After some time of hard thinking and deliberating, I've finally decided on the model of my next project, a Finnish "Vr1" type, 0-6-0 switching engine!
The Vr1 is a small, nimble switcher engine that was very popular with engineers because it was very easy to handle. And it's nice looking, too! This particular one is preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum. I hope to have my live steam model of this engine in operation in a few years time...
Photo by Pekka Välimäki. Published here with his pemission.
This is a 1:5 scale model (non-operating) at the Finnish Railway Museum in Hyvinge. They also have a preserved original engine, as shown above, and on a previous page.
The model is extremely detailed, as can be seen in these two shots:
Would you believe this interior is shot by poking the camera through a fist-sized window into a miniature cab? Incredible detailing, I'd say. The model was made in the 1920s.
I've enlarged some drawings of the engine I've found in old books, and have been promised copies of the actual works drawings, too. I already have a very good side drawing of the Walschaert motion, which I scanned and printed out to 1:8 scale. That drawing also shows the exact proportions of the wheels...
... so, I started making chips today! Experimenting with a piece of Cibatool on the Vertex 6" rotary table I carried home yesterday, I came this far in a couple of hours:
Tomorrow, I'll make a formed D-bit so I can mill out the spokes to the proper profile.
A couple of months ago I bought the little mill shown at right. It's not not very large or heavy, but not very expensive, either, around a kilobuck. One good thing is that the Z-movement is by sliding the entire head on a dovetail. This keeps the vertical axis in alignment at all times. Even though this mill is tiny (weighs only a bit over 50 kgs, 110 lbs.), it certainly is much better than trying to do all the milling on the lathe, as I did with the 3003. Because of the Walschaert motion, I expect the Vr1 to need quite a bit more milling work...
To get an idea of the size of the Vr1, compare the outline drawings of the 3003 and the Vr1:
The Vr1 is a bit more massive than the 3003, even though it is almost the same length. The boiler is almost the same size, only half an inch larger in diameter.
But, compared to Saloranta's Decapod below, the Vr1 is a small engine! The drawing in front of the engine is printed out to the same 1.5" scale.
On the other hand, the front profile is not much smaller, even though the boiler is a bit narrower, the cab is still of about the maximum loading gauge of the Finnish railways.
I'm still pondering whether to go all propane this time, too, or if I should now consider coal firing also...
The firetube boiler of the 3003 has performed very well indeed, with no service or tube sweeping whatsoever required all summer (I'll probably have to renew the radiating netting when I do the "winter service" and annual hydro test, though. But that's no big deal - just twisting together a cone of stainless mesh for each of the three burners.)
But, I'm also feeling tempted to build a "proper" boiler with a firebox, so that I could use some other fuel than propane...
And, I'll also have to think up a name for the little beast...
Hey! How about choosing the engine actually numbered 666 as my prototype - then I'd just call my 1.5" scale model "Little Beast"?