The building of a Locomotive.

[smash]

I found an interesting video about the building of an 4-8-4. It was built at the Angus workshops, Cadianan Pacific Railroad. It is still around today,Owned by Ipsco. (From what information I can find)
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0ff_1350801903&p=1
It has music that doesn't go with the video, so just mute the sound.

Kenny

 

[frogpipe]

Music's not that bad, tho a bit repetitious. Still filmed in 28 means silent, they should have left it that way.

Whatever I think of that choice, I'm glad they digitized it because it was very interesting and entertaining. Just look at the work shown, the conditions, and realize the giant leaps in the progress of construction (meaning, there was A LOT not shown) - any locomotive was truly a mammoth undertaking!

 

[JCitron]

This is very fascinating how they did this. The size of the tools they used is really amazing. What's interesting is the lack of safety, no plugs, no eye or head protection. How times have changed!

John

 

[Bill69]

This is very fascinating how they did this. The size of the tools they used is really amazing. What's interesting is the lack of safety, no plugs, no eye or head protection. How times have changed!

John

Yes it is amazing if you have never seen anything like it before. I started work in a ship building yard (engine machine shop) when I left school. In these days fabricating a thing like that was an art, not a case of programing some machine to do the job. The tools we had in these days required sharpening often, there were no tungsten carbide tools then only highspeed steel. You will note also there are no guards on the presses, rollers or guillotines or anything else.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[JCitron]

Yes it is amazing if you have never seen anything like it before. I started work in a ship building yard (engine machine shop) when I left school. In these days fabricating a thing like that was an art, not a case of programing some machine to do the job. The tools we had in these days required sharpening often, there were no tungsten carbide tools then only highspeed steel. You will note also there are no guards on the presses, rollers or guillotines or anything else.

Cheers,
Bill69

I noticed the lack of guards too.



My brother has some smaller versions of this equipment in our basement. He makes small parts for various things that he works on. He recently invested in a spin-casting machine to make coins and other pewter objects. This is very much like the sand-casting where the molten metal is poured into a hole in the top of the mold. In his machine it spins around inside, it spreads the molten metal into all the parts of the object he's making. So when he saw the video he explained to me how the sand-casting methods are used to make the wheels and boiler parts. We thought the big stamping mill (forge) was something as it flattened out the driving rod. I found the big milling machines fascinating too as they ground and polished the parts that were cast.

John

 

[RacerTodd]

Here is a 1935 documentary about the LMS building a locomotive. Very cool to see the old school techniques in action. If an OHSA inspector saw this, he'd faint dead away!

"The London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) takes us into the Crewe workshops to watch a Princess Royal Class steam locomotive being built. The locomotive seen during the film is no. 6207, named "Princess Arthur of Connaught".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YblqWGmIYTg

Todd

 

[Klinger]

want those tools so badly.....

 

[smash]

The thing about building a locomotive (or anything substantial) back then is that it is an art form. Each part or piece was made by a human. Or humans. They did not have a computer to make the part. They had to do it.
I was reading about the 3801. They had ordered an new welded boiler, But it did not fit. ( I do not know why it does not fit. The webpage does not say) http://www.3801.com.au/
My point is that we can mass produce cars and truck's even modern diesel locos. But the best way to make a steam loco is the old way.

Just my rant.
Kenny

 

[Bill69]

I noticed the lack of guards too.



My brother has some smaller versions of this equipment in our basement. He makes small parts for various things that he works on. He recently invested in a spin-casting machine to make coins and other pewter objects. This is very much like the sand-casting where the molten metal is poured into a hole in the top of the mold. In his machine it spins around inside, it spreads the molten metal into all the parts of the object he's making. So when he saw the video he explained to me how the sand-casting methods are used to make the wheels and boiler parts. We thought the big stamping mill (forge) was something as it flattened out the driving rod. I found the big milling machines fascinating too as they ground and polished the parts that were cast.

John

For high grade cast iron, such as for cylinders, spin casting is still the best way to cast them. The spinning uses the centrifical force to compress the molten iron therby excluding air bubbles and resulting in a finer grain in the cast iron.

As for parts that required forging, they went to the blacksmiths shop. The blacksmiths used steam hammers to shape parts and that was a real art. I have seen a blacksmith place his wristwatch on the anvil and put a peice of chewing gum on the glass, then bring his steam hammer down and up faster than your eye can follow, flatten the chewing gum without damaging the watch.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[Bill69]

Here is a picture of a machineshop circa 1925-1955.

Note, all the machines are powered by flat belts from a common shaft up in the rafters.

This is what it was like when I started working only the machines were much bigger.
To change to a higher speed you simply knocked the belt down a step on the bottom pulley, lifted a length of 4x2 and knocked it up a step on the top pulley. To change to a lower speed you knocked it down a step on the top pulley first.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[smash]

Bill,
intresting Picture. That could not happen today in america.
Some of the workers are children. And we know what happens when somebody metions childern working.

Kenny

 

[JCitron]

Bill,
intresting Picture. That could not happen today in america.
Some of the workers are children. And we know what happens when somebody metions childern working.

Kenny

That's why we ended up with labor unions back in the early 1900s. Young women and children in the US and England were being abused by the mill owners. Eventually the workers rose up against the abuse and went on strike. An interesting strike took place in Lawrence, MA against the textile companies in 1912. This is known as the Bread and Roses Strike and started as a peaceful marches and brought world attention to the horrific working conditions that the people were working under at the time.

http://breadandrosesheritage.org/node/11

I didn't mean this interesting thread to become a diatribe about labor, but it's sad that people have to do this for basic rights.

John

 

[Bill69]

Bill,
intresting Picture. That could not happen today in america.
Some of the workers are children. And we know what happens when somebody metions childern working.

Kenny

Hi smash,

The youngsters in the pic are not too young, don't forget in the 1920s it was normal for boys to start work at about 12 - 14 years old.

A little bit before my time but I came from a family that had their own business and still left school at 17.

Cheers,
Bill69