Midland
Elder Statesman
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Post by Midland on Jun 19, 2019 21:57:51 GMT
Hi All The End is NIGH!! It has been ten days since I provided any news on this beast and it is lucky to be alive after what I have put myself through!!! I may become friends with her again once we get going but I have discovered that I hate sheet metal working (sorry Jim!). The last action reported was the automatic drain cocks and the piping rearranged. Now it was time to tackle the boiler clothing. First, I wanted a clean backhead so beat the life out of a poor little piece of copper that would hide all the boiler makings etc. First one to the bin and then from heaven (or thereabouts) descended ‘Saintloco’ who proceeded to beat another poor piece of copper into shape, it must be the air in Hamble. Anyway here it is painted black and ready to go. IMG_1583 by David Goyder, on Flickr Now the idea was to have this plate at the back of the firebox connected to the front “plate” a transition piece from the Belpaire shape to the round barrel. The connector would be the (careful here) clothing on the firebox so being unusually idle the aforementioned representative of God had me cut some galvanised sheet in the correct shape and again brutalised it. Put holes in it and produced something he was proud of. It has taken a week to join front and back. I have made little bronze top hats to solder into the copper to take the threads, held the damn thing together with clamps and wire and anything else I could find. (Also by the way spend a couple of days in bed with torn thigh muscles, couldn’t walk so that held it up a bit). IMG_1574 by David Goyder, on Flickr IMG_1575 by David Goyder, on Flickr I now introduced a complication, we need washout plugs, seven on one side and eight on the other. Now the boiler has some bloody great hex heads at the end of some stays? and do get in the way. Carefully calculated that the wash out plugs would miss them so went ahead. Didn’t calculate the order, which were uppermost, so getting the damn cover thing on became a major issue. Also the hand rails were an inch too high so another reason the take it off and drill some more holes. In the end it plopped on beautifully but I had to use the phone camera to see what was going on. This is looking up the gap between the wrapper and the FB. IMG_1568 by David Goyder, on Flickr Last job was the infill under the boiler. Won’t bore you with the detail, it works 1577. So the boiler goes on tomorrow and it should not come off again. Just join up all the various pipes, tackle the fittings on the backhead. Ii can use all the old ones but some can be miniaturised and made a little less LBSC. The cab needs a new roof as it is a dog but that might be a later project. So that brings us up to date, would love to have it looking good for our 3 ½” day June 29th! Perhaps only a static unit. Forgot the painting, have to think about that and pray to heaven!!!! Cheers David
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Post by David on Jun 20, 2019 1:00:19 GMT
That's all sounding very familiar, if a great deal quicker than around here!
Don't you love the way the stays manage to be in the same place as other stuff you want to put there?
Great work and hopefully the worst of it is done and you can get back to something more enjoyable.
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 20, 2019 8:29:27 GMT
Hi David (too many Davids around here) Thanks for your comments. Yes hope to get back to what I started out to be and that is a train driver!!!!! D
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 20, 2019 14:52:50 GMT
Julian commented the other day that making a Clarkson loco has its problems as the drawigs are a bit scant, one needs works drawings.
So, this morning I scaned some templates from the NRM drawings and having got the boiler on successfully held one up against the end of the loco. An inch out, yes an inch, so I checked the existing cab and it fits, more or less, even after all my mucking around. Did not even try the Clarkson drawing. Will stick with what works and make a new roof which is all it needs really. perhaps nice new gold numbers will hide the error!! Perhaps I should take up a musical instrument at least I will not have to make the damn thing or perhaps I could become Prime Minister and ban metric, mexit sounds good to me! D
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 24, 2019 18:03:20 GMT
I wonder if one of our esteemed engioneers might help me. This is a plan of the cab roof. Obviously it is too small to use as a template. Could someone please tell me how to expand this thing so I can make a template to use to make the roof. The curved distance is 8 and 1/8. Got that far!!! cab roof by David Goyder, on Flickr Cheers David
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Post by miketaylor on Jun 24, 2019 18:16:47 GMT
Insert a copy of the pic into Draftsight or whatrever [rogramme you have and then use the scale function to blow it up to the right size.
