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Build 11: November 2025 Update

Our latest Build 11 work session was held on October 10-12 during our Fall Work Weekend.

We’ve begun painting the frame. Harold Downey started by checking all the bolts for tightness and replacing the inappropriate ones. Jeff started wire brushing then he and another volunteer cleaned the whole frame. Meanwhile Gordon wound up the tram wires for safety.
Saturday Jeff, Adam Cook and Harold started priming with a two part epoxy primer from Epifanes. We’re now about 2/3 complete. The black primer made it difficult to see missed spots so we switched to the light gray version.
We’ve started to apply two color coats to the lead truck components that were primed during an earlier work session.
The color was custom matched for us by Epifanes and replicates the original Baldwin Olive Green. The color is darker than it appears in the photos.
Earl Leavitt continued working on valve gear components. He and Harold used our Baldwin press to assemble the rocker arms and rocker shafts. We asked Earl to explain how he aligned these components:
“Using a milling machine table as my layout ‘bench’, I scribed a center line the length of the shaft on all the diameters. Then I made plugs with scribed and marked centers to fit the holes, the small end boss having a step to put my rule on the same plane as the large boss. That, when used in conjunction with the center attachment on my rule allowed me to align across the diameters and centers of the large and small bosses and scribe an accurate true hole to hole centerline on the large bosses. If you blow up one of the photos of the assembly sitting on the press, you can see the lines on the parts scribed in the Dykem. I held the parts in alignment while my much trusted co-worker Harold brought the press ram down.”
Earl and Harold pressing the rocker arms.
The first rocker arm / shaft assembly.
The missing tumbling shaft counterbalance spring cam – as Earl explains:
“At one point three of us were scrounging the shop searching for it and Jason quipped ‘We could have made another by now.’ So I stopped searching and found a piece of 3/4″ flat stock, laid out the part on it, sawed it out then finished the profile on the belt sander, bored the large hole on the lathe with the 4 jaw then drilled the small hole and it was done in fairly short order. The joke is that I ‘found’ the part hiding in that piece of flat stock. The photo shows the part set back alongside the piece of stock it was taken from.” 
The finished tumbling shaft counterbalance spring cam.
The following photos show Quentin Bethune assembling the eccentrics to the main driving wheelset. Quentin had taken the eccentrics home to machine the axle keyways. As Quentin explains:
“They fit perfect. I just had to tap the first side in place with a mallet. I needed a wrench that had a bend in it to tighten the nuts. I found one at a flea market for 5 dollars already bent that worked perfect.”
Quentin holding his “specialized” wrench.
And the completed assembly.
The CAD model shown here illustrates the valve gear components needed for the locomotive.
This view identifies those components we have already completed. Gordon Cook is machining the pillow blocks at home. We are waiting for the rocker box castings from the Cattail Foundry in Lancaster, PA and links and link blocks from Northeast Tool and Die Co. in Norway, ME.
Pins have not been made yet pending final lapping of the tapered holes and any dimensional tweaking that shows up in the final alignment during assembly.
Earl has started assembling the tumbling shaft and lift arms.
Quentin also brought two rough cut white oak beams to the railroad from a tree he cut down on his property. Quentin’s friend Henry sawed the logs on his bandsaw mill. We’d like to use these for the pilot beams on the locomotive.

…and thank YOU for giving more than 111% to this project! In 2025, our friends and followers have donated an astounding $139,073 towards Build 11 – 116% of our $120,000 goal (for 2025.) All additional funds are being used to ensure the locomotive is on the rails as quickly as possible.

Learn more and contribute at www.build11.org

Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!
The Build 11 Team

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Volunteers Earl and Harold are building locomotive 11 at the WW&F Railway Museum in Alna, Maine.

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