The Oily Rag! AutumnAutumn 20142014 PhotoDonHancock TME.membersadmiringavisitingHunsletatarecent Creechrunningday. TheThe Taunton Model Engineers’ magazinemagazine 1 ContentsContents 3. FromtheEditor 3. Chairman’sNotes 4. NewsfromCreech. 5. ReportfromVivaryPark 8. TheTickers —Horologi calSub -Group. 9. HughandTrudi’sdo HughRudhamonthe“EngineersDayOut” 11. CLUBLEC –EfficiencyCompetition2014. DavidHartlandbringsustheresults. 12. TheTrialsandTribulationsofIMLEC2014. PhilMortimerreports. 13. TamingtheVolt sandAmps. DavidHartlandonhisnewbatteryelectricloco. 19. ModelsandMiniatures. Water,coal,steamandlookingbyJo hnWoods. 24. MachineryinmyLife,Onthe’Rack’ Developmentsinmountainrailways,byRayRolt 29. Letterstotheedito r. 30. VivaryParkrunningDays 32. MeetingsProgramme. 2 From the Editor Afinesummer,alotofTME.activityandafloodofreportsmeans moreclubinformationthistimeandlessspaceforpiecesof general interest.HoweverIthinktwoarticleswillstimulatedebate.David Hartlandhasrespondedtomycommentsaboutbattery electriclocos withapieceabouthisnewclass04diesel.FromfartherafieldandI thinklikelytobemorecontroversial,thereisapiecebyJohnWood oftheCrowboroughLocomotiveSociety.Ourhobbyhastodevelop tosurviveisheatrailblazeroris thisablindalley? Thearticleonadding2½”gaugetothetrackatVivaryhasresulted intwoletterstotheeditor.Letters tothiseditorareraresosome memberfeelstronglyaboutthisproject.Talkingtoothersthere seemstobeaconsensusthatitwouldbeagoodmove,butdoubts existastothenumberofcurrentmemberswhowouldbepersuaded toworkinthisscaleandth enumberofoutsiderswhowouldeither jointheTMEorusethetrackasvisitors.Sothedebatecontinues. John Chairman’s Notes ByMikeJohns TheCreechleasesagacontinues! Thebriefingmeetingwithoursolicitor(whenIwassupportedby AndyCookeandDavidWood)washeldasplannedon30June, followingwhichhesentalettertotheParishCouncilsolicitors formallyinvitingthePCtoajointmeetingwithTMEtobeattended alsobyeachparty’ssolicitor.Theaimwastoresolveoutstanding issuesinonesitting.Noreplyhasyetbeenreceived(24September) . 3 Regularcontacthasbeenkeptwithoursolicitorandinformallywith thePCChairmanthroughoutAugustandSeptember.Thelatter has indicatedtheydonotwishtoincurmorelegalexpenses;andthat theyarepreparedtovarytheleasetotakecareofTME’s concerns. Howeverwehavemadeitquiteclearthatweneedtoseetheactual termsinwritingbeforecommittingTME. Aroundmi d-AugustthePCChairmanadvisedthatthemodified termshadbeenpassedtotheirsolicitorpriortotheParishClerk goingonholidayyetnothinghadyettranspired.By22Augustthe PCsolicitorwasonleave,tobefollowedbytheParishClerkon9 Septe mber!!Stillnonews. Asofthisweek(23September)noadvicehasbeenreceivedbythe PCnorourselves.ThenextstepwasfortheParishClerktogoand ‘camp’intheirsolicitor’sofficeon24/09untilhewasassuredthat someactionwasbeingtaken!! OnamorepositivenotetheCreechcommunityhelda‘Partyinthe Park’fundayonSaturday12JulywhichTMEwaspleasedtobe abletosupportbyoperatingtherailway.Inthefineweatherall enjoyedweattractedourbestridershipyetwith384passenge rs carriedwithupto4trainsrunningforthe3hourswewereopen.To marktheoccasionwedecidedthatallTMEtakingsthatdayshould bedevotedtocharityandIampleasedtobeabletoadvisethata donationof£200.00isbeingmadetotheChildrens’ HospiceSouth West.