My George!

[44767]

Hello everyone,

I thought you may like to see this of my 5" Black 5 "George Stephenson" I started it in about 1983 soon after I joined the Auckland Society of Model Engineers. I wanted to build a scale model and plans for this came available. "You'll need to get a lathe....." this is how I started in engineering.


It took me a year to make the bogie which I guess was because not only did I need to learn about machine drawings, but also machining and bench work and soldering all at the same time.

Apart from the wheels and cylinders and motion brackets everything is fabricated (I was a poor student). The boiler is now 3/4 done and out of shot is the tender which just needs piping and painting.

The engine runs beautifully on air with just a few PSI.

Below is the BSK I finished recently using one of Doug Hewson's kits. All the brake gear works if one were small enough to get inside and wind the handle in the guard's compartment.

[mutley]

Beautiful Mike. A credit to you given the distance between you and the prototype.

Andy

[44767]

Thanks Andy, I worked on the full size one while I was on a working holiday in 1991. I had already decided to model this one so it was really great for getting photos etc. I've been up to Morpeth a few times since, each time taking more photos. Hopefully when I am there in May it might be running.

[drumkilbo]

Yes, beautifully made indeed. Finish and detail are all superb. Well done.

Ian.

[welshy]

yes the model is A credit to you all the rods and valve gear look superb, amazing for a first attempt
Mike

[sapper]

The engine looks excellent. Keep us up to date as work progresses. An Engine always looks better when the name plates are fitted. The trouble is that when you get to this stage it is easy to think that it is nearly finished but wait until you start making boiler fittings and piping it up.
Sapper

[Laurie_B]

Excellent work.It looks very impressive already!
Do keep us updated with progress.
Well done Mike.

Laurence.

[Jim]

Thanks Mike for posting the link to this thread. The BSK the gold standard for me.
Jim

[Deleted]

very nice.. think I've seen this coach before just didn't know who it belonged too... very nice work Mike..

Pete

[Shawki Shlemon]

Agree with all above , I can't find new words .

[jma1009]

hi mike,
ive looked at all your pics and amazing work! having occupied a BR mark 1 and 2 guards van for many years i dont recall such a comfortable chair! there was a heater behind (often didnt work) and i dont recall the brake shaft being actuated by bevel gears - it was a system of rods in fullsize. the main requirement was a working oven opposite the chair! and lots of cleaning roll stuffed in the gap between the bottom of the guards compartment door to keep out the draughts! fire extinguisher and ladder in the luggage compartment plus emergency box and axe. brake stick propped up in the corner behind the handbrake stand. green flag left on the desk, plus train diagram on A4 paper and the slips used for filling out the train weight for the driver before starting. detonators and spare lamps underneath the desk which had sliding doors. we always polished the gauge for the guards brake valve just by the door.
wonderful recreation! brought back many happy memories!
cheers,
julian

[44767]

Hi Julian, I admit the chair was not quite correct but at the time I made it I didn't have a photo of one. I'm fairly sure though that the bevel gears were part of the mechanism. I have photos taken under a full size one and I also reffered to the book on BR Mark 1 coaches. The photos are on my other computer (I'm in China at the moment) so I'll look when I get back. Yes there is lots more detail that could have gone into it but I had to stop somewhere and it is not really a true scale model anyway. I made it a lot better than the basic rendition thaough.

Mike

[44767]

Here's the photo I referred to when doing the brake rodding:





It took quite a while to establish what went where. The photos I had taken and the book were invaluable. My coach being on Commonwealth bogies had different rodding to the ones on Mark 1 bogies. When I came to assemble it all I found that one of the rods to the bogie would have gone through one of the cross ties in the underframe. On further study of the book, and particularly to the drawing of the frame, I found a scrap section showing that member turned up the other way and welded on underneath of the longitudinal member instead of on top to solve the same problem I had. Therefore I concluded that I must have got everything largely correct!

Mike

[jma1009]

apologies mike,
i spent more time on the mark 2's. i am quite sure the mark 2's didnt have bevel gears. we often had to book bent rods when the guard's handbrake wheel was difficult to turn - a common fault of the mark 2's. the mark 2s were a bit more basic for the guard than the mark 1s!
cheers,
julian

[44767]

I've been putting aside a bit of time to carry on with my first ever model. lately I have been adding detail to the tender. Here is the electric lamps with conduit on the rear of the tender. That is Ø2.0mm conduit and scale elbows and T's etc. I think I have learned a lot since I last posted!

[mbrown]

Excellent work!

Did you make the elbows and Ts or find them from some source? I am going to need lots of these when I put the electrics into 99 3462, but I haven't worked out quite how to do them yet.

Best wishes

Malcolm

[44767]

Hi Malcolm,
I drew these up in CAD and produced lost wax castings. I can supply the conduit fittings (any type), the lamps and the Stones steam generator in vritually any scale. What scale is your 99 3462?

Mike

[mbrown]

I am building it at 1:9. That's roughly half way between 5" and 7 25" standard gauge scale, so a bit awkward! Are your conduit elbows hollow to take a fine cable?

Malcolm

[44767]

HI Malcolm,

Standard ¾" electrical steel conduit has an OD of 0.922" which is Ø2.60mm in your scale so I think the fittings to suit Ø2.5mm tube would be the choice. The moulded wax fittings are solid but I can print waxes to be hollow for the elbows; the T's can be drilled through.

Mike

[mbrown]

Thanks Mike - I'll send you a PM.

Malcolm