gowest

Hi Roger you need 2 voltages 8 volts to control the servo unit inside the engine and 15 to 16 volts to heat the water at around 6 amps best of luck

Chrissaf maybe I can do a spot the fault in the film competition? I'm working on my SR 2-6-4 tank engine which is a little longer than the Great Western engine but has been off the road for a few years needing a trip to the repare shop as it has run many miles and in very poor condition. so could run through the job and do a video of it being serviced. That would be something different. ken

Chrissaf i think I have run out of parts now and any further engines are unlikely I did think another inside cylinder engine might be fun like City of Truro and an LMS Black 5 but not likely now still have fun with your railways all the best ken

Rob after compiling the video last night having spent 5 hours filming and putting it all together at just after 1 o'clock in the morning I ran through the film once more and came to the part with the wagons off the road but was cold and tired so left it but I thought to my self I bet someone spots it and makes a comment!!! Cecil B Demilles Im not. ken.

Yes Rob striking colour and very powerful locos have posted a video on you tube of the last part3 of the tank engine that now conculdes the project. Ken

Well all the test runs were carried out and checks on the engines running with the new painted body and it looked ok just a small problem with the front wheels shorting on the front steps which was corrected by bending the steps out a little away from the wheels. /media/tinymce_upload/5c1ef857aed3968bbaa92481510c963f.jpg The driver and fireman all painted up and the engine number 5190 all the brass work and copper toped chimney was polished up and the buffers fitted in place. /media/tinymce_upload/3a24772c833203fb9a722b84c36267e0.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/75ad199beed95e29ce4dccf782c41260.jpg The coal was added by crunching up a lump of coal and pressing the bits into some wet fibre glass this was not going to be removed for filling the tender tank as the filling screw was under the cab roof venerator which you can see in the pictures here. Also in the picture here is the red tail lamp which is an LED made to look like an oil lamp.It was going to be by fibre optic cable but was proving too difficult to install so wires and a surface mount LED construction was opted for. /media/tinymce_upload/7655959ae27f842e788320dfc44b09a3.jpg Well I will carry out some runs and post the finished video here in a day or two. I thought on a couple of times that this engine was not going to be possible but by sticking at it we got there in the end and I now have a nice little tank engine for a change to run goods and branch line services. I hoped you were entertained by the project as we struggled through the different parts of the build.My ability to build further engines is coming to an end as my stock of parts and donor engines is now exhausted but I will keep looking for none runners and one day you might see a build start on another loco to add to my live steam collection till then here are some of the engines I have build over the years. /media/tinymce_upload/e35c6b420545cd756fe106dcb4b119d3.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/4bd483251e31d657f85b45f7668eeeb3.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/06ac71fcc2fad50232e4611c2454e828.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/dec7c8d08b11be28d61d6d91f2e261e6.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/febdd1456b49861724d1c53192728f99.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/d58ffa614e44c5ddc9b85050d0701a2d.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/8ed3006f15a3809288b7424e07449070.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/d96e41982af96679de3d8bf3f7945c73.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/9e872791fcd34b372e02fb5f4030497b.jpg So what ever your railway is based on have fun keep safe and a Merry Christmas Ken

Kenokie IPA can be a skin irritant and affect some people badly Wearing protective gloves is recommended. ken

Very good railway program on ch5 last night if you did catch it not far from me in fact the stone bridge that he walked under on his walk from Ilfracombe is Lee bridge and i made a model of it on my layout and is the one in the video I just posted of the train going under it. all the transfers turned up in the post so this weekend will be spraying the body.

i hope to start painting the engine over the next day or two but will still need to get the red tail light system working which will tell me when the regulator is opening.

New video

Hi Rob yes even I was thinking this is a step too far but after much work and head scratching it might be a runner thanks to you and the list of these engines built and numbered I have gone for 5190 which was at some point at Exeter I have taken some video of the engine and hope to post it here shortly ken

