Beg to differ Alan, Most dome covers I've seen have been made from sheet material, often with a brazed joint between the straight and round parts. I think the curves were formed by pressing, spinning or beating depending on the facilities available. The joint was often a "coppersmith's" joint. I must admit I've seen some beautiful brass dome covers, particularly on the Isle of Man locos, where the joint is invisible. I guess the trick is to use a filler rod of the same composition as the brass sheet. Later dome covers were of course made from steel, and for the bigger boilers, were certainly pressed in one piece. Regards Ron ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Stepney" <alesara2@xxxxxxxxx> To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 3:27 AM Subject: [modeleng] Re: Two Questions > As far as I know, most were cast. > Dont know about thickness, but I do know that I could > hardly lift one (it was about 12" high plus curved > part). > > I have an idea that later ones were formed /pressed > /spun, but they were then much smaller (due to larger > boiler)..... > > --- Harry Wade <hww@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> Question #1 - How were the brass domes on vintage >> full-size UK locomotives >> made and what was the material thickness? Were they >> cast & machined, >> beaten, spun, rolled & formed, other, all of the >> above?...... >> MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.