Guest WM183 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Hi folks. I need to make a set of wheels! I have a lathe and a mill, and I am a fairly competent machinist. I plan to turn the inner wheel rim from brass, and then apply a tire of nickel silver or mild steel (i likely cannot find nickel silver in a large enough diameter) so I can insulate one side - anyway. How thick should the tire on a steam loco be? I am making a set of 63 inch drivers for an Erie mikado, and 63 inches was the most common size wheel on this type across the US. I figure there's got to be a diagram somewhere - I just don't own one! I plan to use a method basically identical to this: https://www.proto48.org/p48_art_05.htm I just need to know how thick to make the tire and rim, if anyone knows, before I just decide to try to "eyeball" it. Thanks much, Amanda Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted January 31, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 31, 2022 It seems to vary, according to era and builder. Olde locos such as 4-4-0’s seem to have very thick rims on the castings, if not the tyres, but they do become slimmer with more modern engines. I would hazard a guess at some drawings of which I have copies as no more than 4” for the rim of the casting plus the tyre (excluding the flange) but even that might be a touch big. I have been through my library, and no one mentions this aspect of things! By the way, if working to P:48, you may wish to go the whole hog and have thinner flanges on some wheel sets. This drawing of a USRA mikado is easily found on the web: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasond Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Something to read. It says 60mm early on, but not specifically about Erie 2-8-2s.... https://the-contact-patch.com/book/rail/r1610-the-wheelset Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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