/media/tinymce_upload/f325afd2c1bcd2c1e73cfe01352ee1b5.jpg The detail with this kit is unbelievable I have only used something like 25% of the parts how much more I use I’m not sure from this picture I’ve left off the brakes and the injectors which fit behind the main steps this is because they will hinder the removal of the body from the chassis also the cylinder drain cocks might be a bit low and catch on the permanent way but apart from that most of the body has the detail fitted.The chimney is a copper casting or pressing so the top section can be polished the safety valve bonnet is also a brass casting and can be polished along with the whistles which as many will know is the trade mark of the Great Western Railway its was sad to see in the 1960’s these parts no longer shining brightly.Also in this picture you can see the driver Robert looking out at the countryside rushing past what you are looking at is just the top half of his body as his lower half has been removed in fact he is legless as there is no room for them as the tender tank is tight up against the inside of the cab sides.I was glad to find these as they are a white metal casting and easy to solder into the cab side and unlike plastic should not melt. /media/tinymce_upload/711c9a0878070bbe275bba93ac4845d3.jpg Some of the fine detail was to solder in these right angle brackets then pass a short bit of brass wire through the small holes to make it look like a nut and bolt fixing to the boiler banding. /media/tinymce_upload/69d9d96731b07b0237020cb8dd17ca3c.jpg The ventilator in the roof will have a small cover so that the water tank filler screw cannot be visible when the engine is running. The coal space at the rear of the cab needs a cardboard cover to which the fibre glass can be spread on and the small lumps of coal can be pressed into. Unlike other engines I’ve built this does not need to be removed to fill the water tank. /media/tinymce_upload/a4f9c2261c8f10e75b64c323fed49244.jpg Some of the detail to the front and the smoke box the buffers are omitted and will be fitted once the painting is finished. I have the paint and the transfers are on the way looking at the dart handles in the centre of the smoke box door as a child I used to think they were the hands of a clock which told you the time of the next train.The wheels here need a good clean as you can see brass filings on the hubs and spokes.A good wash in thinners is all that they need as they are made from black plastic so no painting needed here just the cast frames. /media/tinymce_upload/cee5d0741af677c5fac43ef4f5345dc7.jpg The smoke box door opens to reveal the adjusting screw to the switch which will I hope turn on the engines rear red lamp fitted to the lamp housing recess in the tender.This make any adjustment easy as the body will not need to be remove. /media/tinymce_upload/73496614db705cedac3132d388ee6bc2.jpg The right hand side much the same as the left but with Douglas the fireman watching the world go by again Douglas like his driver has no legs but doesn’t stopping him enjoying the ride. To drive a goods train took more skill than a passenger train most loose coupled stock had no brakes controled by the engineso it was all down to the drivers skill with help from the fireman in keeping the couplings tight to stopping a sudden snatch that might break a coupling leaving the guard in his van and half the train on the track if this happens on an incline then its possible the brakes on the guards van will not hold a high tonnage load and wagons and guard go roaring off in the other direction. Passenger coaches unlike loose goods had fail safe vacuum brakes so that the braking was through out the train. /media/tinymce_upload/d9f6c5cfffadcc43c616e7ce701b8c04.jpg I need to make one more test run just to check all is well before I start the painting.

Hi Mctrains yes I have found the same problem only with some engines that the tyres expanded and came off the wheels I use mentholated spirt on a kitchen paper towel this works well ken

Hi its all bin said the gas tanks are replaceable with a better designed unit that is all I know about the Rocket as it's a model I have not dealt with my knowledge is limited if RAF 96 is thinking as me as the expert then sorry no is the answer 00 gauge steam maybe and as for expert remember an EX is something that was? And a SPERT is a drip under pressure!!!!

