sweet pea

[guitardaveb]

hello there -
as a newcomer to 5" (been running 45mm for a few years ) - i wondered if anyone has any knowledge of building this loco from the blackgates bits and pieces - i don't have much in the way of building experience so any advice would be great -
Dave

[mmaidnz]

Hi,Dave.I'm building a"metre maid"(the 0-6-0 sweet pea)from the drawings.I got the frames laser cut,but everything else is machined or fabricated from stock.
Here are a couple of useful links,although they haven't been updated for some time:
bil.members.beeb.net/sweetpea.html
www.carnoustie47.freeserve.co.uk/
There must be hundreds of these around,so i'm sure there will be more advice available.
Hans.

[ilvaporista]

I made a whole series of laser cut parts for Sweet Pea when my eldest son wanted to start his own loco. Loads of pieces including the valve gear, drilling jigs etc. See www.ilvaporista.it and click on Famiglia, scroll down and there is a picture of all the parts.

My son has moved on to build a replica cockpit leaving these parts untouched. They are in the UK near Guildford.

On dry runs everything went together well.

[JohnP]

The only disadvantage that I can see to a Sweet Pea is that it doesn't follow a prototype. This can be turned to an advantage because you can do your own thing and not upset any rivet counters.

Though they do seem fairly heavy on fuel, they'll pull very well and I've never seen a finished one that doesn't do just that.

I think it's a far better beginner's loco than (say) titch, because it will do a real job of work.

I've been building mine for more years than I care to think of, but it's getting pretty close to finishing now, perhaps next year.....

JohnP

[denis M]

I thought that the Sweet Pea was a model of a Bagnall "P" class contractors loco.

Anyway, I built one of these some 20 years ago when they first came out I suppose and still she goes, a bit sluggish but she runs. It was my first loco and is just being overhauled by my son as his first project.

I would always suggest that this is an ideal first loco. There is plenty of meat on the castings etc just in case you make a mistake and when its finished it will go and it will pull people, many a time I have seen builders come along with their Rob Roy's etc and get disillusioned when they cannot pull any passengers.

My suggestion is get on and build, it should be a quick loco to finish. Take a look on the Blackgates site to see what's on there and when its finished you can bring it along to the annual Sweet Pea rally and sup some ale with the rest of us.

[swgwm02]

Hi folks !,

I have recently started building a sweetpea loco and I have heard some good reports about them. From the various reports I have read it would appear that some models may pull up to 6 adults whereas some can pull up to 10 .
Is there a reason for this ? They all seem to have the same basic boiler design and 1.5inch cylinder bore. Also would the simplex which also has 1.5 inch cylinders and a similar size boiler be able to exert the same tractive effort.
It could be a question of adhesive weight which makes the difference . Perhaps our more knowledgeable members could enlighten me. Comments appreciated.

[chameleonrob]

swgwm02 said:

It could be a question of adhesive weight which makes the difference.

or the track grade, or how worn the loco is, or how well built, or the weight of the carriages, or weight of people, or how good the driver is.......

lets just say there are one or two variables.

rob

[baggo]

Hi swgwm02,

As Rob quite rightly says, there are a lot of variables that will affect the performance of a loco and it is unlikely two will be exactly the same. I've just been reading the excellent articles by Jim Ewins on loco design and efficiency and in them he quotes a Mr Kieller who did some research on the subject some time ago. Mr Kieller basically said " It is a pity, in a way, that a model locomotive will 'go' even if badly designed and badly made". In other words even a poorly made loco will work after a fashion but not as well as a properly made one which will be more powerful and more efficient.

With regard to Simplex, the tractive effort will also depend on the diameter of the driving wheels i.e. the smaller the wheels, the higher the tractive effort for a given cylinder bore and stroke. I don't know what the diameter of Sweet Peas wheels are but I would assume that they would be smaller than Simplex's. If so, in theory, Sweet Pea would have a higher tractive effort.

John

[the_viffer]

Another reason why a Sweet Pea will go, I think, is because it has a mighty big boiler and will make lots of steam if you keep the ashpan empty. It looks small and cute but the firebox is 8" OD

[chameleonrob]

baggo said:

It is a pity, in a way, that a model locomotive will 'go' even if badly designed and badly made

and a lot of beginners (like me) won't know how good a loco can be, and so are satisfied with poorer performance (not me).

that is a good series of articles, anyone who is interested with getting the most out of a loco or is designing one would benefit from reading them.
I've posted a link before but as it's so good...

pageperso.aol.fr/jemodeng/index_frames.html?f=fs

rob

[guitardaveb]

:Dthanks for your comments - i have approached blackgates to get the bits and pieces to start - as for following a prototype- i've never followed any so far with my building done so this does not bother me - this project i hope once completed will give me the push to go further - was going to look at polly but nice a loco as it is - it's not what i like the look of - ie welsh narrow gauge - i know maxitrak do some nice looking loco's but i feel that something put together from actual machined bits and not just bolted together will give me an insight into how they work rather than just following a set of instructions - we will see eh?