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Accucraft Saxonia III K live-steam locomotive
Gentlemen,
The articulation of the prototype Klose locomotive was similar to the steerable trucks available with some of the latest AC drive diesels. The front and rear drive axles could swivel as the locomotive rounded a curve.
The complex moving linkages above the center driver were required to shorten (or lengthen) the side rods as the locomotive steered around a curve – they have nothing to do with the valve gear. By rotating the diamond shaped plate on the center axle’s crank, the effective length of the rods to the front and rear axles was either shortened or lengthened as required as the axles were steered. I believe the steering action was initiated by the lateral movement of the center axle as the locomotive entered the curve.
The valve gear on the Klose locomotive was standard outside Stephenson’s valve gear.
See Lionel Wiener’s book “Articulated Locomotives”, Page 275. (I have the Kalmbach reprint, published in 1970). Fig 102, on that page shows the system – the operation is NOT intuitively obvious.
It is a fascinating model to watch.
Sincerely,
Norm Ishler