LJP

It will be hard to see when completed, but this is what the pillow block looks like. Still needs a grease cup/oiler. I tried to leave the keys where you typically would find them as they were used to tighten and true up the sternwheel. This is a temporary setup of the sternwheel with the starboard pitman connected to the crosshead by the engine. Lots still needs to be done. On this side, the engine piston is all the way forward so the crank is horizontal. The other side, when completed, the engine piston will be at exactly 50% compression- so the crank will be vertical. Again, this arrangement was used to keep the engines from locking up the sternwheel. Keith Black, I used the ArcherTransfers.com transfers that you told me about on the pitmans. These are nearly impossible to see but the rivets (sorry wefalck, not nuts & bolts!) are resin but attach just like a decal. Tiny but easy to apply. I still need to complete the port side, add the oilers, trim parts, paint, &c. I will pull this entire assembly off so I can work on the rest of the engine room first. I wanted to get this out now, although incomplete, because I have family duties that will keep me from working on the model for the next few weeks.

wefalck, I do not know how to even begin to describe how incredible that is! Thank you for the two links, I encourage others to view the other photos. Small wonder Bavaria is headed off to a museum. LJP

wefalck, In re the German gentleman, I am not certain if I am more amazed that he made several feathered sidewheels in brass, or that he did in in 1:100. Incredible! Cathead, Thanks! In our model boat club, we had one member a few years ago who used CAD and a laser cutter to do the wheels. Recently, another member drew and 3-D printed the entire sternwheel for the Delta Queen. The 3-D is ridiculously detailed. LJP

Kurt, WOW! I cannot believe anyone would willingly make a feathered side wheel. I would love to have seen that in action! If you ever do attach it to an RC model, let me know. LJP

Source: WikiMedia Commons Hi Keith, Sorry that I was not clear in my definition. My concept of a feathered wheel is where the buckets would adjust as they went around. It was proposed that the buckets were more efficient in pushing the water. As you can see, this would be an absolute horror story to try and recreate in a model. LJP

KeithBlack, Thanks much. Like your built but the scale is something else! wefalck, I am very happy the buckets were not feathered, this was bad enough. I had seen those type buckets on sidewheelers but do not recall seeing them on sternwheelers. KeithAug, Thanks much. I have found that the research is easier than my building abilities. I have tried to make it as accurate as possible, but there is always room for interpretation and "creative license". John, I appreciate your support from Down Under. You have a beautiful country and love Sydney. LJP

The sternwheel was constructed the same as with the Thistle. I used the same template for the paddlewheel. I inserted the template in a plastic sleeve and then taped the arms down over the flange and the circle. This is what one of the paddlewheels looks like during construction. There are lots of parts and pieces in the sternwheel construction. It is hard to see, but the shaft is K&S hexagonal brass with a small round dowel insert. And the final construct looks like this. A considerable amount of time was spent in order to get to this point. Now I need to spend time on the cylinder timbers, braces, and pillow blocks before I can add the cranks to the pitman bar. After I complete that I will set it aside. I want to work on the engine room before I affix the cylinder timbers and sternwheel assembly.

In re stoves. Later steamboats , like S. S. Moyie, had radiators in the pilot house. Earlier versions had steam pipes that went back and forth to achieve the same result. You can also look for a chimney in the pilot house roof. Love your build, LJP

Keith, Thanks for your comments! Much easier at 1:64 versus your Lula scale. wefalck, Love your idea on boiler plating using aluminum and a ponce wheel. I will use on my next boat. That will really improve the skin on the boiler. You are correct on the boiler end. These were bolts and not rivets. I cheated on using what looked like rivets instead of trying to recreate bolts. The upper were bolted across the length of the boiler, while the lower were attached to the internal chimney. Not certain if that is the correct term but there was an internal open area and "chimney" at the back of a Scotch marine boiler. I used a generic Western steamboat poppet engine on JHC. These seemed simpler than the Corliss, even though the later Thistle my have had a Corliss. Again, Corliss may have been a generic name rathe than the manufacturer or the patent. Some Corliss' were really different from the Western engines. Two views of a type of Corliss is below. Thanks all. LJP

