0-4-0 'Veno' with almost a full load of passengers awaits her driver. Turnhout, Belgium.
A Publication of the 1 k Gauge Society
No. 33 Summer 1985 —~ Established 1945
Castings, Drawings and Materials for Locomotives from Gauge 0 to 7%" gauge, Traction Engines from 1" to 3" scale, Steam Road Vehicles, Stationary Steam Engines, l/C Engines, Workshop Equipment, Drawings and Castings. 1 Copper in Sheet, Sections and Tube from /16" to 6%" o.d. Brass Sheet and Sections. 1 Stainless Steel Rounds from /16" to 1" Spring Steel Strip. Round Cast Iron Bars. Phosphor Bronze. Mild Steel Section and Plate. Silver Steel Rounds, Squares and Flats. Boiler Flanged Plate Sets for over 200 Designs. Nuts, Bolts, Washers, Rivets, Pins, Transfers, Paints, Lubricants and Cutting Oils, Pressure Gauges and Boiler Fittings. Silver Solders, Fluxes and Soft Solders, etc. Full Range of Sievert Brazing Equipment. Main Agents for Myford and Boxford Lathes and Millers, Emco Machinery, Senior Millers, Fobco Drilling Machines and a Wide Range of Hand and Machine Tools oy Leading British Manufacturers. Stockists of Accessories for all the above Machines. Books, Magazines and Publications. The Largest Stock of Model Engineering Supplies in the World 154 page illustrated catalogue price £1.50 post free UK. Overseas Surface or Airmail, post extra. COUNTER SALES or WORLDWIDE MAIL ORDER SERVICE. Retail Counter Hours: Monday-Friday 8 am-4 pm Saturday 9 am-12.'10 pm 24 hour answerphone service AJ.Reeves&Co.(B'ham)Ltd Holly Lane, Marston Green, Birmingham B37 7AW England. Tel: 021779 6831/2/3 I Nearly Finished GOING AROO/^
% SEVEN ... SUMMER ... 00 SEVEN... SUMMER... m S UNNY SEVENS SIMMER . .. Z UNDER SUMMER SUN... o M odels of Perfection .. . Manfully they RUN ... E NGINEERING for Entertainment... R ESOURCESFUI S.T.E.A.M. CARRIES ON
see you... GUILDFORD, STOKE PARK July 20/21 FIT FYNE FORT FITTINGS we too are completely loco!!! New list still free forS.A.E. Cylinder Drain Cocks over 30 difWent items Lubricators in Tanks single iwln tuple ll'-isq FITTINGS FOR SEVEN 7' « 3'/?' IHercuiesI 3/8in. pipe Watergauges Plain, single vl two v/ three vl Highlander (with and without blowdownl Vi6in. pipe Holmside" 1 /oin pipe Glob* Valves—Angle—(threaded flanged) - 3/i6in. pipe Female, Double Female, Male. Inline Flan-langedg . Flanged Floor Mounted Safety Valves Express Tank Modified Tank Hercules". "Highlander". "Holmside". KITS OF FITTINGS f or . . . Dart . Tich" Rob Roy" "HIGHLANDER" Manifolds: IKI 3/ie Ini VI IL> = ''4-in, VI "Highlander", "HOLMSIDE" Holms'de" "HERCULES" Whittle Turret Hercules Venical LBSC 3 "DART" or 4 lake offs "ROMULUS" (shortly) Valves Blowdown. Blower. Check, By Pass. Control Globe, Pedestal. Safety. Tender Water. ask for free list IS.A.E.) Injector, Water Injector Whistle Washers. Adaptors, Syphons. Bushings. Unions. Nuts. Cones. Bulkhead Unions. Blowers, etc Box Spanners. Pumps . . EXTRAS Tender Freestanding, Crosshead. Axle, Fourways — Crosshead Polypenco Nickel Silver and Packed Gland Pumps . Extended Handles rams AND of course WHISTLES Extended Spindles -ZZZZZZZZZZEALZZZZZZZZZZEALZZZZZZZZZZEALZZZ The Steam Fitting Specialists NEW LOCATION, /lfont> Ifnrf VfHIn^ CLARENCE BOATYARD, EAST COWES 'J £11* JJUll JJUUI1O0J ISLE OF WIGHT P032 6EZ U.K. TeSbVPatet''— Telephone: 0983-293633 (.©.ran. tn INFORMATION ON THE 7>/4in. GAUGE SOCIETY
Anyone wishing to join the Society, apply to the Secretary. Annual Subscriptions due in February each year are £10. New U.K. members, as above plus initial registration fee of £1.00. Payments can most conveniently be made by Bankers Standing Order. Overseas Subscriptions £10 remitted in Sterling please.
Executive for 1984/5
President: Dr. Brian Rogers. Chairman: Eric Doyle, "Newsfield", Grange Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton, Lanes. Secretary: Bonnie Whisstock, 149 Surbiton Hill Park, Surbiton, Surrey. Treasurer: Leo Whisstock, 149 Surbiton Hill Park, Surbiton, Surrey. Editor 7'/4 Gauge NEWS: Jack Meatcher, 45 Marks Road, Wokingham, Berks. Sub. Editor/Production: R. Green, 60 Weston Road, Gloucester. Trade Liaison Officer: Dr. M.A. Taylor, 112 Sutton Park Road, Kidderminster, Worcs. Insurance Secretary: Malcolm B. Beevers, 64 Bullar Road, Bitterne, Southamp ton, Hants. Committee Member: Eric Smith, Bucks Cottage, Bucklebury, Slade, Nr. Reading, Berks. Telephone Numbers: Eric Doyle: (0204) 51899). Bonnie and Leo Whisscock: Surbiton 01-390 1747. Brian Rogers: Worcester (0905) 52397. Jack Meatcher: Wokingham (0734) 790359. Mike Taylor: Kidderminster (0562) 69342. Malcolm Beevers: (0703) 334044. Eric Smith: (0635) 62738.
CHERRY TREE LANE NURSERY. NORTH WALSHAM, NORFOLK
ill A Publication of the Vi Gauge Society —y
EDITOR: From The Editors Desk . . . J Meatcher, 45 Marks Road, Well, the 1985 season is now in full swing. As I write (at the Wokingham, Berkshire. end of March) the vagaries of the British Summer have yet (Wokingham 790359). to reveal themselves so I am unable to report record attendances at 7V4G Society meetings and events. SUB-EDITOR/ Even if we had had fine weather, would there have been PRODUCTION: record attendances anyway? The evidence of the past is that R Green, few meetings can be described as well attended - even the 60 Weston Road, Gloucester. AGM is considered well supported if 25% of the members turn up. Why is this? A look through the address list gives some idea in that, ADVERTISING SPACE IS apart from a few local "hot spots" such as Echills Wood and AVAILABLE IN THE NEWS Halton, we are fairly evenly distributed throughout the Full Page: £25.00 UK. This means that most of us have to travel some Half Page: 115.00 Quarter Page: £K.OO distance to get to a track. But is this really a problem? With Supply Camera Ready Copy motorways and modern car performance quite long Typesetting chargeable. journeys can be completed in reasonable times. Circulated to every member of It is my opinion that the cause is a form of apathy. I'm led the 7Vi" G. Society and to this conclusion by my own experiences. Often, my wife available to the trade and public. has informed me of some social function which we have to attend. Neither of us is keen to get ready and leave the house - it is easier to sit in front of the fire or television. However, having made the effort we return home later CONTRIBUTIONS remarking on how much we've enjoyed ourselves. All it WELCOME needed was that initial commitment to get up and go. Although every care is taken of submitted material, ihcie can Having resolved to attend some events or visit some be no firm guarantee that use tracks, you now have to decide where to go. Start by can be made of it and no reading the Secretary's Notes which accompany each issue responsibility be taken for d 1 So, this Summer, try to get to some of the Society's events and see how much more you get out of your membership. I would like to thank all those who have taken the time and trouble to submit articles for the News. I took this "job" on with some trepidation, but in the event it has proved to be quite a pleasure without, so far, the need to browbeat people into sending copy. If you do send an article for the News, do not be disappointed if it is not in the next issue. This does not mean that it is not good enough but that there was insufficient space in that issue. The arrangement with the printer is for 36 pages (including the cover) and it is necessary to achieve a balance of subject matter. So, keep sending the articles - they are appreciated by the Editor and other members alike. J. Meatcher Press Date for the Autumn Issue: July 5th. ? SIMPLICITY Passenger hauling Marrow gauge. Battery powered Diesel loco COflQ SIMPLICITY' in fully machined, part assembled KIT-FORM PEARL' Our Kerr-Stuart 0-4-2 Saddle Tank in 5" or 7%" G. Fully Machined Kit. Simple Assembly. Supplied in Stages. Easy MAXITRACK Payments Send £1 for fully illustrated catalogue to: +VAT 'Rothiemay', Offham Road, West Mailing £2180 KENT, ME19 6RG (0732) 840660 J. G. S. CLARKE & CO. Locomotives built to order. Quotations on request. Drawings and castings also available 7V4" Gauge "Gooch" G.W.R. Dean 4-4-0 Armstrong Class Tender Locomotive NYC&HRRR 7V4" Gauge New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 4-4-0 Tender Locomotive Send 50p stamps (Overseas £1.00) for catalogue to: The Old School, Love Lane, Denbigh, Clwyd LL16 3LT, N. Wales. Tel: 074 571 3118 3 DON YOUNG 7 GAUGE) DESIGNS RHYMNEY RAIL MOTOR and TUG Fate decided that Don would be Member020 in the 7y in. Gauge Society, so where better to start than with a design of that Continental wheel arrangement. Scaled up from the already successful 5 in. gauge version, Frames are 25f£ in. overall, Wheels 5£ in. diameter, Cylinders 1J in. bore x 2j in. stroke, Boiler barrel 7j in. o.d. and Weight approx 170 lb. The TUG illustrated is by Alec Hadfleld MINI and MAXI LUCKY 7 Don's first Narrow-gauge design aimed at the American market, it proved interest in American Steam to be worldwide. MINI was arrived at by moving the wheels of the 3j in. gauge version outside the frames, to give an engine about 5 ft. long with useful 2 in. bore cylinders, whilst MAXI is an almost 1/3rd true scale version of the proto type weighing in at over a ton! MARIE ESTELLE Thanks to the magic of the name of Walt Disney, and the skill and artistry of animator Ollie Johnston in fashioning his 3-foot gauge MARIE E from a Porter saddle tank, Don has a winner on his hands! Frames are 28 in. long from 1 in. x i in. BMS bar, Wheels 5 in. diameter, Cylinders 1f in. bore x 2{ in. stroke, Boiler barrel 6 in. o.d. | and Weight around 170 lb. The example illustrated is by Danny Daniels and Brian Lee. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE Featuring 33 interesting and varied Designs from 2j in. to 7± in. Gauges. LOCOMOTIVES LARGE & SMALL The Quarterly Magazine for the Steam Enthusiast. 