Might need a bit of trial and error to determine the correxct scale factor.
Mike
You will need to right click on the imabe, use save image as.... I use JPEG file. This can be inserted into draftsite using the insert... reference image command.
Sorry, all thumbs tonight.
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 24, 2019 19:31:21 GMT
Thanks Mike Unfortunately I do not have these fancy programs so have used an old phpoto printer and messed around with the corner arrows. trial and error. D
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Post by simplyloco on Jun 24, 2019 19:59:35 GMT
Thanks Mike Unfortunately I do not have these fancy programs so have used an old phpoto printer and messed around with the corner arrows. trial and error. D I've loaded it into F360, but you might have to decipher bits of it for me before we get some decent output! It will probably be much easier to redraw the outline from scratch. John
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2019 21:03:08 GMT
Hi David
Looking at the drawing I note the width of 10' 6 1/2".... I know nothing of this class loco but that width seems a bit wide to fit the gauge. Could it be the size of the roof plate before rolling?...I'm probably totally wrong but thought I'd mention it as the drawing seems to shows this as a seperate profile?
Pete
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 25, 2019 9:19:48 GMT
Pete It takes a Gresley man to sort this sort of thing!!!! Did you know that Stanier and Gresley were great friends and admired each other’s work immensely. I have been looking at the "development of roof corner" for a while but did not really understand its workings. But your observation equates exactly to the measurement I took from the spectacle plate with a tape. So, you have solved the problem and I am indebted to your genius. Following your example, I can make the roof wide enough and a little longer. Now to make the templates on my very ancient Photoimpact 7. Bless you Pete, a 100 likes! D
PS Added later, fascinating that with all this computer stuff getting in the way, the solution was in the drawing in the first place, all I needed to do was to learn how to read the damn thing! And of course this is the same roof as the Horwich Mogul design by Tom Colman who designed much of the Princess Royals, (and all of the Coronations as Stanier was in India) and all that 90 years ago.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2019 9:30:07 GMT
You mean I got something right?.. don't tell my wife.... Yes I was aware of the friendship between Stanier and Gresley, I would guess, mutual respect too, both great engineers, IIRC Stanier was first choice to take over from Gresley after his death in 1941. Pete
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 28, 2019 21:39:11 GMT
Evening all Time to bring you up to date. First, I missed my target for tomorrow Saturday to have her in steam. I was just too ambitious but we are getting closer. First a pic of where we are. IMG_1619 by David Goyder, on Flickr The only obvious fault here the water feed pipe that looks a little drunk. Bringing these up from under the platform was a real pig, the RH one is better but the LH side one is coming out of the only hole available. On to the next problem. What is that hole in the smoke box for? IMG_1604 by David Goyder, on Flickr I studied the disassembly photos and no trace and no other clues. Thought I would fill it in so one could get a vacuum from the blast and was rummaging in the very carefully labelled box of parts and found a dirty bit of pipe. It had clack type valve and a threaded end that, OMG, fitting the hole. And stuffed up in the smoke box was a connection. It is a superheater snifting valve! IMG_1596 by David Goyder, on Flickr A few other problems have ben fixed. The front foot steps were angled down. They had been put on too far back and were rising up the curve on the platform. The hand rails were much to high so these had to be lowered and all that did was to put more holes in the clothing and the smokebox. Tapped the smoke box ones and put in 8BA screws, grind off the heads later and undercoat. The cab is the real challenge for several reasons. First the loco is built to a sort of over scale in some areas. The main issue is that the firebox is wider than it should be according to the works drawings in the NRM Loco profile. The old spectacle plate is too narrow in places and too small to the extent that it eats up the cab windows. IMG_1609 by David Goyder, on Flickr I have made a new spectacle plate and is a compromise between the conflicting dimensions. Of course, I have had to make it higher to accommodate Stanier’s shape and the fittings on top. This means a new roof that looks like a Princess Royal, see the brass peeping over the top in the pic above. It also means new cab sides that are about half an inch higher than the old ones and keeping the proportions consistent means they are longer but fir the rear platform, just. Now just to amuse myself I put a square on the running board and another on the rear