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188 SMOKERINGS
News,views andcomment on theworld of modelengineering
189 ENHANCED BY VEHICLES
Ashley Best adds alittlevariety to his1/16th scale tram display.
192 ADIVIDINGPROBLEM
Mike Joseph tacklesthe trigonometry involved in crossing outclock wheels accurately
195 BUTTERSIDE DOWN
SteveGoodbody writes with talesofthe trials andtribulationsofa modelengineer’s life.
200 POSTBAG
Readers’ letters
201 SMEE NEWS
Martin Kyte reportsfromthe Societyof Modeland Experimental Engineers.
202 ATWINTANDEMCOMPOUND STEAMENGINE
Graeme Quayle presents an interestingdesign fora compound windingengine.
207 PHUKET’S FIRSTRAILWAY
Colin Standish brings thebenefitsofthe iron road to thejungleinThailand..
Seepage186for details
211 LEARNING TO DRIVE
MitchBarnesreports from theSociety of Modeland Experimental Engineers’ boiler management course
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SummerHols
MARTIN EVANS Editor
Nowthatthe summeriswell andtruly upon us,and the school holidays have started, youmay well be wondering what to do during allthose sunny weekends.There aremanydesirable optionsbeyondmowing thelawnand washing thecar
DIANE CARNEY Assistant Editor
If youliveinthe SouthWestyou could have afun dayatthe GloucestershireVintage and CountryExtravaganza, which takesplace on the2nd to 4thof August at SouthCerneyAirfield, near Cirencester. It claims to be thebiggest andbest steam, vintageand countryside eventinthe UK,celebrating all modesofvintage transport. So –basically –anythingon wheels. Amajor star of the show is themagnificentsteam section, whichispackedwith 30 miniaturesteam engines, 70 stationary enginesand 60 full-size steamengines of alldescriptions. Formany visitors,seeingthe fabulous line-up of showmans’engines, with theirgleaming, twisted brass, really is ahighlight.The ‘Demonstration Arena’ puts the mighty machines to thetest, andthere’s even theopportunity to driveone.Also, youshouldn’t miss thegrand parade of miniaturesteam in theAlec Tannerarena,and be sure to checkout thesteamrollers in action.There’s even abeer tent anda brassband. There’stoo much to sayabout it here but youcan findout more at www. glosvintageextravaganza.co.uk
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
More specifically model engineeringthemedevents includethe Federation of Model EngineeringSocieties autumn rally,tobeheldthisyearat theNottinghamSMEEonthe 31stofAugustand the1st of September. Youcan bringalong amodel,torun it or to enterone of thetwo competitions.More details areavailableonthe FMES website: fmes.org.uk Alternatively, thereisthe LBSC Memorial Bowl (a.k.a ‘Curly Bowl’) whichI mentioned last time or theRob RoyRally This latterevent will be held at theBromsgroveSociety of
ModelEngineersonthe 14th of September. Furtherinformation will no doubtappear in due course on thesociety’s website. Thereisalsomorenews aboutthe Midlands Model EngineeringExhibitiontobe held at theWarwickshireEvent Centre from the17thto20th of October. This year’s show hasa focusonshowcasing YoungEngineersasthe Young EngineersClubwill be there with membersasyoung as 7 yearsold ModelEngineer will feature‘NellyThe Copter’inthe pre-show issueand youcan seethisatthisshow. Angus French,a previous junior winner threetimes andnow ayoung professional design engineer, will attend theshow. Hissuperb, fully instrumented Formula 1steeringwheel will be on displaytoshoweverybody what youngengineerscan achieve. Following thesuccessful and well attended talksatlastyear’s exhibition,our sister magazine ModelEngineer’sWorkshop is pleasedtohostthe talksat the2024 Exhibition again. This will includeMarkNoel’stalkon buildinga seismometerand BobReevetalking aboutthread milling. By populardemand Noel Shelleyreturns with a presentation on foundrywork as do MalcolmHighand Roger Froudwho will be giving talks on contrastingaspects of 3D printing.Brazing canbea challengebut ShaunMeakin aims to make thetaskeasierfor youand finally, ModelEngineer’s Workshop editor,NeilWyatt, will sharesomeofthe more unusual andchallengingworkshoptasks
he’s undertaken in histen years as editor.The latest aboutthe show canbefound at www. midlandsmodelengineering. co.uk
Junior Engineer Award
TheNorthernAssociationof ModelEngineerschairman DenisMulford visitedthe Avonvale ModelEngineering Society’strack to presentthe junior engineers8 to 10 years awardfor 2023.The winner whoreceiveda trophy and£40 prizewas WilliamHobbs-Gray now11years oldbut 10 when nominated.
Williamwas chosen as the winner having been putforward by Avonvale secretaryGeoffrey Edwards. Williamisa very active member of thesociety andthiswas evidentonthe day as he washelping outonsite with foliage cutting.William is keen andabletohelpout wherever he canbeitontrack work,sellingtickets or getting stockout andisalsoa very good locomotive driver as was shownwhenhetookthe party fora trip around therailway behind thesociety’s diesel class20. Williamhas also rebuilt an electric locomotive to full workingorder
NAME Chairman DenisMulford presenting hisaward to Williamwith Avonvale secretaryGeoffrey Edwards lookingon(photoD.Mulford).
