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Vol. 233 No.4749 9– 22 August 2024
248 SMOKERINGS
News,views andcomment on theworld of modelengineering
249 LEARNING TO DRIVE
MitchBarnesreports from theSociety of Modeland Experimental Engineers’ boiler management course
DesAdeleyand Dave Murray complete oneof theSalisbury Museum’s exhibits
287 ENHANCED BY VEHICLES
Ashley Best adds alittlevariety to his1/16th scale tram display
291 CLUB NEWS
GeoffTheasby compilesthe latest from modelengineering clubsaroundthe world.
294 CLUB DIARY
Future Events.
ON TH E CO VER
SteveEaton wins IMLECfor thefourthtime, on this occasion with his5 inch gaugeBlack 5locomotive(photobyDiane Carney).
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IMLEC
MARTIN EVANS Editor
DIANE CARNEY Assistant Editor
Iwrite thishavingjustreturned from the54thInternational ModelLocomotiveEfficiency Competition, hosted by theSouthport Model EngineeringClubattheir very pleasantly situated club trackonthe sea frontnexttoVictoria Park.I wastoldthat theclubsiteisactually belowsea level(lucky it’s araisedtrack!) andI askedhow it wasthatwe weren’tkneedeep in water. Theanswer, apparently is ‘sand dunes’.Between thedunes andthe club thereisa caravan park so Iimagine thefirst sign of troublewould be seabornecaravans. Otherclose neighbours includethe model boat club,the croquetclub, the cyclingcluband theradio car club as well as arathernice lookingand evidentlypopular restaurant Theevent wasexpertly managedbyBen Pavier and he andhis team,and allthe membersofthe Southport andLeyland clubs, aretobe congratulatedonmaking theevent such asuccess. Everything ranextremely smoothlyand everyone there appeared to be having agood time.There wasanimpressive entryofthirty5 inch gauge locomotivesand three3½ inch gaugelocomotives.The winnerofthe 3½ inch gauge category wasGeorgeWinsall from theRugby club,driving WelshHighlandRailway
locomotive Russell,withan efficiencyof1.3%. Thirdplace wastaken by Lionel Flippance from Worthing,driving his BR proposed 2-8-2freight locomotive,withanefficiency of 2%.Billy StockfromUrmston came second,driving an LMS Duchess, with an impressive efficiencyof2.8%. This was toppedthoughbySteve Eaton from Chesterfield, drivinga Black5,withanefficiency of 3.1%.ThisisSteve’s fourth win at IMLECand ourfront cover showsSteve with therather grand‘Martin EvansChallenge Trophy’, named, of course, afterMartinEvans ‘MarkOne’, my namesake andillustrious former editor,halfa century ago, of ModelEngineer Full results, in theform of aspreadsheet,are availablefromthe IMLEC archive(www.imlecarchive com/imlecresults/2024) andwehopetoincudea comprehensiveaccountofthe competitioninour next issue.
St Albans Exhibition
aspectsofmodel making with theaccent on demonstration andinvolvement andmostof allfun
Thedoors open on Saturday/ Sunday 28th and29th Septemberat10a.m.and close at 5p.m.bothdays. Entryis£8 foradultsand £2 forchildren over five. At thedooryou can paybycontactless paymentor of course cash!Alternatively youcan buyyourtickets in advanceonthe club’s website (www.stalbansmes.com) and save £1 on an adultticket; child tickets(5-16)are £2 and infantsunder fiveare admitted FREE.
Theexhibitionfills a secondaryschool, having eleven halls at itsdisposal as well as thegrass areas outside. Allthe localclubs take part also showingand demonstratingwhattheydo. Theexhibitionsupportsthe localRNLIcharity whoregard theshowastheir main eventof theiryear.
Mar tin Evans can be contacted on the mobile number or email belowand would be delighted to receive your contributions, in the form of items of correspondence, comment or ar ticles. 07710-192953 MEeditor@mortons.co.uk
Lookingfor afun dayout late in thesummer? TheSt. Albans &DistrictModel Engineering Societyare againputting on theirannualshowcoveringall
Thereare have-a-goboats, racing cars,model railway and they hope to have the‘make an airplane andflyitoutside’ stand. Thereisalsoa drivea-trainfor theveryyoung and steamtrain ridesfor alloutside Theclubexpects over 2,000 visitors includingmany youngsters.Plantospend at leasthalfa daythere, as previously mid-afternoon visitors have been disappointed they hadnot allowedenough time
Parkingon-site is free and free light refreshments are availableall day.
