Fair Rosamund

[dscott]

What wonderful news that an earlier version of the dear old 517 is being built, together with description of a delightful North 'O' the border locomotive. What lovely curves.

Not that Miss Rosamund is missing on curves, or at least her wardrobe from previous re-builds, she has at least 4 from my knowledge, as some of you may know I have been working on a 517 for some time now, and have got to know almost every rivet
and plate in their construction.

6 months is a doable time if your daughter has grown up your house finished and your full time job has eventually paid off a South Devon mortgage.
BUT.
I am lucky in that I am drawing all the components in Solid Works as TRAINing at work, just got the trailing wheel done and am very happy with the results.

Behind many of todays designs in our magazines, there are lots of people putting in many hours of work because they, like me, love steam engines and wish to see a particular favorite engine available to build.

Good luck Neville.

David Scott.

[Laurie_B]

It was very interesting to read about the new class 517 loco model,"The Fair Rosamund" in Model Engineer.This particular loco,of course,represents just one of a class which took on many differing guises over the years.
I wonder if Neville Evans will be covering at least some of the various changes made to the 517 class,as,for example,these locos were initially fitted with short saddle tanks.
I hope Mr Evans at least provides boiler designs to cover the engines fitted with S2 or S4 boilers,maybe even the 'raised firebox' R2/3 boilers that were also fitted.
This would also allow builders of Martin Evans' "Metro" tank to cover some of the earlier examples of that particular class too.
I look forward to the next instalment!

[dscott]

The name in model engineering is cooperation and now being able to produce two different versions of the 517.
There were at least 57 other varieties.
Ah... also parts can also be used to build an earlier version of the Metro, in the early one saving the builder having to construct a cab, oh the joys of an open air Hobie.

I get my second mention in M.E. and some builders can look forward to a rivet counters accurate model, there are only 42 1/16" rivets to bash into the 6 tank supports on mine, which was my escape from a wet garden last weekend. No, 84 as I am building two. 517 and 526.

My afternoon today was checking all the views on the rear trailing wheel pattern which is being milled out. This will fit about 10 of the early Wolverhampton / G.W.R designs so will be very useful. As will be the driving wheel with its much slimmer center which has caused much machining with a 3mm ball nosed cutter!

Now a Pannier with 5 foot 2" driving wheels, that would move.... shame it had outside cranks!!

David.

[dscott]

oops, Neville sent the wrong drawing that got published in M.E.
This is so easy to do when it gets compressed into a line and a click on the mouse and its gone. A new one is on its way.

So there are 3 models to choose from, the early one, short wheel base, and long wheel base, which made it closer to the 14XX tank
which Collet re did.

Most people would use laser cut frames and bits, so these will be fine.

David.

[Laurie_B]

For builders/prospective builders of the "Fair Rosamund" design,there is a very good article on these locos entitled:"The 517 Class at Work,Part 1" in the latest edition of the Great Western Railway Journal (No.74). Part 2 is due out in July.

[dscott]

I went out to get it yesterday and spent the evening reading through, lots of photos that I had not seen and adding to the
numbers of differences on cabs bunkers tanks chimneys buffers
and steps to choose from.

I like 526 as it is a lovely time in the evening when most of us have finished work. She is on one of the lists of allocations.

I am still bashing bits of mine and getting close to putting a chassis together.

David.

[Laurie_B]

Hello David,
Yes it was a very good article,and there certainly were a lot of variations applied to the class over the years.Never mind Heinz and their 57 varieties,more like the GWR and its 517 varieties!
Something I hadn't realised is quite how many were allocated to the West Midlands area.I've always envisaged these neat locos bowling along a rural branch line in Devon,or to such lovely places as Much Wenlock,and not really working such trains as the 'Dudley Dodger' !
I see that the latest online version of the 'Bruce Engineering' (Polly Model Engineering) catalogue now lists the 'Fair Rosamund' in the Practical Scale section,though it only mentions that most drawings and parts are now available;presumably just for the Neville Evans design?
Nice to read that your design is now taking shape.Maybe you could post some photos as your 517 progresses.

[dscott]

Hi, now that I am back from my long holiday in China, I can do some more to 517 and 526. Just before I left I spent several days working on the wheel patterns as we at work have a CNC router and Solid works to draw them out in. So lovely to see the results of all our hard work in the previous M.E. These wheels are also the correct pattern for the Metro.

Doing a totally to scale model is very satisfying when you get to put in place, everything that was on the original, the bearings look such a good idea and she should run very well. Mine is more traditional but I may use the bearing idea on another model.

I am using steel axle boxes and bearings on my version of Tina the tram. She has a brother called Toby for copy-rite reasons.
I work in a wood shop so just had to build a wooden engine, and working with sculpture students the face came out very well!!!

David.

[Laurie_B]

I was sorry to read in the latest M.E. that Neville Evans has been taken seriously ill,and wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to him being able to complete his construction series.

[Deleted]

I was a personal friend of the late Neville Evans and he lived just a few miles from me so we very often had interesting conversations about many things .

As regards the Loch and 517 we talked a lot about these and I actually made some finished parts and patterns for the prototype engines .

One finished part that gave me great pleasure to do was the 517 chimney - what a thing of beauty in full size .

As some of you may know Neville was a VERY clever man that could turn his mind to almost anything .

Apart from Model Engineering he was very interested in motor cycles and both raced them and started a company to produce modern day versions of Manx Nortons .

His early career was in the RAF as a pilot and he told many anecdotes about flying the many types of fighter jet that there were in the late fifties into the sixties .

Apart from being a pilot he was a qualified navigator - a skill which he applied to his love of sailing .

michaelw