Extravaganza
MidlandShow
Enhanc ed By Ve hicles Enha nc
Howintroducing road vehicles improveda model tramway
Ashley Best realises that a typicalstreet sceneis notall trams.
Introduction
Although commoninthe very smallscales, display backgroundsare rarely seen in thescalesmuchabove 7mm/ foot.However,thisarticle drawsona slightly unusual layout designed fora model tramwayin1/16thscale and theneed to providefor some road vehicles in thequest for realism(photo1).
An issueofscale
In allthe larger scales,model engineersare contentto produceaccurate scale models of chosen prototypes with resultsthatprovide an onlooker with work enabling an understandingofthe prototypeand at thesame time to appreciate theoften enormous skills necessary to achie ethe finishedwor . Such models standalone with no need to incorporateintheir displayany referencetothe environmentfromwhich their original inspirationwas drawn. However, in thesmall scales, especially theverysmall
scales,thishas been treated differently,and especially so in theworld of modelrailways wherethere is aquest for miniaturerealisminvolving thebackgroundenvironments whichactually become the main feature. Thesesmall scales probably originated in response to overcoming theproblem of spacewhere even a7mm ‘0’gauge layout needed alot of room.Some of thelayouts exhibitedat modelrailway showsare trulystunning andre-create real places with remarkable accuracy.The Pendon Museum provides awonderful exampleofwhatcan be achieved.However,asalready mentioned, theconstraints of spacemeanthat, outside amuseumenvironment,the larger scales cannot easily be constructedina waythat allows models to be displayed in trulyaccurate visual context. Garden railwayscan do this to some extent butevenhere scaleaccuracy is abit of a compromise
This preamble leadsme to my ownexception to restrictions imposedbyspace Some readersmight be aware that Imakeone sixteenth scale modeltramcars(photo2). This scaleisatthe bottomof what mightberegardedasthe larger scales buteventhisis quitebig.Tramcarsinmodel form are, liketheir prototypes, double endedand so canbe runbackand forthonquite ashort length of track. For testing, this canbeperfectly satis actory andmyfirst model- waybackin1973 -had nothingbetter. At thesametimeasthis modelwas beingmade, Iwas also fully engagedinbuilding an extensiontomybungalow. Itook theopportunity of effectinganimprovement whichwould mean aloft extensionofalmost20feet. This extension, Irealised, wouldbelongenoughfor a decent tramwaytesttrack Indeed,itwas andthe space subsequently became a bedroom with,all down the 1 2
Sketch Plan Of Layout
Numbersrefer
Thereisanautomatic trolleyreverserateachend of theloop,2 &3 hold twotrams, sections 5& 6one each.Uptofourtrams canbeoperatedatthe same time
side,a 2foot wide cupboard/ shelfonthe surfaceofwhich I laid outa 3½ inch gaugetrack (fg 1). Thebackedge, under thesloping roof,isabout 18 inches high.After thetrack came traction polesand overhead wires. Thecupboard spaces beneathweregradually filledwith o es containing thegrowing tramcar eet.At this juncture,I feel Ihaveto addthata construction such as this,situatedinwhatis, in effect,a bedroom, requires a wife with unique andwonderful tolerance.
Background
My interest andenthusiasm fortramcarscamefromseeing andexperiencingthemshortly before they alldisappeared SouthLancashire, with Bolton andManchesterinparticular, wasthe inspirationalsource andsomist, granitesetts, drizzle, grimeand gaslights made an immenseand lastingimpression inspiring my oilpaintingshown here in photo3.After awhile, runningthe tramsonthistest track, Idecided it wasnot really interesting. Therewas obviouslythe possibilityof making it alllooka bitmore realistic. Theroadsurface was tac ledfirstwiththe trac s setinsimulated setts made rom olyfilla paintedand then varnishedtocreatethe illusion of drizzledampedroad surface(photo4). Pavements were addedfollowedbya background of buildings,some beingbased on styles of the period andothersfromactual
Oneofthe
Aone-sixteenth scalestreet light
prototypes (photo5). Street lightswereinstalled(photo6), ollowed yfigures allmade by hand from Milliput.Sofar, over alongperiod, Ihavemade figures and dogs. here will have to be more…
Photographsofall these features,withtrams and people in an imaginarystreet, make clearthat, with theright situationand space, even a1/16thscale modelcan be made with many of the attributes usually associated with thehighlyeffective smallscale layouts. It is not thesamethoughand in this e ample, confinedtoa street scene, it is possibleonly becauseitisa modelstreet tramway. It is necessarily onesidedwithbuildings just seen opposite theviewer(photo7). Thereis, forthismodel, theproblem of thesloping roof limitingthe height of thebuildings andpreventing thefitting o chimneys which really should be thereas they were such afeature of theLancashirescene in 1946. Thepoint of this elaborateintroductionis nowemerging. Thetramway
Only classics at this cinema!
street,withthe tramcars able to runonpaved track, past shopsand pedestrianswas quitesatisfactorybut Icame to realisethatsomething wasmissing (photo8). Any townscapestreetwould ha e some otherroadtra fic, especially during thetramway era, andindeed photographs of streetsoften depicted tra fic fillingthem. there ore concludedthatthere wasthe need forsomeroadvehicles to addatleast adegreeof verisimilitudetoits appearance. Iamaware that atruly accurate impression is impossibleas thepeoplecannotmovebut, in anycase, to gain themost satisfaction from observinga modelrequiresa largedegree of imagination.
