weary
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Post by weary on Jan 1, 2022 16:38:39 GMT
Hello Pete,
Thank you very much for taking the time to give us the results of your enterprise and experimentation. Much appreciated!
I have a couple of questions for you, or indeed anyone. My knowledge of 'sparks' is nil, as you may be able to tell from the questions! Anyway, here goes:
1) The transformer input. I see that you (and Frost) used a 115 + 115 Volt input transformer, presumably wired as in the middle of the three 'Schematic/connection options' diagrams. Does this have any significant advantage over a 230 Volt input? (I am in UK, straight 230V seems 'easier' to my mind).
2) The transformer output. You and Frost used 6 Volt output, with, I assume the Frost 'boost button' lifting that to 12 volts using the wiring shown right-hand side of the last of their 'Schematic/connection options' diagram in your post above.
I realise that in the end you didn't bother with the 'boost button', but should one want to retain that facility does anyone have suggestions as to what kind of switch would allow that kind of 'change of connection'? A sliding or lever switch would be more practical than a press-button as these designs avoid the need for a third hand!
The demonstrations in your videos clearly showed you found 6 volt output (and perhaps even less) to be more than adequate. However, would there be any advantage to a 12 volt output transformer, regulated by the variable AC controller you fitted to supply 6 Volt as the 'usual' output which could be 'turned-up' on the (rare?) occasions 12 volt was required or would the AC Controller overheat under such sustained use?
I could see from your helpful video's showing the thicker material joined to the angle section that 6 Volt appears to be more than adequate for the kind of thin brass sheet-work that I would do, however, the 'boost' facility may be an occasionally useful facility to retain. If not too troublesome to do-so.
Thanks again for the time you put into updating us. Hopefully not too-many have been offended by my simple questions!
Regards,
Phil.
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weary
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Post by weary on Dec 19, 2021 19:56:58 GMT
BA Bolts 17 Bournside Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL51 3AL United Kingdom
Tel 01242 706155
Mobile 07976956362
(Details a matter of public record and in the public domain so no issue posting)
Hope you get your fasteners before the Christmas break
Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Dec 19, 2021 19:42:32 GMT
I last had occasion to use his business email about 3 months ago and he told me that he was having trouble with his email. Maybe the issue has re-occurred? He usually responds promptly - but it is approaching Christmas, so maybe, as you wrote, he is away. Perhaps try giving him a 'phone call??
Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Dec 7, 2021 11:31:26 GMT
Deleted in the light of further information.
Apologies Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Oct 26, 2021 17:38:15 GMT
Hello John,
I think that you will find it more 'prototypical' on four-wheel tenders of the period to have both sets of brakes acting from the centre outwards onto the wheels rather than both pulling forward as drawn. I recall that you have Sharman's Crampton book so you can always have a browse and see what you like and what suits you. The few four-wheel tenders illustrated in Die Crampton-Lokomotive have brakes as I have described operated from a rod between the axles.
Nice work you are doing however you decide to progress.
Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Oct 8, 2021 7:53:18 GMT
I would suggest that the two back-head clacks are used for injectors. The prototypical boiler-side clacks used for the pump outputs. This arrangement would reduce thermal-shock in the boiler as pump outputs will be cold whilst injector outputs hot. Unless of-course one never intends to use the pump outputs 'in service'.
Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Oct 6, 2021 14:11:26 GMT
Maybe try posting on The Model Engineer website where the editor of Model Engineers' Workshop is an active member and many readers are members. Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Oct 6, 2021 7:46:47 GMT
Whilst the Station Road Steam site loads and appears to work fine for me I put the site thorough downinspector and it came back: "https://www.stationroadsteam.com appears to have an invalid or expired SSL certificate. We also tried www.stationroadsteam.com but it redirected straight back to www.stationroadsteam.com" So, maybe the 'expired SSL certificate' may be at the root of the issues that the OP is having?? Regards, Phil.