IMLECResults
StAlbansMES
Le arn in gt oD ri ve
Mitch Barnes looksat actually running asteam engine rather than just making them to look at underglass, with the help of SMEE’sBoiler Management Course
Continuedfromp.214
M.E.4748 July 26
Locomotive driving
Afterlunch it wastimefor thenextphase of thecourse, drivinga simple steam locomotive.For this,anideal candidatewould be something earlyornarrowgauge because, true to theprototype,they lack thecomplexityofmore advanced typesbut area bit more sophisticatedthana set of trainerwheelsona child’s bike.Don’t worry thoughthere’splentytokeepyou busy
Forthispartofthe daya superbly builtreplicaofan 1888 Bagnalllocomotive Excelsior appeared,resplendent in linedout green liveryand bearinga pair of side tanks, this beingthe second model that we wouldall have ago at driving(photo9). It was
so cute that it looked almost friendly anditrejoicedinan appropriatelyfriendlyname: TheKingofthe Pixies.I understand that Annand her late husbandGordonHatherill hadbuilt it Itscontrolsare eminently simple and, in fact,not alot more complexthanthe vertical boilerwehad operated an hour or so earlier, except that she hadtwo injectorsratherthan one, andbrakesand aforward/ reverselever.Thisisabout as simple as alocomotivegets,
Farlessdauntingtohandlethananexpress locomotive, Excelsior hadthe bare minimumofcontrolstomakeiteffcientlydrivablesoitwas an idealtrainer forthis know-nothingloco-numpty
even with theslightadded complexity,ofcourse, in that when she’smovingunder her ownsteam,one spends half of one’stimejusttryingtohang on
Luckily theenginewas ideal forbeginners likemetocut ourteethon. Thecab design is simple becauseit’sthe same on therealthing andit’s similarlynot toocramped for inexperiencedfumblyfingers to deal with,because narrow gaugelocomotives have proportionatelymuchlarger cabs than standard gauge models running on thesame rails (photo10).
Thealternative wouldbe somethingcabless from early on in thedevelopment and historyofthe railwayssuch as a‘Canterbury Lamb’or ‘Lion’,among populardesigns, becausesuchcomplexitiesas sophisticatedbraking systems andsuperheatershadn’tcome alongbythe time theirfull sizedcounterpart appeared for thefirsttimeand hadits dayin thesun (photo11).
So here we arethen, freshfromlunch,fed and watered. Thelocomotive wasexperiencingthistoo
Datingfromaround1837, Lion’s footplatesportsa sparse selection of controls to occupy
Somewhat less intimidating than I’d feared.Why,I mightevenbeableto driveit!
acack-handed tenderfoot driver likeme.
SMEE
Davidpreparing thelocomotivefor itsfrstrun of theday
becauseDavid Hatherill was preparingthislittleengine forits first outing fora while, having startedwhile therest of us were fillingour tummies (photo12).
In thephotographone can seethe blower in placegiving some forced draughttoget the firestarted.The tall funnelhas asimilar effect apparently and thecombination of both helps draw thefire andget it going. Having gained that basic knowledge, it wasgoodto progress to thenextstage and have agoatdriving asteam locomotive forthe first time
It hadonlybeen an hour or so sincethe vertical boiler portionofthe course butI realised Ihad alreadyforgotten alittlebit butI thoughtthata refresherbehindthe backplate wouldbea good idea.Filled with trepidation, thehour dawned.Well, as I’dstated above, that’s whyI washere andnow armedwithwhat remained of that knowledge imparted to me earlier, allof whichbynow seemed to be draining outofmybrain,I knew that as with thevertical
boiler, ‘aslongasyou follow therules anddon’t do anything silly,there is nothingtobe frightened of’.
This locomotive we’d be let looseonfor thefirsttimewas afive inch gaugenarrowgauge locomotive,soI waslucky. Some of thebitsevenlooked thesame.
Shewould be moving underher ownsteam,with thelucky driver swaying from side to side over the inevitable undulationsinthe permanentway beneathher so we wouldsoon experience howdisconnected andout of touchthe directorsofthe early railwayswere. They thought that giving theirdrivers and firemen an enclosed cabto work in wouldtempt them to nodoff at thecontrolsofa locomotive!Ifsaiddirectors hadriddenthe footplatein thoseearly days (orany time since) they’d have knownthat onespendshalfofone’s time just like us,doing one’sbest nottofalloff.
Having raised sufficient steam, DavidHatherill showed us what this littleenginecould
nottostand in frontofeach other.