Research
Having decidedonthe need for some road vehicles,I then did some research before making anymodels. Iuseda number of publications as essential aids andindoing so Icame to realisewhataninteresting projectI wasabout to embark on.Mymodel tramway eet wasall basedonthe systems in andaroundManchester whichweretraditional and stoppedadding to eets beyond theearly thirties.I then decidedtorestrictthe cars andvanstothe period no laterthanthe late thirties and mostly thelatetwenties. This wasnot entirely forreasons of historybut fora very practical requirement. Thevehicles were to be simply fordisplay
only,withnointention at all to make them to exhibition standard.Theywould though, have to look right, so were to be ‘appearance models’. Ihavelongbeen an admirer of thelate, greatGerald Wingrove andhis book The Complete CarModeller has been asourceofadmiration foryears.WhatI washoping to producewas absolutely farremoved from exhibition standard models andwould be simple additionstothe scenery on my layout.Eventually, Iworkedout amethodof construction whichmight be of interest anda possible help to others wishingtodosomething similar.
To be continued.
REFERENCES
Books, probably now out of print:
British Cars of the Early Thirties, Olyslager Auto Library
Classic Trucks by Nicholas Faith, ISBN 1-85283-948-1
A-Z of Cars of the 1930s by Michael Sedgwickand Mark Gillies
A-Z of Cars of the Twenties by Nick Baldwin
The Austin Seven by R.J.Wyatt British Lorries 1900 –1992 by S.W.Stevens-Stratten
AD ivi d i ng Pr oblem ing
Mike Joseph discusses hisown solution to the problemofcrossing out clockwheels.
The problem: Iwantedto cuta template to useon apantographengraver to do theinitial crossingson cloc wheelsfinishingwith filingetc. hese techni ues arealsoe ually applica le i someonewants to create,say, wagonwheel spokes –just alterthe starting parameters, i.e. thenum ero spo es (sectors), thedimensionsand re calculate.
Icommenced abeginner’s cloc under theguidanceo ElliotIsaacsona course at the BritishHorological Institute (BHI)in1988and thoughtthat it wasa out time not sorry aboutthe pun) that Imight like to getonwithit(Idon’t liketo rush things . he course ga e thetheoretical background to acloc ormoreaccurately timepiecesince it does not stri e . his included practical work such as cutting theteeth o thepinions andwheels, creating theplatesand pillars andsomeo the other its. A workingclock in thetimewas
Cutting thetemplate– completed!
notreally easi le Ibegan with aperspex template o . inches diameter and, rom another course at theBHI,a wheel that Ihad made andcrossedout with ret saw. lliott at thetime said that most clockwheelsare cutwithfi e crossingsand to geta good lookingone with six wasmuchmoreo a challenge
ecausei the crossingswere notall alike andeachproperly alignedtoits opposite it was o iously wrong .So ustto e Mr Aw ward went orthe si crossings. heresultwas not too ad at all, ust. hiswheel used as amodel andscaledup to suit theperspe . then had thechallengeo the crossings on themill with arotaryta le.
Clockwheel
Boss Crossing
Fig 1
riginal heel Dimensions Template Dimensions
utside iameter . .
Inside Diameter . . IDw
idtho crossing . . Wc iameter o oss . . Db
Template dimensions
willnot ore youwithall the iterations that Iwentthrough butI will give thesteps that got me there or anyone else trying to do it thesameway.And please bear in mind that this is my solution there may e otherand etterwayso doing this. would e eryinterested in hearinga out them please ssentially thereare two di erent operations re uired on the template –the wheel has to be considered as well:
Cut thesides o the template crossings, o setting rom thetemplatecentreto allow or half o thecrossing widthplus half o thecutter diameter with an extra allowance or hal the wheel cuttersize
Cut thearcso the segment to e remo ed. heseneedto e concentric with thetemplate. So,the template is centred underthe cutter(startposition) andthenmoved so that the oss edge is underthe cutter. Themilltable is movedtoallow orthe hal thecrossingwidth andcutterdiameter. neside o onecrossing is cut.
