96RAF Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 This loco is resisting all your efforts Ken, but it will be a superb loco when you get them all sorted.I spotted a potential problem with that new board getting a bit close to the body. Not a problem with a plastic body but a brass one is another matter./media/tinymce_upload/89850f324b8390729bbdd9998583ee1b.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I applaud your tenacity Ken. I think I would have thrown in the towel by now, even if I had the skill required to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 Hi all yes your right RAF there will be a problem if the LIVE edge of the printed board touches the brass body BANG ! So must make sure that the copper pads are stripped back at least 1 mm from the fibre glass board but I feel a lot more happy about this wiring lay out but Rog its still got to run and if this ends up as a none runner just like Lego it be broken up and put back into the parts box.but just food for thought I have been toying with the idea of a GWR slip coach?Mr Hornby might be interested and could make a model in DCC as for me a small 2 Chanel radio control could be used 1 channel for the coupling release and 1 channel for the brakes. But that might come one day till then it's this GWR tank engine which would be a great little loco if it ever works.happy modelling in what ever you are doing Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 i have not done much to the tank engine some times its good to move on to a different job and come back in the hope lost ground can be made up in new light.The new wiring position of cables worked ok and some basic testing carried out and things looked to be going on alright it is hoped that some steam testing can be carried out just to see if i can get the engine to run?At the start of this part i explained i was looking at other jobs one which has been going on for almost 9 months off and on is a second LMS Duchess this time comming at the job from a tatolly different way i will explain./media/tinymce_upload/3ba02f10de1c0587bce2601ed81b1361.jpgLMS DuchessI have for some time been racking my little grey cell for a way to build an engine with out the need for a brass kit but try making it out of an A3 body which is high melting point plastic several idea have com to light but not tried as yet.Then I thought one way might be to take an engine with the same wheel arrangement as the Flying Scotsman and rebuild the A3 body into a similar shape loco as many 4 6 2 engines do embody the same overall dimensions and look.One engine I was looking at was the LMS Duchess or a GWR King or Castle but then could such a new engine come from the ashes of this A3 phoenix,/media/tinymce_upload/291cc438448c6d77f33335e5a6e3ec72.jpg Looking at the two engines A3 and Duchess it looked possible so work started on this new loco starting with the A3 body this all started as i said months ago.I had bought an A3 off the internet which had hit the floor at some time and the front section of buffer beam was broken off and missing the rest of the engine and the works were ok in fact good condition./media/tinymce_upload/8da5b06eb7a40b6b175b5469b3b077b8.jpgThe first thing I did was buy a Duchess body shell this way I can compare the two engines and make the necessary changes so that the A3 would look more like a Duchess.Looking at the pictures here you can see a certain similarity the main difference was that the LMS body was about 10 mm longer over all than the A3 body.Making a start on the A3 body was remove the handrails then file off the steam dome next the safety valves were removed as the LMS has 4 safety valves which are fitted in the cab roof.The A3 chimney was missing on this engine when I bought it but as the LMS had a double chimney it would have had to be removed any way./media/tinymce_upload/153fd52babfd23f97780f4084d0888af.jpgI then decided to cut up the body so that it would be in 3 pieces these section will be bridged using supper glue and paper and then the gap filled in with fibre glass. The middle splashier was removed both sides along with the name plate./media/tinymce_upload/6b0d241a88bde46f8ba71e51e5522853.jpgTo reproduce the detail of the LMS engine candle wax was dripped onto the body for the dome, top feed, chimney, and the running board detail.The picture here is of the running board detail being copied and you can see the large section covered in wax. I put the body into the freezer for a couple of minutes this way the wax would go very hard and the plastic might even shrink a little there by allowing the wax to be removed more easily./media/tinymce_upload/a1a5251a095816e4ff4a5f796c70c90d.jpgAfter popping off the wax mould from the body I mix up the fibre glass and work it into the wax mould making sure I got any air bubbles out of the mould of the casting, then once set it was eased out of the mould and as you see it here not that bad a copy all it wanted was to clean it up and remove all unwanted fibre glass./media/tinymce_upload/4ac445fe304d02e41c23d991b9389d6f.JPGI made 2 of these from the same mould 1 for each side