Governors

[dickonthelangwang]

I am currently trying to make sense of a partially built 2" Rushton Proctor steam tractor I've inherited (design from ME late 1980's) and want to know, should the model have a centrifugal speed governor ?? There is no sign of a governor in the set of Reeves drawings, either in detail or even on the GA drawing. The only place it's mentioned in the ME articles is as a very small paragraph on the last page - again no sign of it on the GA drawings. There is a small dimensioned drawing but nothing is said about how to make it or even if it is based on a casting ..... and it doesn't look the easiest thing to machine from the solid.

Anyone got any thoughts ??

Dick

[alanstepney]

I would leave off a governor, unless it is essential that you have one.
(Do you plan to run things off the belt frequently, for example?)

If you do need one, many of the published designs dont work as well as they should, so making your own is a better solution.
There was an article (in ME or EIM) a few years ago about governor design, that should help.
(Got an idea it was by Tubal Cain.)

[ettingtonliam]

Is there provision on the cylinder block to fit one? I think a governor on a traction engine looks good, although not all had them, only those which were used on belt work. They were rare on ploughing engines, rollers and small tractors. Its unlikely that a 2" scale governor will be very effective, but you could try scaling up the one Bill Hughes described for the 1 1/2" scale Allchin 'Royal Chester'

Richard Wilson

[dickonthelangwang]

Thanks for those suggestions. I'm not very familiar with traction engine terminology but am I right in assuming that 'off the belt'/'belt work' refers to when the traction engine is static & being used to power something like a threshing machine ? I can imagine that this is when speed control would be rather more important than when trundling down the road.

Dick

[ettingtonliam]

Yes, its for when the engine is driving something like a threshing machine, sawbench, mobile crusher, or in the case of showmens engines, the dynamo. It is disconnected (the governor belt taken off) when the engine is moving around or on the road.

Richard

[fostergp6nhp]

Steam tractors generally dont have governors as they were used for lighter haulage so not a nessesary fitment.

[klendo]

Actually the Ruston proctor Lincoln imp did have a governor fitted to it. It has a Pickering governor which is what your referring too as a central flugal variant.

[peterhill]

I am building a 6in scale Ruston & Proctor sd tractor, but don't need the governor as i will be driving it around, but may fit it later??.
Here in the US every engine runs on the governor even when they are being moved around the show ground.


Peter USA