If ourno-show hadturned up,he’dalmostcertainly have pushed me to thefront! Memories of similartimes, waaaay back in my schooldays, came to mind.Atsports lessons to be precise. Being so uselessatsport that dead people were picked forteams before Iwas,I wasaiming nottostand at thefront, likeall theothersperhaps Fortunatelyfor me,one or twoofthe others blinked first butafter acircuit or two, each onereturnedunscathed with wide grinsontheir faces wherepreviouslytrepidation wasthe theme. They were followedinquick succession by theother two, anxiousto give it atry,havingnoticed that nobody hadcrashed anywhere on this sylvan circuitaround AnnHatherill’sgorgeous laboriouslytended, sundappled garden
dobytakingher fora run around theshortishcircuit, wringing outhis mount. Coasting gently to astopwithin amillimetre of thestarting point, he made it look sooo easy.Itwould be formetoo, once Iget thehangofit, he said, climbing offthe drivingtruck to make room forall of us
Iconfess that Iwonderedif this littleenginecould possibly pull anyofusaroundthe track on thosetinylittlewheels butevidently sensingthatwe haddoubtsaswellasnerves, to show us,David took it for anotherridearoundthe circuit, demonstratinghis skilled useofthe brakes once again by bringing it back to ahalt, seeminglywithina millimetre of hisstartingpoint.
On with theshowthen. We hadnow givenupwaiting for theother chap,who hadfor me initiatedthisday’s events and whowas still nowheretobe seen.Hohum,moreinstruction formeand theother attendees then
Nowit’sour turn.Who’d like to have agothen?
Five nervousnovices tried
Still therewas no sign of ourmissing attendee so now that everyone apartfromme hashad agoand survived unscathed, it’s my turn Gulp
Butbeneath it all, Iknew that in afew minutesI’d look back on this experience with acircuit or twounder my belt anda grin on my face as wide as everyone else’s where uncertaintyhad dominatedmy facial features.AslongasI didn’t mess up that is.Noneof theothershad,but wouldI?
Gulp again. Iwas at the frontofthe queuebecause it wasonlymeleftinthe queue! Hopefully Davidwasn’tthinking just howuseless I’dbeatthe controls of hispride andjoy,as sporty-teamleaders were in my youth.
Thefirstthing to do wasto look over itscoalfiredboiler while adding abit more coal with that tiny shovel andsee if Irecognisedthe bits I’dheard aboutand seen in theearlier partsofthe boiler course.If Ididn’trecognise them now, they couldbepointed outtome while refreshing my memory with theprocedure forcoal firing, before things started getting hot. Literally
Jolly good,let’s have ago then Feelinglikesomeone climbing up to thegallows,I steppedforward andclimbed into position on thedriving trolley. Somehow, just doing that didsomething to my brain.
Well this is it -‘Showtime’ as theAmericans sayand it was, afterall, whyI washere. Somethingtobearinmind is that doingthisfor thefirst time is likeshowing an initiate thecontrolsofa motorbikeor asingleseataircraft, where therewill be no-one beside or behind me foradviceIf Things Go Wrong. On the plus side,thankfully because this is smallerscale,much slower andalsomuch, much closer to theground, this first nervousattemptisanticipated withoutquite thesamelevel of impendingdoom;you’ve done thetheoryand tweaked some of theknobs andDavid showed me thetapsagain Butthatmuch-appreciated kindly bitoflastminute refresherinstruction seemed to go in oneear andstraight outofthe otherone without stopping inside my skullto revive my memory.Talking of which, it nowseemed to have been instantlyerasedofall thought. Help!The reassuring voiceoveryourshoulderisno longer therebecause thereis only room foryou on this little footplateand you’re on your nervousown Iknewfromwatchingthe others that this wasverymuch thelittleenginethatcould,but wasI adriverwho could? I hadmydoubtsbut Iwantedto assuagethemand improvemy confidence. IhaveanAdams T6 to driveone day.
Everyone is watching,I imaginetomyself. Actually apartfromDavid only acouple of people are– andthatwas only if they were lookingup from admiring theroses in Ann’sgarden. Everyone else is contemplatingwithAnn the finer points of tweaking the throttlea bitonthatupward gradient halfwayround and thedifferencethata slight applicationofthe brakes can make on theother side of it
Having admiredand been astoundedbythe qualityofthe workmanshipofthismodel I hadbeen entrustedwith, let alonethe hundreds of hoursof skilledworkrequiredtobuild it,a straywandering thoughtat last brokedownthe seemingly impenetrable wall of mental blockage that hadtaken over my brainatthe pointthatI had satdown.
‘I hope Idon’t prangit’ I thoughtasI gingerly opened theregulator (alsonew to me)a tiny amount andbracedmyself to setoff, butnot toofast.
“Try releasingthe brake andmovethe reverser to the pointing forwardposition” Davidsuggested helpfully 30 secondslater,notingthatthis wasstill astationaryengine. It came to life,acceleratingto just over asnail’space. “And now’sthe time to closethe cylinderdrains”.Eventhough he hadshown me allthese additional controls only two minutesearlier,nerveshad made them escape my mind, alongwitheverythingelse.
OK then,off we go…Hanging on (literally,asstatedabove), Irealised as Igatheredspeed to nearly walkingpace, this is fun! Iopenedthe regulatora bit more andwiththatmotion, my doubts startedtoebb away as confidencebegan to replace them. King of thePixies wasa tiny locomotive butunder the PowerofSteam shehad bags of grunt!