7i in. Gauge is wonderful!, but to confine one's interest is to miss out on much of the excitement of the Steam Locomotive. LLAS is Don's attempt to convey some of this excitement in an informative but informal style, which is finding much favour. JOIN LLAS AND JOIN IN THE FUN!, a 1984 subscription being £6.40 U.K., £6.75 Europe and Overseas (Surface Mail). DON YOUNG DESIGNS Bardonela, Adgestone, Sandown, Isle of Wight P036 OHN Telephone: Isle of Wight (0983) 406200 A KGV's AND ALL THAT by Eric Wightman It all started with a visit to Oakhill Manor two years ago. Up until then, I had spent the last 25 years switching from one locomotive to another, finishing a part-built 2'/2in. Purley Grange, starting a 3'/2in. Doris and losing interest halfway. In all, probably 30 locomotives of one sort or another have passed through my hands. Finally, it was a toss-up between a 5in. Duchess and a 5in. Britannia but when I examined the Spink drawings and castings, the Britannia won. A start was made and gradually I had a few bits and pieces together but still kept leaving off the building and doing other things, such as a skeleton clock or a replica firearm, neither finished to this day. A psychologist would probably say I was searching for something or trying to find myself, whatever that means. Visit to Oakhill Manor However, in the summer of 1982, I persuaded my long-suffering family that a weekend near Bath would be very pleasant. My elder son, being a newly qualified surveyor, the beautiful buildings in Bath - you know how it goes! My ulterior motive was, of course, to visit Oakhill about which I had heard such a lot and, living in the north west, opportunities for this were very few. Enduring the grumbles, I found myself actually inside the Manor after a most enjoyable ride from the car park to the main entrance, pulled by a lO'/tin. locomotive. I think it was an unrebuilt Scott but as I will explain later, everything else is now just a misty haze. As I entered the main hall, with superb models literally everywhere, right in the middle, on a rubber tyred transport trolley, was a fairly large green locomotive obviously not a static exhibit. I had a close look and saw that it had "King something or other" on its nameplates and that, as I dimly recalled my Purley Grange days, was probably connected with the Great Western Railway, which I knew existed somewhere down south. Up to that moment I only really recognised the LMS. Hence the Duchess flavour mentioned earlier. Furthermore, the gauge was larger than 5in. but not as big as lO'Ain. It dawned on me that 7'/4in. was a very attractive size. I wandered from room to room and gallery to main hall and back again. The other exhibits were really superb and plentiful but I kept making my way back to the King, standing looking at it, and it was well worth the looking. In all, I must have spent one and a half hours simply looking and, in the process, driving my family to distraction. Obsession with Kings For the next few weeks I must have been a real pain in the neck, not able to stop talking about it. My good friend Keith, who as you might guess is also a locomotive man, must have been sick of the sound of it. I bought all the books on Kings and made all the enquiries I could but it seemed a way way out dream and anyway my workshop equipment was struggling to manage a 5in. Britannia and so on, but of such are dreams made. There was no doubt about it though, something had definitely clicked and I was feeling what can only be described as an "inner glow". I now appreciate that it was the impact of 7'/•in. and a King at the same time. 5 'Scrap' with a difference Now in the space of seven days, this is what happened. A local engineer who I am friendly with, was feeling the effects of the recession and contracting into a small unit and in the words of the manager, "throwing out some of the smaller stuff and did I want any?" One of the "smaller" items was a nine year old Colchester Student and another was a Victoria vertical milling machine. Did I want them - and at scrap price? My word, the Student went home and the miller being too large went into the small machine shop at work, in exchange for a smaller Pallas vertical milling machine, which, in turn, went home. The gleam was coming into my eye! Fortuitous visit The following day, a Saturday, Keith and I visited a friend near Shrewsbury and were standing talking in his workshop when I saw the chassis plates of something rather interesting, leaning against the rear wall and looking rather neglected. Examination showed that the plates were the correct dished plates for the Reeves 7'/4in. King George V and that two or three stretchers had been fitted. My friend had no desire to work on the King, having acquired the bits as part of a swap. A bit of dignified haggling and they were mine, whereupon he then said that there was plenty more stuff in a drawer and all the Reeves drawings as well. Even the actual nameplates. My cup nearly runneth over! Extreme good fortune The following week, whilst talking to John Doyle, the locomotive dealer who is also a good friend, he mentioned that he was buying a chassis of a "Manor" from a man in Wolverhampton and that he thought this man had a few 7'Ain. King bits. I offered to collect the Manor, which would give me the opportunity of enquiring about the bits. Bits indeed! Practically all the castings, wheels and all cylinders - even a spare inside cylinder and at virtually scrap price! The castings are works of art. I couldn't believe my good fortune, especially when, as we were leaving, the man asked if I could use a boiler for the King and if so, he knew where there was one, all copper but with a fault. Need I say more. I purchased the boiler, nearly completed, the defect worrying me a little but as it is a dimensional one and not a material fault, I can overcome it. Building project begun The next few months were really something. I was on Cloud Nine. I decided that this King was going to be a really super job, worthy of the magnificent castings and the first rate drawings, so I chose to build the front bogie first and see what sort of job I made of it. What a superb bogie. By itself it constitutes a full building project but how satisfying and after a year I have not quite finished it. Enthusiastic help At the Birmingham Exhibition last year, the magnificent Reeves King built by Mr. Adams of Harrogate, was on show, and wonderful to behold, even as it was, then, unpainted. Eventually, some months ago I plucked up courage and telephoned Mr. Adams just to talk TAin. Kings. I felt very diffident, not a little impertinent and full of trepidation. I should have known better. He was kindness itself and talked tome for nearly an hour. Enthusiastic, helpful and a real pleasure to talk to, as I am finding all V/dn. men to be. The part that shook me though, was (. the time and effort he had put into his and did I really realise how long a job I had in front of me - 8/10 years perhaps. New inspiration Up to then I had not put much emphasis on time, being carried away with the events leading up to the building. I went into my workshop, surveyed my newly acquired machinery and all the bits for the King and felt deflated. I wanted something in steam - only a King would satisfy me - what had I let myself in for and the brain really did soften after 50 years. With a bit of the "Well, I've made my bed, etc.", I carried on for some time and suddenly, in one of the locomotive magazines, I saw for sale a part-built King George V but this time to the Greenly design. Even though I was practically broke I started serious enquiries about the Greenly version and discovered that it was a fine locomotive though not to be compared with the Reeves. More of a workhorse and not super detailed. This one had reached the rolling stage and eventual examination showed maybe two to three years' work and it would be steaming. Quite satisfactory for starters as you might say. A question of finance I persuaded myself that this was the answer. A good steady workhorse to satisfy my needs for an early Steamer and a top quality exhibition version to last me the rest of my life. All I needed was some money. Again, Kismet or whatever, smiled on me. Another friend was changing his business and "did I want that 6r/2in. Willson centre lathe I had long admired?" If so, he would swap it for one of my collection of antique guns. My Student and a Centec Miller I no longer used were sold. The Willson moved in and I became the new owner of a K.G.V. Well, the Student was a bit noisy anyway. A plea for assistance Why am I saying all this? Is it really of any interest to other 7V4in. devotees? I don't know. In defence, I can only say that this 7'/4in. business really gets you and something must come bursting out, a bit like the trumpet player who had "A bellyfull of good music but an awful way out". I suppose my real reason is a disguised plea for help on the Greenly King. The drawings, unlike Reeves, leave a lot to be desired and there are now only minor castings available - no cylinders for instance. The steam exhaust passages are Viin. copper pipe fitted into a bolted-on block at each end, a bit like an inlet manifold on a car engine. Because of this, I have had to set to and make wooden patterns for cylinders and I am no woodworker. I have tried to incorporate steam passages as in the Reeves version. The Reeves cylinders will not do as the frames on the Greenly version are cranked and not dished. The bore for the piston valve liners shows two diameters, for what reason I cannot work out as the liners are located by an external shoulder. How does the smoke box fit? The Reeves inside cylinder has the correct portion of saddle, the Greenly one I cannot quite fathom. How does the bogie pin stay fastened to the locomotive frames and if in fact there is one? I can't see any suggestion of one on my drawings. I could ask hundreds of questions. On the other hand I have made a few items and in so doing solved a number of