USRA Switcher 0-6-0
Our 7 1⁄2-inch gauge live steam USRA 0-6-0 Switch Engine is offered as a completed ready-to-run locomotive chassis-on-air. We fully machine, paint or plate, and assemble all of the castings and parts required to build a completed, working 0-6-0 locomotive “chassis-on-air.”
One chassis-on-air currently available — includes boiler, smokebox, and cab. $16,000. Contact us to purchase.
0-6-0 Built by Steve Gnas
How much can it pull? Do the math.
Benefits of Our Chassis-on-Air Offering
- Ready-to-run chassis-on-air — Saves you time and mistakes, guarantees results
- Precision CNC machined — Greater accuracy, better finishes, smoother running
- Hardened and ground parts — Less wear, longer life expectancy
- Powder coated — Long-term protection and durability
- Fully assembled — Our experience saves you time and guesswork
- Tested and adjusted — We make it run right before we deliver it
- Ready for custom finishing by the hobbyist — Add your own finishing detail
0-6-0 Assemblies Included
The completed chassis includes the following assemblies:
- Frame
- Drivers & Axles
- Spring Rigging
- Brake Rigging
- Cylinders
- Valve Gear
- Side Rods
- Main Rods
“Those chassis are beautiful…You have the right idea…I love doing the finish work, but hate the tedious machining involved in building the chassis.”
— T.S., Lufkin, Texas
Specifications
Chassis-on-Air Specifications
- Drivers: 13 Spoke x 7 1⁄4” Diameter
- Cylinder Bore: 2.250” Diameter
- Cylinder Stroke: 3.500”
- Piston Valves: 1.250” Diameter
- Overall Length of Frame & Pilot Beam: 49 7⁄8”
Optional Smoke Box and Boiler Specifications
- Smoke Box: 9 1⁄2” Diameter
- Boiler: 9” Nominal Diameter (9 5⁄8” actual OD) x 31 Tubes
Quality Features
- Castings: Top quality from top commercial foundries
- Accuracy: Precision CNC machine work
- Axles: Hardened and ground
- Axle Bearings: Needle roller bearings
- Crank Pins: Hardened and ground
- Side Rod Bearings: Needle roller bearings
- Main Rod Bearings: Needle roller bearings
- Cylinder Block: One piece casting, fully cored including all intake & exhaust passages, very free breathing
- Baker Valve Gear Frame: Silicon bronze casting
- Baker Valve Gear Internals: Stainless steel lost wax investment castings
- Spring Rigging: Fully equalized
- Brake Rigging: Fully equalized
- Paint: Powder coated
What is a “Chassis-on-Air”?
This stage of locomotive completion is what we call a chassis-on-air. The fully machined, painted, plated, and assembled chassis-on-air can actually be “run” for testing or demonstration purposes by supplying compressed air to the cylinders.
Testing the completed chassis by running it on compressed air confirms that all of the machine work and assembly of the locomotive chassis has been performed correctly before you move on to the next phase of construction.
In addition to providing you with a chassis-on-air, we can also provide you with a completed and pressure tested boiler. We can then put you in contact with a number of qualified suppliers who specialize in a variety of additional items needed to complete your locomotive — including injectors, check valves, safety valves, water gauges, pressure gauges, pumps, hand rail components, completed tender tanks, and even ready-to-run tenders.
Our chassis-on-air approach gets your 0-6-0 building project going fast and helps get you on the track sooner. Our 0-6-0 Switch Engine is designed to put a high quality, CNC-machined chassis within the reach of hobbyists without requiring extensive machining experience or an elaborately equipped machine shop.
Interested in our USRA 0-6-0 Switch Engine? Contact us — we’d love to hear from you.