Steam Donkey boiler

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
I think I was reading somewhere that you could use a rifle shell (less bullet!) for the beginings to an upright steam boiler. Does anyone here remember that thread and what calliber the shell was for HO scale?
 
Well, a great suggestion. Caliber is measured in hundredths of an inch. A 22 caliber is 0.22 inch diameter or just under a quarter inch. The lengths vary within the same caliber, long, short, magnum, rifle and more. The size you need depends on the size boiler you need and the scale you're modeling.

I could use a couple of 22 shorts for boilers on my N scale logging layout.

Wayne
 

TrainClown

Member
Yea, I remeber the thread. It was posted by shamus. Use the search engine to find his posts and look through them.

TrainClown ;)
 

Lighthorseman

Active Member
Empty Casings For Donkey Boilers...

Glenn - a .308 casing would work well, too. Might be a little easier to find. I could even mail you a few if you cannot find any.

The fun part, of course, is emptying the casings. :)
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
Thanks Wayne and Steve. Unfortunetly I have to admit I'm a city boy and the largest thing I've ever shot was a .22 when I was a kid.
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
I went by the sporting goods store today. He didn't have either a .303 or .308 but he gave me 2 30-06 shells which he told me are the same diameter, just a little longer. So I'll have to cut them down a bit.
 
Glen Haasdyk said:
Thanks Wayne and Steve. Unfortunetly I have to admit I'm a city boy and the largest thing I've ever shot was a .22 when I was a kid.
I grew up in a small town and am a coutry boy now. I shot a 22 once and that was about all the interest I ever had in guns.

Looked up the shell dimensions when I saw the earlier reference but never followed through on finding casings for use.

There's an abandoned D&H roadbed I mountain bike on with a spot where some people go to shoot up the woods. Next time I'm out there (and nobody is around) I'll look around for some. Since the ground is littered with beer cans and their other trash, I assume the shells are left there too.

I always get nervous when I ride past a place where beer and firearms are in use at the same time.

Wayne
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
Near Kelowna We also have an abandonned Railbed. It's The Kettle Valley division of the Canadian Pacific. The area that I like to mountain bike through is the Myra canyon. It has almost 20 wooden trestles and two steel bridges. Over the past ten years volenteers have been putting decking and guardrails on the trestles for saftey (two mountain bikers died when the fell off the trestles)It also has two tunnels. Unfortunetly Last year a forest fire went through and almost all of the trestles went up in smoke. It has been designated a national historic site in Canada so they have annouced that the federal and prvicial goverment will re-build the trestles to their original specs with the decking and handrails replaced as well..
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
I'll look around for some. Since the ground is littered with beer cans and their other trash, I assume the shells are left there too.

I always get nervous when I ride past a place where beer and firearms are in use at the same time.

I think that would be a safe assumption. The shooters I've been with, carry the empties into the area for targets, and carry them back out when done. We also pick up the casings, as they get reloaded. Those who leave their litter, lend a bad name to a good group.
Pete
 
sumpter250 said:
Those who leave their litter, lend a bad name to a good group.
Pete
Of course. I don't think these folk care much about their image. They are shooting in a clearing within about 50 feet of a designated hiking/biking/snowmobile trail so I don't think this is a group with any kind of affiliation. I still flinch when I ride past the local gun club and hear shots off in the distance, but I'm not concerned for my life as when I ride the trail out through the forest.

To keep on topic, some larger size casings might make good boilers for some N scale Climaxes. I think I'll ride out & look for some later if the rain stops.

Wayne
 

jetrock

Member
A .50 BMG case might make a pretty good O or G scale Dolbeer steam donkey boiler!

The main issue would be to locate cases that are "necked" (the open end is smaller than the body of the cartridge case) to represent the way a steam donkey's body tapers from boiler to smokestack.

For you N scale loggers: Check the insides of "clicker" style ball-point pens--the plastic bit under the clicker is a very similar shape. It can also be used for an HO scale potbellied stove!
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
I cut the shells down today and they line up almost perfectly with the plans that I have. Tomorrow I'll take them to work and get them powder coated in flat black. (much tougher finish than paint)
 
Top