In the Beginning, God Created Steam...
This whole thing started one day after I just completed another project and was looking for something new to do. My wife knew I liked trains and suggested that I build a train to go around the house. Well, she was thinking one about the size of a microwave oven. I was thinking more like Tim Taylor and thought a bigger one would be better. I quickly proceeded to figure out what type engine I was going to build. I came to the conclusion that it was going to be the Southern Pacific Daylight GS-4. This is a Northern 4-8-4 and is big and heavy. Most folks would say I'm nuts (and they are right!) for building such a large engine for my first project. I didn't know anything about metal working except for some welding I've done and I didn't know anything about steam locomotives either. Glad I don't have common sense because I would have stopped right there. Instead, I ignored all the logic and purchased a set of "New Northern" plans from "Little Engines" and began studying them. I was looking for a live steam club so I could learn from the experts. To my amazement, I found the Illinois Live Steamers were just a few miles from my house. It was fate!
If you want to see what this journey was all about, click this away...