The paint has been ordered but before any paint can be applied I need to carry on finishing some of the detail to the chassis. /media/tinymce_upload/3b6e30a3daed6c6db16a9979ab384bf5.jpg The engine needs some good old Great Western cross heads I could use the ones in the kit but these need to be made up from about 3 parts and all soldered together what I normally do is look at what Hornby have made and buy some of there’s and make the necessary changes. /media/tinymce_upload/433fada795b46db9a9196e0af95eb3d1.jpg The side bars support bracket from the kit looks ok and as this assembly will need to be strong as it will encounter forces that a normal electric engine wouldn’t face when running under load. /media/tinymce_upload/52197cfc1302ddc508401b6d367af82e.jpg Looking at the parts that go to make up the Hornby cross heads the piston rod needs cutting off along with the vacuum drive parts these can be remade if possible later. Also the connecting rod which is riveted to the cross head wants to be removed and a hole drilled through and threaded 1.2 mm for a nut and bolt assembly to hold the stronger con rod of the live seam A3 type engines. It was decided that the 2 square lugs on the side bars could have a slot filed in them and the corresponding support bracket from the kit could also have slots filed in place and the two could then lock together and with some solder make for a very strong assembly. /media/tinymce_upload/83830dae41104940513d99b7339326cd.jpg The picture here shows filing of the side bars as mentioned. /media/tinymce_upload/f7fb39629179ea527fd028b1b7f37131.jpg Next was to file the slots in the support bracket. This would had to maintain the correct distance between the bars for the cross head so after a little filing the 2 parts were fitted together just to see how things were going on. Here the support bracket is being filed to take the slide bars. /media/tinymce_upload/c076f5a22b8274d3e9ec1a13a231c2b9.jpg You can see in this picture the finished parts with the slots all that is needed is to fit them together and solder them in place. The Hornby section at the other end holding the side bars together can then be cut and this part needs a support bracket made up so the completed unit can be screwed in place on the chassis. /media/tinymce_upload/7b69ee5c9778a9f60302df1c6c6a9045.jpg Now all soldered together they make a very strong item next will be to sort out how this will be fix to the engine it is best that like the Hornby engines it is not fixed to the body as this will make servicing harder but to fix it to the chassis in some way. /media/tinymce_upload/3cca7ee14793732dca26453485a9bf10.jpg A set of spare cylinders were used to test out the fit and how far the cross head travelled up and down the side bars all looked ok so now a bracket to hold them in place was made. /media/tinymce_upload/00c93825224e2aefe6e86bc1e2960015.JPG This picture is of the new bracket which is soldered to cross head bars and uses the 2 Hornby holes in the bottom of the cylinder assembly shown here with two Philips screws holding the bracket in place. This keeps every thing built onto the chassis. /media/tinymce_upload/aa31d25ef4d36cf4e8e3feebe9e9b607.jpg Now with this part complete the body can have some of the detail fitted. Looking at this picture I see I need to add some wheel weights as well to complete the chassis before I carry on the build of the body.

Hi Chrissaf £12 one must have gone £24 is a bit steep I wonder if it will copy

Hi Anthony there is one for sale of fle bay I think for £12 check it out

Rog i have my fathers carpenter tool box I have never used any of his tools as I can still feel him behind me saying keep your stick fingers off my tools.

Yes Rob recognise that set up no doubt dad would have I think he had a set I remember with brown stringy looking plugs now it a tipped drill bit and a hammer drill. thats like the railways I was watching an old film taken in 1947 of the major junction replacement at St Pancras it had man carrying rails, sleepers and cutting rails by hack saw They were tuff in them days. i could try reproducing them if your interested. ken

Rob 5170 looks like it was at Stratford in London not Shakespeare country I hope which would be a possible engine as most of my family came from Stratford east London One of his first jobs when moving to the signalling department was to knock holes in a bridge wall somewhere in Stratford for clips for a signaling cable. He told me he spent a day and a half knocking holes for fixings in the very hard blue engineering bricks he said it took dozens of chisels to get all the holes in this was using a hammer no modern electric tools then plus up a ladder. when the foreman came round to check he said "why didnt you go into the cement between the bricks that's a lot easier " dad said he didn't anything as he was new in the job having moved from a messenger from Liverpool station but years later when walking passed the bridge he would look up at the wall and all that hard work. No doubt if I knew the bridge the cable might still be there?

Hi Rob thats a good point what to paint and finish the engine in maybe you and others could put forward some ideas here. i was just going for GWR green G W R on the water tanks but had not thought of a number other suggestion in this field can be considere. So let's hereyour ideas Ken

