Steam Locomotive, Page 1

Many people ask, "Is it a kit?" Why yes it is. But what does that really mean anyway? The "kit" consists of 300 pounds of the roughest cast-iron parts you have ever saw. These are called "castings". Actually, the quality of these castings is quite good. Even so, a large percentage of the weight of each piece will be machined away to get the part down to it's final size.

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image 1. Parts on Arrival.

Also part of the "kit" is a pair of frames. These are the most expensive part of the project next to the boiler. These are .688" thick, and were cut from a sheet of steel using a water jet. Pretty cool. Then they were blanchard ground to precise thickness. You can always build your own frame out of 5/8th inch bar stock and weld it together, or start from a steel plate and cut it out yourself. But this is a laborious task and you may be faced with warpage problems. All in all, the water-jet cut frames end up being a bargain.

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image 2. Frames on Arrival

You also get quite a few "laser cut" parts made from plate steel, and a good assortment of "lost wax" castings, cast in silicon bronze.

But what about the rest of the parts? Everything you don't see here is up to you to build from stock materials. All of the rest of the parts are made from rod and bar and plate stock and must be acquired by the builder.