There are two differing sources for the J. H. Crawford engines. 1. Local 1894 newspaper accounts list the engines as being constructed by J. A. Barnes of Oshkosh. The cylinders were recorded as 13 by 50. 2. The Milwaukee Public Library, Great Lakes Marine Collection, listed the registered engines as Corliss condensing engines, with the cylinders noted as 20 by 42. Corliss was a local manufacturer located south of Milwaukee and close to Kenosha. The boat was listed on the sheet under Thistle and not J. H. Crawford. J. H. Crawford was never federally registered - as it was supposed to have been. The subsequent Thistle was registered finally in 1900. In fact, most Fox Wisconsin Waterway boats ignored registration until caught and threatened by the federal government. That being said, neither dimensions are really that different at 1:64 scale. Likewise, Corliss made poppet valve engines along with a myriad of other types. It is possible but unlikely that JHC/Thistle would have had its engines changed out in the 1899 hull extension and name change. As with the feed pumps, there are many, many examples of engines. Alan L. Bates’ The Western Rivers Engine Room Cyclopedium had numerous types and photos if you want a more in-depth discussion. I chose to use this Bates photo for my build, although I have seen this photo in several 1890s books and on internet feeds. Another useful engine graphic is both labeled and provides a quartering perspective. Source: Western Isles Photos/Graphics Note the following photo used a pendulum attached to the pitman to run the valves, unlike many other boats that used an eccentric attached to the sternwheel itself. Some boats actually used both the pendulum and the eccentric. Source: Steamboats.com JHC did have a pendulum based upon the cropped and enhanced photo below. I left the model’s engines with solely a pendulum for the steam cut-off control. I also used a simplified rocker assembly. Heavily cropped and enhanced. Note the pendulum. Source: University of Wisconsin LaCrosse Murphy Collection Dime time with the finished but unpainted engines. The left engine is fully extended while the right is exactly at mid cylinder. The final painted products. I needed to add the pendulum and slide for clarity. The entire unit will be removed from the model until later assembly. Makes life much easier. And this is sorta what it will look like with the feed and manual water pumps are added. But still lots of detail to be added. I need to make the sternwheel now. I will use the same process an I did on Thistle. The process, along with upcoming family duties may require some time before completion.

Keith, Unbelievable detail at so small a scale! I know how difficult these engines are to build. Way to go! LJP

Hi Keith, One of the best parts of the builds is how willing people are in sharing information. We all use ideas and methods that others have used and perfected. And for those of us less skilled ( a/k/a me), people are not judgmental, just helpful. LJP

Cathead, Thanks but... the reason my build is where it is, is because of your builds. Among other things, I am not ready for the hull framing that you have done. And the detail on your machinery is exceptional. You are way too modest. LJP

Keith, Thanks! I struggled trying to make the air tanks until I stole these from my wife's craft projects. LJP

There are numerous examples of feed pumps out there. I did not use Moyie’s pumps as they are completely different and much more modern than many of the period single pumps. While I used photos of several different pumps for the period, the two following are the ones I most relied upon. My build used rocker arms (top photo) versus the older slide model on the bottom litho. The dime is back! The finished but unpainted main and auxiliary pumps are below. I have included a photo of each side to show the detail. The air chambers are cut down corsage pins. The rest is numerous pieces of Evergreen plastic, wire, and thread. The finished products, again showing both sides. And “saved” with paint. Now onto the engine assembly. This means I will need to build the engines, slides, pitman arms and the paddle wheel – along with the cylinder timbers and sternwheel bracing. This will take time and will be several individual projects. I want to build each of the individual components and then place them where they should be in the final build. That way it will be easier to install during final assembly. Once completed, I can then build the crew quarters and layout the engine room before re-installing the engine assembly.