Thetable is returned to the startpositionallowing or ac lash lots . herotary ta leisrotated orthe other side o thesegment andthe ta lemo ed,again to allow or crossing widthand thecutter. heother crossing side is cut. Thetable is centredagain to cutthe twosegment arcs, starting at thebossedgebut this time turningthe rotary tablesothatthe cutterstartsat oneend o thecrossing, urn therotaryta le untilthe ne t cutismet. hese stepsare repeated orthe otherarc erycut hasto e commenced with re erenceto thestart position otherwise what should be atemplate crossing paralleltoa radial ecomesangled. Similarlythe
same appliestothe arcs. t may ethat ha e o er egged this ut could oresee cutting atemplatethatwould result in a erowidth crossing And a outthe only usethat can see or this wasi one wasto cutcrystal wheelswitha spo e e ect any olunteers owcomes thedi ficult it and ha e to saythatthisto arelati e new ie has een ery, erychallenging. irst, createda ta leo the arious dividing wheelsthatI have with thenum ero di isions andthe decimal ractions o aturn or each step o e ery di ision. or e ampleusing my di ision plate sincethis is theone that will be used having themostconvenience orthe actual di isionsneeded, usedthe and di ision circlesonceeachand the33 circle twice. hesewerenot allthe best optionsbut the di erences were only minorto threesignificantfigures.
ollowing this,the template dimensions were calculated andthenthe movements orthe ta leand di iding head. he table aboveshows thesedimensions or acutter diameter c o . inch mm .All dimensions arein inches he ollowing assumes *Thatthe cutter hasbeen alignedwiththe centre o the template,mounted on the rotary ta le.
hatthe rotary ta le eing new does notha eany significant ac lash.
hatthe mill ta lehas ery significant ac lash andyes, have triedtodosomething to reduce it. ailed.
Movement calculations fortable anddividing head
Calculation1:Distancetable mo es romcentreto oss
edge (Cb) iameter o oss . iameter o cutter c . C c C . . . rounded to .
Calculation2:Table movement to allow or crossing width m idtho crossing c . iameter o cutter c . m c c m . . . roundedto .
Calculation3:Cut length (Cl)
iameter o oss . nternal diameter o template w . iameter o cutter c . Cl w c Cl . . . . roundedto .
Calculation4: otary ta le rotation orsectorangle My rotary ta lerotates turns or degrees or degrees per ullturno the handle. nthiscalculation andthe next set, Ikepttoone seto di isions to ma e the
Division plateB
adjustment between each step easier andha e een ortunate in the eryclose matcheson this particular wheel with its33 di isions.
Choosing sectors or a wheel,the anglesu tended y asectoris degrees. hatis nowneeded is theamountthe ta lemust erotated orthe sector:
sector degrees . ,ie turns o di isions, plate , error)
Calculation5: otary ta le rotation allowing orcrossing width
What is nowneeded is the amount thetable must be rotatedtothe startpoint orthe innerarc:
1 tan-1 m C tan-1 m C tan-1 . . . degrees so, . turns . turns, ie turnand o di isions, plate , . error then therotation or theother endo the innerarc
1a . degrees . degrees so, . turns . turns, ie turns and o di isions, plate , . error andnow thestart pointo the outerarc:
2 tan-1 m C Cl tan-1 m C Cl tan .
3
Angles schematic.
. . . degrees so, . turn . turn, ie o di isions, plate , error then therotation or theother endo the outerarc 2a . degrees . degrees so, . turns . turns, ie turns and o di isions, plate , . error
Thereare closer appro imations ut pre erred to keep it simple andnot have to change plates or even di isionspartway through. easilymiscountand also bear in mind thecomment that when rit reislerwas playinga iolin duet with Al ert instein yes, that physicist andAl ertmisseda note,he said he trou lewithyou mathematicians is that you can tcount
Cutting of thetemplate
To cutthe crossings(ie thestraightbit)– alltable mo ementsmustallow or ac lash and m usingplate . Theanticlockwise,clockwise, etc. is to remind me whichway to twiddlethe relevant handle –onewrong movement andit’s startall over again!
otonlyisthe template centredbut also anickshould be made on thetemplate’s perimeter(X-axis is easiestand
most accurate sothati the divisionsare miscounted then it is possibletoreverttothe original startpoint. gotlost andhad to re-start,again,and again...
Cutfirstsegment side 1Centrecutteronthe template andzerothe hand wheels
Mo eta le A A cloc wise m . .
Mo eta le anticloc wise C . Mo ecutter . andzerodepth C mo eta le (anticlockwise)- cutone side o crossing Cl . Mo e cutter .
Cutsecondsegment side:
Mo eta le A S anticloc wise m . Mo eta le cloc wise Cl . A rotaryta le degrees to sector, cloc wise turns o 33 divisions Mo ecutter to ero C mo e ta le (anticlockwise)- cutother side o crossing Cl . Mo e cutter . eturn to centre o template Mo e ta le cloc wise Cl . A rotary ta le ac degrees rom sector anticloc wise turns o di isions
Mo e ta leA A cloc wise m . Mo e ta le cloc wise C . We should nowbeatthe centre o thetemplateagain Cutthe arcs,startingwiththe innerarc: Mo e ta le anticloc wise C .
A rotary ta leto 1 cloc wise turn o divisions
Mo e cutter to ero C A rotary ta le to 1a cloc wise , cutarc turns o di isions
Mo e cutter .
