3 1/2 William

[Garry Coles]

Hi everyone

Back in August I asked for thoughts on building the Rob Roy loco, and one of the replies sugested building the 3 1/2 William as I would find this loco a lot better to build and run, so after buying the plans and spending a lot of time deciding which one to build, I have now chosen the William, so once again I am asking for any thoughts or comments on this loco please.
Thanks

[andrewtoplis]

Garry,
This guy has a good site:

ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~hwata/e-Wiltop.htm

He does seem to have every bit of workshop equipment going, and does a superb job of his William, even modifying it a bit! The english is quite fun too.

Andy

[simonp]

I am just starting the valve gear on mine (after 13 years!) it is my first attempt and I agree it is a better choice than Rob Roy - I have seen several builders struggle with RR partly due to the small size.
There are two errors on the plans I have:
1) Most Williams I've seen (and mine) have a round stretcher at each end to support the pony trucks - this is not shown on the drawing and you have to drill the hole for it
2) The tapped hole for the piston rod in the crosshead is shown the wrong size