machining problems. For instance, the inside big end split bearings, which are not so simple as one might think. How to bore the cylinders which are 5in. x 5in. x 6in. overall with two parallel bores, using a between centres boring bar on a lathe with no boring table. Providing the Editor is not heartily sick of my Kings and me by now. 7 I could write up some details at a future date. In the meantime, if there is another builder of the Greenly King who has either started or completed one and doesn't mind having the pants bored off him, I would dearly like to know and get in touch. Increased enthusiasm I have now been involved in this 7'/4in. project for some two years and am getting more and more enthusiastic and meeting others who are well worth the meeting. This has never happened to me before. Perhaps the psychologists are right after all and I have found myself. (Eric can be contacted on 06632-2399 during evenings - Ed.). TRADE TOPICS - READY TO RUN by Mike Taylor Spring is here at last! Time for the great outdoors and time to get out of the workshop! It's too late now to make that masterpiece for this season. However, there are several 'ready to run' locomotives available for sale, for those determined to steam-up afresh for the 1985 season. Christie's, at the British Engineerium in Hove, East Sussex, is always well worth a visit in itself, but the Spring Auction contains several very interesting items for the 71/*" Gauge fan. Lot 139, a superb exhibition standard model of a 1927 'Andrew Barclay' 0-4-0 saddle tank, built from works' drawings by Sutcliffe of Burnley, finely finished in dark blue livery of Burnley Gas Dept., with red lining and hand painted crests. It has a superheated boiler in copper, with fine fittings, and is some 34W long and 15-V4" wide. It is expected to fetch the estimated £5,000 on its finish alone. The next lot is 140, a sturdily built 'Great Western 1101 Class, 0-4-0 dock tank built by Arthur Glaze to the 1926 Avonside Engine Co's. drawings. A fully fitted, silver soldered, copper boiler and full Walschaert's valve gear are featured, and it comes with passenger driving trolley having a copper water tank, an eccentric- driven feed pump. The trolley is ingeniously disguised as a standard 20 ton GWR 'Toad' brake van and it could all be yours for about £6,000, it is estimated. Lot 141, is an 0-4-2 side tank, No. 1106, named T.K. Brunei', in blue livery with red lining - somewhat unlike anything 'western' both in colour and shape. Nevertheless, it is well engineered with a brazed copper boiler, Walschaert's valve gear, and it comes with 200 feet of dual 5V7W gauges steel track on wooden sleepers. Estimated at about £2,500. A very interesting display-only model comes next, being a Midland Single tender locomotive No. 2601, named Princess of Wales. It is finely finished in full glorious Midland livery with showtrack. Looking very much the part, although only ornamental, it's estimated at about £1,500. Finally, at this sale, is Lot 143, which is another 'Single'. This one is 3067, 'Duchess of Teck', fully lined out in the ornate Great Western period livery, and standing magnificently on a show track. A very fine engine, with brazed copper 8 boiler having three superheater tubes, twin inside cylinders and Stephenson valve gear. Coming complete with all other fittings, it is estimated at £6,000 plus. Along the grapevine is something for narrow-gauge enthusiasts, being a superb presentation of an Indian Hunslett, 2-8-4 tank locomotive, the original built in 1959 at Leeds to the order of the Indian Stores Dept. for the Dolphus Railway, which was then part of the Indian Government Railway Central Railway. The model was built in 1980, and will not traverse the owner's 40 foot radius curves- hence the reason for sale at £9,850. It is described as a bargain and, considering its mass alone, it must be since, at 102" long, 34" tall, and 23" wide, it is thought that curves in excess of fifty feet will be advisable along with a healthy bank balance. Finally, if you can't afford these starting prices, may I commend a good book for the beach this Summer - the twenty-first edition, larger than ever, Reeves catalogue suitably entitled 'Your Passport to Model Engineering'. For a modest £1.50 it gives all their prices of fittings, materials and equipment necessary for those members making it themselves, at perhaps, rather less cost than the Christie's estimates above. See you on the beach, then! . . . THE 7'/4in. GAUGE BEYER PEACOCK by G.C. Nicholson The popularity of narrow gauge prototypes for the 7'/4in. gauge enthusiast has grown over the last few years as has been shown by the proliferation of Hunslets and Romulus engines. Having been involved with the production of four modified Romulus engines named Marchlyn, James, Elidir and Estelle, and had the pleasure of driving them on the Walsall Railway, it was with some sadness that the last one, James, was seen to depart to the line of Don Witheridgc at Hemsby. Finding a compromise Bret Rogers and I felt the need to fill the gap left by the departed engines, and began to consider a new project. Bret is a keen narrow gauge enthusiast and I prefer mainline prototypes. He likes four wheels - one at each corner and a tall chimney. I like lots of wheels and works showing, so a compromise was very necessary. We decided on narrow gauge, the choice seeming very wide, but we wanted something different from the predominant Welsh scene. Bret suggested three foot gauge Isle of Man engines - Beyer Peacock 2-4-0 tanks. "Mannin" seemed a good choice at first but the valve chests under the smokebox and valve gear under the boiler behind the tanks didn't seem too good. I didn't care much for the slope of the cylinders. However, a further search through the narrow gauge books came up with the Beyer Peacock 2-4-2 tank engines built in 1892 for the Belfast and Northern Counties line from Larne to Ballymena. The engines were designed by Beyer Peacock to a specification drawn up by the railway's engineer, Malcolm Bowman, who was a keen advocate of compounding. Thus, the 2-4-2 tanks were compound with a high pressure cylinder on one side and a low pressure cylinder on the other. This gave the engines two 'puffs' per revolution of <» the wheels instead of the usual four. Two engines were built and proved to be very good, and later, more engines were built in Belfast to the same design. Prototype decision From my point of view, this prototype seemed to be the compromise we were looking for - more wheels but not too many - outside Walchearts valve gear and a good chimney. A narrow gauge engine with a standard gauge look, after all, it was intended to haul the boat trains with corridor coach stock! Geoff Nicholson's N.C.C. 2-4-2T at Porters Hill Farm, August 5th 1984 Visit to Museum The next step was to obtain more technical information. This we found was available, as the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester has the drawings on microfilm from the Beyer Peacock archives. So, after contacting the curator, Bret and I made a trip to the Museum to collect copies of the general arrangement drawings of both Isle of Man and Northern Ireland engines. We found, on studying the drawings, that the driving wheels were the same for each locomotive, as were the pony trucks and wheel spacing. The outcome was that our enthusiasm for the Irish engine soon put an end to further thoughts about the Isle of Man prototype. Work on the drawings As the enthusiasm grew, so did the urge to start production of the first of a batch of ten - how often does our enthusiasm lead us into the realms of fantasy? Anyway, Bret's drawing pencil got into top gear, and drawings began to appear in rapid succession. I got down to making patterns for cylinders, wheels, chimneys and all the bits and pieces which are not too easy to fabricate, while drawings for the main frame, buffer, beams, stretchers and motion brackets were sent to a firm of profile cutters. Ill Production begins In what seemed no time at all we had the drawing and materials to hand which made possible a serious start to production. The main frames, '/tin. thick and 5ft. 4in. long, needed very little in the way of cleaning up, so with the aid of a number of big "G" clamps and sash cramps, we assembled the chassis on a large 'marking off table. The electric arc welder soon joined the whole lot together - total time taken was half an hour! The castings arrived from the foundry so Bret saw to the making of axle boxes with grease lubricated roller bearings and machining wheels and axles, while I "assembled" the various drawings to produce a general arrangement drawing to enable me to make the side tanks and cab. These are made of 15 gauge steel rivetted together - 1000 rivets in each tank. The tank joints were assembled with a well known brand of jointing compound and then painted inside with rubberised paint to make them rust proof and water tight. After much discussion, the drawings for the boiler and the valve gear were drawn. I got busy making flanging blocks and formers and flanged all the boiler plates. The barrel was rolled and joined by a butt strip, rivetted on and silver soldered. Bret got on with the pony trucks and brake gear. The boiler is all copper flanged, rivetted and silver soldered. It weighs something near 1 '/2cwt. The silver soldering was a struggle and caused us some physical sweat as well as mental stress. However, perseverance eventually achieved a satisfactory pressure test. The engine was now showing some progress - chassis with wheels, cylinders and motion; boiler fitted with regulator and super-heaters. Bret worked on the vacuum brake system and plumbing while I got on with the boiler fittings, cleading, ash pan, blast pipe, blower and fire hole door. Initial teething problems The time had come to see if all the bits and pieces would come together and make an engine. We really needed a crane to