Side panel for the traction engine

Scratch building a traction engine is nice, but not in the freezing cold. So, the progress is fairly slow. First, I decided that the 1 mm Aluminium base plate was too floppy and I made a second one and glued them together to get a 2 mm thick base plate with sufficient rigidity. Then I cut two brass L-profiles (K&S) of 5x5 mm and 28 cm length, drilled 4 holes in each and soldered nuts over the holes. Additionally 8 holes (2 mm diameter) were drilled  in the base plate to attach the two L-profiles along the sides with 8 screws.

Subsequently, the four side panel parts were cut from tin-plate (Albion 0.5 mm sheets of 25 x 10 cm). This is truely iron and the cutting is much harder work than brass or aluminium. After trying different saws, I liked the dremel with the simple disposable brown cutting wheels the best for this job. Then right holes were cut in these plates to accommodate windows and a door. These loose side panels were soldered on to a 6x1 mm brass beam (K&S) and the L-profile, with the help of a wooden mould.Well, I got the first side panel done and can start filing and sanding the edges and making the window posts and door posts.