Return to startpoint:
A rotary ta le rom 1a to 1, anticloc wise turns o di isions
A rotary ta le rom 1 anticloc wise turn o di isions
Nowcut outerarc: Mo e ta le anticloc wise Cl .
A rotary ta leto 2 cloc wise o divisions
Mo e cutter to ero C A rotary ta le 2a cloc wise cutarc turns o di isions
Mo e cutter . owstope erything, hands o and start reathing again Thetemplatecan nowbe mountedonthe engraving machine. will eusing a crudedi isionplate made rom an aluminiumdiscwithsix divisionsonitsothateachpart can ecut rom theone sector on thetemplate. his should have meantthatI couldhave more patternsonone ito perspe or thic ercrossings andsoon. hetrou le is that with allthe alsestartsand errors it nowmeans that Iwill need another it o perspe . o hum . However, onesectorused sixtimes savesmecutting anotherfi e segments with a loto countingand re setting withgrate ulthan sto eter aycoc or pointing this outthussa ingmea loto unnecessary wor with ahuge potential or error
Theta2
Theta1
Theta1a
Theta2a
Fig
Pa rt 15 : Hau li ng t he To ys -P ar t6 Hauli
Steve Goodbody takesa random walk through modelengineering.
Continuedfromp.160
M.E.4747 July 12
Witha halfhundredweight of nuts,bolts and washersholding everything together,the author’s trailer is just aboutready foruse.In this episode, he meetssome oldfriends,adds ahandful of hinges anda bushel of bungee cordsand single-handedly loadsthe trailerwitha host of railway equipmenttoprove that he can.
Öhrwurm
Hello againdearReader, and once againI must beginwitha confession
Many yearsago,our wonderfulnext-door-neighbour, Gudrun,wifeofRainerwho appeared behind Ruby Swann in Episode9 (photo 22), introduced me to thedelightful German word öhrwurmearworm in English– meaning apiece of musicwhich gets stuckinyourheadand repeats itself endlesslyfor hoursor, in extremecases,decades
Should you, likeme, choose to look up earworm on the Internet,itwill tell you- rightly or wrongly, forone cannever be certainwithWikipedia -that
theearliest Englishusage of thewordwas in a1978novel by DesmondBagley; an author with whom Iamthoroughly unfamiliar, butwhich Imention here because, coincidentally, 1978 wasalsothe year that thewholly forgettablemovie Convoy - apiece of Hollywood drivel centredupona band of American truckers with a penchant forCitizensBand radio first appeared on the silver screen.Need Isay more? Okay;onthe offchance that you, bemusedReader, arestrugglingtojointhe dots, andincaseyou areone of the fortunatefew whohavenever heardthe musicinquestion, andespecially giventhe black looksthatour unrivallededitor is castinginmydirection, then perhapsI should explain further. ButbeforeI do,I want youtoknowthatitwill be me whosuffers as aresultand Ihopeyou appreciate the sacrifice ama out to ma e on your behalf
Believe it or not, thetheme song to themovie Convoy –itself imaginativelyentitled Convoy –was abig hitofthe time,reachingnumbertwo
in theUKsingles charts and receivingsubstantial airtime on BBC radio- both localand national.And everyweekday morning, as your then-ten-yearoldauthordevouredhis boiled eggand readiedhimself for anotherrain-blownassaulton CrowboroughHill, thereinthe background wouldbeTerry Wogan’sbreakfast show with Convoy’s singer C. W. McCall tellingushewas “….about to putthe hammerdown”and regalinguswithinformation concerning “…I-one-oh ”, “… huntin’bear”,” smokiesthick as bugs on abumper…” and othersimilardetails in his twangy Iowandrawl.And,while Ihad absolutely no idea what he wastalking about, Iknewfor certainthat, from that moment onwards, my long uphill walk to SaintMary’sschool,and much of that morning’slessons, wouldbeaccompanied by the annoyingly catchy chorus as it reverberated endlesslyaround my innercranium:
“’Cause, we gota mighty convoy,Rockin’ throughthe night. Yeah,wegot amighty convoy,Ain’t shea beautiful sight… ” orty fi eyears later, to my immensefrustration,I confess that this damnable refrain still occasionally plaguesme, usually beginning themoment Ithink aboutloading up the trailerand thence continuing at random intervals throughout theday untilthe toys areput away andI am tucked up in bed that evening. Pathetic,isn’t it? Butatleast youare nowaware of thedisturbance Iwill be suffering today, andthe lengths to whichI am willingtogoon your behalf andI trustthatyou will support me throughmy trauma in return
Meanwhile,backatthe point…
Thefnishingtouches
With both traction engine andrailway trainready for transportation at thedropof ahat,althoughadmittedly notatthe same time,one job remained which, if Iamhonest, caused more head-scratching than it really should have done: howbesttoenclose thetrailer andprotect itscontentsfrom rain, ying de ris andprying eyes,yet withoutthe cover itself potentially damaging the contents during itsinstallation andremo al or,worse,filling with wind andtugging the trailerintothe stratosphere to be mistaken as aspy balloon?