lift the boiler into place on the chassis, but between us, and with a length of rope round the boiler, we got it into place. It fitted, but not without a few choice words about an ash pan that didn't want to fit into the space allotted to it. All was well after we had learnt the art, and it looked something like a locomotive. We tried the side tanks in position only to find the lifting links of the valve gear fouled the cut out in the bottom of the tanks. This was something of a setback as the pockets in the bottom of the tanks had been made and rivetted before the tanks were assembled which made the job of altering them a rather difficult proposition. After successful modification, the tanks'went into position and were firmly screwed into place. The cab was tried in place and wc stood back to admire our handiwork as it stood on its castor mounted erecting stand in Bret's garage. Assembly and painting Ego satisfied, the engine was stripped for painting and fitting the decorations, like brass window frames, steps, handrails, lubricator and cylinder cleadings. Bret was responsible for painting the engine in LMS red with yellow lining and black surround. The LMS coat of arms has caused some comment as it looks rather special. The LMS inherited the Northern Counties Committee (hence. NCC on the side tanks) from the Midland Railway. To produce the scale size coat of arms on the cab, a piece of 16 gauge steel was painted red and an LMS coat of arms transfer from Messrs Reeves was applied to it. This was photographed and the 11 colour prints were produced to the size we required for the engine. These were cut out and stuck on the cab sides. The whole colour scheme seems to suit the engine very well. To enable us to drive the locomotive, I made the middle of the back of the cab removable. It has two pegs in the bottom edge which fit into holes in the footplate, and is held in place by two turn buckles inside the cab. This removable back is fitted with a pocket for the boiler test certificate. I find it very easy to leave the boiler certificate at home in another jacket, or in the bureau drawer so now the certificate always travels with the engine. Steam trials commence The great day arrived when the steam trials were to take place. A phone call to Colin Cartwright obtained permission to use the Walsall Miniature Railway. The loco was loaded on the trailer together with all the necessary ancillary equipment and driving truck and we set off for Walsall. Steam was raised in about 25 minutes and all seemed well. More problems With drain cocks open, the regulator was opened. The engine took off like a Jaguar car doing a 'Le Mans' start! Wheels slipping and accelerating away as though to leave the driver behind. Somewhat unnerving. By being ultra careful with the regulator and having the engine well "notched", we managed to have a trial run. The engine steamed well, the blast nozzle size seemed to be right, the injectors worked well and the vacuum brakes were satisfactory. The engine suffered from taking water through the regulator when pulling hard up the hill and the drain cock pipes seemed too small to cope. We were, by and large, satisfied with the general performance, but were surprised that the engine could slip quite easily. The power was there if we could use it. The engine was low on the springs at the back, and as the prototype engine has a large ballast weight under the front platform, it obviously had the same problem. We decided to put a lead weight under the front plate and this has the effect required of putting more weight on the front coupled wheels and has completely cured the slipping problem. Regulator modified The engine made its debut at Don Witheridge's 7'/4in. Gauge week in 1983, where it performed well, despite the fierce regulator. On returning home, I took the regulator out of the boiler for alteration. The regulator was made to Roger Marsh's design, a slide valve with a triangular port. It didn't suit the Beyer Peacock as it opened far too quickly. This is not a criticism of the design, it just means you can't just take someone else's design and use it straight away in an engine for which it was not intended. The regulator now works very well with a different shaped steam port. The engine is now very docile and gentle and is a great pleasure to drive. Incidentally, while altering the regulator, I incorporated some baffle plates in the dome which has cured the water lifting problem. A re-appraisal After a season's running, we had a reappraisal of the performance of the engine and while we were generally very satisfied with it, we felt that we needed to cure one or two minor problems. We had one or two weeping stays which annoyed us, and the performance of the boiler fell off after two or three hours steaming due 12 to the grate getting clogged up with ashes. So, during the winter, we partly dismantled the engine. Bret had obtained a small crane as used for taking car engines out, this simplified the job and prevented backache. The grate supplied has proved to be too closely spaced for our engine, giving too little air space between the bars and not allowing the ashes to fall through easily. A new grate having less bars has been fitted and has been a big improvement. A new ash pan of a simplified design was made and fitted. The original one was too clever by half, having operating damper, lever controlled trap door - all very nice on the workshop bench, but a failure when clogged with ashes. The drain cocks have been replaced by steam operated valves, being a miniature version of those fitted by TMA Ltd to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch engines when rebuilt by them. These have been very successful and have been noted by other 7'/4in Gauge members with a view to copying them. The engine has now completed its second season of running and has given us both very great satisfaction not only in its performance and appearance, but in the obvious pleasure it has given to others. A question which is very often asked is: "How do you manage to lift the engine, loading and transporting?" Well, the answer to the lifting problem -6'/2Cwt-is that you don't! Bret and I have similar trailers. The engine has holes drilled in the buffer and drag beams to take small shackles attached to chains bolted to the bottom of the trailers. The front coupling pin is used to secure the engine to the staple clasp fixed to the front of the trailer and a safety pin fitted to prevent it coming uncoupled during transit. My trailer has a boat winch fitted - Bret's has a loading ramp built into the tail board, so between us we are fairly well organised and can transport the engine, driving truck and two 6ft. 6in. passenger cars with very little trouble and no lifting. For storage the engine is run off the trailer on to the engine stand on castors and pushed to the side of the garage and there it rests under its purpose-made protective cover to await the next call for duty. "O" RINGS by C. Stanley Almost without exception, when we build any sort of working model we are faced with the problem of sealing fluids such as water, oil, steam or air. The simplest, most efficient, and to us, the most readily available seal is the 'O' ring. An 'O' ring is a torus generally made from an elastomeric material - rubber, although they can be supplied in P.T.F.E. and a variety of plastics and metals, both hollow and solid. For our purposes, the only ones we need consider arc the elastomeric ones. An 'O' ring is a means of closing off a passageway preventing an unwanted escape of fluid. The seal consists of an 'O' ring installed in a groove. This groove may be cut into a piston (external or piston seal), into a cylinder (internal or rod seal) or into a flat face (axial or face seal). A vast range of standard 'O' rings are available in a variety of sections; however, the model engineer need only consider imperial section of 0.07()in., 0.103in.,0.139in. and0.210in. and metric sections of 1.6mm, 2.4mm and 3.0mm, these being seals which conform to BS1806 and BS4518 respectively. I ! An 'O' ring when installed in its housing is compressed, this squeeze is normally 10%-20%. In static sealing applications, a squeeze of up to 30% may be specified without detriment to the seal, however, great installation difficulties may arise. When a seal is ordered for a particular size, the groove dimensions as tabulated should be used. If however the shaft is non standard, then the following parameters should be observed: 1) Piston sealing - seal outside diameter to be equal to or slightly smaller than the cylinder diameter. The seal inside diameter should not be stretched more than 5% when installed in its groove. 2) Rod sealing - seal inside diameter to be equal to or slightly larger than the piston rod diameter. The seal outside diameter should not be compressed more than 5% when installed in its groove. SEAL STATIC DYNAMIC SECTION t b t b 1.6 mm .046/.049 .090/.098 .070 .057/.060 .094/.102 .061/.063 .094/.102 2.4 mm .072/.077 .122/.130 .084/. 087 .126/.134 .103 .087/.090 .125/.133 .092/.095 .125/.133 3 mm .092/.098 .146/.153 .106/.109 .157/.165 .139 .119/.123 .169/.177 .125/.128 .169/.177 .210 .183/.188 .250/.258 .190/.194 .250/.258 UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ALL DIMENSIONS IN INCHES .010 MAX RAD—* I "" .008 RAD-/ PISTON AND ROD SEALING The above dimensions assume a diametrical clearance of piston to cylinder of 0.002in./0.004in., however, this could be increased to 0.010in./0.015in. if piston concentricity could be assured and pressures restricted to lOOpsi. The following parameters should be observed when sealing axially with internal 14 or external pressure to the inside diameter of the seal. 3) Internal pressure - seal outside diameter to be equal to or up to ,030in. larger than groove outside diameter. 