This wasanideal and gentle introduction forthis ten-thumbedfledglingdriver, asimplelocomotiverunning on agentlecircuit,itselfbeing afairlyshort distance so that onecan’t getintotoo much of amess. Despitethe lovely mature gardenspartially obstructingmyvisionaround thecircuit,David andAnn were keepinga watchful eyeonme allthe wayaroundtoprevent things getting outofhand. The grades,turnoutsand inclines on this cleverly designed circuit Iwas trying to to negotiate allowedmetoget thehang of thethrottle- openingup abit when youreach that aforementioned gradient and closingitagain when you
arecoastingdownthe other side,whilstmonitoringthe pressure andwater gauges andusing thecylinderdrains andthe injector againwhenI waspicking up abit toomuch speed.There seemed to be an awfullot to attend to,with single handed operation; no doubtthiswould soon become second nature.Apparently it’s a bitlesshecticwithtwo crew on afullsizelocomotivebecause thedriverlooksafter thetaps while thefiremandeals with the fireand they shareother tasks between them
Confidence(or hubris) buildingasI returned to the starting point(OK then,ten feet beyond thestartingpoint –it takestimetoget thefeelof thelocomotiveand itsbrakes) with thelovelylocomotiveand myself as yetmiraculously unscathed, Idecided to keep on goingand completeda second circuit. Notwishing to push my luck toofar as Icoasted to ahaltonly9 feet 11½inches beyond thestartingpoint this time (See? Improving!)I decidedtopause while Iwas aheadand relinquishedmy seat to oneofthe others who wanted to trydriving with a load behind thelocomotivein theformofa wagon. Evidently aseasonedprofessional or an absolute natural, he gotthe hang of it likeanold proand completedseveral immaculate circuits with aplomb,bringing hismount perfectlytoa halt AT thestartingpoint everytime. Having allowedothersto have ago, alongwiththe others Itried severalmorecircuits, with theaddedexperienceof more rollingstock beingtagged alongbehindthe drivingtruck With more circuits andextra rollingstock coupledup, we couldsee andfeel howextra weight makesa difference to theperformance of theengine andwhatone hastodo, to deal with thesevariationsand thus build up ourconfidence and ability.
Iimproveda bitinthatwhile Iappliedthe brakes tooearly once andhad to build up speed again, Igot my overruns down to 9feet 10 inches past the starting pointsoatleast one
couldnoticea certainrateof improvement. Despitethose ‘improvements’,ifthishad been afullsized railway the passengerswould be carrying theirluggage back alongthe tracks towardsthe station.
Ialsonow understand whyso many of this genreofminiature narrowgauge locomotivesare built;apart from theirfriendly andcuteappearance,withtheir largeand roomycabsthey arepractical to drivebecause it is fairly easy to monitorthe gauges while bouncing along thetrack andconcentrating on both stayingaboardand lookingout forobstructions.
Conversely,I also understand whymanysmaller livesteam models have asliding hatch built into thecab roof;atthe angleone sits when perchedon thedriving trolleybehind- and especially fora tallerperson such as me -it’sreally hard to crouch down andsee the pressure gaugewithout that open hatch(especially when thelocomotiveismoving) andI also foundthe water gaugedifficulttoreadattimes, despitethe prototypically tall cab(withouta roof hatch).We were blessedthatday with clear blue skiesand brilliant sunshine that marked theend of along runofrainlesssummerdays. Theonlydownsideofthiswas that while drivingI foundthat thebrightreflectedsunlight tended to obscurethe gauge glasscontentsattimes
Aftera couple of hours, with thelocomotiverunning outof steamalmostasfastasthe day’spupils,our mindssated with allwehad learned, we were then shownhow to ‘put theenginetobed’. This wasa very thorough session because in this case the King of the Pixies wasgoing away forthe winter andwould be in safe storagesomewherefor the next fewmonths. Here we saw theactionofthe blowdown valveoncethe gaugeglass hadbeen cleared, dropping theashpanand raking out thegrate (the ashmight be agood fertiliser,especially forroses apparently), lots of oilingupand generalcleaning (photos 13 and 14). We could
Theend of aday’s concertedrunning -steam andfuelhaverun outand it’s now time forbed
also nowdealwiththe vertical boilerand putittobed too (photo15). Howusefula blowdown valveis; with the last of thesteam presentin theboileryou cansquirtall the remainingwater out. Iwish my Stuart boilers hadthem. I forgot to askhow youpurge a
boilerwithout one; suckingit outwitha syringeseems to be my current method.