Thecover itself wasa straightforwarddecision- a tarpaulin wasthe obvious choice –and Ireasoned that,withgrommets sewn alongits peripheryand hooks strategically mountedtothe outsideofthe trailerwhere needed,anabundantarray of sturdy rubberstrapswould hold everything in placeand preventanembarrassing and potentially dangerousexitmidjourney(photo72). Afterall, I wouldnot want my trailershot from thesky by ourmilitary powers -wehaveall seen the troublethatcan cause.
No,the trickier bitwas -how to keep thetarpaulin well clear of thetrailer’scontents, given that both traction engine and railway locomotive were taller than thetrailer’ssidewalls and thereforeatriskofdamaged paintworkwheneverthe tarpaulin wasinstalledand removed?
Afteryet more head scratching,iteventually dawned on me that asolution mightlie with twowooden crossbows, forwantofa betterword, each raisingthe tarpaulin to aheightdecently abovethe trailer’scontents at itscentrelineand tapering downwardstomeetthe trailer’swallateachside. This, Ireasoned, wouldalsohelp preventrainwater from pooling on thecover andstraining it when thetrailerwas stationary etween duties,a definite bonus. Whilethe idea appeared soundinprinciple,clearly those crossbows, if apermanent fi ture,would e areal nuisance whenever thetrailer wasloadedorunloaded.
So,how to getthemout of theway when notdesired,yet have them readily deployable when needed?
As Istood back andsurveyed thescene,mymindwandered towardsthe many-hinged loadingramp, an innovation whichhad worked particularly well andwithwhich Iwas truly pleased. AndjustthenI heard threenear-forgottenvoices inside my head
“What if youarrangedthemto swingsidewayslikea gate?”the first whisperedso tly.
That’s nota badidea, I thought. Anything else?
“Well, what if youalsoadded ahinge in themiddle? Then they will take up less spacewhen stowed and, when folded in half, wouldbeeasiertocontrol while swinging across thetrailer”the next continued, clearlyona roll.
Aplethoraofrubberstrapsholds thetarpaulin in place.
On theother side,a shortertubesitsin alocatingreceiver.
Hmm, Ilikethat. Is that it?
“What if youaddedtwo taught ropes, oneateachside, attached to an E-Track clip at thefront of thetrailerand
looped over hooksatthe rear? That wouldprevent thetarpaulin from sagging onto theengines during removaland installation” thesecondaddedasan afterthought,eager to please.
“And what if youmade everything easily removable? Then,shouldyou be usingthe trailertohaulsomething bigger
Twowooden crossbowshingedattheir centres, together with ataughtropeon eitherside, keep thetarpaulin clearofthe trailer’scontents.
On onesideofeachcrossbow,a long tube provides an improvised gate hinge. Thegalvanisedbracket holdsthe two halves together once folded.
Atoggleclamp keepseachhingedcentrejoint rigid. As youcan seefromthe surrounding holes, theauthortried afew different clamps before arriving at this satisfactory version.
With thetoggleclampsreleased, the ropesunhooked andthe shorttube lifted from itsreceiver, each crossbow foldsinhalfand swings sideways to provideunimpeded access to theload bay.
anddon’t need them,theywould fit neatly in thebootofthe car with thefoldedtarpaulin”the last concludedtriumphantly, notwanting to be outdone.
Andpleasedon’t tell them, becauseI’llnever hear the last of it if youdo, butthat’s exactlywhatI did(photos 73 to 78). Thankyou,Wonderland Dragons, andwelcome back to thestory once again.
Asummary summary
With thelastpiece of the puzzleseemingly solved,the time finally arri edtoassem le it alltogetherand seewhether it worked in practice.And, fortunately, to putthingsin anutshell, it did, andphotos 44 to 47 in Episode12record thearrivalof JenniferAnn and herdriving wagonatthe New Jersey Live Steamers’track in thespringof2022duringthe first outing o thecompleted trailerinits train-haulingguise
Now, with this summary simply summarised,and with ourgraciouseditor’s permission,let me take you throughthe single-handed trainloading processstep-bystep.It’staken alot of thought anda fair bitoftrial-and-error experimentationtoarriveat thefollowing andifyou,weary Reader,are strugglingwith similarchallenges then Ihope this maybeofsomehelpwith your ownsituation,atleast in part.For thosefollowing along, youmay also want to have the pictures from Episode15to hand as they depict some of thefinerdetails anditwould be tediousofmetoduplicate them in this episode. Here we go…
Loadingup
To begin, 71/4 inch narrow gaugeHunslet locomotive JenniferAnn is removed from herwheeled wooden
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81
construction standand brought to alesslofty andmorestable height.Toaccomplishthis, ahydraulic liftcart, topped by twosquaresteel tubes spaced 71/4 inches apart andincorporating arolling road (another story) is hooked securely onto theend of the standtoenable JenniferAnn to roll safely from onetothe other (photo79).
With thelocomotivenow on thehydraulic cart andthe construction standrolledclear, thehydraulic liftislowered,an adapterisconnected to the cart’s 71/4 inch-spacedsquare tubes, andone half of the trailer’s don’t-trip-over-me-red railway bridge is attached to its front(photo80).