4) External pressure - seal inside diameter to be equal to or up to 3% smaller than groove inside diameter. SEAL h b SECTION 7.6 mm .047/.049 .093/.105 .070 .049/.054 .100/.112 2.4 mm .067/.071 .136/.148 .103 .075/.080 .142/.153 010 MAX RAD 3 mm .087/.090 .157/.169 .739 .100/.110 .189/.201 .210 .165/.175 .279/.291 UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ALL DIMENSIONS IN INCHES FACE SEALING The choice of seal material is most important if long service is to be attained. There is a great range of elastomeric materials, each one having an individual temperature range and fluid resistance. The following table is a general guide: MATERIAL TEMPERATURE COMPATIBLE FLUIDS NITRILE -30'C/+120'C MINERIAL OILS,WATER ETHYLENE PROPYLENE-50'C/+120'C HOT WATER,STEAM SILICONE -60°C/+200'C AIR FLU0R0CARB0N (VlTONi -25'C/+200'C MINERIAL OILS.FUELS.HOT STEAM Nitrile is the material most readily available Ethylene propylene has a good weathering and ozone resistance Silicone is a very low strength material. Seals are easily damaged during assembly Fluorocarbon is the most expensive material but high temperature capability and fluid resistance are excellent. 15 Fluid incompatibility generally has the effect of swelling the seal cross section to an unacceptable level. This may overfill the groove and will certainly increase friction on dynamic seals. The effect excessive heat will have on the rubber is to cause cracking and hardening and will produce compression set, i.e. the material will lose most of its interference or squeeze. If leakage occurs during initial testing, the most probably cause will be seal damage during assembly. The following basic factors should be observed: 1. Housing dimensions should be as specified 2. Sharp corner, burrs, rough metal surfaces and score marks must be avoided 3. Ports, grooves and threads must be shielded from contact with the seal during assembly 4. The system must be free from dirt and swarf 5. The seal and metal components should be liberally smeared in clean compatible fluid prior to assembly. Installation of seals in a dry condition will greatly increase assembly loads and increase the likelihood of seal damage 6. Having assembled the seal in its groove, it is now essential that no damage should occur during assembly of the mating metal component. Adequate lead- in chamfers are recommended which allow gradual compression of the seal, if this is impossible, as in the case of the main loco cylinders, a sleeve with an inside diameter identical to the cylinder bore and with good chamfers should be made, the piston and seal inserted and the whole assembly offered up to the cylinder bore, the piston then being pushed straight through (all being well lubricated of course). 'O' rings, their design and use, is a vast subject and by necessity I have had to be brief. I hope this information will be sufficient to produce the results this seal is certainly capable of giving. Seals may be purchased from Mecro Limited, with branches throughout the UK. If difficulties of supply do arise, contact by phone can be made to branches at Cambridge on 0223 352494 or Erdington in Birmingham on 021-328 2770. "GERALDINE" FROM DRAWING BOARD TO TRACK by Len Hough (The story behind the design, construction and commissioning of Halton Miniature Railway's latest locomotive acquisition) PARTI Our Chairman, John Goulden, works as a training instructor in the Apprentice Training School of I.C.I., Widnes, and that is where our story starts for just over a year ago I.C.I, decided to run a one year Youth Training Scheme the concluding part of which was to be a group project for which ideas had to be submitted. John is a man who will not miss an opportunity if he thinks that the railway stands to benefit from the outcome and so the idea that the H.M.R.S. should submit a project was agreed upon in committee and after further discussion yours truly was charged with the task of putting pen to paper - or in this case pencil to tracing film - to produce a General Arrangement Drawing of a suitable petrol hyudraulic locomotive. 1(» «L r O' GERflLPINEl H IS IS ID QD Q C Halton Miniature Railway * Town Park * Runcorn * Cheshire Freelance loco One of our members, Arnold Bimpson, had produced a freelance PH locomotive a few years before which he had called "Scamp" and this was based loosely on the Hunslet Engine Companies "Wagonmaster" design for the Bord Na Mona (Irish Peat Development Authority). John thought that a similar design would be ideal for the proposed locomotive, which had to be as simple as I could possibly make it because the builders were to be the equivalent of first year apprentices with very little experience in any of the engineering disciplines. Of one thing he was sure, whatever I came up with had to be named "Geraldine" after the only female member of the group, Miss Geraldine Cain. Project submitted By the time our next committee meeting came round I had produced the General Arrangement of a PH locomotive called "Geraldine" based loosely on the "Wagonmaster" and which has pleasing external proportions. The drawing was duly submitted to the powers that be in the I.C.I. Widnes organisation and we waited to see if our project would be the one they would choose. At this stage I had already formulated certain design ideas; for example, the frames were to be outside, constructed from '/2in. thick flame cut steel so that conveyor take-up bearing could be used as axleboxes, this method virtually eliminating any machining of frames and axleboxes. The chassis was to be bolted and rivetted together as welding had to be kept to an absolute minimum, this form of construction being in keeping with traditional railway engineering practices and requiring only the use of a drill from the machine tool department. What could be simpler? To keep the frames 'in gauge' as it were, bar stays would be used along the bottom and a '/sin. thick steel soleplate would be bolted through into the top of the frames to stiffen the whole thing up and provide a platform for attaching all the bits and pieces of the upper deck. 17 A considered guess The primary design concept for the 'upper deck' was that everything should be easily accessible and that the power units chosen (engine and gearbox) should be compatible with each other and provide sufficient power (not too much) for the available adhesive weight. Problem, how does one work out the weight of a locomotive at the idea stage. Answer, you have to make a considered guess. In this case I arrived at a figure of just under 3cwt. which later proved to be quite accurate. Next, the question of what engine and what gearbox should be used, for I wanted the simplest possible drive arrangement of one belt between engine and gearbox and one chain between gearbox and axle drive sprocket. At the Halton Miniature Railway we were using 5hp Briggs and Stratton engines with the Eaton 4hp hydraulic gearboxes but we had had one or two problems with the Briggs & Stratton engines so I decided to investigate others. Deciding the motive power A trip to Bill Head Motors at Bamber Bridge (main Honda Agents) and a discussion with their technical expert Mr. Savage resulted in the prime contender for the occupation of the power house being the Honda GX140 5hp engine. This 144cc engine with inclined cylinder comes with one or two refinements in its basic form which the others don't have, for example, ball bearing crankshaft, mechanical decompressor for effortless starting, electronic ignition (no points), valve rotator and a claim from Honda that it consumes VT, less fuel than other similarly rated engines. Add to all this the bargain deal which he offered me and my search for the ideal 'punch packer' was completed. Gearbox and transmission From the performance curves supplied the engine develops 4hp and maximum torque at approx 300rpm. The gearbox will transmit 4hp at 3600rpm so the pulleys chosen had to produce this necessary speed ratio. At this stage I discovered the transmission engineers bible: I refer of course to the Fenner catalogue. What would I have done without it? A quick glance through the 'A' section belt information revealed that to transmit 4hp I would require a minimum pulley diameter of 4V4in. and with this firmly attached to the gearbox input shaft I would require a 5 'Ain. diameter pulley on the engine output shaft to obtain the required speed ratio. The problem now was how to transmit 4hp from the gearbox output shaft to the wheels and end up with a maximum speed of approx lOmph. Which I would remind drivers is our maximum speed limit at Halton! To obtain the necessary speed reduction from the gearbox output shaft to the drive wheels required a 15 tooth sprocket at the gearbox and a 38 tooth sprocket on the driving axle. The problem here was that the diameter of the driven sprocket using Viin. pitch chain was the same dia. as the wheels and hence could not be used. Using a -Vsin. pitch chain produced an acceptable sprocket dia. but a 3/sin. pitch single chain would not transmit 4hp. The answer lay not in the soil but in the Fenner catalogue once again, in this instance the adoption of Vsin. pitch Duplex chain which would transmit the necessary 4hp. From theory to practice At this stage I considered I was ahead of the game but was brought firmly into line when told by John that ours was the chosen project and could they have some IK more drawings please and, oh yes, could I incorporate an electrical system for the budding 'sparks' and pneumatic braking for the control and instrument minded youths so that all the disciplines could have some involvement with the project. Phew! Now I had the task of transforming all this theory into practice and began to sharpen my pencil for a long session on the drawing board. (To be continued) CORRESPONDENCE (Correspondence is welcomed and published as the opinion of the writer, not necessarily of the Editor.) Dear Jack, Coincidence seems to have run rife just lately. When my article on the 2-8-0 'A.B. Macleod' appeared in 1XMG News last December there followed in the Model Engineer for the lst-14th February 1985 a letter from C.J. Bishop enquiring the whereabouts of three 7W protoptype locomotives that had run on the late Sir John Samuels' Greywood Central Railway 1946-1965. Included in the three was the 2-8-0 U.S.A. Austerity 'A.B. Macleod'! Low and behold, almost by return, Mr Bishop had a reply from a Mr A.B.M. Braithwaite of Ickleton, nr. Saffron Walden, Essex. In this letter Mr Braithwaite praised the attributes of the many 'blobs and gadgets' fitted when the locomotive was restored by the late L. Willoughby of Eastleigh in 1965, making it, as he says 'One of the most appealing locomotives I have ever driven'. 