Conclusions
My impression afterthisday wasthatwithall this new knowledge, even if I’mnot very good at it,the prospect
Time nowtoalsoclean up theverticalboilerand prepareitfor thewinter.
of actually drivingsomething no longer holdsquite such afeelingofawe.Italso accentuatedtomethatalong with an addedunderstanding that youreally do need to have an experiencedhandatyour shoulder to teachyou theins andoutsofdriving anything much more complexthana potboiler– likedriving acar, as succinctlyput that morning by oneofthe otherattendees, operatinga boilerissomething that bookscan only partly prepareyou forand hubris has no placehere. So what canone take away from theday’s proceedings apartfromthe nicely produced setofnotes to jogglethe memory cells in thecoming weeks? What IknewwhenI signed up forthe course could basically have been engraved on an ant’stoenails.I felt farhappier at theend of this course butasflying instructors
areoften wont to saytoa pupil whohas just gained hisorher licence aftermanymonthsof effort,thatnewly wonpiece of paperthattheyhavelong covetedand arenow holding in theirproud andshaky handsshouldberegardedas simply as aLicence to Learn… becausepractical experience is priceless. It hadbeen afascinating andveryenjoyable dayfor me and(Ithink)our twovery kind andincrediblycompetent instructorsbut didthe anonymousgreenhorn steamer chap whoinspiredmetojoin thesession ever show up? Perhapshe’ll come alongif there’sa next time
SMEE welcomes new members: please visitthe websiteatsm-ee.co.uk to seewhattheydooremail memsec@sm-ee.co.uk
The Le ufo rt in Pr ojec t uf o
IanBayliss presents an internal combustion G-scale locomotive.
Continuedfromp.218
M.E.4748 July 26
Star ting thebuild
At last astart in themakingof parts. Variousmaterials had been gathered up allowing for some flexibilityindetaildesign. Thechassisparametershad to be setearly so this was an appropriateplace to start manufacture. At theoutset it wasclear that it wouldbe necessary to make whatever igs andfixtures were re uired to achievea reasonable levelof competence particularly where twoormoreidentical parts were needed -that’sjustabout allcomponentsinthissortof work.Thiswas even more so, bearinginmindthattherewere to be twolocomotives of the breed.Itseemed very uickthat chassissides appeared,using co-ordinatedrillingonthe X-Y mill table. Theaxlebox holes were slottedout to thebottom of theframe just sizedclear of thebearing diameter so that the axle boxescould be withdrawn andthe complete axle dropped withouta full blownstrip down
Photograph 13 demonstrates thebasic fixturing ideas. This wassimplya steel bar screwedtoa plybase, seton themill with alever TIand four sawn over length blanks forthe framesides clampedin place. Hold down holeswere then drilled. hoto ph 1 showsthe blanks bolted down andmilledtolength. The Starrett pattern edge finder is nowusedtoset up forthe co-ordinatedrillingofall four frames (secondlocomotiveas well).I tend to usewhatare catalogued as ‘ -type’ edge finders from Chronosasthey give amuchclearer indication of contact, making repeatability more consistent.I useone of theseand thestandardpattern Starrett edge finderveryoften forsetting up operations on themillingmachine.I canbe more accurate than usingthe ‘wiggler’typealthoughthey have theirplace,particularly forpicking up scribedlines and intersectionsofsame.
Remember to only move or change oneclamp at atime otherwiseitmeans setting the wholething up againwiththe potentialtobuild in errors.I know
Framestretcherswereeasily s uaredand si edfromstock brassbar in themill vice,using aspotting drill andtable coordinatestomarkdrill holes andtapping on thedrill press. When tapping agood number of smallthreadedholes in anything otherthanround stock in thelathe,I usethe drill press setupwitha reversingtapping head.I breakfewer taps that way. Thetor uecan be setfor each tapsi e. Itry to design with throughholes so thetap haslesschanceofbottoming outand breaking.Thiscannot always be achieved andI end up on thedrawing board(CA ) moving holesaroundtotake 13 14
into accountthe maximum depthI canget making it easier to udgefromthe tapentry into theholewhen to remove the load on thedrill presshandles Iuse alow speed,because theseare tiny taps andneed to be shownrespect.For roundstock in thelathe Iuse aspringloadedcentreinthe tailstock andsmall tapwrench. My favouritelubricant is CT90 aerosol.
