Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Apr 19, 2021 1:28:21 GMT
Hi folks, I've not been around much as my workshop is still in boxes. Currently staying with a friend, till I can get a place of my own; then I can get the workshop set up again.
Meanwhile, I dropped by the Bracken Ridge track during their running day a few weeks ago. Here's a twitter post with a short video I made of the two steamers that were there climbing the hill. The track is 5" gauge only, the first loco is a US atlantic, the second is an 0-4-0 Peckett.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Sept 29, 2020 4:22:54 GMT
Hi folks, just thought I'd drop by for look at what everyone's up to. Currently I'm without a workshop, as I'm staying in someone's spare room while my dad's house is sold (a neighbour made an offer before it was even put on the market, so it's under contract, and hopefully will be sold in 2 weeks), so everything's packed away for now. Blowfly has been sold to someone down south, as I think I'm just going to stick with 3½" gauge from here on (unless I decided to build a tinkerbell or something at some point, but either way I'm out of 5"). By some luck, I'm currently staying about half an hour's walk from a club track, but there's no running days due to the pandemic restrictions. In any case I wondered down for a look the other day, and walked around the track (also a good chippy next door, so that was lunch sorted). Planning and hoping for a nice little house of my own in the next few months; and by house I mean a workshop with living quarters attached, and a spare room to put a model railway in.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Sept 21, 2019 14:35:57 GMT
Hello all, it's been a while. Haven't been up to much for a bit, as dad was keeping me busy for what turned out to be his last few months; he passed away in August. Nice and peaceful in his sleep, in his own bed, and the last thing I told him was that I loved him... so about the best anyone can ask for I think. On a happier note, I've been getting out more the past few weeks, and today walked down to the local preserved line; t'was lovely seeing a loco in steam again. I hung the camera (and most of my head, when no one was looking) out the window for a bit of video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZP2CSip1LA
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Mar 4, 2019 22:11:52 GMT
Made the cylinder backplate and port faces this morning; this mostly involved ripping some 25x12mm brass down to 18x10 and 20x6 respectively. Half-hole for the cylinder to get soldered into. That's starting to look like something.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Mar 4, 2019 16:31:28 GMT
Reminds me of Ted Bray's "Lunch Engine" in the ME mag some time ago.... Lisa, how about a simple pot boiler to compliment it ?? I was thinking of a little boiler to go with it, in the mean time I've got an old aquarium pump I should be able to run it off.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Mar 4, 2019 9:52:45 GMT
As an aside to long-term loco builds, I thought I'd amuse myself by making a little oscillating engine. I found the plans online for this wee beastie: I've made a couple of changes to suit what metal stocks I have, then set about cutting bits to rough size. Then started on machining, with the cylinder and flycrank. The current status: Flycrank finished to shape, bushes turned up, and the plates cut and drilled, but still need shaping. Someone on twitter asked how to make a flycrank, so I made this gif of a fairly simple method. A fun little distraction so far, I'm just doing a bit each night once dad's asleep; shouldn't take long to finish at all.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 15, 2019 16:15:36 GMT
They'll likely be either sent overseas and sold, or the boilers torn off and sold for scrap while the rest is dumped. Both have happened before. That there's an electric loco involved could mean the former is more likely than the latter.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 15, 2019 4:52:57 GMT
There was, of course the 7.25" gauge Big Boy "William Jeffers" in Cornwall at Dobwalls - now sadly closed - I believe it went to New Zealand or Australia. Pretty sure that's the one that now runs at the Diamond Valley Railway in Victoria sometimes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gNebo-QxEo
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 12, 2019 14:00:56 GMT
Hello Lisa, Do those motors have a Voltage and a Wattage rating ( ie power ) on them anywhere ?? Just a thought about the turning radius}---- try incorporating a simple form of self-steering axles maybe ??...... Don't use any suspension, that way the ride height is constant and you can now deliberately allow a small amount of tip when boarding passengers ( the ride quality is a bit "Rumbly" but I've driven on 7.25" gauge I/C locos with passenger trucks like this with no ill effects...).. Best regards Alan R Hi Alan, I know the motors are 12 volt, but I've no clue on the wattage; as mentioned to Kerrin, I'll see if I can find the original ad' for them, and see if that has any further details. I'm not sure how to go about self steering axles on a 4-wheel design, I'd have to look into it; not sure I like the idea of it misaligning the drive chains though. My thoughts on suspension were to use hard rubber blocks, it'd soften the ride quality a bit, but generally work as unsprung as you mention.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 12, 2019 10:25:37 GMT
Hi Lisa, Looks like a fun project! My only comment would be you are going to want a longer wheel base...18" is likely going to mean as people get in or out that it will tip forward as the first gets in or the last gets out....i'm likely wrong but hay just a thought! My Toby tram to AME design I moved the wheels out by think it was 50 mm & he sits nice on the track, another guy built his as per the design & it nods along the track. Tony, Very nice! Any details to motive power? Hi Kerrin, By all accounts the Beer Heights Light Railway (Peco's 7¼" line) has a guard's van of similar proportions which is apparently just fine, so hopefully my tram would be too; especially with the added weight of motors and batteries over the wheels. Also, I need to think about the radius it can traverse, as things would get rather tight in places with a track around the house; we got down to 12' radius in one spot with the old 5" gauge line dad had. Though you may have been asking Tony about his pic': I've got two of these motor/gearbox units, which I know very little about, other than that we bought them about twenty years ago. I might have a look through some old AME magazines, to see if I can find the classifieds ad' I think we bought them from, just to see if there's more details. I'd imagine the two of them, with chain drive to the axles, would give plenty of power though.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 12, 2019 8:56:39 GMT
Something like this perhaps? Cut that in half, and you've pretty much got it!