of the engine and glued them in place.Things seemed to be going well the back section of the cab roof was extended with paper and glue and fire glass after which it was reshaped/media/tinymce_upload/2931dfa30baf4556df9801822942bd33.jpgWith so much work completed I gave the new body a quick under coat of grey paint./media/tinymce_upload/4d4bee9eb8e5948a831f12854a9e4e3a.jpgA start was made on the front buffer beam and again this was copied from the Hornby body you see it here with just the centre section with the middle end valve covers and the buffer beam will be brass sheet and the correct working sprung buffers soldered in place.The chimney was recast from the Hornby body and set in the correct place on top of the smoke box.2 new holes were drilled into the smoke box the rear one being used for the exhaust steam from the engine./media/tinymce_upload/d61307911cfbd36f86c14c55dca58db8.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/936f47273bdc204b6477e095b3f4cdc8.jpgThe cab roof was extended and some of the detail added like the ventilation panelsThe 4 holes were drill in the front edge of the roof for the safety valves and cut out in the side of the rear cab side was filled in.A cab floor was added this way the drivers seat and crew can be add/media/tinymce_upload/84bcbea2c045d8185d900f548ce318f3.jpgSlowly the front section of running boards and the buffer beams were constructed gain using paper supper glue and fire glass./media/tinymce_upload/b02e2b0cdd9e34db8cb0d5d5277a3b76.jpgHere is the brass buffer beam with screw coupling and buffers along with the smoke deflectors./media/tinymce_upload/28c501731485f7fc2a72833aa9f5f3fa.jpgLooking at the body in this picture it is not a bad resemblance of an LMS Duchess, there are small points that don’t ring true in the detail but then I do not know what will happen when the engine is in steam it might all fall apart?No doubt like others building your model railways you have many jobs on the go at one time I know I might have strayed off the road a bit but thought you might like to know what’s been going on in my engine shed, now this LMS engine will be shelved once more for a while but might have given others an idea on rebuilds of the Hornby A3 live steam engine or any engine in the electric range. 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96RAF Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Nice to see you are being productive Ken. I should imagine you have a host of other things to do related to the house and grounds. I like the idea of the slip coach and wondered how this might be controllable in DCC, such that say Hornby could produce a working model. The uncoupler is commercially available in seversl forms, memory wire, servo and solenoid, so that is relatively easy. The hard part would be actual braking. A function button could be used to activate the brake, but it is the mechanics of this in 00 gauge that would be the challenge. I wondered about adapting slot car regenerative braking using a small motor maybe belt or gear driven from a bogie that has a resistor put across the brushes when the brake is applied. The regenerative force would brake the motor and thus the wheels. As long as you held the function down the brakes would apply. The Ducchess mods are amazing. There must be many near enough common parts on all these locos that can be tweaked to form one from another. The wax cast is obviously one of your well tried and tested methods. From such a one off cast could you do a lost wax cast of the part in white metal, which may better handle the heat. I seem to remember that the temperature you cure fibreglass resin to controls its limiting in use temperature handling. I recall a Reliant Robin in Cyprus that looked as if it had melted in places such was the distortion due to the fierce summer sun. It had probably been cured for typical UK use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Last night like many I was looking at the news and the corona virus and the support and words of the Queen and wondering what's ahead for us all when a thought struck me of something my father said to me years ago while working on the railway in the signaling department this was in the good old days of steam which some may remember for real.He said he was called out to a set of points that would not lock and therefore could not be set so taking his tools off he went down the track to see what the problem was when he got to the points in question this was close to the main line from Liverpool street station to Southend on sea and Norwich then in his day the LNER, back to the story so there he was making some fine adjustments to the points locking mechanism when a fast steam train approached in most cases it's a good idea he said to get far way as possible to one side or stand in the 10 foot way but he didn't have time as the train came upon him very fast so he said the next best thing to do was not to stand up as is was possible to get drawn into the train but to kneel down on the ground which he said he did all was well as the engine and train steamed passed him at speed the rush