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CAUCE No. 131 Winter 2009 Merry Cfiristwas, Everyone!. ... and a Happy New Yearí From the Footplate. Welcome to issue No. 131 of the TA" Gauge News and your new Editor David A Nicholson. Many thanks especially to Bob and the rest of the Committee for their help and support in the changeover. Bob has put a lot of systems in place that make the Editor's job much easier than it could have been and I am very grateful for this. 1 do not think we have seen the last of Bob as Editor and I am sure he may edit several more issues in the future. I was happy to meet some of you at the recent AGM and was glad to receive several offers of articles for the magazine. Please do not walk away if you see me Coming, I am happy to receive brief notes and a few sketches or photos if you do not feel up to writing the full article and I will do the rest. Some of our most skilled members seem reluctant to put their work into print. What seems obvious to someone with an engineering background may save a novice many hours of wasted work. As mentioned by Bob in his last éditorial and John Nicholson (no relation) in the letters section of this issue I have been a member of the Society for many years. The early AGMs were very enjoyable but very différent from Leyland, small gatherings where you could meet and talk to everybody there. Unfortunately many of the early names are no longer with us but 1 hope to recali some of them in later issues. I am building a IVi" gauge American style narrow gauge locomotive which was in my workshop for many years as work commitments permitted only very slow progress. I have now retired and the loco has been moved to the Moors Valley Railway Workshops for completion. Thanks to Jim Haylock and Tim Woron for their help and encouragement. I hope to have it at Echills Wood next year. If your railway has not had a mention in the "News" for some time, or you are in the process of building something please send in an article. If you use a supplier who provides a good service please let the Trade Liaison Officer know or if you are one of the companies that support our gauge an article about your company would be welcome. May I wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you ail. Ed. Merry Christwias J^ jfirm everyone!!! JH PRESS DATES FOR SPRING ISSUE. The latest possible dates for inclusion in the Spring issue #132 are; advertisers' instructions and copy to be with the trade Liaison Officer NO LATER than 4th Jan. Articles, Letters, Hints, tips & Snippets etc. Must be with the Editor by the 8th Jan. Sooner eases the workload. Notices of "Events" and members "Sales and Wants" should be put directly on to thp new Website or in case of difficultv sent to. our Chairman. David Bovde hv tut Februarv 2010. 2 CfonWhite PO Box 60, Holyhead, LL65 4ZP Tel. +44 (0)14077 42647 www.american-miniature-railroads.com or www.cromarwhite.co.uk and www.cromar-white.co.uk email: [email protected] or [email protected] U-Boat Now available with Kubota 3-cylinder erigine in either diesel, petrol or propane. Used throughout the USA during the 1950's this Prototype designed by Mick Savage and built in Wales by Cromar White has 4 x 500 Watt drive motors running from internai batteries with in excess of eight hours loaded running time. Premium quality digitai sound system is included. FOR THE FINEST QUALITY ENGINES, CARS, BUILD TIME THREE MONTHS CASTINGS, TOWERS AND CONTROLS 3 TINKERBELL DEVELOPMENTS by Paul Ash - Member 02766 Firstly I would like to thank our latest 'NEWS' editor for the support and encouragement in writing this article. I was more than pleased to be able to offer my support and I hope members will find this of interest. My first experience of miniature live steam came as a child thanks to a 5" gauge garden railway, then as I grew older I moved up to IV" gauge and constructed a narrow gauge battery electric locomotive. I have always loved the 7 V" gauge 'Tinkerbell' design by Roger Marsh, and following a visit to the Moors Valley Railway in the early 1990's I resolved that one day I would own one of these beautiful engines. Helped on by Jim Haylock I was finally able to build my own enlarged 'Tinkerbell' class loco (named Perseus) in 2006 and this currently runs at the Moors Valley Railway in Dorset. I hope, with the editor's permission, for Perseus to be the subject of an article in a future édition of the 'NEWS'. After completion of the first loco I soon found I had itchy feet and wanted to build something new again. 1 have always had a soft spot for the Heywoodesque qualities of the early Roger Marsh 'Tinkerbell' design and therefore it seemed a natural choice to build another 'Tink'. I purchased this latest 'Tinkerbell' loco from Joe Nemeth as a part-built in summer 2007 as a 40th birthday present to myself. The loco at that time consisted of the main frames, wheel sets, cylinders (unmachined) and the completed (CE marked) steel boiler. Joe had originally started the build I believe for the Oldown Miniature Railway (now closed) however it appears to have had a number of différent owners up to the point I purchased the loco. The loco is a standard Roger Marsh design and features 2'A" bore x 414" stroke cylinders with Heywood valve gear. In a change from the original concept the engine will feature 4 a locomotive type boiler, as opposed to the marine type of the original design. In order to balance the additional weight of the firebox on the locomotive boiler 1 plan to add some ballast weight to behind the front buffer beam and make the smokebox from 6mm steel plate. Other minor changes to the original design include adding sealed bearings to the rear pony truck, hopper ash pan (required for the locomotive boiler) and a less obtrusive draincock operating mechanism. From the outset it is planned to have an open cab with front spectacle plate as currently found on the original 'Tinkerbell'. Construction to date has been slow, however the frames are now fully assembled and painted, with wheel sets and coupling rods fitted. The brake gear is complete and the cylinders are fully machined (thanks Joe) and ready to go on. Whilst the build has gone well it has not been without problems as can sometimes be the case when buying a part built project. To date the main issue has been mis-set fly cranks causing the coupling rods to bind. This was eventually diagnosed after checking the quartering between lathe centres-it has since been corrected. Attention has now moved to the valve gear where, in another change from the original design-maximum use will be made of water jet eut parts and needle roller bearings throughout. Hopefully this should speed up the build and see the chassis running on air by the end of the year. After that there is the smokebox and chimney to complete, plate work (cab and side tanks) and then painting and piping. Expected completion will be sometime in 2010 based on the current rate of progress, with the target being the 7 gauge AGM in September at the Echills Wood Railway. 1 then plan to run the loco not only at the Moors Valley Railway, but also to take the engine to other railways and special events. 1 hope you have enjoyed this short piece and I look forward to being given the chance to write for you again in the future. 5 • Engineers And Pounders- Repairs To Models Hunslet Linda quarry locomotive no 590 Shown here is our prototype locomotive Linda. We have been working to produce a robust engine that is easy to construct and practical to maintain but keeping the spirit of the original. This particular model has been running since 2008 and is based on measurements taken in the early 1980 s The locomotive will be available as individuai machined parts and ready to run Parts are now being produced for stock Instructions will be available to help with construction Parts currently in stock are :- Frames,wheels ,axles, bogie, smoke box, boiler, cab, cylinder parts, Steel boiler with copper tubes chimney, brake parts, horns, springs, working pressure 125 psi some valve gear parts, boiler fittings, 8 dia steel wheels tender chassis parts. Bail brg axle boxes A price list will be available soon. 3 1/2 bore 4 stroke Loco width 22 length 1610 mm www.theengineersemporium.co.uk [email protected] 01455 220340 7 THE DRAGON AWAKES! - Part One by Dave Lewis The last time I put finger to keyboard we were waiting for the man with his JCB to start building the embankment using the sub-base and anything else left over from the pond excavations. He arrived in December 2008 and in three and a half days he put in the complete embankment, and in my mind it would have taken us about three and half months to achieve the same result. It starts from the station junction and runs for 300 ft., to the bridge and climbs to about 2 feet high after the bridge yet another 300 ft.
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