BOXHILL by Martin Evans

[jma1009]

this is the handbrake which is quite different to the martin evans design as it is a hollow 'square' with a sliding square piece that engages on the handbrake shaft threaded 3/16 BSW. the pullrods which fit inside on a pin thus cant rotate. a very clever and lightweight design by William Stroudley. the rear cab boxes are solid on my STEPNEY and the rear half of the cab weighs 3.5 lbs! the martin evans design is nothing like fullsize and pretty horrendous!

cheers,
julian

[uuu]

Jun 28, 2013 21:20:16 GMT jma1009 said:

to compress pics...anyone know of a good one to download free online?
cheers,
julian

I like picasa, whch does a wonderul jb of organising all my pictues, and has an "export" feature which will resize/compress as required.

Wilf

[Jim]

Photobucket is also a handy site that allows you to upload your photos with provision for exporting them via link to sites like this. I've used it for all my photos on this site without any problem and importantly they didn't vanish during the recent site upgrade.

Jim

[Deleted]

looking great Julian...

Pete

[jma1009]

thanks pete, and thanks wilf and jim for your suggestions re compressing pics...i notice that the size of pics is now more generous than it was before so may not need to compress them now!
cheers,
julian

[jma1009]

very little progress to show here im afraid with STEPNEY, but ive finished the handbrake assembly by making the pull rods. in fullsize STEPNEY has the brake shaft below the frames so ive copied same.

[jma1009]

not quite sure why 3 pics show above!!

[jma1009]

the above pic shows the handbrake pull rods alongside the steam brake cylinder.

[jma1009]

there is quite a lot to be done to the cab before final completion as every hole that might conceivable be required must be drilled before the cab is completed... so ive made a start on the cab window spectacle frames machined out of an old (bell) clapper bearing. i ended up making 6, 2 more required out of brass i have to hand. the Stroudley cab spectacle frames are very distinctive and nothing like martin evans' drawings! they will be assembled with 12 BA screws.

cheers,
julian

[Deleted]

looks like you've been busy Julian.. nice work as always..

Pete

[jma1009]

thanks pete!

a pic of the cab with the completed cab spectacle frames fitted with 12 BA screws with proper glass in between the frames. clearance hole and countersunk (had to make a special 3/32" dia countersunk bit) in the inside frames, clearance hole (no.55) in the spectacle sheets, and 1mm holes tapped 12BA in the outer frames.

i counted 174 operations to drill the cab and window frames and tap and countersunk - quite a lot of work to fit bits which are only for decoration.

cheers,
julian

[uuu]

Wow!

[jma1009]

in pursuit of drilling all remaining holes in the cab before completing it, i have made a start on the reverser racks and reverser lever.

the rear of the reverser racks are fixed to an extension of the left hand cab box and was not too difficult to drill. however the front of the reverser racks are fixed inside the cab on the side of the left hand cab box which is totally inaccessible for drilling.

the red 8BA bolt in the pic is screwed into the 'inaccessible' hole.

after careful marking out through a 1mm hole drilled in the front of the reverser racks, i drilled the hole by hand using a 1mm drill held in a pin chuck, rotating the pin chuck with my fingers whilst applying pressure with my thumb! the pin chuck and drill would fit between the front cab boxes inside the cab. it took 30 mins of careful turning... being very careful not to break the 1mm drill! i had strengthened the side of the cab box so the drill had to go through 1/16" of steel and 1/8" of brass silver soldered on the inside the cab box. took 30 minutes, and another 15 mins or so to open out to No.50 and tap 8BA.

my fingers ache this morning!

thankfully i dont think there are anymore awkward holes to add to the cab, the remainder being reasonably accessible in the pillar drill.

cheers,
julian

[Jim]

As Simplyloco would say, 'That's jewellery making.' Superb workmanship Julian.

Jim

[Deleted]

great stuff.. I can feel the pain in your fingers from here...

Pete

[jma1009]

thanks pete, wilf, and jim.

i have done a bit more on the reverser. it is pretty much to scale with a 1/16" slot in the middle for the latch, as opposed to the usual arrangement seen in miniature. underneath the rack is a buckle thing to which the top of the spring will be attached and fits onto the extended lower end of the latch - it is like a very small crosshead. i cant finish the top of the latch till ive made the latch handle. the rack bolts and spacers are only temporary at this stage.

the martin evans reverser and stand is pretty awful and spoils the model IMHO, and it doesnt take much extra effort to make something that is as near to fullsize as i can get it and yet hopefully still be workmanlike and durable. the fullsize reverser is a work of art as you would expect from William Stroudley - beautifully proportioned and designed.

cheers,
julian

[uuu]

Very sweet. If it works as well as it looks it will give you joy each time you use it.

Wilf

[jma1009]

hi wilf,

it should work ok as its bigger proportions than THE DEAN's reverser - which has had 18 years of use since i made that reverser. the bigger proportions are due entirely to the way the fullsize top of the latch and latch handle is designed - which in miniature requires a bit of extra meat and slight 'overscale' to make it work without breaking! the top end of the latch has a boss that fits in one side of the latch handle - ive never come across this arrangement other than on Stroudley locos. i havent quite finished the latch handle and top of the latch boss yet but the attached pic should hopefully show how it works and fits together.

the silver steel boss on the latch was silver soldered at the same time that the rest of the latch was case-hardened.

a bit of fettling and polishing still required!

cheers,
julian

[jma1009]

the next job is a scale (or as near as i can get it) Stroudley air brake valve to work the steam brake. STEPNEY hasnt had a westinghouse air pump fitted since the early 1930's so at least i dont have to worry about making a scale westinghouse pump - though i might have a go at making one just for the sake of it! some more holes on the cab side to fix same - the brake valve that is, so needs doing pretty soon.

cheers,
julian

[Shawki Shlemon]

Very nice work , I can't see 12BA never mind drilling and tapping , Good on you , keep up the good work .