of air was not a problem or the dust that came up into his face from the track bed until someone on the train flushed the toilet?you can imagine what the result of that was poor old dad was splashed in excrement and needed to get back to the signal box and get washed and cleaned up not one of his best memories of railway life.My thought was how in days gone by did we not contract more viruses with this sort of thing carrying on when we used these trains all them years ago and the carriage toilet had that label on the wall which said "do not pull the chain while standing in the station" give a thought to poor old dad and the railway men then that could step in something or slip on something not nice and as models of that age maybe a small item can be made with toilet paper and place on the middle of the track for some ture modelling of that eara.Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Hi Rob just seen your posting and like your thoughts on what can maybe achieved and with more time at home now maybe something might roll out the shed and speaking of sheds must get the mower out and cut some grass a job that's nice in this sunshin.keep safe Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 Still not happy with the electronics there seem to be too many wires going from one part of the engines electronic to another in an effort to tidy up the wiring I though being as I had built a new PCB for all the wires from the track and the 2 heaters I wondered if there was just enough space on one leg of this PCB to for the new electronics on.a drawing of the possible design/media/tinymce_upload/deb899e3a81f52b6b0b7aa375054c6e0.jpgA second board was made this time if I made it about 8mm longer there was a chance that the electronics would fit and this would be nice and cool and if the board and components were painted black it would hardly be seen./media/tinymce_upload/455d1a906c85cad3e322779138baaeef.jpgHere is the new test board with the pads tined ready for the components I did show in the drawing of this board the 2 colour indication light system but thought this would be better to build later what I need to know now is will this work and will the engine steam./media/tinymce_upload/11c2832ff4e0ca358ca25a2f04f06d9f.jpgThe components all soldered in place and the board ready for testingThis new board does have less wiring, all it will need to connect the motor wires to the board is a 2 pin plug all a lot more straight forward./media/tinymce_upload/c8a0666f704ecbd2c395d3bfcc5e469b.jpgThe picture here shows the board in place and the rear wheels miss all the components by a good 3 mm or so that’s good./media/tinymce_upload/583f37b6ea6f65e62dfb191016ba02f9.jpgWith body in place you can just how it all fits a nice little compact layout it is turning out to be./media/tinymce_upload/97b09c4d9d13fc160a1a8fcfa90befaa.jpgWith the engine on the track you can still not see this new board so must now see if it work then with some engine control all we need is some steam and hope that no more problems are found and the work can continues as I so want to see this engine running round my track with some wagons behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Superb design problem solving Ken. Let’s hope it runs well, then you can put the finishing touches into the design mods.I continue to be amazed bu the way you keep shoe-horning bits into the smallest of spaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Back on the tank engine once more as the LMS Duchess is finished so I have gone through all the notes here to refresh my memory and I think I know where we are which is to build the engine back up with the new electronics PCB and try to see if steam and servo motor control is working it would be a shame to bin this engine when so much has been achieve.And on that note I will complete the last stage of mod 4 or 5 is it and get back to let you know what happened?ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Looking forward to what may be the final installment of a very interesting project Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted August 26, 2020 Author Share Posted August 26, 2020 Hi Robyes would be good oneway or the other to see this project completed as looking on the first page in the forum I started this engine a year ago 8th August 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 Well I thought by now I would have something to report but sorry to say no its the electronics that are proving a problem and not wanting to play ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Gremlins KenYou should know them well from your working days at Marconi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 /media/tinymce_upload/7747053f725c185f7bbe5779c4b7271f.JPGIf its not one thing its some thing else turns up just when you think you have found the problem and put the engine on the track bang something you over looked pops up or didn’t account for.I have thought keep putting the engine on and off the track is a pain why not a simple test unit? Will give it some thought./media/tinymce_upload/080f608c8f2a22708930379e450e9076.jpgLook