smallbrother
Elder Statesman
Errors aplenty, progress slow, but progress nonetheless!
Posts: 2,269
|
Post by smallbrother on May 27, 2019 21:45:23 GMT
While my wife and youngest son are away for a few days, I have been cleaning my middle son's recently refurbished house.
I hope she doesn't get the idea I can now do our house on a regular basis!
Now the refurb is done and he will be in by Friday, I might get to put a foot in the workshop.
Pete.
|
|
|
Post by Oily Rag on May 27, 2019 21:48:41 GMT
Well done Dazza! For the sake of this Limey, can you explain the Auzzie system of Grading? What is the difference between a Class 2 and a Class 1? I imagine it might be roughly like our Passed Fireman and Driver grades, perhaps? That's pretty fast promotion too. I was cleaning for 4 years, and firing for 15 years before becoming a Passed Fireman on the Talyllyn - and then another 6 years before getting my full Driver's grade card! This season will be my 50th consecutive year on the TR locos. It's fun, isn't it! Malcolm For the Mary Valley Railway the pathway in order, Medical. (Cat 2 Medical is required, Cat 1 medical is for single operator driver which we do not have) SARC, Safe access rail corridor, course and exam. Safe working course and exam. Shunt and Train Examination course, exams and practical Guard course and exam. Guard trainee, then when deemed ready, an assessment during a running day to become a passed guard. You can go to Railmotor training and or go onto steam then it is DEL. Diesel Electric Course and prac and exam. meanwhile you get your tickets for BA. (boiler advanced course done with a registered training organisation, this is hard and has very little to do with locos as it is for package and power stations and sugar mills etc. This is a high risk license for use in Australia and you must have this. ES. "Engine steam reciprocating" a course done with a registered training organisation. Again a high risk license in Australia and must have. Then you do regular guard shifts, light ups and loco cleaning but cleaning is a task some are reluctant to perform. This does not go un-noticed ;-) Due to the crewing hours and regs and Cat 2 medicals then one of the crew must be Class 1 driver and the other Class 2. The trainee makes the third person on the loco. There is no real "fireman" and "driver" here now. Class 2 driver is deemed competent driving and firing down the very twisty and up and down branch line, but must be rostered on with a Cat 1 driver partner for a shift. I was assessed and passed for Class 2. Class 1 Driver has 200 minimum hours, no infringements etc and is then assessed to become a Cat 1. If they are passed they can tutor, but not be assessors. Assessors is another aspect that will take some years if one wants to that and has the skills for this. With regards to me, I had some previous time with the now non operating Rosewood Railway. Not a lot but some experience there before it closed. I had my BA in 2012 and I started my Mary Valley Rattler courses in 2017 leading up to the restart in August last year. I drive to Gympie (2 hours up the highway) and stay for a weekend 2-3 times every month so I got my time in a heavy block of training and operations. The best way to learn is to not dilly dally about. We kip in some rooms in old guards vans and costs us zilch. Good pub up the road for meals and cold beer in our stinking hot summer. I got stuck in, become a member of the team and it is a good crew of people. Because many others were slow to knock over their courses I had a good clear run as a Guard trainee and passed, and onto the loco. Having the right approach to the jobs, giving the jobs and courses full respect, doing the extras rather than the "less I can do, or, she will be right" approach and working hard with study at night, example the Westinghouse Air Brake books etc. Giving the tasks and chores and study full respect is the best way and enjoying doing it with "Proper Job Pride" along the way. So I was the first new Class 2 Driver to go through since the restart of the Rattler. I picked up all reasonable quickly but the road knowledge is demanding, that has come together recently. I spent numerous trips on the shoulder of good drivers and many trips with them on my shoulder. Because we do two return trips each run day (Wed, Sat and Sun) one person fires and the other drives, then at lunch time as we turn on the table at Gympie we swap sides for the arvo trip. If an observer is present they observe and do tasks. A trainee will fire with a tutor's advice and then later the trainee will drive with the tutor on the shoulder. When one becomes Class 2, no longer is a tutor required to be present. A railway like the Talyllyn would have a huge queue of trainees which means working up the system would take a long time and also the frequency of rostered shifts that are possible would be very limited. There is now an increasing line of trainees growing at the Rattler however I gave it all a good thrashing these last 18 months to get through before the wave arrives to slow the system. Hence my ME has stopped and the garden railway is 5 foot high with weeds.
|
|
pclass
Active Member
Posts: 29
|
Post by pclass on May 27, 2019 22:38:24 GMT
I have just read through your response re the "classes" mate well done on reaching Class 2, I'm certain that in the future you achieve Class 1, I'm colour blind so no need for me to apply for anything, cheers Dennis
|
|
mbrown
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,720
|
Post by mbrown on May 28, 2019 9:00:24 GMT
Thanks for the explanation Dazza - that's a very well-thought through training and promotion programme for those prepared to muck in and stick with it. I like the routine sharing of firing and driving roles too - it probably means that the driver is a bit less of a little tin god than can sometimes be the case over here.... !