(seebackcovered.)Thankyoutoallwhotookpart. News from Creech ByMikeJohns Generallyrunningdaysthisyeararebeingsupportedbetterthan hithertoalthoughthe2daysinAugusthadtobecancelledowin gto thepoorweatherandlackofpeopleonsite.Atothertimeswehave 4 hadsteadyflowsofpassengers,rarelyqueuingyetproviding comfortablyloadedtrainsmostofafternoonsuntilatleast16.30. Usuallyweareabletoofferachoiceoflocomotivesthankstothe contributionsmadebyAllenWellesley -Miller,TimHims,Tony NewberryandTonyGosling. MentionhasalreadybeenmadeoftheCreechfundaybutthiswas alsonotableforhaving2significa ntvehiclederailments,fortunately withoutinjuries.Onewasduetodisplacementofanaxlebearing leadingtoexcessiveaxlewearandfracture;theotherdueto breakageofacastironwheelwhen2/3ofitsflangewaslost.These wheelsetsweresecondhan dandhadbeenwellusedwhenTME acquiredthemfromtheGreatCockcrowRailwayinSurrey. Theseincidentsaffected2oftheTMEvehicles,oneofwhich sustainedbodyworkdamage.As2sparebogieswereonsiteithas beenpossibletoreturntheotherveh icletoserviceandtoaddathird thankstoitsloanbyMarkHartnell.Theaimthiswinteristorebuild allthebogieswithnewsteelwheelsandnewbearingsincastiron axleboxesplusrepairingthedamagedvehicle. ThanksareduetoTimGriffithswhohasspentsometimerepairing theride-onmowerand,alongwithMikePinkneyandTonyGosling oftheThursdaygang,hasalsotak encareofweed -killingand keepingtheedgestrimmedtidily.Thewholesiteislookingmuch betterthisyear. Howeverinview oftheleasesagaonlygoodhousekeepinghasbeen takingplaceandsomeoftheheaviersitejobswewantedtodohave beendefer red.Insidetheworkshopworkiscontinuingonthe2 Hymeklocos.and,thankstoDavidHartland,aHarrisonlathehas beeninsta lled(whichauthorisedmembersmayuse)togetherwitha heavierdutybenchdrill. 5 Report from Vivary Park ByDianaFathers WehavemissedafewrunningdaysatVivaryaswe'vebeenat steamralliesbuttheweatherhasmainlyfavouredusatVivaryand customhasbeengood,withlotsof"new"peoplewhohavefoundus forthefirsttime.IthasbeengoodtowelcomePamMartinbac k and,blessher,shearrivedbearinggifts -hercakesalwaysgodown atreat!Wehaven'tseenJohnandMaddieClarkforawhilenow, andwemissthem,butit'snicetoseePetertherewhenhecanmake itandweallwishhisparentswell. TauntonFlower Show(whichunfortunatelyclasheswiththeWest SomersetRailwayRallysowecouldn'tmakeit)provedpopularas always –despitethesinglebutabsolutelytorrentialheavyrain showerontheSaturday.TheSundaywasalsoarunningday,with goodweather, andwentverywell. TheTuesdayeveningsessionshavebeenwellattended,provingthat somebodyhadagreatideathatbenefits membersandmakesfora goodsocialsummerevening.Thefirstrunningwason8thJuly,in lovelyweather.Therewasagreatturnout(28!)andseverallocos. BobRichardssteameduphisThompsonB1forthefirsttimewhich wasmuchadmiredbyall!Itwas verygoodtoseeDavidSpicerback atlast,afterfinallyreturningtohisfloodedhomeinFordgate,near Moorland.SubsequentTuesdayswereveryenjoyablebutthefinal runningendedinspectacularfashion! Onlytwolocosturnedupandoneofthesewas thereforasteam test.ThatleftJohnPickering,whocouldplayawaytohisheart's content.Inordertosavetheeffortofputtingintheextrasections thatcrossthefootpaths,itwasdecidedtoleavethemoutandshunt backandforth. 