I'm doing a major G gauge kitbash - an LGB mogul chassis under a shortened Bachmann cab and smokebox with a 2" ID PVC pipe boiler. So far so good, but I'm now to the point of attaching the running boards to the boiler. I've looked through my loco cyclopedias, and this is a detail they don't address. I've done a couple O gauge brass projects where there has been a milled slot in the boiler to accept the running board edge. I've done some HO brass projects where one drills a hole in the boiler to accept a small brass rod as the running board support. How did the prototype do it? I have to guess it was a bracket attached to the boiler itself in order to be able to support the weight of a worker, and not just attached to a boiler band or the boiler jacket. In a model, the running boards are often the point gripped to lift a model, so a stronger attachment may be justified. I'm therefore attracted to the idea of milling a slot in the boiler to accept the inside edge of the running board. Has anyone else dealt with this issue? Geezer
Steam Loco Running Boards
Jul 06, 2008
3 Replies
Looking at some of the photos on the 'Fallen Flags' site, it looks like the prototype welded brackets, and in some cases the running board itself, to the outside of the boiler.
On photo at
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to show a plate welded at an angle to the boiler. Then brackets are welded to that plate to attach the running board.
So using a groove in the PVC to hold the edge should be okay.
Len
[ snip ]
On my little 0-4-2 I attached brackets to the frame, and attached the running boards to them.
A quick survey of _MRR Cyclopedia Volume 1: Steam Locomotives_ shows that most running boards were mounted on brackets attached to the boiler jackets, with attachments to other appurtenances if convenient, such as the tops of steam chests (on cylinders), the front of the cab, and such. The simplest bracket was just a bent strap, but some were braced. To be absolutely prototypical, you'd need plans and/or photos of the engine you're modelling.
HTH
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