Good luck on the way to Class 1!
Malcolm
|
|
|
Post by Oily Rag on May 28, 2019 20:30:05 GMT
Thanks for the explanation Dazza - that's a very well-thought through training and promotion programme for those prepared to muck in and stick with it. I like the routine sharing of firing and driving roles too - it probably means that the driver is a bit less of a little tin god than can sometimes be the case over here.... ! Good luck on the way to Class 1! Malcolm Malcolm, I agree with you, it certainly brings a good ambience to the cab, one of share, learn and enjoy. "Proper Job Pride" We sign on at 06.30, we have a quick chat and decide who is firing first trip and driving, what the trainee is doing etc, the boiler is handed over to the fireman from the light up chap and we oil/grease up etc. We have the loco ready for traffic/shunt by 07.30. It all goes well. Adrian is our head trainer and assessor. He has a long history in Queensland rail from the sheds to driving to many other jobs and is now the principle tech and training head at Aurizon rail, working with training and tech with those huge mineral trains from the mines. However he lives and breathes the heritage rail scene here, he drives 5 hours down to Gympie from Rockhamton to do a weekend of training us sods, shunting, train examination, driving etc. Sunday at 18:00 he is driving 5 hours home ! He knows how to nudge you along, giving you enough to be a challenge but not to choke. He is a cool operator and it is fortunate for us to have him along. He has 5" gauge steam locos (one is a QR class PB15 1924 version) and he loves going to steam ups. His wife was one of the first women to drive commuter EMU trains in Brisbane in the 1980's. The Rattler has a good team and I’m glad I am part of it. If there is a good team the incoming new people adjust and settle in and lift to become part of the good team. It will be some time before the struggle for the railway is settled and the whole gig is consolidated and stable but the signs are promising. We finally have a good GM at the railway who has a vision and his heart and soul to the railway.
if you want to see the Rattler in action (I was in the cab with the black hat) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZObo6Qby3oo&t=1569s&fbclid=IwAR1G3L8jCdkvONy5YyBRmEJV9PYxt5c-n9VYEL3pmbhNV-IDmGTzDeIJLjY
|
|
Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
|
Post by Midland on May 31, 2019 14:16:36 GMT
Sad day today, 'she who must' has it in her mind to destroy the little 00 railway we have in the attic. Never seen track lifted with an egg lifter but managed to save the main station area after a blazing row! Not boring here I suppose! D
|
|
JonL
Elder Statesman
WWSME (Wiltshire)
Posts: 2,909
|
Post by JonL on May 31, 2019 16:29:36 GMT
Was her maiden name Beeching?
|
|
Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
|
Post by Midland on May 31, 2019 21:01:40 GMT
Well done Nobby, we should perhaps not air domestics on this site but Beeching or not I would have admitted to murder BUT as it transpired with a little patience her bitch was that the removeable sections blocking the end of roof storage sections would not come out and she was blocked in. Solution, burn baby burn. I asked her if the Russian scorched earth policy was what she was up to and that confused her and settled things down. So I have a railway to rebuild or some or it at least (especially the bits that did not work very well) and she has a new work area and after a couple of gins in the conservatory we seem to restored normal running. A happy ending to this saga. Now as this is a real life soap opera, would each reader please forward one hundred thousand pounds to my new business manager Nobby and he will fit in advertising slots for the next episode, "should one use facing points on the main line?" To be aired in the future! Midland Productions Inc PS Nobby you get half! PPS Sorry Julian no lawyer business here, try next episode.
|
|
Tony K
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,573
|
Post by Tony K on Jun 1, 2019 7:48:22 GMT
Sad day today, 'she who must' has it in her mind to destroy the little 00 railway we have in the attic. Never seen track lifted with an egg lifter but managed to save the main station area after a blazing row! Not boring here I suppose! D I sort of remember an EU directive on the subject, or it might be in Lord Shaftsbury's Mines and Collieries Act of 1912. From memory it says Loft storage of crap should be limited to 1cu.m due to fire hazard and trip hazard, and even then, a risk assessment must be done. I think I remember a caveat saying recreational pastimes should be encouraged and given priority and any stored crap removed to accommodate it. I might be wrong though.
|
|
uuu
Elder Statesman
your message here...
