drgwk37 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Will Gant Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Locomotives change during their life..things
> > move....patches are added and removed. Taking a
> > boiler off a frame and putting it back on is a
> big
> > enough task....let alone moving a boiler from
> one
> > frame to another. Its far easier to just
> restore
> > an engine. Its not just boiler mounts. You get
> > into appliance
> mounts....plumbing....studs....all
> > of that is made to fit the engine Its on and
> may
> > not be easily interchabgable without further
> > modification. I've said this several times
> > before.....it's not as easy ad taking a boiler
> off
> > one frame....setting it on another and being
> good
> > to go. Pick 497 or 492 and just rebuild it. Let
> > this boiler swap nonsense just die. Its not a
> good
> > idea and not as easy as you think.
> >
> > Putting 111s new boiler on was hard time
> consuming
> > work. 40s boiler should be easier....same
> > boiler...same frame....but things move when you
> > take them off....it won't be simple by any
> > stretch.
>
> Amen Will!!
>
>
> William
> aka drgwk37
Will, and William,
Since when does the GTLoop have two locomotives of exactly the same type, other than the GE 130 and 140 to base that comparison on? Stud locations are nothing more than of holes drilled into said Boiler at preselected locations and filled with a threaded fastener. Ever heard of Nelson Stud Welding? that system could be used for additional studs when major differences occur, should the workmen of Burnham and Alamosa deviated that much from the Blueprints or Erection Drawings.
It seems to me this argument against rebuilding one good K-37 out of two derelicts is based not on substance but on emotive froth amounting to keep your hands off our steamers. It is OK to cross breed locomotives if that is the cheaper and most cost effective way to achieve another properly built runner since this isn't your collector's Brass model we're discussing and the C&TS doesn't have money to throw around.
Good luck with any "go fund me" type cake stalls on raising the $ Millions required to satisfy your fullsized model railroad ambitions. There are far too many projects and far too many candidates for the limited pool of money available but boundless calls on how to spend it.