I wonder if it's reasonable to have one boiler provide steam for two engines in separate buildings. Was it done? Any prototype?
Yes, Boilers were often housed in their own buildings with multiple lines running to multiple shop engines. It was more efficient to do it that way if the building could not share a command line shaft.
On the other hand, there is an enginehouse near my car shop/machine shop complex. I could have some machines in it, especially if I add an annex. I wonder if it's reasonable to have one boiler provide steam for two engines in separate buildings. Was it done? Any prototype?
Mike
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While I have no photographic evidence to back this up, the short answer is almost certainly yes.
I remember reading an article in "The Keystone", the official publication of the PRRTHS, about a shop somewhere, that had a boiler breakdown, and until the mechs could come fix it, they took an idled A5 (0-4-0), and used it as a stem generator for the shops.
So I can't see why there would not have been a boiler house in the center of a shop complex, that served multiple buildings.
Thank you for the feedback. I thought I'd seen examples of one boiler serving multiple engines but cannot cite a particular instance.
Still doing research.
Meanwhile I am taking a break from building little machines and started making the machine shop floor. First thing I discovered us that I need more stripwood. Oh well.
Mike
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Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin
Standard plank. I've seen photos of such floors in shops and I'm doing a pretty substantial frame underneath. I'll post photos sometime in the next day or so.
Mike
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Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin
Not a whole lot to show on my machine shop this week. However, I did start the floor, built with some pretty heavy timbers to support machines.
Meanwhile, on the question of boiler size--if the appropriate stationary steam engine for my shop is about 25 hp then my boiler is about twice the size I need--then I could use a good reason for a second engine. Here's an 1882 map of Auburn, New York:
I'm modeling that triangle of tracks where the Southern Central RR crosses and interchanges with the New York Central and Harlem River RR. I have a two-track enginehouse, and I've been working on the long building I am interpreting as a car shop. The larger part at the north end is to be my machine shop. Lo and behold, just to the west is another building which I have the feeling might be needing some kind of power.
Mike
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Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin
The floor is looking good. I like the idea of twin boilers. Rio Grande Models have some larger Vertical & horizonal boilers available and SS Ltd. made a larger boiler for their Skidders.
I also found this;
Besides his grave that's all I could find on Clapp and his wagons. Apparently he was no Studebaker.
In fact my next project is the Clapp factory, for which I have a number of photos, lithographs, and maps.
The current project--car shops with appended machine shop--is near the northern portion of the map I posted.
Here is a photo of the car shop and floor to the machine shop showing how they will connect:
To the left is an enginehouse I built twenty years ago.
I've ordered the stripwood for completing the floor. Meanwhile I am going back to the car shop and will complete that part of the complex as my contribution to the '"Finish Them Up" Fall Challenge':
Bob, thank you, the enginehouse was a lot of work for me at the time; my first board on board building that was not very small. Took me about a year to build mainly during lunchtime.
And yes, the Clapp building is very interesting. It caught my attention also and I've been gathering information. Here's an early lithograph before they expanded to fill that triangle: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....2/00003285.jpg
I've started on the Clapp wagon works but have only gotten as far as a coal trestle.
Dave, I've seen historical photos of machine shops on both plank and cement floors so I know there us a lot of variation.
Mike
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Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin
I'm away from home and as I like to do I brought a kit with me to work on during down time. This time it is one of the new Bitter Creek laser kits of a generic 34' boxcar. I started working on it before deciding to post my progress here. You can see I've glued the floor on the underframe, added the blocks for the ends, and supports for the roof. I like the basic substructure, especially the roof supports. The result should be a nice tight model with everything good and straight, as it should be.
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