Since the new 4-6-0 will weigh in at around 200 kgs, (450 lbs), less tender, I will need something with which to move it from working height down to floor/track level.
Having seen pictures of loco lifts, most often built for use at club track steaming bays, and also a photo of small manually operated forklift in an office supply catalog, I modified that general idea, and built a scissors-type lift.
Spending two 8-hour days on the project, I designed and assembled this lifting table with a 1.4 meter (4.7 ft) track on top of it. This is just long enough to accomodate the tenderless 4-6-0 loco.
Here is the design - which I first checked out in a CAD program, both with the table top in the working position, and at minimum height:
Obtaining the necessary material was not a problem: Square tubing, 30x30 mm / 2 mm wall for the scissor "shanks" (orange and magenta), and U-shaped steel profile, 40x40 mm / 3 mm wall, for the table top (cyan), as well as the material for the rail and ties (not shown in the drawing), were available at a nearby metals dealer. Nuts, locknuts, bolts and washers are sold by the weight (only 3.40 e/kg, or $ 2 per lb.) at my local hardware store. Plastic furniture wheels are attached to the ends of the scissor shanks.
Important: Note that the pivots for the braces (blue, of 20 x 4 mm flat iron) are on top of, and under the shanks, not in the middle of them! This increases the "starting angle" of the V-braces, and lessens the load on the threaded axle (green) and the cross-members (not shown in drawing) through which the axle passes. The cross-members are made from 15 x 20 mm square tubing, reinforced with 25 x 5 mm flat iron welded along them. I used my new welder's TIG function for accurate tack welding, and its stick function (up to 160 amps) for good penetration where necessary.
NOTE: I've received recommendations to strengthen the V-braces. The compressive forceon the braces is very strong when the table is in a lowered position, so to prevent buckling of the braces, stronger ones will be installed!
The axle (M 12, approx. 1/2" dia.) operating the scissors mechanism will be powered by a 12-volt electric motor, as soon as I find one with a suitable reduction gearing. A rechargeable electric drill just manages to lift the table with a load of 80 kgs (180 lbs), but will most probably stall trying to lift a full locomotive load from the lowest, thus "heaviest" position. I either need to find a drill with a low gear setting, or find another geared motor - which shouldn't be a problem (I have a trailer winch ready for disassembly...)
The cutouts you see in the U-profiles (only in the outward sides), enables the mechanism to get as low as possible - the upper pivots of the bracing will recess into the U-profile.
This table will enable me to lower the new, heavy loco-to-be down to a safe moving height from the working height of 800 mm (32"), and the table's wheels, albeit small, will easily roll on the workshop floor. (I may yet replace them with rollerblade wheels!)
Since the whole unit is only 40 cm (16") wide, it will roll out of the cramped workshop into the hallway with room to spare. Then, I can set the height to the same as the upper one of the two steps going from the hall floor to yard level, and push the loco forward onto a track laid on the top step, leading out the door. With a little track ramp, I can get the loco back onto the table (taken outside onto the asphalt yard, and set to its lowest level, 100 mm, 4"), and then lift it to loading height and push the loco onto a piece of track inside the back of my car. Since the lifting table collapses to such a low height and small volume, it is no problem to fit it into the car along with the loco and the tender. The two boxcars and the four flatcars? Well, I guess I have to suppose they are already at the destination...
I should have built this many years ago - moving either the 4-4-0 or the 0-6-0 is a task for two persons - but with this lift, I can manage alone.
The cost of materials, including all the steel, the threaded axle and the wheels, was only around $ 75, so if you need something similar, feel free to copy and modify this design for your own use!
(PS: See the earlier, "transporter" page in the index for another way of moving a heavy loco over stairs and into a car.)
UPDATE:
The mechanism above proved not to be strong enough - I carefully jumped up and down while standing on the table, and the braces were bent slightly, so I won't take any risks. I've now finalized the lift, using a winch motor, and "blocks and tackle" to get power lifting. Since the weight is now distributed over a longer distance, and five rollers, the force on each roller is only one tenth of what it was on the much shorter braces.
A small lead-acid gel battery, or a cord to the 12 V lighter socket in the car will provide electrical power to the motor. However, I'll still have to limit the lowest height of the lift, because the motor will be very strained if it tries to lift a 400 lbs loco from floor level - but already at 25 cm (10"), the angles of the winch wires against the leg are less acute, and lifting gets much easier.
Here's a drawing of the current system - note that the winch wire loops around five rollers altogether:
