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Vol. 234No.
64 SMOKERINGS
News,views andcomment on theworld of modelengineering
CompletedbyL.J.Evans in 1981, this impressive beam engine wasbrought back to lifeforty yearslater by MitchBarnes (photo:Mitch Barnes). This issuewas publishedonDecember27, 2024. Thenextwill be on sale on January 10, 2025.
Happy NewYear
MARTIN EVANS Editor
DIANE CARNEY Assistant Editor
Ishouldliketowishall of our readersa very happy NewYear. “Surely”,I hear yousay,“is that likely,MrEditor?”Well, Ihavetoconcede that things arenot shapingup very well. Thelastyear, especially thelastthree months,has been very farfromhappy formany people andthisstate appearsset to continue into thenew year.The MiddleEastisinturmoil, the normal state, youcould argue, of that region of theworld,but made much worserecentlyby theeventsinGaza, Syriaand Lebanon. TheMiddleEastmay be farawaybut it is asmall worldand events thereaffect us all. European politicsis shaky, with theFrenchPrime Minister ousted by avoteof no confidenceand theUKled by aminoritygovernment(in termsofthe number of votes) Political instabilityalsoafflicts Germany, with thecollapse of thegoverning coalition. On both sidesofthe Atlantic, thereiswidespreadconcern over theelectionofDonald Trumpfor asecondterm. Even an apparently stable country likeSouth Koreaisfacing problems.The warinUkraine continues. Wherewillall this be goinginthe newyear? How canthisbea happy stateof affairs?
more beautifulthanbefore. May2025 followNotre Dame’s example.
Cherry Hill, MBE
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
We are, it seems, living in interestingtimes as the Chinesemight say(but probably don’t).Itseems we liveina worlddesperately trying to sort itself out. Politics is amystery to me so Ihave to fall back on theconviction that things generally resolve themselves,given time.The grip of terrorism on theMiddle East lookslikeitisweakening; thewar in Ukraineislikelyto endnextyear– somehow. I believe it is quitelikelythatnext year will endmorehappily than it will begin. Itakeinspiration from therecentreopening (yesterday,asI write) of Notre Dame in Paris, acathedral resurrected splendidly from the ashesofits near destruction fiveyears ago, andrisingeven
Iverymuchregrettohaveto inform youthatCherry Hill, modelengineer extraordinaire, died on TuesdayDecember 3rdatthe ageof93. To use aperhaps rather hackneyed phrase,she wasindeed a legend in herown lifetime, and generally acknowledged as the finestmodel engineer in the country, possiblythe world. This is an opinionstrongly supported by hermodels winningthe prestigiousDuke of Edinburghaward atotal of nine times, arecordsurelywell beyond that held by anyone else
We includeinthisissue, on page 68,a celebrationofher lifebyDavid Carpenter, former editor of this magazine.A comprehensiveaccountofher lifeand models maybefound in hisbook Cherry’s Model Engines (publishedbyRobert Hale,London, 2014).
Cherry’s funeralwill take placeat12:15 on Monday January6th at Worcester Crematorium(WR38HA). All arewelcome
Styleand Substance
Have youseen thelatest Jaguar advertisement? Stunning,isn’t it?I wasleft wondering‘where’sthe car?’. What we were givenwas alift
from nowhere, goingnowhere, from whicheight characters emerged, none of whom looked likelytobepurchasinga Jaguar motorcar in thenearfuture. Wasany reason givenfor why we mightbuy aJaguarrather than (say)a Ford Focus. Nope Theadvertisement is allstyle andnosubstance.Eventhe styleisone that very fewcould relate to.The advertisement pushes thebrand into avery tightniche that fewpotential customerswould want to inhabit, especially at aprice tag of £100,000.Isthisa deliberate attemptatself-sabotage or is it simply misguided? Iwasn’t sure untilthe name of thenew modelwas revealed.Itistobe the‘type 00’. Ithink that says it all.
Club Secretaries
Yes, it’s that time of year.Your club must surely have arranged your timetableofeventsfor the coming year.Ifso, please let me know aboutitasI should liketoresumethe publication of theClubDiary in thenew year.
Cock-UpCorner
Well –ohdear– geography weak again, needsattention. In issue4757(November 29th) Iclaimed that LOWMEX was organisedbythe Halesowen club.Noitisn’t –itisorganised by theHalesworthclub! My apologiestothe Halesworth club andtoKevin Rackham.
Cherry Hill.
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Cher r yH il l, MB E 1931 –2 02 4
David Carpenter celebrates thelifeofa most extraordinarymodel engineer
Mrs Cherry Hill, née Hinds, died peacefully on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oursincere condolences go to hersister, Ro,her family, andher many friendsinthe modelengineeringcommunity
Cherry wasarguablythe finestmodel engineer we have seen.
Shewas born in alvern on ovember th ,the second of threedaughters Encouraged by herfather George Hinds, Cherry’s model making career startedvery early, with theconstruction of asmall chestofdrawers Later, during thewar,she wonsecondprize fora model of aSunderlandflying boat
AfterattendingStAndrews University, herry startedwork at thefamily firm, whichmade hoppicking machines,first in theworks andlater in the drawingoffice
uring university vacations, Cherry builtherself aHumber specialcar,based on a 8hpHumberchassis, with duraluminbodyworkona wooden frame. Theengine wasretained, alongwith thegearbox,steeringand suspension.Cherry made her
ownhydraulic brakes.The car wasroadworthyand registered forthe road in .This waseventually replaced by asuccession of sports cars, starting with a T . erfirste erciseinmodel engineering, as with many other beginners,was aStuart o . t took months to build in the s. herry said forthe first time e perienced ama ement that had managedtobuild an engine that worked.” Models that followedwereanAllchin traction engine a vertical engine basedonthe Stuart a urrell showman s engine,and aMerryweather fireengine. Thoseearly models were awardedbron eorsilver medals at theModel Engineer Exhibition What followedwas quite different.
From then on her models were no longer basedonpublishedmodel designs. verything was basedonresearchusing contemporaneoussources, such as oldcopiesof The Engineer and Mechanics Magazine.All thesemodels were unique andchosen becausetheyrepresented
2 1
achallengetomakeand were capableofbeing made to work. nmanycases the prototypeofthe modeldid not e ist, andnever had. n some cases, it seemed unlikelythat they wouldeverhaveworked in full si e but, nevertheless, Cherry made them allwork. Perhapsthe most eccentric engine Cherry chosetomodel wasthe lackburnagricultural engine,which containedthe boilerwithinthe huge driving wheel. venthatwas made to work.Nineofher models wonGoldMedalsand two achieved e uivalent awards herry wasgiven many other awards includingnineDuke of EdinburghAwards. She received an from ueen li abeth for servicesto modelengineering. Cherry designed themodels at herdrawing board; no computer wasusedor, indeed, owned. Allthe designswere checkedand sometimes original designswereimproved so that Cherry’s models could work even if theoriginals did not. Abouthalfthe time spent on producinga modelwas spentinresearch, preparing workingdrawingsand perhaps
Cherry Hindswithher frst traction engine,the Allchin Royal Chester in 1:16 scale.
Researchand design arethe most challengingelementsofa Cherry Hill model.
making amock-up model. Only then didthe workshop time begin. verylastpartwas made from metalstock,every chain linkand rivet. o suppliedor bought in itemscan be found on anyofthe latermodels. The craftsmanshipislegendary, self taught,and non-digital.
When completedall the models were fully running, usually runoncompressedair, with acoupleofthe models beingrun on steam.
Afterbeing exhibited, allthe models were givenaway, early ones to friendsand family. Lateronescan nowall be seen at the nstitution of echanical ngineersin irdcage alk, London
What arethe secretsofthese wonderfulcreations?There aren t any, really. verything wasmadebyconventional machiningand hand work in awell-equippedworkshop. The‘secret’ofsuccess is that
everything hastobespoton. Forexample,a cylindermade forone engine hada stud boss mmtoo long,soitwas scrapped. ut herry,no one couldpossiblyhaveknown would
Cherry’s housein Worcestershire wasbuilt with aworkshopverymuchinmind. Thereweretwo semi-basement roomsfor themachinery andworkbenches anda drawingoffice containing a draughtsman’sparalleldrawing board. Aseparateroom at the endofthe garage housed a surfacegrinder andthe paint booth. Themainequipment in theworkshopincluded severalmillingmachines Myford,Emcoand Centec and anumberoflathes. Themainlathe wasa Myford Connoisseur.There wasalso an watchmaker slathe and averyaccurate owells lathe forsmall work.There wasalso
thefirstlathe from herfather, atreadle operated pre-World ar Pittler lathe. Therewere severaldrillingmachines, an off-hand grinder, apolisherand abandsaw
Cherry wasmarried,fairlylate in life, to vor ill, aprofessional toolmaker. y the s herry wasbecomingnoticed as a very good modelengineer and herworkfeaturedinmagazine articles.After oneexhibition Cherry appeared on thefront coverof ModelEngineer. vor sawitand wascaptivated. m goingtomarry that girl”, he vowed. Some yearslater,he did. vor engineered ameeting shortlyafter seeing that photograph.Fromthatearly time he wanted to help Cherry’s modelengineeringactivitiesas well as persuading hertomarry him. He realized shewould notacceptgifts so he asked
herifhecould ‘park’ anew o fordlathe at her workshop. This latheeventually went to Cherry’s brother-in-law,Norris omford, andwas replaced ultimately by theMyford Connoisseur.Althoughbornin ngland, vor lived in theUnited States so,until vor and herry married in they remained separatedbythe Atlantic Ocean, meetingupwhen visiting modelengineering showsinthe UK.Since marrying, they dividedtheir time between hishomeinFlorida andhersin orcestershire. vor predeceasedCherry,not far shortofhis hundredthbirthday. herry ill leaves behind an extraordinarycollectionof unique models,the qualityof whichisunlikelyevertobe exceeded
Cherry Hill visits theSociety of Modeland Experimental Engineersstand at the MidlandsModel EngineeringExhibition2023.
Cherry Hill receives theDukeofEdinburgh AwardfromChief JudgeIvanLaw at the CentenaryModel Engineer Exhibition in 2007.
TheMerryweatherfre engine captured theimagination andmarkedthe startof some seriousmodel engineeringtocome.
AG WR Pa nnier Ta nk in 3½ Inc hG au ge
PA RT 8 – RO DS AND PUT TING THE
Gerald Martyn decidesto build alocomotivethat he canlift.
Continuedfromp.54
M.E.4758 December 13
Timetoget to gripswith thecouplingrods. The lasercut partswere listedpreviouslyand photo42 showsthe couplingrods as delivered. Thesecome with legs on so they canbe grippedinthe machinevice to mill thethickness down as required by thedrawing.The legs areamputated (hacksaw, no anaesthetic) when allthe machiningiscompleteand anyremaining marksthen filed to matchthe shape. The rods are6mm thick, andhere it becomesapparent that lasercutting accuracy has limitations as thematerial becomesthicker.The thinner plates forthe frames were bang-onsizeand theedges were nice andclean butnow we have edgesthatare abit uneven throughthe thickness andstriated, andfor this reason theremay be an added material allowancesothatthis canbecleaned up.All theholes areinthe rightplace,but will need to be reamed to size,and theouter profile is abit plump
allround.The drawings (fg 18) show thecouplingrod and bush assemblieswithsome basicdimensionsand gives dimensions forthe bushes.
Startthe rods with some basicmillingoperations. Mark outlines forthe ends of the reducedthickness central section, whichifmarking from therod ends should account forthe abovementioned extra metal. Grip thelegsinthe
millingmachine vice andmill offtothe lines,turning therod once to keep themachined side whereitcan be seen.My millingviceisnot wide enough to grip allthe legs so Ijust extended it with acoupleof (un-matched) pieces of angle (photo43). To putthe slot in theshort rodknuckle jointI plungedvertically, pushing gently throughatabout 0.5mm cuts.Thisproducesa near enough flatsurface. lamp thelegsflat to thetable to mill down theknuckle jointbosses on thelongrods. leanupthe profile and smooththe faceswithfiles andemery (photo44). The profilesneed notbee act except at theknuckle joint wherethe rods join together. ere acoupleoffilingbuttons cutfromsilver steel help to get things right(photo45). These arejustbitsofsteel free to rotate on ashort pieceofbar They canbethrowaway items andthere’s no need to harden
CouplingRodsAssemblies
them (and it candamagethe file ustlet them spin when thefile makescontact. think Iwill mentionhere, also,that on theselittleengines allthe shapingworkonthe rods canbedonewitha hacksaw, files andemery.Thisishow it used to be done before more widespread access to milling machines and, of course,laser cutting. fyou have difficulties getting access to amill then I recommend it (and as away to keep warm on awinterevening in theshed)
Theholes should be reamed, butasthere’s only afew thou to take outthena drill maywell producea reasonably accurate hole,orthe bush canbemade to fit. e perimented on the 5/16 inch hole andcouldn’t measurethe difference between drilledand reamed but that waswitha qualityfull-price drill. Aspecial counterbore tool made from silver steel, hardened andtempered, is needed to putthe 1/16 inch deep rebate into theholeinthe frontrod.Minewas theone IusedonRob Roynearly50 yearsago (photo46), made by ust turningand filing, no need
Thinning down arod
Smoothing thefaces of therod Fig
to mill anything.Thiswas used with aspacercollarasa hole fillerand depthstop.
Thebushesare a straightforwardturning job. Note theleading andtrailing ones have 17/64inchholes to give clearancetothe pins. Martin Evanscalledfor these to be ‘¼ inch full’,which could mean anything.The reason for having arattlinggood fit is that when oneaxlerises up relative to anotherthe length between centresincreases (squareroot of thesum of thesquares). Forfulltravelinthe horns, one wheel up andthe otherdown, this wouldneed arod 0.008
inch longer to avoidbinding, whichtranslatesto0.016 inch on bush diameter.Fulltravel is pretty unlikely(especially as thekeep packer limits it but theadditional benefit of theslackness is that it provides atolerance forerrors in axle positionsand wheel uartering. hen wasfirst told allofthisitwas suggested that tenthouoversizewould be good.Thatwould be a letter drill, if youcan find one. Iused17/64 inch andit worked ust fine, and inch oversize hasworkedfor me ever since.
Thelittleknuckle pinthat
joinsthe tworodstogethermay be mild steel,asthere’s not much motion here.The space is very tight- 0.010 inch behind therod,and 0.084inchinfront Make thepin usingthe rodasa trialgauge andpartitoff just a fewthoulongatthe head.Then fit it to therod andfile thehead gently down to near flush.The pinisthreadedright through anda shortcountersink screw canbeusedtoholdthe front washer on.Ifthe screwrefuses to come outwhentryingto remove thepin then abolt with alocknut canbescrewed into thereartoresistthe screwdrivertorque. Nowthis
retentionmethodisobviously notscale.The original hada headed pinretainedbya keeper plateand twobolts.When scaled then thesebolts came outataround17BA, so that’s whyitneedssimplifying hen therodsare finished then acoupleoftoolsare needed to help mark out theleading andtrailingaxle positions. Thefirstisa piece of that ground steel barused forthe axles, long enough to span theframes, with ashort ¼inchdiameterpin turned concentrically on oneend.The otherisa shortlengthofsilver steel turned to 17/64inch diameter with ashort scriber pointconcentrically turned on oneend.For just thedriving axleboxesstart by markingthe centre points.Withone at a time mountedinthe four-jaw chuckand hard againstthe body (ora spacer)toensure theholeisnormaltothe faces, adjust to getthe centre-pop running true centrefinder again(photo47), andnoteuse of packingtoprotect bearing faces).Drill andreamthe ½ inch hole.Marka horizontal centre lineonthe outerfaceof theother boxes. Themotion brackets need to be taken offfor thenextbit.Fit allthe ‘boxes andpassthatpiece of rodthrough thedriving axle pair.Fit theappropriate couplingrodspairontothe pin andwiththe littlescriber thingy scribe alineoneachleading andtrailingbox Photograph 48 showsthisset up readyto scribe. entrepop e actly wherethe lines crossand then
ickingupthe centre fordrillingand reaminganaxlebox
drill andreaminthe same way as thedriving pair.Fit theboxes to theframesand trythe axles, noting whetherthe axle truly aligns across thetwo holes. My reamer is very tighttosize andprovidesa remarkably closerunning fit butifthe hole is nottruly square to theframe andthe axle does notmeet the farsideholeexactly on centre then therewill be tightness. If this happens or there’sany tightnessfor whatever reason then pass thereamerthrough both ‘boxes.Thiswilleasethe holeshopefully just enough Nowdrill thespringpockets andoil holes. Thesprings are the‘standard’typeoffered by oursuppliers for3½inchgauge locomotives. Mine were made from 21 SWGwirecoiledto 7/32 inch outsidediameter at around 12 coilsper inch utthemdown mini drill diamonddisc),and grindthe
end as flatasreasonable, so that thefreelengthjust supportsthe axle boxesatthe bottomlimit of travel i.e.when sitting on thehornstaypacker piece. This should give around theright ride height.These springsare rather stifffor such asmall modelbut then this will help suppress anybounce introduced by thevertical componentofforce from the angled cylinders, yetthere’s plenty enough give in them to absorb anylikelyirregularities in thetrack.
Fitting thewheelsand quartering is easy with Loctite. By nowitmustbeclear that I love thestuff, buthere’sa note of caution. Ipreviouslysaidthis wasthe best,and this makesit atargetfor counterfeiting so if bought cheaplythenitmay not be up to standard.I became a bitsuspiciousofmynew bottle, bought on that well known
internet auctionsite(from a highly ratedtrader),and so did aquick torsionalshear test Imeasureda shearstrength around 1600 lbf/in2 (psi), about half thespecificationvalue. newbottleboughtamongst my next orderfromone of ‘our’ suppliers (Blackgates) looked rather different andontestI achieved 2880 lbf/in2.Thisis still abit down on specification butI thinkfairfor what wasa fairly ad-hoc test andwithout anyprimer/accelerator. Lesson? Always buyfroma reputablesource.
Onward.For each axle,bond onewheel on andallowtoset, addthe ‘boxes andeccentrics etc. andthenthe otherwheel looselytocheck everything is presentand correct andin theright order. There’slotsof ways of quartering,and Iuse a couple of plates with centres to locate theaxleand holesfor
the crankpinsand do thewhole jobonthe lathe. Photograph 49 showsthe plates,which are nowontheir thirdmodel so have lots of holes. Photograph 50 showsthe setup in thelathe,withplatessat on thebed andheldinplace by nipping between tailstock andchuck.Apply Loctitetothe loosewheel,makesureitcan’t gettothe axle box, assemble it allasshown andwiththe wheel fully on,tap down onto thebed, nipup, andcomebackinthe morning. At last it canall be put together androlledupand down thebench to checkit runs freely. Hopefully therods canbefittedwiththe motion brackets in placeifthe wheels areturnedtobackdead-centre In theory it’s notpossibleas themaincrankpinisjusttoo long,but with alittlebit of running clearanceinthe rod
bearingitwill just work.Ifthere aretight spotsonturning the wheelstheninvestigate and then don’tbeafraidtotakea needle filetothe rodbushes if necessary you llnot be the first or thelast. Rattlinggood fit runs best Photograph 51 showsmyrolling chassiswith an appropriateweightfromthe rightrailway to checkthe ride height
Finally,wheneverything seemsright then drill a3/32 inch hole say¼ inch deep into each jointbetween wheel and axle,paralleltothe axle andin linebetween theaxlecentre andthe crankpin,and Loctite in ashort pin. This will ensure nothingmoves in service.
Whilststill in themood for rods,and while theprocedure is fairly freshinmind, it’s worth doingthe connectingrods. These, too, come with legs for work holdingand aremachined in much thesameway as the couplingrodsexceptthere are twothicknessestoget right thelittleend (3/16inch) and therod shank(5/32 inch)see fg 19.The original had aremovable bigend bearing buthavingfound thecoupling rods canjustbeassembled onto thecrank pinthenI’ve simplified things here anddone it as asimplebushwithstickon sideplates to give correct appearance.I degreasedand used Araldite,but soft solder 31/2 ref.
wouldperhaps be abetter option.Inthe eventthatthe rodwill notquite go onto the crankpin duetothe constraint from themotionbracket then puta smallcountersink in the rear of thebushand allwill be well.
Ihad intended to steer clear of fripperies andsticky-outbits at this stageand just show themodel in itssimplestform butonthe full size locomotive thebig endbearing is held in by such an awesometaper cotterthatI couldn’t resist.It’s afairlyeasyjob as it’s just for show anddoesnothing useful Thecottersitsintoa groove in therearofthe ‘bearing’, so startbymarking outthe top
Drill Ø1/8x 5/32 deep
Drill Ø1/32 through
andbottomedgeofthe rod fora hole to lineupwiththe rear edge of the‘bearing’.Drill 1/16 inch diameter through therearextension arms and gently down theedgeofthe ‘bearing’toleave ahalf-hole, halfwaydownfromthe topand againfromthe bottomtojoin up.Now take to themill and aligna 1/16 inch slot drill with theholeand usingitasa drill gently plunge cutabout 8-10 thou alongtowards therear, andagain,and again, to make a slot inchlonginthe toparm and3/32inchinthe bottom This method is gentleronthe tool than trying to progress by side cutting. lean upthe half holes with aneedle fileif necessary.Makeanover-long tapercotterfrom1.5mm steel, carefully roundthe edgesand tapitinfromthe top, adjust with afile if necessary almost certain) andwhenhappy cutto length. one. Thefinished rods areshown in photo52
To be continued.
Yo uth is Not Ent ir ely Wa st ed on the Yo ung
Peter Kenington givesa groupofyoungsters somethingusefultodo during theirsummer holiday.
Assomeofyou may know,whennot driving TomRolt on running days,Matthew andI are buildinga railway -a somewhat ambitiousrailway,ithas to be said!One dayI will getaround to writinga full historybut,in themeantime, ouresteemed editor askedmefor afew photos,whenhelearntthat real, bona-fde youngpeople wouldbehelping outwiththe buildingworkfor aweek (lessa fewdaysofgenuine holiday!)
We actually hadtwo sets of Matthew’s university friends visitoverthe summer:we startedout with Tim, who needed somewheretostayfor aweek or so,inorder to then take advantageofcheaper flights back to hisnative Australia.Heisa Mech Eng. colleague of Matthew’s and relishedthe opportunitytodo some ‘real’ mechanical work (onour lathe) as well as some railway building,learningto driveour mini-diggerinthe process. AnotherofMatthew’s colleagues, Jack,poppeddown from Bromsgrove forthe day during that week (and returned fora wholeweek laterinthe summer)
To give yousomeideaofthe scaleofour project: it began (withsitesurveying)inthe summerofthe first lockdown, hasadded about600 hoursto thetally on ourmini-diggerand ourmostrecentpurchasewas 18,000 rail screws!And yes, we aremad
We have along, terraced, (mostly) ‘straight’ section, with loopsateitherend plus a50foot tunnel. Timhelped to finishthe retainingwall (photo1), whichisbuilt from reclaimedrailway sleepers (their useseemed appropriate in thecircumstances).
e recently built ourfirst trackpanel,which of course needed testing(photo2). Matthew picked possiblythe most uncomfortablemeans fordoing this -a setofframes/ bogies from adismantled5 inch gaugetruck,withnoseat or padding! It wasthe nearest thingtohandatthe time,soit made some sort of senseto useit.
Forthe second (latesummer) week in whichsomeof Matthew’s friendsvisited,our team consistedoftwo young ladies andthree gentlemen. Theladiescomposeda
Timwitha pile of sleepersready to insert into ourwall.
Matthew testsout ourfrsttrack panel.
Matthew movesthe I-beam whichwill become our(somewhat unorthodox) traverser, watchedbyKiron.
andMathildedosomerailbending.
biochemist anda physicistand thegentlemen were twoMech Engs.and an Elec Eng. All worked hard andweregenerally unafraid to learn/trynew skills Most hada go at diggerdriving (photo3)but also mucked-in with everything else as well.
mucks-in to help Jack with thecementmixing(they dida lotofthis!).
(and I’mnot sure he wants to seeanother sectionofrail againany time soon!) buthe didget to test thefirstfew trackpanelsweput down (photo6).
Kiron(theElecEng.) andI spentmostofthe time working on a(slightly unconventional) traverser(photo4)whilst Charlotte andMathilde worked on trackpanel building (photo5).
Ollie dida lotofraildrilling
Jack wasverykeenon cement mixing andwas ably assisted by Charlotte (photo7). We mixeda lotofcement…! Theteamdid getsome days offand visitedTintern, includingthe abbeyand theOld Station(andits short10¼ inch gaugeline).Tocontinuethe railway themeofthe holiday, they also took awalkalong some of theold trackbed from theWye Valley- Chepstow to Monmouth -line. They then
At thetimeofwriting at the endofsummer2024,wehave installedaround250 feet of dual-gauge track, with another 150feet of track-bedlaidready forthe next sections to be added. We still have averylong waytogo, however.
Charlotte
Charlotte
Jack mixescement, watched(andsoon helped)byCharlotte,whilstOllie teststhe brakes on our5 inch riding truck.
Matthew teaching Mathildetodrive ourdigger.
Midl ands Model Engin ee ring Mo del
E x h ib it io n– Ex hib Displays an d Club St ands
John Arrowsmith reportson themodel displays from theMidlands show.
The 2024 Exhibition wasgracedwith some additional club stands andsomedifferent demonstrations so that visitors hadmuchmoretosee and enjoythisyear. Therewas a real eclectic mixofmodelson show from some very basic andsimplemodelsmadeby youngpeopletothe high tech offeringsofthe gasturbine builders. Therewereentries in everyclass except Class 1for ‘Locomotives up to and includingGauge 1’ andClass 8for ‘InternalCombustion ngines ,reflecting e actlywhat wasinthe competitionclasses.
Class2
The3½inchgauge model of PeterWardropper’s2-6-2 locomotive, RiverDarenth had been builttothe LBSC Betty design andthislocomotivewas awardedSecondPrize in the 2023 competitionclass.
2
1
Class3
Thereweresix displayentries in Class3 forlocomotives in 5 and7¼inchgaugesthisyear with some splendid examples Thelargest of thesewas the East AfricanRailways2-8-2 Class28tenderenginein5 inch gauge(photo1)which showed lots of finedetail. t is ownedby Jeremy Buck.Itreally showed thedifferenceinloading gauge
sizesbetween ourstandard gaugeand theAfrican metre gaugelocomotives.A 7¼ inch gaugeGWR King class underconstructionbyAndrew Augertothe Trevor Shortland design is demonstratingsome impressive workmanshipand will be asuperblocomotive when complete (photo2). An interestingversion of an LMSBlack 5in5 inch
Thelarge East AfricanRailway 2-8-2Class 28 ownedbyJeremyBuck.
gaugewas presentedby John Swingewood as this hadoutside Stephenson’s valvegear(photo3). Paul Swingewood displayeda 5 inch gaugeGWR Pannier to theDougHewsondesign (photo4)which waswellmade andcapturedthe essenceof theselocomotives.Displayed
basedonthe design in thefirst issueof EiM magazine
Class5
Thereweresix good entriesin this class, allshowing some high qualityworkmanship andfinishes. ohn ing s Trojan stationary steam engine is apastaward winner in thecompetition class andshowedthe excellent craftsmanship(photo6). A rectilinearenginealsoby John Wing showed thesame levelofattentionand finish (photo7). Asmall steam engine andboilerfor useina radiocontrolledsteam launch andmadebyDerek Morris wasa well proportioned unit that will no doubtmake afine boat when fitted (photo8). The USSMonitor engine displayedbyIan Matthewswas an interesting configuration andshowedoff Ian’sskills.Healsodisplayed averygood exampleofa freelance grasshopperbeam
engine (photo9 . Thefinal exhibitinthisclass wasthe over-crank steamengine Georgina displayedbyDavid Arnold whichwas,onceagain, awellbuilt exampleofthe type (photo10).