Most holesare M2 or 10BA at this stage. Runningboard/ footplateanglesare pre-drilled on theirtop faceswithonly threestretcher holesinthe vertical (toframe)leg.Theyare nowhandeditems.Theyare bolted to theframe with 10BA screws andthe remainingrivet holesspotted throughfromthe frame. Theinsides of theframe rivetholes arecountersunk a smallamount. The1/16thinch diameter snap head rivets are closed into thecountersinks andthenfiledoff flush.This canbeseen in photo15. The frameisthenassembled as showninthisphotographon asmall surfaceplate making it as s uare as waspossible. Thescrewswere10BAslotted roundheads,shortened as describedpreviously, threeto each endofeachstretcher
themakingofa component into thosebasic steps. Thank goodness mine arerelatively simple.It’smyrailway after all. Photographs16 and 17 show aset of four wheels, the homemade toolsand thelathe tool used fortread profiles. I always make wheelsinsetsas re uired foreachmodel Iknowmymethods work formeand fullyrecognise and respectthatotherswillnot agree. Ihavealready explained that Iuse themostbasic of processestoachieve (well most of thetime) theends re uired
Thefirst ob is to make a mandrel. This is asimplepiece of barstock turned with a spigot anda shoulder spigot forchucking, then alarger flangeofsomethickness, a bitsmaller in diameter than thetread si e of thewheel,but only asmall amount. rill and tapa centre hole at thelarge endM6. riveinwithLoctite 603anM6socketcap screw. Part theheadoff andturn down to themandrel flange to 5mmdiameter, asnug fit fora reamed 5mmhole. Thread M5 fora shortway to accommodate astandardnut
Wheels
Nowcomes oneofthe contentiousbits. Ihave heardanawful lotofheated discussion concerning the making of wheels, particularly amongstthose in thegarden railway hobby.I hadno intentiontodosobut Ithink it’s fair to explainmyself. This is also ausefulplace to explainhow Ibreak down
Cuta sliceofsteel of diameter thesameorjusta bit biggerthanthe flangeofthe wheel,say 12 mm thick, forthe drill jig. Face both sidesand ream through5 mm diameter
Fitonthe mandreland clamp down. rill andreama 3mm hole throughata position whichisinsidethe minimum designed flangeand tread diameter as canbeseeninthe photograph andonintothe flangeofthe mandrel. This must be left blind.
Thebestsuccess Ihave hadwithwheelsand profiles with theCode332 commercial trackistostick to the2mm x2mm rule popularinthe 15 16 17
Cut(in this case)four blanks from stocksteel bar18 mm thick, Thesewerefrom twoinchdiameterstock,the maximumdiameterofthe finishedwheel being 8mm. Face both sidesto16mm beingthe finishedoverall wheel thickness. UsinganM5socket capscrew lock theblank to thedrill jig. Mark afaceasthe back with an indelible marker rill theoffset 3mmholewith acobaltspotting drill into the blankto ust6mm andleave blind. o allfourblanks. Mounta blankonthe chuckedmandrel with a3 mm ground drivepin sandwiched in theblindholes.Lockitin placewitha centre nut. Set thelathe saddlestop. Turn thewheel hubtosizeand length noting dial numbers. o allfour. Turn themaximum outsidediameter. o allfour. Photograph 17 showsan oldToolMexbar turningtool Thecutting edge of thetip
(SPUN1103) is an accurate 15 degrees angletothe main axis of thetool. Ensure that thetoolpost is sets uare to thetopslideand then rotate thetopslide5 degrees anticlockwise. This givesa pretty accurate 10 degree flank angletothe wheel flange.
Theassembledchassis.
Theold tippedbar turninglathe tool explainedinthe text
United States i.e. flange2mm high and2mm thickatits root intersection with the treaddiameter. Itsjusta bit of trigonometry andmaths to determinewhere this will be duetothe root radius (already on thetool tip)
Setthe saddlestop. Turn paralleltothe resetsaddlestop themaximum diameter of the tread. o allfour. Remember allcan be remountedwitha closedegreeofaccuracy on themandrel
Thetop slidesetting will give aconeangle of 5 degrees.Shock horrorfor some!I have experiencedno discernibledifferencebetween the3 degree cone angleof commercialwheel sets and an homemade 5degreecone
anglewhenrunning.After all, that is allthatmatters
Retainingthe same angle theconingcan be turned on thetread,havinglockedthe saddle, usingthe topslideand awatchfuleye as thetool tipradiusapproaches the root radius of theflange.Itis surprising ust howaccurately theeye candetectthe point of tangential contact. After thefirstone make note of the crossslide dial readingand sticktothatasthe endpoint forthe remainingwheelsin theset.Ifthe mandrelflange hasbeen judged aboutright then it is asimpleturning job to providea bitofa reliefto theflange on therearface. A gentle relievingofthe corner points of theflangescan be
done with aSwiss file. BE CAREFUL!
Remove themandrel,turnthe wheel around,gripbythe hub andreamfinally from theback to thefinished 6mmdiameter. oila!Une roue de chemin de fer.