closely at the picture here you might be able to spot the capacitor with a big black burn mark in the centre of it.This component should be a nice deep yellow colour all over with a orange line denoting the positive end and some writing saying 47uf 25v.The reason for this capacitor burning out is due to the little black square component to the right which is a bridge rectifier and this had for some reason stopped working and just gone into a full short and stopped giving out a DC output so by sending the wrong polarity to the capacitor thereby making it go pop.That’s all part of life I can remember back in the 1964 working for a small electronic company and my job then was testing TV repeater amplifiers they were then switching from valves to transistors and this unit I was testing had Mallard OC71 transistors like in the picture some of you may have come across them. The TV amp problem was a 50 cycle hum which I had spent a long time trying to find out why I decided to leave the unit powered up over night and go home as I switched off the room lighting I could see the scope and the fault went I switched on the light and the fault came back./media/tinymce_upload/9ea2d6cbe692c54bf986b0e9a7a727a1.JPGThe picture here is of such a transistor and is coated in black paint this is because the transistors are made from a clear glass tube this paint had got damaged in the wiring shop and it was this that made the transistor now light sensitive and was picking up the mains 50 cycles from the room lights. The OC72 has a metal case, the red dot is the collector lead. To remember the 3 transistor leads we had a saying. From the red dot it was... Cross the British Empire or Collector, Base, Emitter a bit of historyHaving said all that it still leaves me to find out why this servo board is not working I hope its not the SSR as its my last one and I will need to reorder some./media/tinymce_upload/10ee637c7e8fc328c3aefa270f89acc0.jpgI thought I would add this as some might find it interesting, in the first picture of the tank engine in the section you can see my oiling pen this is great for electric and steam engines it has a very fine needle so you can get into some tight places it is filled with clock oil of about the right viscosity and just right for small moving parts I find this oil ideal for live steam engines./media/tinymce_upload/8c8aa73d5201394f525e234ee931a718.jpgYears ago the Tri-ang company sold oil for there electric train which I can remember having a small bottle of just as the picture. it had a short brass wire fixed inside the cork to drip drops of oil onto moving parts /media/tinymce_upload/a07c2e634f59e6d17c5d7ab64a19e0aa.jpgThe live steam engines have many oiling points and if you look at the under side of the Hornby engines there are 4 main oiling points which need frequent attention even full size engines had a good oil up before starting a run.There are the 3 main driving axles and the gear bearing block.In the picture I’m oiling the rear set of drives and the very thin needle goes right through the plastic brake ssembly oiling hole and into the cavity of the axles and bearings./media/tinymce_upload/4558acc928febd0e6e36f8bd969f0b6c.jpgAnd do not forget the tender wheel set axle boxes and the power pick ups these are most important the axle boxes can seize up which I have had and will wear a flats on the wheels and once corrected you end up with tap, tap, tap noise as the train runs round the track. The same problem has happened on full size electric rolling stock when the hand brake has been left on.Well looks like I’m burning some night oil to see if I can get this PCB fixed as until this is done I can not take the next step which is to see if steam can be raised and a run under taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 As I was talking abouit a test unit for the servo unit which would help me fault find and improve my own design servo units I spent a little time giving it some thought and this is what i have come up with.Hornby Servo Test Unit.A test unit which can be used to check the Hornby servo PCB this make life a little easier for me when building my engines as it allows me to test the Hornby PCB or the ones that I have designed on the work bench rather than putting the engines together and powering up my track.You could just use a simple switching circuit with relays only as in the drawing below with no electronics but as I will be using this test unit quite a bit I think I will build the unit using the 4011 gate IC./media/tinymce_upload/23aeab649e853d6df46b3c09dbd0db60.jpgHow it Works.Working in a similar way to the Hornby controller with a servo unit connected to the white plug and the test lead connected to the motor out terminal on the PCB, Switch 3 is operated in the ON position the volts to the Hornby PCB will be 16 volts.If SW1 is pressed both relays pull in RLA and RLB RLA will switch the volts from 16 volts to 9 volts this low voltage is needed to operate the small relay on the Hornby PCB.RLB is wired as a change over relay and will switch the output polarity to the white plug pos to neg.The