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weary
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Post by weary on Sept 27, 2021 18:38:17 GMT
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weary
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Post by weary on Jul 31, 2021 15:56:39 GMT
As so often with the 'net. That pic, above, is not quite as it has been presented. Turns out the Hope (B.C. Canada), a town with a population of 6200, and something of a hub for local and national roads, is a bit of a magnet for electric vehicles as it has "more than 30 charging outlets" (source linked in next paragraph), which include 22 Tesla 'superchargers'. The pic was taken on Canada Day (a national holiday) when the Tesla Owner's Club had a 'meet-up' before the most recent batch of 12 super-chargers came on-line. A quick google of appropriate words gives the story. This link gives some background. Happy motoring - to all! Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Jul 23, 2021 7:11:41 GMT
I suggest that it may be better to contact Stewart Hart through Model Engineer web-site where he is a moderator. Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Jul 21, 2021 7:01:33 GMT
Stewart Hart on Model Engineer website has recently built a 'Crab'. Maybe worth posting your question there and/or contacting him directly? His album is here. Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Jun 22, 2021 9:58:16 GMT
Less than £9 (inc. carriage etc.) for 1/16 taper reamer from ebay & RDG.
Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Jun 21, 2021 19:34:33 GMT
My local petrol station is currently being converted into an EV rapid-charging 'hub' to open next year. Info here. It will not supply any 'gasoline' or 'derv' liquid based fuels. This previously 'traditional' petrol station is located in a high-density built-up residential area where houses & flats only extremely rarely have garages or off-road parking and it is improbable that you will be able to park in-front of your own house. Tho' we do already enjoy the occasional mains cable trailing across the pavement to charge vehicles outside houses! There are no 'lamp-post' charging points as there are in Westminster, for example, and even if there were, the number of vehicles outnumbers the lamp-posts significantly. Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Jun 18, 2021 18:33:47 GMT
Hello John,
I think that you are correct and that Brian Arridge combined a couple of different locomotives, together with his own preferences, in order to simplify the model construction whilst very-much retaining the 'spirit' of the classic Crampton design.
Whilst the (extra-) large eccentrics mounted directly on the crankshaft inside the connecting rod were unusual there were a small number of the early locomotives, including 'Liverpool', that had this feature. As the Brian Arridge eccentrics are 3" in diameter they 'pretty-well' match with those on 'Liverpool' (2' 9" diam.), albeit increased in size in the model to give the required valve movement. In real life they would have produced really evil hammer-blow! Most Cramptons either had their valve-gear eccentrics mounted on a short crank-arm outside the connecting rod of course, or like the Maffei class had the connecting-rod on a crank outside the eccentrics, both arrangements allowing the use of small eccentrics. By choosing the 'Liverpool' layout Brian Arridge simplified the crank & eccentric area construction, together with allowing use of a simpler big-end on the connecting rod. In addition placing the valve on-top of the cylinder and whilst angling it down toward the driving wheels making it horizontal in the other plane in 'Liverpool' style far simplified cylinder machining and subsequent valve adjustment. It also results in only needing one casting pattern for the cylinders!
Naturally, if you don't particularly like the 'extra-large' eccentrics there is nothing to stop you designing a model with small eccentrics and the connecting-rod on a crank outside the eccentrics or the eccentrics on a crank outside the connecting-rod. It would entail some faffing around with the axis of the piston-rod and valve-rod, but as you could machine such simple cylinders from solid anyway this is scarcely an issue. In any event there are real advantages, to my mind anyway, in machining your cylinders from solid material. One of the advantages of CAD is that, if so minded, one can pursue such design variations relatively easily.
Anyway, as ever I await the next stage in your work.
Addendum:
Curiosity aroused, I have done a bit of 'reading-up' on the 6-2-0 Crampton 'Liverpool'. Turns out that "Liverpool had a reputation for distorting the track so that following trains were derailed, which is understandable with 56 tons of engine and tender being hurled along at 50 mph on track laid down in 1837, much of it on stone blocks." (Ah! The good old days of early rail transport!)
Not too surprisingly in the light of this it spent much of its' life "in store", though it did apparently do some revenue-earning work. After three years (to end 1851) "it had run a total of only 9,303 miles, the equivalent of a mere 83 trips between London and Birmingham" (i.e. equivalent to 41 'round trips'). In the light of the previous paragraph it must have made the crew of any following train especially apprehensive.