Itstaken longer to type it than to make one, almost, butitdoesdemonstrate my methodsofbreakingdown what appear to be complex itemsintosimpleoperations. They maynot be perfect, nor to everyone’s tastenor may they be accurate in exactitude buttheywill be allthe same in agiven setfor alocomotiveor pieceofspecial rollingstock ecoration is at thediscretion of therailway’s owner. Ido mine with aslotdrill, thewheel beingmounted in arotarytable chuckonthe mill. Againall of theset will be thesame. This will, as in this case,probably expose themandrel drivepin hole
Axlesare precisionground silver steel andone hasa keyway cutfor thefinaldrive gear.Assembly also had Loctite603 to supplementthe wheel fixings.The original set up forcutting keywayscan be seen in photo18. This included thesmallest (cheaper)milling colletchuck Ihad.Itisobvious whythe need arosefor an ER16 colletchuck
Flycranksweredrilledon arotarytable on themill to ensure that if notaccurate then at leastall four (infacteight) were thesame. Agauge was
made andthe crankpin hole position checkedwiththis anda ground stockpin.All were very acceptable.Basic logicsaysthatexactitude is notaltogethernecessary butensuringthissortof item is exactlythe same as itscompanionsiswhatis re uired.Thensomeshape wasadded with aslotdrill.
Thecrank pins were grooved with ahomemadetool (photo19), thecutting bitbeing made from abrokenhacksaw blade. 4mmcirclipstoretain couplingrodswerenot thebest choice as it transpired later.
Brassaxleboxes were turned up in theselfcentringfour-jaw chuckfor theinitial operations followedbya three- awchuck andagain alittledrillingfixture wasusedthatmatched the framedrillings (photo20). The photograph showsthe part finisheditems as they came offthe four-jaw self centering chuckand thedrillingfixture ensuring they area close matchwiththe chassis.
Couplingrodsare arelatively simple profiling ob on themill. Howeverthe crankpin holes arenot drilled, againonthe mill andthe profilingfixture, until thechassisand wheelsets are in place. Theresulting setupis then measured across theaxle ends so that thecouplingrod eyecentres canbeset.I was fortunatehereaswithnoplay each wasveryclosely matched. Profilingthe ends wasbasic with some filingbuttons after manually cutting away the excess lengthsfor holding on thefixture (photo21). The brassend bearings aremoreof afiddly ob to getright.Tubal Cain wascorrect in hiswritings that it is good practice to make more of thesefiddlybitsthan youneedwhilstyou areset up andthenuse thebestonesin assemblies.
To be continued.
roflingand drillingcouplingrodsonthe mill. Thesehad been drilledout of sync’ with thetextbut proved successful
Homemadegroovingtool forcirclip andE-clip grooves
art fnishedaxleboxes sitting on their projectbook drawingwithdrill jig.
ASmall Clearing in theJungle: Phuk et ’s Fir st Rai lway
Colin Standish introduces rail travel to Thailand’s TigerKingdom.
Continuedfromp.210
M.E.4748 July 26
Now it wastimetolay trackbut,beforestarting, usingthe smalljig made to locate thefish pates, holesweredrilledineachend of threelengths of rail; one outside, onecentreand the inside.These were then placed on astraightsection of track bedand held apartusing the pre-cutspacing tubes. The first 2feet or so of trackwas clampeddowntothe sleepers usingG-clampsand theholes forthe tierodsinthe centre andinsiderailspotted through from theoutside rail anddrilled (photo15). Spacersand atie rodweretheninsertedand secured. Youwill notice that in photo18the spacersare not yetboltedbut aremerelybeing used to hold therails apart. As mentionedpreviously, thetie boltsand spacerswerespaced outat12inchintervals along thetrack
Once ashort length hadbeen fastened together,holes forthe holdingdownbolts were drilled throughthe beam (photo1 ). With thetrack nowbeing securely held by thehook bolts, theG-clampscould be released (photo17). That wasthe easy bit(photo18)- nowfor the curves
Therewas notmuch differenceinthe modus operandi in drillingand securing therailsections. Forthe first threelengths,the rails were suitably fishplated to thosepreviouslaidand the innerrailmerelypulledround to matchthe radius of the trackbed andheldinposition usingG-clamps. Thecentre andoutside rails with spacers placed between them were then pulledtomeetthe spacers on theinsiderailand,again, clampedfirmly to thetrack bed. Theholes forthe tiebolts were againspottedthrough from the
outsiderailwiththe permanent spacersand boltsbeing fitted as work progressed. The hook boltsare nowholding it permanentlyinposition. Theonlyvariablenow was that of thestarting/finishing points of thenextrails to be laid.Theywould nowbe staggeredbecause of the differenceinthe radiiofthe threerails on thecurved sections;inmymind, nota badthing (photo19). The tracklayingtookarounda monthtocompleteand was ceremoniouslyconcluded by thetemporary fitting of the
Firstlengthlaid.
Tieboltholes spottedand drilled through
Drillingfor thehook bolts. Tracksecured.
Railheadbeforelinishing.Linishing in progress.
