Month: August 2012

Today I’m showing what certainly is my favorite result from the engine model: the partially cut through view of the engine. It shows the internal build and mechanisms inside the CK Holliday. Let’s take a look at it below, and at the end, I’ll link the pictures in large format that are suitable for wallpaper.

Because the engine is completely mechanically correct, the model can be “sliced” across to show its inside with all the components intact. It’s like having a giant saw to cut the engine in half. Here, I cut the top half of the engine through the boiler, and the bottom half through the cylinder.

Here’s the steam dome section, showing the dry pipe rising in the dome, the throttle valve link or crank, the header pipe at the rear, and even the dome covering.

One of the most intriguing part of the engine is the cylinder and piston. With the cylinder sliced open, the numerous and once hidden steam and exhaust passages can be closely examine. See also the valve slide in the steam chest, and the piston and piston rod. Note the brass valve stem packing at the rear of the steam chest. And again, the section also shows how the decorative coverings work.

At the rear, the stay bolts are visible, and show how they suspend the firebox in the boiler. The throttle rod can be seen just above the firebox’s crown sheet, along with the header pipe’s “root” in the boiler. Just below the throttle link at the back of the boiler is the brass washout plug.

I think the cut-through model really shows off what a beautifully simple, yet intrigate, machine she is. It is of course also educational, for both the steam expert and novice, because it really is the best way to see and appreciate what’s underneath all that brass and bright colors.

Ready to examine the engine yourself? Just follow this link to the picture set, and you can even select the picture closest to your desktop size and set it as your wallpaper. But be careful, you might end up looking at it all day and not get any work done.

I hope this model help you gain further insight and appreciation for the CK Holliday.

The CK Holliday Cut-Through Engine Model.

It’s sure been slow around here, hasn’t it? That’s because I’ve been working on another phase of this project.

Here’s something to look at, meanwhile: the completed engine.

This is the last construction update. The model has now received all the parts that its 1955 counterpart had, so the model is finished.

The last piece to go on is of course the builder’s plate. The builder’s plate can be found on everything from ships, to planes, and spacecrafts. It usually contains the builder’s name or company, the place of construction, the date, and serial number. Quite accurately, it’s very much like a machinery’s “birth certificate”.

There are no rules for the builder’s plate so information varies from plate to plate. On the DRR’s twins the plates were merely part number stamping. Each plate is found on respective engine’s backhead.

Around the park’s 50th anniversary the engines finally receive proper builder’s plate. They were designed by Michael Broggie Michael Campbell to reflect each engine’s style and period. Read more about this at MiceChat.

The markings are very simple. They read:

• National Boiler registration number (for the CK Holliday, it’s NB 642, [year] 1954).
• Working Pressure: 200[psi]
• ???: 213[psi]
• Disney’s serial number: 12554-55

So there it is, the last piece of the engine. In total, there are over 3500 parts on the engine, with 676 unique parts.

But this is not the end of the blog. There will be more updates to come!

Some new shots of the 3d model (without materials). Nearly completed now.