'A.B. Macleod' has over the last five years been receiving a 'general overhaul', renewing some of the motion pins and bushes that were showing signs of wear and tear. This rebuild is now 90% complete. Unfortunately the remaining 10% has, to date, due to other pressing commitments, been left awaiting completion. An addition to Mr Braithwaite's letter, was mention of his other railway of 18" gauge; the locomotive is, in fact, the 1897 Stirling Single built over a period of 14 years by the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Engineering, London. Henry Greenly was one of the students involved on the project under the direction of Professor Spooner, the Principal. The locomotive has had a much travelled career during its long existence, having run on the Fairbourne Miniature Railway in North Wales; a special 3rd rail for 18" gauge was laid on the existing 15" gauge. It then ran on the Jaywick Sands Estate, Clacton-on-Sea before World War Two, passing through other notable ownerships. There was another 18" gauge Stirling Single built by W.G. Bagnall a few years before in 1893 which has often been confused with the Polytechnic project locomotive in quite a number of articles in various journals over the past number of years. The first time that I saw this loco was shortly after purchase by a Mr T. W. Smith in 1946 in Bitterne, Southampton, and only about a month ago I heard that 19 it is still in the same shed in rather a shabby condition. I believe the tender was missing when I first saw it. In reply to Mr Rodney Weaver's letter commenting on the lack of Great Western Railway prototypes in the early days of 7'/4" modelling, it's something that I had not realized before but I wonder if it may have had something to do with the accessibility of the valve gear after building for, of course, all G.W.R. locos had the valve gear hung between the main frames. Also, in those early days, it must have been very difficult to obtain the Works Drawings of the various wheel arrangements of virtually standard look-alike locomotives. Again new classes were on the secret list since fear of 'industrial espionage' was common in the minds of those in 'The Factory' at Swindon in those Grand Old Days. John G. Davis, Shaw ford Close Cottage, Bridge Road, Shawford, Nr. Winchester, Hants. COLCHESTER ZOO RAILWAY (contributed by Bob Rainbow) Michael Dean, the current owner of the Greenly G.W. Mogul No.9377 (formerly of Robert and Peter Rainbow's now dispersed Portway Light Railway, Gloucester), writes: 'After working throughout the 1983/4 Winter and Spring, the track at Colchester Zoo was ready by mid-June and we started operating on June 18th, using a Severn-Lamb diesel outline engine throughout the week and 9377 at weekends and on August Bank Holiday. We were able to work seven days a week until late September and then weekends until the last week in October. At the moment we are working on more features (signals) etc. to improve the overall appearance for next season. The Severn-Lamb loco is being re-engined and modified to prevent overheating, whilst good old 9377 is to be overhauled before Spring 1985.' CROWN SHEET PROTECTION The account of American measures to improve boiler security given by Adrian Buyse in the Issue No.30 were interesting because they highlighted the difference in approach between American and British engineers. The former, rightly or wrongly, seem to have had a phobia about uncovering the crownsheet, whereas here we were content to rely upon the fitting of one, more usually two, water gauges of adequate bore and upon the integrity of the footplate crew. Certainly boiler explosions seem to have been a regular occurrence in the USA long after they had become almost extinct in Britain, and from what I have read they were usually much more destructive. But was this solely due to the difficulty of achieving an adequate water level in the boiler, or rather'of maintaining and registering same, as Adrian rather suggests? Reliability I am not altogether sure that the type of water gauge used on some US locomotives was entirely reliable and one recalls that three serious explosions 20 Jim Turner of I.C.I. Widnes Training Centre officially hands over'Geraldine'to Johnny Gouiden, H.R.M's. chairman, with Brett Anstey and Len Hough in attendance. (Photo. Len Hough) Raccoon Gulch Line in California. Local train passing steaming area. 71 :. t£; *rm |NI' P *• • '^Z< -«yJ| ta/*^ ."lir&£.* wv '*• <#-~^*•'• l4f f . , •«-««,«»«—».*, R.A.F. Loosen's 'Lion' performing well beside the Park Lake at Turnhout, Belgium. Ian Holder with his Hunslet 'Dyddio'. Beer A.G.M. 1984. (Photo. W.R.Jones) 22 occurred during the last War involving the visiting SI60 2-8-0s, all of which were blamed on mishandling of the American pattern water gauges by crews accustomed to the traditional pattern with plain cocks. Lest it be thought that this was merely a case of a bigger boiler being less tolerant of abuse, reference should be made to the official reports and to the fact that while two of the incidents occurred on the LNER, that railway suffered no boiler explosions involving its own locomotives throughout its existence and none of its locomotives was involved in any post-nationalisation incidents. If British crews, faced with an unfamiliar machine, could be caught out, how often did their regular crews become similarly misled through over-familiarity? Crownsheet failures I would question, too, Adrian's statement that embrittlement of the crownsheet occurred through overheating. Overheating followed by quenching will embrittle steel (or at least certain types) and it is also possible to cause brittleness through exposure to impure water, especially if it be alkaline. An overheated crownsheet is not itself brittle and any failure will be ductile; by definition such a failure is relatively slow and the resultant explosion is muted. A number of genuine overheated crownsheet failures occurred with the LMS 'Duchesses' during the last War, through the inexperience of their hastily organised crews; in no case was the boiler damaged externally or torn out of the chassis as happened so often in the USA from the same alleged cause. As I remarked several issues back when describing the Coatesville tests of 1912, the failure seen there was also rather a tame affair. Disastrous results Now the failure under load of a cool (relatively) but brittle sheet will be violent. The worst explosion in recent British history was that of an LNWR 0-8-0 at Buxton in 1921, in which not only was the boiler destroyed and torn out of the chassis but the rear end of the chassis itself was totally destroyed, even the driving wheels being removed from the axles. That explosion occurred because the safety valves stuck and the pressure rose to something over 300psi - some authorities put it as high as 850psi - before there was a catastrophic failure of the firebox stays resulting in a really violent explosion far worse than that resulting from the failure of an overheated crownsheet. Failure of an embrittled firebox would be equally catastrophic, but not necessarily due to a shortage of water at the instant of failure. Correct procedure This brings me to an important word of warning. Some authorities are very keen on dropping the fire if the water disappears from sight. This is probably the worst thing one can do if there really is a risk of failure. Any sudden change in temperature, either through cold air being admitted to the firebox or cold water pumped into the boiler, will set up thermal stresses that could be disastrous. The safest procedure is to kill the fire by closing dampers, firedoor, blower, etc. and putting something over the top of the chimney. This will quickly take the temperature down because there will be little or no oxygen available to sustain combustion and within thirty seconds the top of the fire will be no more than a dull red glow. Having removed the majority of the radiant heat, the crownsheet will quickly cool to steam temperature and the danger of explosion is removed. In 23 short, don't fiddle around with the ashpan pin - shut everything down and stand clear while it sorts itself out. Fitting water gauges The tests described by Adrian were not the first time that the motion of the water around a firebox had been investigated. Professor Goss had done just that at Coatesville in 1912 by using pitot tubes inserted through the firebox sides. He found that the highest water velocity was 6 feet/second, which is a dynamic head of just under one foot of water at 150°C. Herein lies the answer to the difference in observed water levels in different gauges attached to the same boiler. A stream of water impinging on the bottom entry will cause the gauge to read high, a stream passing across a small-diameter, sharp-edged entry will cause a low reading. The position of the water gauges is important, likewise the need for large bore attachments to the boiler. Only recently I observed that on a locomotive with the water gauges mounted vertically on the backhead, so that the bottom entry was in the rear water space, the indicated level changed unexpectedly with changes in steaming rate. On a locomotive having a similarly sized boiler doing the same job, but with the water