‘golden’ (brass) fishplate (photo20). Istood back and thought, I’ve done it,followed by look upon my works, ye mighty
Thefinal ob wastogoa roundthe trackwitha large linishing machinetoremove themillscale andprepare a nice clean, levelsurface to run on (photos 21 and 22). In photo 22 youcan seea thermos flask in theforeground- this contains water, notcoffee, for obviousreasons -and photo23 showsthe endresult.
Nowthatthe trackwas complete,I waseager to try outthe locomotives, thefirst of whichwas athree anda
half inch gaugeSpencer by Robin yer. This wasthe first locomotive Ibuilt,closely following itsconstructionin theM.E.Whencompleted the engine wasnamed Yeddwerch forthe following reasons.
Beingnew to thegame, the construction caused me many aheadacheand wasoften referredtoasthe Yedwerch, which, in thelocal Wigan dialectmeans headache, yed beinga corruptionofheadand werch beinganache. Thename stuckand Ihad thenameplates made butspelt with adoubled This gave it theappearance of beinga Welshnamethatinturn gave theimpression that the
eadytostart thefnalcurve
Railheadafter cleaning
The golden’fshplate ctbrass
ocomotive Yeddwerch.
ocomotive MacCailein Mor
locomotive wasa smallWelsh uarry engine.Myapologies to allWelsh readersbut it’s my engine -I made it;l’llcallit what Iwantand it looksright (photo2 ).
Thesecondengineisa threeand-a-half-inchMar uessby Martin Evans(theother one), againserialised in theM.E This wasnamed MacCailein Mor whichis, of course,spelled
wrong, as wasthe original nameplateonthe newly outshopped 22 , much to theconsternation of theScots andDiane when Iasked herto producethe nameplates for me.Again,apologies,thistime, to ourScottish readersbut thatshow it was(photo25). Theworkhorse of thestable is a5 inch gaugeA axnamed President;built,I believe,in
1953. This engine wasac uired by theWigan societyasa club engine from theBoltonsociety when it disbanded. Afteryears of useand alittleabuse it was subsequently sold to aclub member,Colin Sewardson, who Ithink wasresponsible forthe addition of atender, possiblyto attempttodampenthe crabbing motion of thelocomotiveor ust to be able to carry more water andcoal, I’mnot sure.Following Colin’s death, oan purchased it from hisestateand Iset abouttotally rebuildingitfor her (photo2 ).
Thefinallocomotiveinthe stable is a5 inch gaugebattery poweredengine, Charlatan, broughtoverhereasa kit from Blackgates when we first arrived. This engine has been named Sivakorn whichis theformalgiven name of our Thai grandson andcarries the
cabsidenumber1 1013,his birthdate(photo27).
Theconstructionofthe Charlatanwas notwithout its problems,the main onebeing thesourcingofmaterials,for examplethe bodywork was made from thesideofanold washingmachine salvaged from alocal scrapyard, with theroof andrunning boards liberated from apiece of metal shelving.The radiator cowl wasfabricatedfrom6mm aluminiumsheet obtained from alocal boat boat repair/service yard with thecab constructed from 3mmaluminium from thesameplace.Whenitcame to theelectrics,however,I repeatedly suffered onepiece of badluckafter another culminatingwithanunseen straystrandofveryfine wire, trimmedfroma connector, fallingontothe controller
anddestroyingitwhenpower wasapplied. Throughout the electrical installation it seemed Iwas constantly in touchwith who were helpfultothe Nthdegreeand afterthe blow up graciously offeredmea newcontrollerata greatly discounted price.
uring thetimespent writing this articleI have been reading aboutJohnRamsbottomwho in 185 succeeded Trevithick as chiefmechanicalengineer at thenortherndivisionofthe London andNorth Western Railway.Herehebuilt hisfirst expresslocomotiveand named it Problem.Infact, this went on to be thenamegiven to that particular classoflocomotiveso,you cansee that by naming theRobin yersSpencer Yeddwerch Iwas nottoo faroff themark!
With thetrack complete all
Ineeded nowwas adriving truck. Fortunately, when Ilived in theU I wasgiven four sets of ready-made bogietrucks, twoofthemwithbrakes, by anotherlatefriendfromthe WiganMES,MorrisWebster; enough fortwo passenger trollies. Drawings were done anda drivingtruck produced (photo28)- theday was drawingclose
Thefirstrun wasattended by ourThaifamilywithgreat delight andwonderment at seeing theirfirststeam locomotive,albeita miniature, beingabletotakepassengers fora ride.The localchildren soon gottoknowabout thesetup andappeared regularlyon Sunday afternoons fora ride on thefarang’s(foreigner’s) train (photo29).
ocomotive President gets steamup.
Driving truckunder construction. Localchildren.
ocomotive Sivakorn
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