Help and advice 5 inch Hall loco by Greenly

[andrewh]

Hello everyone my new member here and wondered whether you would be kind enough to help me identify an engine that my father has owned for many years. He used to own an engineering supplies shop and was the main dealer for Myford . Sometimes he ended up buying part builds from the family of customers when they are passed on. This engine has been in my fathers workshop for almost as long as I can remember I am guessing since the early 1970s. I’ve always admired it and would love to consider building it out. The workmanship so far carry that is to a very high standard in my humble opinion. I will try to post some photographs of the engine now

[Deleted]

Hi Andrew

Welcome to the forum, look forward to seeing the photos of your loco. The members of this forum are very knowledgable in all things model engineering.
Hopefully someone here will be able to help.


Pete

[Deleted]

They are showing on the M E forum. Possibly a HALL class in 5 inch - Neville Evans ?

William

[John Baguley]

Hi Andrew,

I've just replied on the ME Forum. It's a Henry Greenly design from the 30's.

John

[andrewh]

link



Here is a link to the photo albumn . I does seem that she is a Hall Class. Does anyone have any more information on this engine? I have kindly seen a couple of made up models and I think Maxitrak sell the plans. Is it a realistic proposition to finish this off after all these years with castings perhaps not available

[andrewh]

Mar 27, 2022 14:11:47 GMT andrewh said:

link



Here is a link to the photo albumn . I does seem that she is a Hall Class. Does anyone have any more information on this engine? I have kindly seen a couple of made up models and I think Maxitrak sell the plans. Is it a realistic proposition to finish this off after all these years with castings perhaps not available


Sorry I cant master posting photos on here.  Normally I just paste the URL to my host site and it points there but doesn't seem to work like that on here. 

[weary]

Hello Andrew,

To answer your question posed immediately above here is part of my response posted on The Model Engineer website:

"As John Baguley has written above [on Model Engineer web-site] you have the most 'awkward' castings (i.e. loco wheels & cylinders) already machined and fitted. Anything else can be fabricated or made from solid etc. The Great Western (GW) were exponents of standard fittings so castings from other designs may well be appropriate. Similarly a tender (and associated castings) from another GW design may be suitable. I'm not a GW 'enthusiast' myself so cannot advise; this forum, where there are posters who know that kind of thing, is the place for those detail questions and subsequent information and discussion."


I don't know if you can change the title of this thread to something more appropriate now, along the lines of "GW Hall, 5" gauge, discussion" perhaps??

Regards,

Phil

[andrewh]

Mar 26, 2022 15:49:47 GMT @greenglade said:

Hi Andrew

Welcome to the forum, look forward to seeing the photos of your loco. The members of this forum are very knowledgable in all things model engineering.
Hopefully someone here will be able to help.


Pete
thank you .  I am struggling with posting pictures even though I have used all sorts of forums over the years this one has the better of me currently!!!!

[andrewh]

[Deleted]

Hi Andrew...put picture on imgur, right click image and select 'copy image address'...come back to this page...click on top reply tab top right of reply window( not bottom left 'post quick reply) this will open the full reply function...along to top bar you'll find the image tab...click this to open small box where you can paste the url that you copied from imgur...when you click insert image this will show the url on the page. If you click on the preview button botyom left this will show you the image as it will appear in your post

Good luck

Pete

[jma1009]

I had seen the posts about this on the ME forum and couldn't identify the loco, though subsequently I do not doubt John Baguley's identification.

I don't think the original post on the ME forum as to this old chassis being "wonderful" is what I would describe it as, and if it is a Greenly design my thoughts are probably best kept to myself.

Cheers,
Julian

[andrewh]

Mar 27, 2022 22:48:09 GMT jma1009 said:

I had seen the posts about this on the ME forum and couldn't identify the loco, though subsequently I do not doubt John Baguley's identification.

I don't think the original post on the ME forum as to this old chassis being "wonderful" is what I would describe it as, and if it is a Greenly design my thoughts are probably best kept to myself.