(Quotes above from: 'Locomotives of the LNWR Southern Division', author Harry Jack, RCTS)
Regards,
Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on Jun 16, 2021 20:48:37 GMT
Hello again John, I was trying to establish which loco might be the basis of Brain Arridge's design, which is by his own admission is 'modified to make construction easier'. I wonder if it is the 'Maffei Class', four of which were built for the Bayerischen Pfalzbahn' in 1853. Usefully there is a replica in the Nuremburg Railway Museum. That frame cut-out ahead of the leading wheels is very distinctive. If so it looks like Mr Arridge moved the valve-gear slightly to being above the cylinder in order to make it more accessible (and easier to manufacture and adjust!). I can see that on that layout of frame and boiler you will have a problem fitting a flat 'X'-shaped stretcher between the cylinders at the top of the frames - it would have to have the classic Crampton 'U' shape. And, then, as you pointed out, it would conflict with the steam supply and exhaust. But, that model problem repeats the issues with the original design - if it is indeed this locomotive ->> If you can access the book 'The Crampton Locomotive' by Mike Sharman, you will find reference on page 100 to this class of locomotives. Of particular interest: "The quite flexible sandwich frames with the cylinder castings bolted to them must have flexed quite a lot under load, resulting in the large heavy, 'Y' shaped steam return pipe fracturing more often than it should. This pipe had been routed under the smokebox and between the wheels for purely aesthetic reasons, and were ( sic) consequently time-consuming to repair. They were later re-routed above the wheels as individual pipes like the other Cramptons, which was a shame as they did look very sleek and pleasing to the eye." Regards, Phil.
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weary
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Post by weary on Jun 15, 2021 20:18:36 GMT
Hello John,
Very nice work and good to see a Crampton!
If I can make an observation: Your frame currently seems very poorly braced against racking action. Although, of course, you may be adding this kind of bracing later, for example at the top or middle of the frames between the leading pair of wheels - which is with where your cylinders will be placed(?).
I am building a model Cail French Crampton (very slowly!) in 7 1/4" gauge and can tell you that there is an enormous predominantly horizontal cross-member running between the inner frames (this loco is 'double-framed') between the Cylinders on each side. This frame member is in the form of a hollow 'U' formed in a curve to pass under the boiler and is as long as the cylinders (90mm) so is a significant piece of the construction. I used some 250mm diameter pipe with a wall thickness of 8.75mm as the basis of my frame stretcher at this point, with additional pieces of 5mm steel plate to form the sides of the 'U' and end plates for fastening to the frame. So you can tell that this is a hefty feature. The only other real horizontal frame bracing on my model is behind the driving axle being two parallel plates of 1/4" steel running between the frames and extending 90mm forward from the back of the loco frames forming a drag-box. As yours is a single-framed loco you do not have this opportunity, however you might wish to consider getting what horizontal bracing you can in that area as it will be hidden away below the footplate and add weight just where it is needed!
You will note that most (all??) Cramptons appear to have a 'void' between the cylinders and my guess is that they all have a significant frame-stretcher in a horizontal axis at that point in order to prevent frame-racking. But, beware, that is only an assumption on my part.
Anyway. Just something for you to mull-over. Am much looking forward to seeing your work.
Regards,
Phil.
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weary
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Post by weary on May 13, 2021 18:15:07 GMT
Pete,
Am making an assumption about the design of safety-valve that you have fitted, so bear with me ......
Whilst your safety valve is 'buzzing' can you firmly touch the lifted valve guide-rod sticking up above the top with a piece of thin rod or rigid wire - apply pressure sideways; & if you do-so does the buzzing stop? If that eliminates the buzzing it may indicate that your valve guide-rod is just a little too slack in the hole in the top of the safety-valve and can allow vibration creating the 'buzz'. Easiest solution is smaller guide-hole! There are some other possibilities for the buzzing but maybe look at that first as it is a simple diagnostic/eliminator test.
Regards, Phil
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weary
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Post by weary on May 1, 2021 19:18:47 GMT
oops - thought it was 3-jaw! Apologies
Phil
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Post by weary on May 1, 2021 17:47:07 GMT
Now, how many permutations of jaws in the wrong slots are there? 5? (6 permutations in total, only five possible combinations in incorrect slots?) Phil
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