Class6
Here we hadtwo contrasting models to en oy. Thefirst onewas a4 inch scale Garrett traction engine under construction by RichardBetts whoismakinggoodprogress andtoa high standard (photo11). Theother modelin this classwas a1½inchscale modelofanAllchin traction engine built by DavisLambe whohas made asuper jobofit (photo12).
Class7
Just oneexhibit in this class wasdisplayed by Dave Arnold
on itsown stand, the7¼inch Romulusand tender, Mygld presentedbyEdwardParrott wasa finee ample of thetype (photo5).
Class4
Just oneentry in theshape of a5 inch gaugeWelsh slate wagonbyDerrick Morriswas
John Swingewood’s LMSBlack 5, 4767 George Stephenson with outside Stephenson’s valvegear.
A well built 5inchgauge GWRPannier to theDougHewsondesignand ownedby PaulSwingewood.
Myglyd,a 7¼ inch gaugeRomulus andtenderowned by Ed Parrott.
ATrojansteam engine built by John Wing
John Wing’s rectilinearor‘cross’ engine
The4-facet drill sharpener (photo13)was nicely made andisnodoubt provingtobea very useful pieceofworkshop equipment. It wasbased on a design that appeared in Model Engineer magazine in 1987
Class9
Thereweretwo entriesin this class; thelongcaseHipp master clock12v battery poweredfreestandingexample
displayed by PeterBurton wasa smartpiece of work
Unfortunately, becauseof whereitwas located, there were toomanyreflectionsin thecasefor me to geta decent photosoI’m afraid Icannot show it to you. Theother entry wasa noveladaptionofa thirty hour longcase clockwithan automaticbattery powered winder (photo14)being built by RichardThomas.
IanMatthewsbuilt this freelance grasshopperbeamengine.
Georgina,anover-cranksteam engine built by Dave Arnold.Animpressive 4inchscale Garrett traction engine beingbuilt by RichardBetts
This well modelled1½inchscale Allchintractionenginewas built by DennisLambe.
A4-facet drill grinding jigbuilt by Dave Arnold
Class14
This is theclass forYoung Engineersnot in competitionand therewerethree good entries here.LukeMason,a previous awardwinnerinthe competition class, haddisplayed hisexample of aStuartS50 mill engine (photo15)and hisoscillating steamengineand boiler (photo16). Both were excellent examples andI hope this young mangoesontoproduce more qualitymodelsinthe future -I’m sure he will! Thethird model in this classwas presentedby 16 year oldKai Pugh-Bodman with an under-construction AEC Matadorarmytruck made using redundantmobilityscooter parts(photo17). This really is a finepiece of work by this young manwhich augers well forhis future involvementinmodel engineering.
Class15
In this classwas just theone entry- butwhatanentry!Built by John Shaw,the quarter scalemodel of aVellocette KTTMark8 wasa superb
exampleofone of these machines.The modelwas made entirely from scrap material with some smallnuts andbolts bought in.Itstood out as averyfine modelindeed (photo18).
Class16
Thetwo very nice hotair enginesdisplayed in this
sectionwerebothbuilt by John ing.The first wasa simple machinebeautifully made andpresented (photo19). Thesecondenginewas more complexbut againexcellent workmanshipand presentation To finishthisreport thought youmight liketosee some interestingtapsand dies Icame across, dating from about1912
they look liketheycould still do agood jobtoday.I wonder what today’smoderntoolingwill look likein112 year’s time (photo20). ME
Theunusual 30 hour long-caseclock with automaticbattery driven winder, underconstructionbyRichard Thomas
AStuartS50 mill engine built by Luke Mason. Luke Mason’soscillating engine andboiler.
Sixteen year oldKia Pugh–Bodmanis constructingthisAEC Matadorlorry
Thesuper ¼scale modelofa Velocette KTTMk8 motorcycle built by John Shaw.