gauges angled so that the bottom fitting was in the corner of the water space, the gauges behaved normally. I am sure that local velocities were the cause of the erratic behaviour of the former boiler, and that similar causes were responsible for the surprising(?) results of the tests described in Adrian's article. It is certainly a point that should feature in any code of practice for boiler design: the gauges should be as large as possible, with regards to bore through the fittings and tube, and the bottom fittings should be in the corner of the backhead where they will be least affected by local flow patterns. The side-mounted column used in the USA achieves just such an effect. Differential steam pressure Another important factor is the effect of differential steam pressure along the boiler due to restricted steam space between the firebox (where most steam is generated) and the point at which steam is taken off through the regulator. This will tend to force down the firebox water level, so that what appeared to be a comfortable water level before the regulator was opened suddenly looks marginal. Once again, is it altogether a coincidence that of the two railways that enjoyed the best record with regard to low water boiler failures, the GWR and the LNER, the former took steam from above the firebox and the latter remained faithful to the parallel round-topped boiler with its constant cross-section between firebox and dome? Or that, having got used to locomotives with really reliable water gauges, they were the railways whose crews got into difficulties with the S 160s? Nobody seems to have made a great issue of water gauge accuracy in Britain until the S160s came along, and it seems hard to believe that this was solely due to good luck. I suspect that lessons were learnt from explosions in the early days, and that the knowledge from same was applied until it became second nature; nobody wrote much down because it was so obvious. That is good as far as safe practices go, but it doesn't stop someone else from having to learn the same lesson the hard way - as may have been the case in the USA. Rodney Weaver. 24 TESTING DEVICE FOR VACUUM BRAKES by Gordon B. Adams Inadequate brakes Today most of us who run 7W-7V4" gauge equipment realize that engine and tender brakes only are hopelessly inadequate to control our trains, especially in emergency. Many have installed or are installing the automatic vacuum brake. On the Raccoon Gulch Lines it has been in use since 1960. Full size practice used With time and use, wear takes place and leaks develop. On the Raccoon Gulch Lines all equipment is periodically tested and a sticker applied showing the 'air date', as is required on all 12 inch to the foot equipment in the USA. During the times when this testing is done, it is frequently inconvenient and time consuming to steam an engine in order to get a source of vacuum, and often the work is done on a single vehicle in the shop. Equipment We have developed a small box, on one face of which is mounted a large vaccuum gauge, and there is a hose for connection to one end of the train or vehicle being tested. Also in the box is an air operated ejector, together with hoses and cock, for connection to the opposite end. (We are fortunate in having compressed air available in our work areas.) A small electric motor driven vacuum exhauster can be used equally well. VACUUM BRAKE TESTING 25 Testing Procedure is to connect the vacuum gauge to one end of a vehicle or series of vehicles, and the ejector to the other end, creating a good vacuum. No limit valve is needed unless you want to be very fancy. When you have a good vacuum, which should be as high or higher than your running vacuum, close the cock isolating the equipment under test from the ejector. Note how long it takes to lose vacuum. Our requirement is not more than 5 inches in 2 minutes. If you are testing a whole train or several vehicles and there is leakage, leave the ejector connected and move the vacuum gauge one vehicle at a time toward the ejector until you can isolate the vehicle with the leak. I have found prime source of leakage to be in the neck rings. The next test we do is to connect the vacuum gauge to the reservoir side of the equipment on each vehicle, one at a time, creating a vacuum, and make sure that the reservoir side does not leak down after the train line vacuum is destroyed. On the RGL our release valves are just a piece of plugged rubber pipe pushed on to the end of a W pipe connected to the reservoir. This also shows if there is any leakage through the pistons or diaphragm. Final check is to assure that with the brakes released the shoes are clear of the wheels and that bogies can swivel without binding brake rigging and that brakes apply properly. Adjustments can be made at this time to correct excess piston travel if there is any. We usually do this work in the shop with the vehicle either upside down or lying on its side. The box with the vacuum gauge holds the ejector, pipes and reducing fittings necessary all together, and we have found it very useful. Looking for leaks On full size equipment in the old days a slush torch was used when looking for leaks. It may still be, but doesn't work well in our size. One method is to put a little oil on suspected leaks and see if the vacuum is then maintained, but I have found it easier and far more effective to remove the vacuum gauge and put about 10 pounds per square inch air pressure on the trainline cylinders, etc. and check all joints and especially the neck ring, with soapsuds. This low pressure doesn't hurt the vacuum brake parts. Members advertisements are published free (if space permits) subject to the prov iso that items offered for sale are genuine used goods and not, in any way, in competition with our fee paying advertisers who support this journal. Non Members reading this NEWS — bear in mind that the IV*" G Society is more than just this publication! Only members gel the special News of Society Events as this is issued separately to the NEWS, Events are published in the News A FTER they have taken place. So join up and get the full benefits! 2b THE HENRY GREENLY COLLECTION I have recently recieved the news from Milner Engineering that they will be marketing the world famous collection of locomotive drawings by Henry Greenly. To be made available later this year through Milner Eng. as administrators for the collection on behalf of Greenly & Steel, castings will also be stocked for many of the designs. The collection covers a wide range of designs from "O" gauge up to 1VA"G. Further announcements are to be made in the model press. J. Meatcher PLEASE. . . ! When submitting matter to be considered for publication, be sure that it is typed on A4 sheets, widely line spaced. This makes life a little easier for your Editor, Production Officer and Typesetter! LOCK NOT SPRING by Roy Foster It was with ever-increasing amazement that I read through Rodney Weaver's 'Spring Fever?' (see 7'/4 News No.31, Winter 84/5). To seriously claim that a toggle action clamp is no better than spring loading is ridiculous. The whole essence of my idea is that the moving blade currently in use, is locked to its stock rail by a toggle action clamp which, despite his assertions to the contrary, positively locks them together. Not only will the moving blade be secure against being bounced open by the impact of wheels, it is so secure it is not possible to open it, even by levering with a screwdriver. This fact was publicly demonstrated to thousands of people at the 1983 Brighton Centre Railway Exhibition. The moving blade not currently in use has only to stay out of the way, and provided that situation is assured, it does not need locking in that position. Spring or weight loading The spring, or in my case, weight loading, does not, as Rodney states, hold the moving blade against the stock rail. That would, as he says, be a simple spring loaded turnout. In my design the weight holds on the toggle action links, and it is those links, by their toggle action, which locks the moving blade to the stock rail. The very gentle weight leading is enough to prevent the very powerful toggle lock from disengaging. It is like 'Mole' grips, with the comparatively light force of clamping fingers acting through toggle action links, becoming a force strong enough to make the teeth of the Moles actually bite into the metal. In my case, the lightweight loading is enough to hold, through toggle links, the moving blade in use against the stock rail so hard as to defy all attempts to force it open. To drive a chisel between the two with a hammer would not unlock the toggle but would simply bend or sheer something. 27 a chisel between the two with a hammer would not unlock the toggle but would simply bend or sheer something. Unjustifiably condemned The second line of Rodney's article said '. . . he has quite unjustifiably condemned spring points . . .'