6 Johnwasshuntingbackwardswhenhetotallyforgotthattheextra sectionwasnotinplaceandpromptlydrovestraightoffthe"cliff's" edge,andendedupsittingontheground.Therewasconsiderable damagetohisridingchassisbutfortunately,hisloco wasunscathed. Heisfullyawarethathewillneverlivethisdown! ThereisanofficialreportonCLUBLECelsewhereinthisissuebut itwasgreatlyenjoyedbyallandtheweatherwasgreat.Sadlythe earlierdatemeantthatitclashedwithsomeothere ventsandonly threepeoplewithlocosturnedup.OneofthesewasMarkSweet whohasbeenbenefitingfromtheTuesdaypractises -andprovedit whenhetookhis3½”gaugelocoandpassengersroundthetrack non-stopforthefulltwentyminutes,earninga cheerandapplause fromeveryone. AsPhilstillhadplentyofsteamhedidn'twanttowasteit,sothe "bonus"offinishingea rlymeantthatwecouldofferridestothe public,evenstartinghalfanhourearlierthanusual.Wehadno officialticketssowefoundabookofraffleticketsandusedthem. Theintentionwastofinishat3.30pmbutitwasalovelydayand Philcarriedonnon-stopuntil4o'clock–whenbothheandhisloco werejustaboutworntoafrazzle –butatleastitmadesomeextra, unexpectedrevenuefortheClub. Onceagain,itwasapleasure toopenthetrackforthe annualvisitoftheWellington Pre -sch oolchildren,on Tuesday23rdSeptember. Theyspentanhourtakingit inturnstotravelandhad greatfunpressingthehooter onDavidWood'sengine, which,incidentally,isvery loud! DaveWoodwithsome happypassengers 7 Severalmembersarrivedatthe"crackofridiculous"togreetthe BreanSteamersonThursday18thSeptember,onlytofindoursel ves stillwaitingafterlunch,withnonewsormeansofcontactingthe visitors.Itturnedoutthattherehadbeenachangeofdate –ofwhich wewereunaware. AweeklatertheBrean Steamersarrived.A friendlygroupwithno lessthansixengines.It wastreattoseesomany followingeachother aroundthetrack– watchedbyadelighted audiencefromthe children'splayground! SomeTMEmembers tookadvantageofthe offertodriveadifferent AbusydayatVivary! locofromtheirusual modelandanotheryear'svisitwasover alltooquickly. WearelookingforwardtothelastcoupleofrunningsinOctober andhopingthegoodweatherwillholdoutuntiltheend.Afterthat, thereisjusttheSantaSpecialso,that'sallfornowfolks. The Tickers (Horological sub group) ByDavidSpicer IampreparingtogotoBritishHorologicalInstitute,atNewarkto attendthelatestHarrisonmeetingandwillgatherallinfo rmation andreportinthenextOilyRag. 8 Hugh and Trudi’s do ByHughRudham Ihavebeenaskedtodescribesomeoftheitemsdisplayedatour littledoinEastDevon.Iamprobablythebestpersontoaskasonly Iknowwhatisinmystores! Commencingwiththelargest,theShepherd’sHut.Itwaspurchased inMontacuteasarestora tionproject.Ithadbeenbuiltlocallybya farmer/carpenter;thiscouldbededucedbytheeconomiesinthe construction.Ihav ephotographsoftheoriginaluser.Inlatteryears itwasverywellusedbytheyoungergenerationasasocialpoint – asindic atedbysomerevealingartworkonthewalls.Itwasatotal rebuildandfinallyfittedwithacastironrange –theportablety peso suitedtothemoonlightflitfromrentedaccommodation,theother typewasbuiltintothemasonryofthechimneybreastso not portable. Inthesameareathereweretwodecrepittractors –theseareindaily use,notawaitingthescrapman.Theyare aMasseyFergusson35X andaDavidBrown995andworththreetimestheiroriginalprice.In closeproximityavisitorfromSome rsethadaGutbrodhorticultural tractorof1960’sera,singlecylinder4-strokepetrolenginesovery