Historic Researches on Dewey Bros. Loco

Sinclair 1907, 511.
Sinclair 1907, 511.

Since I stumbled on a picture of a Dewey Bros. 0-4-2T, I’ve fallen in love with this little engine. My first encounter happened during a Google picture search for industrial steam locomotives.
This particular image came from a book written by Angus Sinclair in 1907: Development of the locomotive engine, where it served as an example for oddities of engineering history. Several universities offer free online access to the book.

At the Model Railroad Exhibition Cologne 2014

On Saturday, I visited the 31st International Model Railroad Exhibition at Cologne, which took place alonside the 8th Cologne’s Live-Steam Meeting.

Looking around, I got some very nice impressions. I had three things in mind: Buy a soldering torch and brazing solder, look for a machine vice and get drivers for the Dewey. No luck with the torch, they had nothing small enough for Fn3 scale. Nevertheless, I bought some very good silver brazing solder. And I’m a very happy owner of a Wabeco machine vice with 100mm working width. *G*

The Goal: Scratch-Built Dewey Bros. Locomotive

For the next year I’ve set an ambitious goal: I’d like to attempt my very first scratch-build of a steam locomotive in Fn3 (1/20.32, 3-ft-narrow gauge).
My model of choice is an industrial loco of the late 19th century:
Picture of the prototype with some measures
(Source: Sinclair, Angus: Development of the locomotive engine, New York 1907, p.511)