Accucraft trains Ruby 0-4-0T Kit Assembly Instructions Manual - Introduction
Introduction
The Locomotive
The Accucraft
Ruby
is a freelance, gauge 1, 1:20.3
scale, live-steam locomotive based on Baldwin
practice. It has been designed to be both simple to
operate and sophisticated enough to satisfy more
experienced modelers. With proper care, your
Ruby should give years of service in the garden.
Operating a live-steam locomotive is much differ-
ent from running an electrically powered engine.
It is a more hands-on, interactive experience. The
locomotive must be periodically fueled, oiled, and
watered. As supplied, Ruby is manually controlled,
which means that you must actually drive the lo-
comotive using the controls in the cab, just as you
would a full-size engine.
The performance of the engine is also unlike elec-
tric locomotives. Ruby should pull up to half a doz-
en standard size freight cars on good, level track,
which is about the capacity of a full-size locomotive
of this configuration. Grades and sharp curves will
diminish its capability. A good engineer will learn
the engine’s characteristics and idiosyncrasies
over time to get the best performance and longest
duration from it.
The Kit
This pre-painted kit can be assembled with a mini-
mum of tools in just a few hours. Follow the instruc-
tions carefully and you should have no trouble.
Refer to your parts list and check that you received
all the parts necessary to assemble the engine.
Each part or group of parts is packed in its own
plastic bag. Familiarize yourself with the parts but
leave them in their respective bags until you are
ready to use them.
Follow the instructions sequentially, referring to the
drawings as you go for clarification. Make sure you
understand each step before proceeding. The part
number is in parenthesis after each part name.
Chassis
Refer to sheet 1
1-1.
Start with the frames (1). Although they have
the same part number, there is a left frame and a
right. Identify the front end (the end with the most
holes). The insides of the frames have the thick-
er nut about halfway along their length. Screw the
brackets (2) to the inside of the frames with the M2
x 4 screws (3), as per the drawing and photo 1.
Make sure the brackets are facing the right way.
1-2.
Locate the wheelsets (4, 5), the front frame
spacer (17), and the rear frame spacer (9). The
front wheelset has the plain axle and the rear con-
tains the eccentrics.
There is a bronze bushing next to the each wheel
on each axle. This bushing has a flat side on it (pho
-
to 2). This flat side must face up to engage the flat
in the hole on the frame.
Starting with the rear axle, slip the axle hole in the
frame over the axle, next to the bushing, then slide
the bushing into the hole, making sure the flat side
1