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Castings:
Master Pattern
3rd Rail engines are the highest quality
brass models available today. Hand worked brass is a tradition in
the orient and expert craftsmen use every technique in working brass to
create these works of art. Lost Wax Castings are used for true, 3
dimensional scale details that cannot be obtained any other way. It is
a labor intensive process where the mold is sacrificed for each piece produced.
There is no mass production. The process begins with a MASTER pattern.
This pattern is carved from any hard material, usually by hand into the
desired shape and size of the part to cast. The master must be 104% of
full size as 4% size is lost in the casting process. |
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Casting:
Rubber Mold - Wax Copies
A rubber mold is made from a master pattern.
The mold is made of a special rubber compound. The rubber mold is filled
with hot blue wax. When the wax has hardened and is cool, it is gently
removed from the mold and the mold is used again to make as many copies
of the master that are needed to be casted. Special care must be taken
that the wax does not deform as this will be reproduced later in the casting
process. |
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Casting:
Wax Tree
The blue wax masters are then gently assembled
into trees. |
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Casting:
Plaster Mold
The blue wax master casting tree is placed
in a metal can. A special plaster of paris is poured into the can, which
is then vibrated to remove any bubbles. The plaster is set to harden.
Once hard it is removed from the can. |
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Casting:
Molten Brass
A special mixture of metals, a closely
guarded secret by the casting manufacturer, is melted with an Acetylene
torch. The molten metal is placed in a centrifuge, with the molten
metal near the center and the plaster mold at the other end. When
the centrifuge is turned on, the molten brass flows into the plaster mold,
vaporizing the wax master and filling every nook and cranny inside the
plaster mold. |
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Casting:
Shattering Plaster
The hot plaster mold is then subjected
to a cold water bath. The plaster shatters from the hardened brass
castings inside. |
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Casting:
Shattering Plaster
Further cleaning with a wire brush is
required. Trimming and inspecting each casting is necessary for a finished
product. |
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Etching:
Boiler and Tenders
Rivet detail, raised lines, door
edges and wood textures are photo etched into brass sheets. The pattern
for the photo etch is usually based on a CAD file generated at the factory.
A photographic negative is used to focus a special light onto the brass,
once a light sensitive chemical is applied. |
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Stamping:
Boiler and Tenders
Window openings, detail mounting
holes are cut into brass sheets using a stamping tool. The tool is made
specifically for the project and is made of soft steel. It can only be
used for one project, then it becomes scrap metal. |
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Soldering:
Boiler and Tenders
After the brass is etched and stamped,
the sheets are bent into tender bodies and rolled into boiler sections
and soldered together by hand. Castings and other detail parts are
the attached with solder and screws to the main boiler and tender body
parts. |
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Construction:
Assembly
Finished castings are then assembled to
other parts to make sub-assemblies. |
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Construction:
Hundreds of parts
There are literally hundreds of parts
to assemble and check. |
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Construction:
Prep for Painting
Once cleaned, the parts are sent to be
painted. |
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Construction:
Assembly
Once painted and decaled the parts are
assembled into a locomotive, ready for final inspection. |
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Construction:
Final Assembly
Chassis and boilers are joined and it
is off to the test table. |