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 12, 2019 7:42:31 GMT
I've got a couple of electric wheelchair motors and 5" diameter 7¼" gauge wheelsets tucked away under a bench I've often thought of doing something with; so I came up with this 2-seater ride-in tram or wickham trolley type thing while hiding away from the heat. 1400mm (55") long, 1375mm (54") high, 660mm (26") wide, and 450mm (18") wheelbase; more small fullsize than model or miniature, and as I have no welder it's designed to be entirely bolted together from rhs, with the plywood body and floor doubling as bracing. Not sure I'd actually make it, but it looks like something dad and I would get some fun out of.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 8, 2019 9:32:47 GMT
Would be getting down to something like a 1mm bolt to do that, certainly possible though.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 8, 2019 6:49:01 GMT
I am not sure how you will assemble the expansion link between the two trunnions if they are both brazed onto the motion bracket - or do you have a cunning plan for removable pivots on the expansion link? Haha, oops. Yes, removable pivots was my plan all along, good idea.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 7, 2019 11:57:36 GMT
The rivetting is slow going, as while the weather's been decent lately, I tend to only get a few done before dad gets anxious over the noise from me hammering away; I do have one bufferbeam complete now though. Meanwhile I've been progressing with redrawing everything in CAD, and converting to metric as I go. The latest parts are the motion brackets, like my pump stretcher they'll be a tabbed silver soldered fabrication. Have worked them out to be just three different shaped parts, assembled for left and right hand.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 7, 2019 10:26:08 GMT
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 7, 2019 8:06:28 GMT
Brian, if you look at the 'crosshead centre' drawings, there's a left, rear, and right view; the rear view shows a 9/32" slot cut right through the back of the crosshead for the connecting rod to fit into. The piston rod hole would just go right through into this slot. A 'crosshead slipper' would then also fit into the top and bottom of this slot, and the slidebars would run in the slippers. Here's a really rough 3D model of it, to help give you some idea:
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 3, 2019 9:54:55 GMT
Hi Richard, the more the merrier! I know of at least a half dozen Tiches under construction, who's builders I'm in touch with; she's certainly a popular little design.
In my metric redraw the holes for the angles are positioned such that it's not possible to fit the wrong angle... though maybe I shouldn't tempt fate by saying that.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Feb 2, 2019 8:07:20 GMT
I spent the afternoon discovering how out of practice I am at rivetting. Though I think the trickiest part, in summer at least, is getting good weather (so as not to melt into a puddle) at a reasonable time (neighbours don't appreciate rivetting at 2am, oddly enough) and when dad's happily occupied but not trying to nap. Anyway, one angle rivetted to a bufferbeam; not too bad after a quick cleanup with a file, but there's a couple of spots where I've clearly hit the bufferbeam rather than the rivet! Still, I'm satisfied with that, and hopefully it'll improve with practice.
|
|
Lisa
Statesman
Posts: 806
|
Post by Lisa on Jan 25, 2019 21:24:02 GMT
Working on the angles for joining the bufferbeams to the sideframes, I've still got some holes to tap, then it's on with the rivetting. I've got a stock of 3/32 rivets, so this is the one thing I won't be using metric for; not that there's a big difference between 3/32" (2.38mm) and 2.5mm anyway. Poking about with things in an awkward position earlier, I decided it'd be easier if I turned the chassis over; then I realised it was Tich, and just flipped the chassis over with one hand!
|
|