hi joe not out the woods yet still problems around the corner no doubt Rob took the time to work out wheel speeds which i did ask Alexa and i think she agreed i say think as she runs on if you ask her someing complicated which reminds me of a bloke i worked with if he was unsure he would run on like a that hoping to wear you down with rubbish. i was never that good at maths so will pass i can remember at school the teacher saying 3d a hundred weight how much a ton? i would be thinking of what would i want a ton of? and if i did buy it where would i keep it? but back to the engine and now i'm looking at the following.......... Having run the engine for some time now and happy with its performance finishing off some of the other parts can be under taken.The tender boiler being one of the next jobs as it was thought that heat generated here might damage the servo motor and so some lagging was fitted.The front section had a thick heat proof mat glued in place as here in these pictures. /media/tinymce_upload/0ed56a7f7132ee726c84e0c7c6cf11e1.jpg The rest of the boiler had a thinner material glued all around the surfaces of the boiler the reason for the thinner covering was that the boiler is a very tight fit on the inside of the body sides. /media/tinymce_upload/7a64dc381db983b52f728e33a5ec8ee9.jpg The next thing to tackle was the front boggy wheels the wheels I was using were some in my spares box not sure what they were for but these Hornby wheels along with the truck fitted perfectly the only problem I had was some times they would short out on the cylinder covers. Others may have found this out with there live steam engines if curves are too tight. To resolve this problem I decided to make the wheel centres a little smaller and then make up some new tyres. /media/tinymce_upload/6bc329bd3c4595e16a1c4d6f5930642c.jpg But first I noticed there was a lot of sideways movement on the axle in the frames all due to the fact that the hole through the casting was a bit on the large size so some brass bearings were made up and pressed in place as in this picture. The wheels had there old tyres machined off and the black plastic centres also machined down a faction. /media/tinymce_upload/0dda1d02f6889d474fe7295f7d4658c6.jpg Then the new tyres were machined up from stainless steel as in this picture here and pressed onto the plastic wheel centres. /media/tinymce_upload/b0e2de5e85367b6b96d64997706be132.jpg Once the wheels and tyres were all made up the flange out side diameter was machined down to a set size and the back of the wheel flange was machined to give a good true running finish. /media/tinymce_upload/392f5cffd360d885fbbbba42fcf74943.jpg Here you see the 2 wheels complete and ready to fit in the truck frames I did spin them to make sure they had no wobbling side to side and they looked great. /media/tinymce_upload/185ba158a944f528a4115ac66997c7e3.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/332222dca78b4f9ae6badd74bedace22.jpg The wheels in place a test run will prove if all this has worked of cause what will happen when the body is fitted I’m not sure there could be a problem with the wheels shorting on the front buffer beam but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Next the safety valve changes. There was at least a 4 mm gap between the top of the supper heater and the inside top of the boiler shell and a short copper pipe which would run from the Hornby safety valve to the GWR type safety valve might just work./media/tinymce_upload/45346e08e7c487a5cfbbcd31e6f4cbb5.jpg The picture and drawing here shows the lay out of the parts./media/tinymce_upload/a280d45f76f2c0a75dbe500e6680d363.jpg The parts were made up as you can see in the pictures here notice the small hole in the copper pipe this should line up with the GWR| bonnet, testing will prove how successful this will be. Next thing to build was the oil tank switch. /media/tinymce_upload/020584ebc945d7639d11928507cf553d.jpg This pictures shows the parts to the switch that replaces the Hornby switch fitted to the regulator arm. The switch contact is connected to the printed board at the rear of the chassis to work the LED. I’m not sure if I will use the 2 colour LED as an indicator or just a single red LED.The light from the LED will shine via a fibre optic cable to the engines rear oil lamp.This lamp will show a dim red light at all times but when the switch closes in the oil tank the light will become much brighter telling the driver the engine is about to move off. /media/tinymce_upload/203ee089eedf4ba1a651b48e80626a1e.jpg Here is the switch fitted and the red wire connected to the PCB all this needs to be tested out. /media/tinymce_upload/04062d6df907ce34d00c58c50e275305.jpg The drawing here shows the idea and lay out of the warning lighting system.

Walking the dog Called it a pocket rocket and it was steamed up yesterday with the new boiler and at one point shot off the track on a bend so move fast when it wants to. You might have thought that as this engine has smaller wheels it might run a bit slower. Engines with small wheels give more pulling power but not so much top speed not like the 6 foot drivers on express engines which were tuned for speed. What speed the very small wheels on modern rolling stock turn at when doing 125 mph who knows as the 6 foot drivers must travel much further along the track per revaluation. My father said that engines like the Detic when they came out did break the fish plates on the track with too much load on a small area of rail joint. Well now having completed a few runs with the new water tank I filled the engine with water and run non stop against the clock till it stopped out of steam the time recorded was 28 minutes so very pleased with the out come. Will keep at it now and look forward to finishing what will be a nice little engine so many more parts to make and fit so will carry on posting the work as it is completed. Ken

Rob the heater on the new water tank is shorter being the supper heater one so not sure what will happen if I have a steam up today I will find out if as you say "it's turned out well"?