Posts: 2,811
|
Post by uuu on Jun 1, 2019 12:38:15 GMT
I've always fancied a steam siren, as an alternative to a whistle, so I thought I'd have a go at making one. John (the Pump) had some plans, which I've simplified, so there are only four components, and all turned, there's no bending, forming or soldering. Here's how far I've got: Steam siren by Wilf, on Flickr Now comes the fun part - cutting the slots in the turbines. I've ordered some PCB burrs from China - Roger seems to like these, so I'll give them a go. But to mill a 0.034" slot 7/32" long in a tube, with the entry on the side slope will be a challenge. Those in the know might like to suggest whether starting with a row of holes is the way to go, or just mill the slot out. My mill runs nicely at 1500 rpm, so feed and depth of cut suggestions are also invited. Wilf
|
|
barlowworks
Statesman
Now finished my other projects, Britannia here I come
Posts: 874
|
Post by barlowworks on Jun 1, 2019 13:52:28 GMT
Hi Wilf
Is the sound of a siren something that will scale. You could be have every dog for miles come running for walkies and treets. 😉
Mike
|
|
uuu
Elder Statesman
your message here...
Posts: 2,811
|
Post by uuu on Jun 1, 2019 14:40:05 GMT
I'm hoping that the frequency can be controlled by throttling back the steam - we'll see. So I can get a nice whoop-whoop sound. I don't know either if the length of the trumpet introduces a preferred resonance. But it's bound to be a very high note, like a tiny whistle.
Wilf
|
|
JonL
Elder Statesman
WWSME (Wiltshire)
Posts: 2,909
|
Post by JonL on Jun 1, 2019 15:27:31 GMT
When you do finish it I'd love to hear it, a youtube video or something if you would be happy to?
|
|
uuu
Elder Statesman
your message here...
Posts: 2,811
|
Post by uuu on Jun 1, 2019 16:20:17 GMT
It'll take a while for the PCB burrs to come, but yes, I'll take a video.
Wilf
|
|
|
Post by springcrocus on Jun 1, 2019 16:48:02 GMT
... Those in the know might like to suggest whether starting with a row of holes is the way to go, or just mill the slot out. My mill runs nicely at 1500 rpm, so feed and depth of cut suggestions are also invited. Wilf The angle of attack doesn't look too onerous but I think you will need to (1) centre-drill or spot-drill a pip to on or just over the 1/32" diameter if you want to drill a pilot hole or (2) just plunge straight in with a 2-flute slot drill version of those PCB drills that Roger often promotes. The 10mm long fluted section with the 3.12mm shank should have the rigidity to take it. Just trying to drill sraight in, even with PCB drill, is courting disaster. 1500 rpm seems a tad slow, though. I'm on tenterhooks at 2400 rpm with a 1/16th cutter, but thats manual feed. Regards, Steve
|
|
|
Post by delaplume on Jun 1, 2019 17:55:35 GMT
I'd be inclined to firm-up the slideways if it's an oldish machine you are using.....Vibration is your enemy at those small sizes / high speeds...
A neighbour of mine had a siren on his 3/4" Traction engine and once you had cleared any condensate it really did give that "Ship leaving harbour" sound effect.......
I had some of those burrs from Roger a few years back and you need to employ a sort of rubbing action to get them to work........this was on a Cast Iron Simplex cylinder block so perhaps the Bronze will require a different technique ??................Over to you Roger !!
|
|
|
Post by delaplume on Jun 1, 2019 18:09:14 GMT
"Tomorrows news to-day"......
( Sounds like Pravda's motto from the old Communist Bloc era )....
The lads at the Cambrian Railways are having a bit of an open day at the Station building, Oswestry with some tables on the platform displaying various railway "goodies" etc...
Oswestry MES have been invited to take part and included will be a certain 5" gauge Great Bear boiler plus extras for you to inspect....Included is the Boiler Inspectors book showing all the calculations and reduced-to-A4 build drawings.........
Many thanks to our own Ivor Parista for his help in getting the two groups connected....
Alas, the owner is wearing his "Rugeley Nomads" hat tomorrow and will be running at Wigan for the day......
Cheers
Alan R
|
|
|
Post by Oily Rag on Jun 1, 2019 21:38:16 GMT
My mate John had the stainless steel parts water jet cut for me to mill and braze up some new points lock keys. These keys are used to lock padlocks or Hudson Patrick locks on facing points. I milled and cooked on up one to check all is sweet. Yep, all is sweet so production day will be a day when I can find a clear weekend day. Today I clean the house as the wife is off to a painting class. Kyle Gleeson snapped off a pic of S21 as we coasted down the Dawn on our way back to Gympie. The day I was assessed. Clean loco ;-)
|
|
JonL
Elder Statesman
WWSME (Wiltshire)
Posts: 2,909
|
Post by JonL on Jun 1, 2019 21:49:49 GMT
I had assumed Gympie was the name of the locomotive!
|
|
|
Post by springcrocus on Jun 2, 2019 17:30:57 GMT
|
|
|
| rel,
|
| had
|
| bar
|
|
|
| Rolled
| out
|
| bar
|
| Just
|
| a
|
| rel
|
|
|
|
| my
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| fun
|
...or pain, whichever way you look at it. Bloody hard work and worse than an hour in the gym. Sorry, only two pictures as the third picture was unusable. Steve
|
|