Steam Locomotive
Full disclosure: This project started out as a wood toy train for small kids. However, Chris Fitch, the project’s designer, wanted to add a few more details … and then a few more. So it turned into a static locomotive model for much older “kids.”
This just isn’t any steam locomotive and tender, though. For you railfans out there, it’s styled after the streamlined Hudson J3a built for the New York Central Railroad. Renowned designer, Henry Dreyfuss created the streamlined shrouding that gave the locomotives their distinctive look. There were only ten locomotives made and they saw service on the famed “Twentieth Century Limited” run between New York and Chicago.
The real challenge with a wood model of a locomotive is just how much detail to include. For this version, the focus is on the parts of a steam train that make it so distinctive — the wheels. Combining mahogany and maple highlights the other details. Along the way, you’ll learn some interesting terms.
What you end up with recalls the glory of the steam train era. By comparison, other locomotives are just choo-choos.
Techniques for WHEELS & AXLES
A steam locomotive is described by the number and arrangement of the wheels. This one is a 4-6-4. Four unpowered leading wheels guide the train, then come the six large driving wheels. These are followed by another set of four unpowered wheels to support the cab and firebox at the back. Since they define the locomotive so much, it’s the place I started building.
All the wheels in the locomotive and tender share the same construction, as shown in the left drawing. So it makes sense to make all of them (and a few extras) at the same time.
The wheels are made in two parts: a shell and an insert. The box on the next page highlights the