Now knowing the engine does run more or less work on this little tank engine can continue.A tidy up might make things look and work better and improve the way things operate, first was the regulator rod because I was not using the Hornby set up which consists of a bracket that stops the regulator rod riding up on its drive pin as it worked the steam valve.A new approach was needed the simplest way was to silver solder a round boss onto the end of the regulator adjusting nut and by tapping the existing pin hole in the bronze gear 1.2mm a screw could hold the rod in position on the top of the gear as in the picture. /media/tinymce_upload/24386a3f0cf6592d52a3950ecf9e72b3.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/516e09a8436c1513f3a3f1066d7d396d.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/99aa30549b183bfdf4b388a37296dc57.jpg To adjust the travel of the valve to make sure the ports open correctly in both the whistle and the main steam regulator port I used the wire of a component like here in this picture with this capacitor.Once this set up was correct the supper heater can be put back in position along with the spring and gasket. Also in this picture notice the oil filler screw on the top of the oil tank this was the early 4mm type screw which would be a problem on the tank engine and all my steam engines have this changed carried out to a valve type fitting which means there is no need to remove the chimney or the screw to refill the oil tank /media/tinymce_upload/de82a945dacac103e6c47950e43b1562.jpg This new oil screw was made as here in the picture notice there are 2 holes in the new screw for those not familiar with Hornby live steam the hole nearest the thread is the exhaust steam the lower hole lets the oil into the oil tank via the one way valve. /media/tinymce_upload/dc6a14cfc84c29d70dd5652011b2e1d6.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/48c9fefec2c381bb33a6bbc1323bce79.jpg The pictures here show the top view and the side view of the valve and it looks much the same as the Hornby screw.A job on the to do list will be adding the oil tank pressure switch which goes in the front cover and will be shown along with the light indicator a bit later on as the next thing I want to do is improve the wiring and water tank. /media/tinymce_upload/f39c17a891e71771c9431a52dafc5331.JPG The thing that was maybe going to be a problem was the water capacity I had run the engine a few times and the runs were such that the water in the tender tank always wanted topping up not long into a run so a closer look at the available space on the chassis and the possible chances that about 20ml of extra water might be available if some items like the wiring were rerouted and parts of the engines components layout might be changed. It was possible to gain an extra 8mm if a new tank was designed and the wiring altered this 8 millimetres would add about 20ml of extra water to the engine making 25ml in all. /media/tinymce_upload/7a7456d59cab357bbf35f3cc1a83b95b.jpg Work started on the new water tank and to tidy up the wiring the heater would be fitted into the back end of the new water tank this way the amount of wiring in the centre of the chassis can be reduced and make servicing easier. /media/tinymce_upload/bf772ccb09ab127d83e8f9f77d802057.jpg As the water tank was going to be longer it would extended passed the front of the cab and enter the area of the belpaire firebox and where the ends of the water side tanks were on the body so 2 cut out steps were needed in the new water tank to get the body to fit correctly as in the picture. /media/tinymce_upload/af6040dd8e2c189a710b92a8a42b0fb3.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/997056267377b57280ae78938071772c.jpg The back end of the water tank had the copper tube for the heater to sit in which you can see in this picture. /media/tinymce_upload/3c7c737aceafe8312c518be9186f6be9.jpg Looking at the 2 water tanks you can see it’s a little longer tests will show if all this was worth the time and trouble by trying different ideas it is hoped we will end up with a better engine.The new position for the steam out let pipe was a little neater and its gland nut was made a little smaller. /media/tinymce_upload/b203ebea24686ed3ebc40598d34a9ae8.jpg With the water tank fitted to the chassis and the pipe work connected up it was looking good.I think I will add a fire wall of some sort to the front end of the water tank to cut down the amount of heat radiated into the servo motor area. /media/tinymce_upload/90adfc8898d14c37995bd44ba152c97c.jpg The body is a nice snug fit and considering every thing lets hope no more problem appear down the road.The bodies steam safety valve would look nice if a pipe could be run from the Hornby valve up to the top of the boiler so that steam will puff from the bonnet. These are all things to think about and see what could be done. /media/tinymce_upload/b1a5299a754a7a036525a4560c08a107.jpg Looking from the top you can see the water filler screw in the cab roof ventilator I did think I could make this have siding cover going back and forth just like the real engines but much more to do before I can think about carrying on with building the body up. It has picked up a few dents over the build so will look less than perfect but then most engines did have ripples and dents in the sheet steel like in this engine 34051 Winston Churchill I hope my engine will look less dented as I paint my engines in matt varnish once the transfers are on. /media/tinymce_upload/f78370d78f9998a7c7e73d3a48cfe798.jpg still a way off thinking about the paint.