The Wheels.—The front wheels of the locomotive are made of the small sized evaporated milk cans exactly in the same way that the wheels of the auto truck are made. These wheels are 2½ inches in diameter and ⅝ inch wide.
The wire axle of the front wheels passes through two lugs that are soldered to the sides of the frame.
The driving wheels are made from 3½-inch rolled-rim cans. The axle for these wheels passes directly through holes in the sides of the frame.
A piece of galvanized wire 1¼ inches in length is used for driving pins for the connecting rods on each driving wheel. Each piece of wire is placed through two holes in the driving wheel, these holes being directly opposite each other and exactly ½ inch from the center of each wheel. As these driving pins pass entirely through the wheel they should be soldered to each side of it in order to give added strength, as they would break away from the wheels very easily if they did not pass entirely through the wheel and were not supported by each side of it.
Cylinders and Connecting Rods.—These cylinders are rolled up from flat pieces of tin each 2¼ by 3¼ inches. The tin is folded over on the two shortest sides of each piece before it is formed into a cylindrical shape, the folded sides of the tin forming each end of the cylinders.
The connecting rods are made of two strips of tin, each ¾ by 6¼ inches. Both sides of the strip are folded in, making a triple thickness of tin and a connecting rod about ⁵⁄₁₆ inch wide and 6¼ inches long.
A disk of tin is soldered to one end of each connecting rod. These disks should be somewhat smaller than the diameter of the cylinders so that they may slide easily back and forth inside the cylinders.
The connecting rods have to be bent at the two angles shown in [Fig. 89] so that each rod may be in line with the cylinder and with the driving wheel.
The Smokestack, Steam Dome and Whistle, Sand Box and Headlight.—The smokestack is rolled up from a piece of tin 2¾ by 2⅞ inches. This piece of tin is cut from the side of a can so as to leave the rolled rim at the top for the rim of the stack.
The steam dome is made of the top part of a tooth powder can with the distributer top left on. This top is left open to form a whistle. That part of the tooth powder can which rests against the boiler must be fitted very carefully so as to conform to the curve of the boiler.