. Though spring switches have been known and used for many years (in full size only in tramway work so far as I am aware), by their sheer nature they cannot be positive. The risk is many times greater when the spring switch is arranged to switch facing traffic towards the branch rather than straight on. With fairly high axle loading and travelling at 'normal cruising speed', rather than very slow, there is quite a high risk of wheel hammer towards the heel end of the switch blade, bouncing the point open just far enough, and just at the (sod's law) right time, to wrong road a following wheel flange. The device I propose cannot let that happen, the blade in use being positively locked to its adjacent stock rail during all facing movements. Only when a vehicle approaches the turnout wrong road will it unlock itself to allow the wheels through, without damaging any part of the mechanism, and then reset itself locked in the same direction as it was originally set. Derailments Rodney says 'In ten years operation I cannot recall a single derailment caused by a sprung point . . . etc' My original comment on this subject was that I had personally witnessed five separate derailments in a period of just over an hour, involving facing traffic over a spring loaded turnout at Rodney's own club track. He goes on to strongly infer that those derailments were caused by settlement of the ballast under that turnout (if that was even suspected why could it not have been packed up a bit at the time, surely only a few minutes' work?). Also that it was misleading of me to assume that because something comes off at a set of facing points it was the fault of those points, for those wheels may have been derailed for a long time and only show up when they get to the points. I'm sorry, I simply don't believe it happened that way. There was probably nothing wrong with the wheels of the derailed loco's or the home club's passenger cars, because they did not seem to be derailing anywhere else, nor every time at the turnout in question. If the turnout had settled badly I feel sure there would have been many more derailments there, so I assume that if there was any settlement it was not the whole story and at most was only a contributory factor. Blades jammed open by ballast? Four times in an hour? I don't believe ballast to be that jumpy, especially on such a damp day. Drivers on strange tracks tend to look out for things much more than they do at their own home tracks, and if the blades had been jammed open by ballast so many times, I am sure one of those drivers would have noticed as he approached, even if he was unable to stop in time. Blade bounce One derailment was the centre bogie of the home club's train of passenger cars, the loco, etc., having successfully traversed it, so that one derailment at least could not have been caused by ballast. I believe that, in this one at least, the cause 28 was probably blade bounce, induced by a fairly fast, but not dangerously so, transit speed. Whether the tension on the blade return spring was adequate may also be questionable, though it seemed to work positively enough when tested after more than one of the five derailments. In my design inadequate weight or spring loading would also cause malfunction. Officialdom I enclose a diagram and description of the action of my design, for those who did not see it last time. As stated then, I offer this idea to any 7'/4 club or individual who may care to copy it, for free. I said originally that we should endeavour to put our own house in order, on all matters of safety, before officialdom finds it necessary to do the job for us, perhaps clumsily or ridiculously over-cautiously. Fig. 2 Diagrammatic view of Foster's trailable facing point lock. A and B are the stock rails. C and D are the moving blades. E and F are load- spreading lugs welded to the moving blades. L and M are toggle mounting lugs welded to the stock rails. J and K. are the toggles. G and H the short links and N is the toggle tic bar. P is the operating rod from the point lever. To change the points the other way push in P. the toggles J and K rotate clockwise unlocking the right-hand toggle K, then pulling G, E and C and pushing H, F and D to the left until the toggle action of J locks C against A. Pulling P changes it all back to the position shown. Should a vehicle approach wrong road, i.e. up B and C, first the flange will apply a force to C displacing it left. This pushes through E and G to turn both toggles clockwise, toggle K unlocking D from B. Now the flange can push its way through between D and B allowing the whecl(s) to freely pass. Provided P is spring loaded or weight loaded the mechanism will reset itself back to locked again after the last wheel has passed. ___ .__. _ ,_ „„ 5 ' SEE ISSUE No. 29 29 V/4 Gauge Enthusiasts.. Come and have a ride on the BEER HEIGHTS LIGHT RAILWAY at Beer, near Seaton, Devon The 71A line to Narrow Gauge standard runs through undulating, flower bedecked terrain with what we believe to be the longest tunnel of any commercial 71A gauge railway. Modelrama includes an Exhibition and many other facilities to interest the whole family. Indoor Exhibition open all year. Monday to Friday 10am - 5.30pm. Saturday morning 10am - 1 pm. Outdoor amenities open over Easter period, May Day, then from Spring Bank Holiday weekend until early October and again for Autumn Half Term. Also open Sundays during school Summer holidays. Send S.A.E for descriptive leaflets to Dept: SQH, Beer Modelrama, BEER, SEATON, DEVON, EX1 2 3NA. Telephone: Seaton 21542 Vandal r L»2Mq_*"«j fjigjWjjji Resistant, Heavy Duty Rail, For 7'/4V107«' Gauge Track. Also Fishplates, New Quality Fishbolts, Dog Spikes, (Not Rerolled) Corrugated Steel Sleepers, I2lbs/yd Steel Rail clips and bolts to Flat Bottomed suit, bending equipment, Section. point components. A.C. Fincken & Co. Ltd., Imperial Way, Station Estate, Watford, Herts. WD2 4JB. 30 Conwy Valley Railway Museum The Old Goods Yard, Bettwys-y-Coed Tel. 06902-568 *p% Large Museum buildings with exhibits and railway layouts. Gifts and Railway Shop • Buffet Coach refreshments • L.G.B. layout • Standard-gauge stock • Picnic Area • Large Car Park Coaches welcome • Adjacent to British Rail Station in use. OPEN DAILY - Easter to end October to 5.30pm WALSALL STEAM RAILWAY The Arboretum, Broadway North, Walsall 7V4in. MAIN LINE LOCOS: >-, 1V4 MILES DOUBLE TRACK n. V Ample Car Parking • Boating Lake • Picnic Area • Putting and Golf Ideal day out for the family Only 2 miles from M6-M5 Interchange U Authentic Railway Colours As supplied to the National Railway Museum and Preservation Societies. Our 8-page catalogue includes information on dates, usages, specifications, etc We have a full range of full size Railway Crests. Send 20p + SAE for paint and crest catalogue, together with price list. PRECISION PAINTS CO. LTD. Exmouth Street Cheltenham, Glos. GL51 5HR Telephone: (0242) 529878 Our paints are available from all leading Model Shops. Trade enquiries welcome. L. C. JAY & SON LTD. 19-21 OAK STREET, NORWICH, NR3 3AU Telephone Norwich 0603 28798 Castings for "Dart" by Martin Evans Castings and Drawings for G.W.R. 1101 Class Dock Tank by D. Stockings Castings and Drawings for B.R. Class 7 "Britannia" by J. G. Butt and D. Stockings ENQUIRIES WELCOME S.A.E. for Lists please '*£ FOR SALE NEW 7iCauge LOCOMOTIVES IN MACHINED KIT FORM 7*C 1100 - 'DART' 7jC HERCULES 7:JC - HOLMSIDE 7iC - BRIDCET Copper Boilers also available in kit form. Painting and overhauling of locomotives undertaken. Please send S.A.E. for list to 22 Thames Ave., Swindon, Wilts. Tel: 29294 32 THE ONE OFF AND COMMERCIAL SPECIALISTS ALSO SUPPLY • 71/4"gaugetrackintwosizes • Steam, diesel and petrol locos • Points, crossovers, etc. • PassengerRailwaysto3'0"gauge • Alloy and steel rails • 3V2" gauge scale Snowtrack • Bogies, rolling-stock etc. • Models of all types NEW AND USED LOCOMOTIVES FROM STOCK PURCHASE AND PART-EXCHANGE SEVERN-LAMB ffT? Lamb Limiied CromaModel rmaker Whites Railwayand engineers s Miniature railway engineers Western Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 OHA. Telephone (0789) 293878 J 3 T***eats 77 High Street, Halesowen, West Midlands Small Trains 021-550 1266 MODEL ENGINEERING SUPPLIES, CASTINGS AND FITTINGS FOR LOCOMOTIVES & STATIONARY ENGINES • MODEL BOOKS • INCLUDING AMERICA:AN A BACK NUMBERS MODELLING MAGAZINESA W MINIATURE RAILWAYS Alloy, flat-bottom rail of the "right size" for all 7i" gauge railways. Price £4.00 per 10ft length + VAT + carriage. Point kits also available at £15.00. Send £1.25 for sample rail and sleeper or s.a.e. for further details to: 1 Withnell Station, Abbey Village, Chorley, Lanes. PR6 8DA Telephone 0251 830900 MILNER ENGINEERING Chester Limited Specialist Consultants, Designers and Manufacturers of Railway Equipment 71/4/71/2 in. gauge OLD RUBE 7W7V2 in. gauge HUNSLET . . ^ For thib Denver & Rio Grande Class C-19 Consolidation' we can supply drawings, cast ings, parts, boilers and our professional machin ing sefvtce to help builders with the extremely attractive 1881 period Locomotive. Drawings, the lull range of 71 castings, profile cut Complete Locomotives built to order. frames and parts are available ex stock. To assist the home builder to Construct this larger Send £100 (£2 00 Oversees) for our than ave.age 1/3 full size Locomotive, we manu Brochures to — facture boilers and will assist as required with our THE OLD SCHOOL, MAIN ROAD, HIGHER machining service. KINNERTON, CHESTER, CH4 9AJ. Complete Locomotives built to order. Tel: (0244) 660791 M BUILDERS OF FINE LOCOMOTIVES CHECK VALVES INJECTORS 3'32 Pipe sci 3/16 v40T £2.43 A 30 028 (1 )i pts) per min. V. Pipe set. % * 40T £2.69 Feed/Water Pipe 3/16 5/32 Pipe sci. % „40T £2.86 Steam Pipe 5/32 3/16 Pipe sci 5/16 x32T £3.52 So. 5/16 x32T £15.41 14 Pipe scr. % > 32T £4.41 B. 80-120 07S I4-6 ptsl per min 5/16 Pipe set 7/16 «6T £6.03 Feed/Water Pipe V. GLOBE VALVES Steam Pipe % 3/32 Pipe scr 3/16 * 40T £4.07 So. 7/16x46T £19.73 '/• Pipe scr. X x 40T £4.35 C 160 ozs (8 pts} per min 5/32 Pipe sci. V. x 40T £4.35 Feed/Water Pipe 6/16 3/16 Pipe scr. 5 16*32T £4.64 Steam Pipe 5/16 V. Pipe sci. H x 32T £5.88 So. 9/16 x26T £32.88 HOURS OF OPENING: MECHANICAL LUBRICATORS CLOSED MONDAYS r«r £20.88 TUESDAY-FRIDAY: 9.30-5.30 i % • x 1 v. • £20.88 SATURDAY: 9.30-1.00 T *Vk' £22.42 2" x2- £34.38 19 ABINGDON ROAD, KENSINGTON HIGH STREET, LONDON W8 6AH TELEPHONE: 01-938 1982 the copper The heart of a steam engine is its boiler. Morewood specialise in the exacting art BOILER of making and designing copper boilers MODEL MAKERS for the locomotive, traction, marine and also stationary engine enthusiast. STEEL BOILERS More wood Model Engineers Ltd. Telephone : Cheddar 743470 Sharpham Road Works, Cheddar, Somerset. 3 5 Ronald Johnson with his 7'/4in. 4-6-2 'Duchess of Gloucester' in the park at Turnhout, Belgium. Printed by N. R. Print Design Ltd., Cheltenham.