I’m looking to replace the unrealistic-looking air pumps on some HO scale steam locomotives. Walthers has some very nice looking styles by Cal Scale that should do the job. My question is what to use for piping to and from the pumps. I’m thinking an easy source would be solid conductor wire of a small gauge, as that stuff is easy to form and work with. Have any forum members done this kind of thing?
Wilton.
Wilton,
Wire like that is too soft. You want something that will bend and then stay where you want it with gentle handling.
Check with PSC, as they have exactly that sort of wire, a stiff but bendable brass wire. 585-4868 and 585-4869 are two good #s, but since PSC doesn’t put descriptions on the label, you’ll have to figure out exact diameter by checking with PSC or Walthers.
Wilton.
A trip to a decently stocked hobby shop will get you some brass wire in a multitude of diameters. Also Tichy has Phosphor bronze wire that is rugged too. Bowser is the owner of Cal Scale and can usually ship same day. I have on hand in brass wire .010, 015,020, 030, and .045. I have also wrapped .005 wire around tightly over a length of .020 to represent shielded steam pipe for injectors, air pumps, and feed water heaters. Grab irons I make from .015. Sander pipes are .030. Air supply piping is either .020 or .010 to the brake cylinders. Steam to the turbo generator is very small at .010.
Here are some links to super detail suppliers.
http://www.bowser-trains.com/index.htm
http://www.tichytraingroup.com/
https://www.greenwayproducts.com/storeroom/brass/brass_corner/index.html
http://www.precisionscaleco.com/
The Bowser site you could surf on for hours. They would have most of what you may need. Greenway has some very good stuff for detailing or even building your own steamer.
Pete
Thanks for the replies, guys. This is exactly the kind of information I was seeking. Now I just have to remember to take before and after pictures. The after is easy, it’s the before I always forget.
Wilton.
I’ve done a few - it helps to be pretty handy with a soldering iron. The biggest flaw I see in the cast-on piping on most locos is the routing of the pipes. Looking at a pump (cross-compound or single), they have 4 places for pipes. The top section of the pump is for steam, bottom is for air. Top right: Steam in, from the cab or the top turret in front of the cab. In either case, there is a valve handle in the cab so the fireman can control the pump. There’s also usually a regulator in that line. Top Left. Steam exhaust, to the smokebox, either directly or under the boiler jacketing. Bottom right: Air in, often through a filter. Bottom right : Air out, to cooling coils, then air tank, and from there to the brake stand in the cab.
And Mike and Pete are right on with their wire suggestions - half-hard brass wire is the way to go. .020" will handle most of it, and I’ve found that you can also, if your LHS is too far away, often find K&S brass wire in hardware stores (True Value, Ace, etc).
Have fun!
They make brass pipes too.
Yeah, but trying to bend tubing to the small radius required is darned near impossible to do without kinking it. And where would the advantage be? A pipe and a rod/wire look the same from outside…
I thought that he might be referring to the cast lagged pipe offered by Cal-scale, as seen on the loco below:
Most of the feedwater system on the loco above was done with Cal-Scale parts, although I used the soft brass wire from Detail Associates for much of the new piping. Because it’s all soldered in place and not under duress, it stands up just fine to handling. For most handrails, I use music wire, as it’s very difficult to find half-hard brass anywhere around here.
This loco, an old Akane USRA, had already been remotored by the previous owner (the tender is from Bachmann, more appropriate for my purposes than the long USRA tender which came with the loco):
After stripping it back to its basics…
…I added a few detail parts from Cal-Scale, Cary, and PSC…
…re-worked the tender…
