C oal Fired
Traction Engine
Designed By
Charles Cole
Built By
Ron Colonna

2" Scale Case

       This engine took two years to complete. The boiler is all copper and is large and heavy. It took a lot of heat to silver solder the final stages of boiler assembly. Boring the crosshead tunnel comes to mind as a real pain to machine. Several fixtures were tried before I hit on one that was sturdy enough to eliminate tool chatter. It has been run quite a bit and currently needs a new grate as the original has burned out. I also had to refurbish the water tank/coal bunker. I made it out of galvanized steel sheet and it rusted through in several places. I made an insert out of brass. Steering is a lot of fun. You need to anticipate where you are going long before you get there. The worm gear drive is nothing close to rack and pinion!
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