I might be a genius and not even know it. This week I had to service the waterpump fittings on the little 0-4-0 locomotive. The waterpump is in a very hard place to get to - in-between the wheels but under the boiler. Much like your car, you don't tip it over to work on the underneath. You have to get under it.


To get underneath a locomotive, most people make an engine stand. This metal structure is strong enough to hold the weight of a locomotive without a lot of cross-bracing that would get in the way. Several years ago I made an engine stand for my larger engine, and the distance between the tracks is 7.5". Notice how in-between the rails (the two left & right bars on top) is nice and open?

This is exactly what I needed for the little 0-4-0. Here's the rub: this engine is smaller, and needs the rails to be 4 & 3/4" apart. And I don't have a stand made for that size. And this stand is welded and bolted together. There's no 'squeeze it together' to make it smaller.


The possible genius part. Unbolting the two rails, swapping them left for right, then bolting them back together gave me a rail distance of...drum roll please...4 & 3/4". A dual gauge engine stand! It's almost like I planned it that way. And I may have, but my shop notebook doesn't really indicate that.

So here is it, the smaller engine on the stand being serviced. The stand worked great, unlike some of my plumbing handiwork.