of the constructing of the cowcatcher:

25 round steel pieces with loop ends (made from cable fasteners) and a few pieces of band iron, all silver solder- and screw-joined together...

... and as by magic, a cowcatcher appears!

Here I'm planning the tender bogies' attachment.

The bogies each have a bearing made in two parts, an aluminun cup and a thick nylon washer. The cup is attached to the bogie, the washer is put on the pin attached to the tender frame.

All put together, on a test track. Note spring & foam rubber suspension in pedestals, just as on the loco. Still to come: Cosmetic axlebox covers and leaf springs.

The brake rigging is designed exactly according to prototype. I made the levers of brass and the links of 3 mm (1/8") dia. steel, with slotted and threaded forks at the ends. This enables me to adjust the braking balance on the two bogies.

The brakes affect all 8 wheels of the tender simultaneously. Here you can see the brake shoes and their hanging suspension. Can you guess how I made the shoes? (Hint: eccentric straps... ;-) Top left in this picture is the screw mechanism for tightening the brakes. This is operated by ...

... a handwheel. There will be a bearing to steady the long axle just under the handwheel, attached to the inner side of the left leg of the yet unbuilt water tank. This is according to prototype, where the brakes were slow in operation - some 10 to 20 turns of the handwheel were needed to set the brake. This is also the operational mode on my model if the brakes are used as standing brakes, but I've built the mechanism so that I can also use the brake as a fast emergency brake. By lifting the handwheel, the brakes are immediately engaged.


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