< Lubricator 2 >
As the lubricators of the C53 are placed on the running boards, I have to prepare the running boards for the test run. A running board consists of front and back halves with different heights. For the moment, I prepared only the front half and omitted the valance.
The running boards are held by brass angles. The base plate of the smokebox is removed, drilled, and tapped to hold the angles. The photo shows the angles under the smokebox. The running boards are temporarily placed.
The back parts of the front running boards are held by angles on the boiler's front ring.
I got a mesh-pattern pressed plate for the running boards from a local supplier. Cut out to a desired size and bore a hole to catch the lubricator body.
The oil from the lubricator is supplied to the cylinder through an oil check valve. The photos show the parts and assembly of the oil check valve. The design of the valve is the same as the lubricator. I prepared two check valves for both sides.
As usual, the copper tubes are bent with a hand- made roller.
The oil check valve is connected to the nipple in the middle of the steam pipe. The tube under the check valve is connected to the lubricator. The right side photo shows union connectors between the check valves and the steam pipes.
The expansion links need connecting pins to hold the lubricator reach rods. One of the assembling screws of an expansion link is replaced with the connecting pin.
The two reach rods are different from each other in length because the positions of the lubricators are different on both sides. A front fork part is made of the rod itself and a paired part. They are silver-soldered together. For the step cutting of the rods, they are temporarily fixed on a flat bar with soft solder.
The lubricators are secured on the running boards and the copper tubes and the reach rods are connected.
The left photo shows the copper tube connected from the lubricator to the steam pipe, while the right photo shows the reach rod from the expansion link to the lubricator. When the loco is completed, both will be hidden behind the valances.