bit at the cab end and you guessed the rear portion sags. No going to tackle that except with filler and paint! And all this shaping has taxed my little sander/ linisher so had to get a new one. Also, the Proxxon was in the way so added a little extension to hold them. IMG_1614 by David Goyder, on Flickr So anyway around 7 tonight my dear SWMBO came in and told me she had mixed me a nice botanical, what fun! You see I am completely non alcoholic for six months to see if something in my heart will work better. And I think I am still sane although opinion may be divided! Also, should add that I am sorry that this is just nattering unlike greenglades fantastic descriptions of his equally fantastic work. On the bright side Mr Airfix is going to see if he can make some cab window surrounds on his plastic machine and my Caledonian hooter arrived today, what an incentive to get her in steam!!! Cheers David
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Post by simplyloco on Jun 28, 2019 21:50:07 GMT
Evening all SNIP On the bright side Mr Airfix is going to see if he can make some cab window surrounds on his plastic machine and my Caledonian hooter arrived today, what an incentive to get her in steam!!! Cheers David It's a sign of old age when I go from 'Mr Fixit' to 'Mr Airfix' in one foul swoop! He's a nice old bugger really... John PS. Doesn't 'our' firebox wrapper look nice!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2019 22:00:16 GMT
hmm.. chaps... plastic on a working loco is not going to work...thin spectacle window surrounds will probably last 2 minutes once in steam...you should see the state of my perspex windows on 4470 and that's only steamed a handful of times...3D print resin will melt very quickly
Pete
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barlowworks
Statesman
Now finished my other projects, Britannia here I come
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Post by barlowworks on Jun 28, 2019 22:19:44 GMT
I think I agree with Pete, probably not the best solution on a working engine but once you have the final shape of the spectacle windows they would be ideal templates to make ones in brass.
Mike
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Post by simplyloco on Jun 28, 2019 22:22:47 GMT
hmm.. chaps... plastic on a working loco is not going to work...thin spectacle window surrounds will probably last 2 minutes once in steam...you should see the state of my perspex windows on 4470 and that's only steamed a handful of times...3D print resin will melt very quickly Pete Pete Thermoplastics such as PLA used in 3D printers starts to melt at around 160 C. We really weren't thinking of using it for piston rings... John
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2019 22:39:12 GMT
hmm.. chaps... plastic on a working loco is not going to work...thin spectacle window surrounds will probably last 2 minutes once in steam...you should see the state of my perspex windows on 4470 and that's only steamed a handful of times...3D print resin will melt very quickly Pete Pete Thermoplastics such as PLA used in 3D printers starts to melt at around 160 C. We really weren't thinking of using it for piston rings... John yep, exactly the same melting point as perspex...
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Jun 29, 2019 8:28:40 GMT
Hmmmm, originally they were brass! perhaps we need an experiment to test the theory. I was going to put in window glass in the first window, should perhaps source some lab glass for them. And now that the pressure is of I might make some wooden frames just to make it look sexy! D PS And the paint did not arrive in time! And made a cockup. Read the radius of the top of the spectcle window as 1 1/16". Then blew the drawing up and found that it is 2 /16 so a bit of a repair job there, . . . and there is a small hole between the two windows, chain drilling went a bit enthusiastic so there is a bit of filling in holes with silver solder and brass or whatever else will work! Rush model enginering at your peril, or my peril!
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Post by terrier060 on Jun 29, 2019 11:53:08 GMT
Hi David Nice to see how far you have progressed. Really looking forward to seeing your first steaming. Regarding the widows, I needed some really thin material and could not get suitable in glass so did the same as Roger and ordered some PETG plastic sheet. Looks really good in my pictures ( see my Terrier thread), but I suspect after a few runs and wiping with an oily rag they will soon scratch. We will have to see. Alternative is to go for the thinnest glass which is microscope cover slips but this is relatively thick even at 7.25" gauge.
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Midland
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Midland on Aug 16, 2019 18:25:14 GMT
Update. Lots of progress, backhead going on and a steam test might be scheduled soon and then I can put this damn thing in its box. Pictures by appointmenet of course!! D
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