Next,witha dome-headed 3/8inchcarriageboltdropped througha hole in both bridge andtrailer oor to eep everything alignedatthatend, JenniferAnn is nudged gently across thegap andontothe trailer(photo81). JenniferAnn is nowpushed up theslope to thefront of thetrailer, her buffers entering thefrontmost wooden bufferblockthankstothe alignment wedges whichare then removed. Thesecondwooden blockisaddedoverher rear buffers andbothblocksare tighteneddownsnuglytothe trailer s oor photo82). With thelocomotivesafely dealtwith, next comesthe drivingwagon.The hydraulic
Onehalfofthe two-part railway bridge is attached to thehydraulic cart andaligned with thetrailer’scentreroad. Adome-headed carriagebolt, droppedintoa hole at thetrailer-endofthe bridge,keepseverythinginplace.
JenniferAnn crossesthe chasm.
A hydraulic liftcart, hooked to JenniferAnn’s wooden stand, readyfor the locomotivetoberolledacrossand lowered.
With wooden buffer-blocks bolted down,we’re readyfor thenextarrival
liftcart, nowdetachedfrom theshort railway bridge,is movedout of theway and replaced with thewheeled wooden wagonrack(try saying that threetimes fast!) Thesecondhalfofthe railway bridge is then attached trom one li etothe first half,lengthening itsspanand
The second half of therailway bridge,slid into thefrsthalftrombone-style, and attached to therailway wagon’swheeled storagerack, is readyfor thedriving wagontodescend
Thebridge, still alignedwith thetrailer’s centre road thanks to that carriagebolt, is connected to thewagon rack with yetanother steel pin.
Thedriving wagonisnow rolledmerrily down thebridge to thetrailer, whereitis
Next comesthe frst passenger wagon’schassis- please useyourimagination to visualisethe completeditem!
attached to therearof Jennifer Ann’s rearmost buffer-blockto keep it in place(photo84).
Then,withthe bridge now connected to therack’s lowerlevel andits otherend repositioned to oneofthe trailer’ssideroads,the carriage
bolt is droppedthrough that road’s alignmenthole. With both ends of thebridgesecure, thepassenger wagon(okay, presentlythe passenger wagon’schassis) is pushed up theslope to thefront of the trailerwhere it is hooked by its
Thedriving wagon, safely in thetrailer, is coupledto JenniferAnn’s rearmost wooden bufferblock with achained pin.
Abirds-eye pictureofthe result.Rear bufferblockswill be addedfor thetwo passenger wagons when they arefnally complete,and ratchetstraps, also omittedfromthispicture,will hold each of thewagonsdowntothe wooden rails.
frontmostbuffertokeep it in place(photos 85 and 86). With thebridgelastly attached to therack’s upperlevel andits opposite endshifted to thetrailer’s remainingroad, thecarriagebolt is inserted into thenew road’s alignmentholeand thesecondpassenger wagon (chassis) is easeddownthe slopeand up thetrailertobe similarlyhooked in placebyits buffer(photo87).
Finally,witheverythingin itsdesignatedpositionwithin thetrailer, allthatremains is to (eventually)add abuffer blockbehindeachofthe two longer passenger wagons to constraintheir movement fore-and-aft,and to clip and tightensomeratchet straps
to the oor mounted E-Track strips between thewagons andthereby keep theirvertical movement at bay(photo88).
Theend of theroad
So,there we have it.The trailer, single-handedlyloadedwith half aton of railway train, or perhapsa similarmassof combined traction engine and drivingtrailerfor we really can’ttelloncethe tarpaulin is in place, is readyfor itsnext road trip andthe author hasn’t broken asweat in theprocess (photo89). Andeventhough theloads areheavy andthe contents precious,atleast to me, am personally satisfied
Thebridgenow connected to thestorage rack’s upperlevel andrealignedwith thetrailer’sremaining road;the second passenger wagonchassisisready forits descent
that,exceptinextreme cases, theDecelerationDemon and itsshockinglyhighresultant orces will e held firmlyat ay should somethinguntoward happenduringthe journey. Ihopethatsomeofthismay have proven useful to youand your endeavours,dearReader, andshouldyou wish to adopt (oradapt)any of theideas or components foryourown purposes then youare very welcometodoso. However, with that said,I will again direct your attentiontoEpisode 14’s postscript andreiterate that youmustdoyourown sums,determine what is safe
andappropriatefor your own situationand rely on nothing I’ve shownordescribed in this mini-seriesbecause youare responsiblefor your actions anddecisions andI am not. It’s sadthatI must spellthatout, butthere we are– such arethe timesinwhich we live.
Andwitha gleeful ’10-24’, whosemeaning youcan decipher on theInternetifyou feel theneed,I wish youhappy motoring,safetravels,and bon voyage “’Cause we gota mighty convoy……..”
To be continued.
With crossbowsinplace,tarpaulin bungee-corded andgateraised, we’reready forthe road
With theauthordistractedtakingpictures, alightweight hook prevents the passenger wagonfromanunplannedrearwards departure.