Cheers,
Julian

Well I was always told that if I couldn't say anything nice its best not to say anything at all.  Its to be hoped you are a superb engineer yourself when making comments like that.    Meanwhile,  who ever built this , not withstanding the design by Greenly, was extremely talented!  thank you. 

[jma1009]

Hi Andrew,

You might recall from the ME forum site with pics you posted the other day that John Baguley identified the chassis. No one commented on 'what a nice loco chassis it was'.

The pics you posted on there just showed an old loco chassis, quite rusty, and albeit also with a smokebox. No boiler, no tender.

Nothing 'fine scale' or detailed about the loco chassis.
Nothing special or "wonderful" about it IMO.

And without making any assessment of the valve gear or quality of the cylinder bores, accuracy of the piston fits. No assessment of the accuracy of the wheel quartering, accuracy of the axleboxes etc.

Cheers,
Julian

[andrewh]

Well, I would suggest that if you have not made an assessment of the valve gear, cylinder bores , accuracy of the piston fits, wheel quartering or axle boxes, it may be best to reserve your judgment. As for it sitting in my fathers workshop for 60 years gathering dust , I wonder if you would look straight past a Van Gogh hanging in a smokey pub!

In all seriousness my father was an apprentice engineer at the Sentinel Works in Shrewsbury in the first few years of the Second World War. I believe that this engine, as it stands currently, was built by the Chief Engineer at Sentinel . I can tell you, with the benefit of studying this at first hand , that it has been built to an extremely high standard. If you dont like the Greenly designs thats surely quite a different matter to casting aspersions on another mans, now dead, hard work. Sorry to be blunt, but whilst I am new on this forum, I have a broad range of interest in all things mechanical and restore vehicle and motorcycles to concours standards. I also frequently come across people on forums who find it easy and fun to critique others work. Not really how I like to behave personally. Andrew

[jma1009]

Hi Andrew,

I'm getting a bit fed up with this exchange as no doubt you are too.

You cannot claim, as you did on the ME forum, that this is "wonderful" if you haven't checked the cylinder bores, pistons, the valve gear and the axleboxes and the wheel quartering.

It is not for me to do this from a few pics that you posted and without carefully examining the chassis and taking certain parts to pieces and making considerable checks and measurements. (I'm not offering to do this for you).

You haven't done these basic checks.

Therefore I would respectfully suggest your assessment as "wonderful" is currently not accurate.

Cheers,
Julian

[suctionhose]

Yes, I can see there are some sensitivities here which are not showing up in photo's! The OP's question was "what is it?" not "is it wonderful?"

Unfortunately there are many, old, part built things lying about that are really nothing more than junk in spite of some poor soul's best efforts. There's one two doors down from me. It was gifted by someone to a friend 'who might like to do something with it one day'. Curiously, the friend, a retired metalwork / woodwork teacher, who calls out hello as he walks past most days, has never had the interest to ever look in my workshop... So, those of us that been around for a while are reasonably sceptical about these things.

That said, Andrew, there's clearly much sentimental value in that chassis for you. Turning into to something nice, runnable, will be a great source of pride I am sure!

[jma1009]

Hi Ross,

Andrew's Dad didn't build the loco chassis, and in the ME forum and his first post on here he said his Dad was the main dealer for Myfords and would buy part built models from the families of his customers.

So that was stated.

Then we now have some connection with the Sentinel Manager that was not only not previously disclosed but at odds with previous statements.

Myford dealerships I know nothing about. Though I went to the Myford works in Beeston Nottingham a couple of times in the early 1990s.

Cheers,
Julian

[andrewh]

Thats good I have discovered how to post photos, I was not removing the URL in the box when pasting the direct link.    Anyway,  i will give the old girl a bit of a clean and post up a few more photos for interest.   

[ettingtonliam]

Good that you've cracked how to post photos. Do you have the second cylinder, or is that missing?

[andrewh]

I have the second cylinder but as yet no piston. I am aiming to take some photos later today or tomorrow.