Draughting
Dear Mar tin,
By sheer coincidenceafter readingSteve Goodbody’s analysis of theexhaust of his engine drawingair down the chimney finditis ac edup by an earlierletterin Model Engineer
In the2nd November 1979 editionofPostBag, BrianG.Hughestalks abouta SMEE visitto theSwindon test plant to seea BR 2-10-0 going throughits paces. He mentions airbeing drawn down thechimney when some engineswereworking hard.I quote: ‘Surprisingly, some main linelocomotives were a icted y this trou le [ingress of air] as hadbeen shownuponthe test stand, when smokefroma lighted cigarette held at thechimney topwas drawndownthe chimney’
Iamnot sure that Iwould have enjoyedholding a cigarette (asa non-smoker too) next to thechimney of alarge engine thundering ‘along’atfull chat!
son-in-law is from Kingussie andhis parentsstill livethere Anyway,the pointofgetting in touchistoalert readersto thefactthatthe museum isn’t in Kingussie, it wasmoved to Newtonmore,three milesdown theroad, Ibelieve in 1999.I am told thereasonfor it being movedwas thebuildingin Kingussiewas beyond repair even though it is still standing IanLongley (Forres)
Parting
Dear Mar tin,
Viewsand opinions expressed in letters publishedin Postbag should notbeassumedtobe in accordance with thoseof theEditor, othercontributors, or MortonsMedia GroupLtd Correspondencefor Postbag should be sent to: Martin R. Evans, TheEditor, ModelEngineer, MortonsMedia GroupLtd,Media Centre,MortonWay,Horncastle, LincsLN9 6JR F. 01507 371066 E. MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Publicationisatthe discretion of theEditor. Thecontent of letters maybeeditedtosuit themagazinestyle andspace available.Correspondentsshould note that production schedules normally involvea minimumlead time of sixweeksfor material submittedfor publication. In theinterests of security, correspondents’ details are notpu lished unless specific instructions to do so aregiven Responsestopublishedletters areforwarded as appropriate.
Regards, Mike Joseph Chipperfield
NorseMill
Dear Mar tin,
Beinga lttlebit behind in my readingI’veonlyjustread thearticle ANorse Mill in the Hebrides by RogerBackhouse (M.E.4739, March22)
Onepoint that caught my attentionwas thereference to thereconstructionofhorizontal mills at theHighlandFolk Museum (Kingussie). WhilstI washolidayingin Aviemore over 40 yearsago (atthattimewelived near Manchester)myfamilyand Ivisited themuseum. One recollectionthatwillnever be erased from themindisthe battle-axeondutythatday wholined us up againsta wall andspent quitea fewminutes instillingintousthe correct pronounciation of Kingussie. The‘g’ is silent.Ironically,my
RegardingJohnBauer’s remarks(M.E.4744,May 31),pleasesee theattached photograph of my tooling. This is atoolholder suppliedbyRDG Toolinginthe UK.I have no connectionwiththisbusiness e cept as asatisfiedcustomer. Imount theholderonthe toolpost with plenty of thetool projecting from theholder, whichisthenslackened,the saddlewound towardsthe stationary three-jawchuck and thesideofthe bladepressed with fingers againstthe chuc face before tightening the toolpost nut. Maybemove thetool back in theholder, if necessary.Halfnormalturning speed,slowsteadyadvance of thetool.Someneatcutting oil is used Worksperfectly everytime. This is on aSuper 7. Ihavetried several toolholdersoverthe yearsand none ever came closetothis one.
Best regards, John Coleman (Brighton& Hove Society)
Flying Scotsman
Dear Mar tin,
Having just read Postbag in M.E.4741 (April 19), Iwish
to putinmytwo bob’sworth relating to DavidMachin’sletter aboutthe Flying Scotsman When visiting theUKin2018, we spentseveral days in York andbeforeleaving Australia Ihad made arrangements to iew se eralA acific drawings at theNRM and whilstthere bought twobooks, oneonthe Cock ‘O TheNorth andthe other,HaynesOwner’s Workshop Manual for Flying Scotsman
This lattertitle is awealth of informationfor anymodel engineer wantingtomodel such afamous100 year old steamlocomotive.
From theHaynesmanual, it wouldappear that as originally built as an A1, Flying Scotsman wasright hand drive. Shewent into Docaster worksbetween 8thMarch and6th April1954 forgeneral work andatthat time waschanged to left hand drive. Thereisa photointhe manual of theUSgeneral Colin Powell in 2005 sitting in thedriver’sright hand seat andthere areseveral modern documentariesshowing the righthanddrive
Icannotrememberwhat eraPeter Seymour-Howell -if he ever said -ismodellinghis versionofthe Flying Scotsman If it is before 1954, then Peter is correct with theright hand drive. TheHaynesmanual also showsthatbetween 18th November 1946 and4th January1947 Flying Scotsman wasconverted to A3 andgiven theapplegreen livery.
Onewould assume that theHaynesManualwould be correct.AlsoDavid is correct ecausesince itisnow left hand drive, andPeter may also be correct,depending on theera he is modellingthe locomotive