indication for this operation will be shown by the LED’s 1 and 2 the green being Forward and the red Reverse. If SW2 is pressed then only RLA will operate again switching the volts from 16v to 9v this time RLB will not operate as the diode D1 will block the volts to this relay./media/tinymce_upload/14a9da0acc883d3e625f7830a9c7c2c5.jpgThe Hornby servo board is pictured here and the 2 connection that supply the electric motor are the out side 2 sockets this is where the indicator LED’s LED1 and LED2 must be connected to. /media/tinymce_upload/2e67f32326c957bb37af92dcd6bf36b6.jpgHere I put together the simple test unit and it is pictured below. I have connected it to a Hornby servo board which is under test with the power ON no LED’s have lit up which is good as this means the small black Hornby servo board relay has pulled in which is what it is supposed to do when 16 volts are on the track.If the relay driver transistor had failed or any of the other components including the relay then one of the LED’s would be ON. It can be that a bad connecting might be the fault then the next test will prove this as no LED’s will light when the push buttons are pressed./media/tinymce_upload/b72ffbbcd8ce1b3571f9f0a6e0aac945.jpgTo carry out a Test.When the green switch SW2 is pressed the volts drop from 16 volts to 9 volts.This drop in the voltage turns OFF the transistor driving the relay so the relay drops out.This action causes the relay NC contact to close and the green LED lights up.If you release the push switch SW2 the LED will go out. Each time the green switch is pressed the green LED will light./media/tinymce_upload/36b8b4e55cb72237c4dd3693f443e1b7.jpgLike wise when the blue switch SW1 is pressed the red LED lights up this means that the polarity has change and as the Hornby relay only has one set of contacts wired each time the polarity changes only the LED that is wired to work on the correct polarity will light up. In the engine this is indicated by the fact that the electric motor will rotate one way with one polarity and if the polarity is changed then the motor spins in the opposite direction. The unit below works the same as the previous design the only difference is the switch operations of SW1 and SW2 are recorded by the 2 green LED’s LED1 and LED2.In both of the test unit cases the PP3 batteries will not be able to supply enough amps to be able to test the PCB in the engine as the heater takes 3 amps and the motor might present a problem to.A different supply with more power would have to be found to achieve this./media/tinymce_upload/b9f553ecf2d65586ab0c77f99a882a7d.jpgNow I have my test unit I can sit down and see why my servo board is failing to work properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Nice little test rig Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Hi Robwill try it out on my servo unit and tell you how it worked outThe picture is of the finished servo test unit with a Hornby PCB under test, when testing my servo units I will have to connect them up to the green terminal block as I do not use the 2 pin plug idea./media/tinymce_upload/5aa6cea6579453e629f0c4b0bcc9d73d.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Well some time has passed and apart from other projects on the go this tank engine has kept me awake at nights trying to fix one fault after another which is mostly down to the builder not making sure that the workmanship was of the very best which when you think about it the Great Western Railway prided them selves in as did all the railway companies as each engine be it a LMS, LNER, GWR, SR, or even the smaller companies that built to a high standard and built I think to a better standard than a Rolls Royce!When the engine was in steam it seamed not to have enough power to drive itself along which was the main problem and the servo motor never worked properly then there was the safety valve which was dribbling all the time and not as it should be with a nice snappy action./media/tinymce_upload/616ee632212f77a084446da1b4b33ba6.jpgIn the picture here you might notice that the main coupling rods have been removed this way with the centre drivers just off the rail head these might spin freely and prove it will at least generate enough power just to turn the middle axle but this again was very poor and the likely hood of it pulling wagons was never going to happen if the engine could not even drive its self along the track. I was not going to let this one beat me the principle of a steam engine is after all very basic and the only thing to do was check out one or 3 things.The old way to check for steam leaks was with a rag soaked in oil on a metal rod and run it round pipe joints and boiler fittings if there was a leak the flame would flutter.The same thing but on a smaller scale was a bit of string and straight away two leak showed up one was the main steam pipe gland fitting and the other was the safety valve seat./media/tinymce_upload/a8c515f3b4ff05ba9b6d3a05587af55b.jpgThe engine was stripped down and the threaded pipe fitting on the bottom of the safety valve had a poor thread and the nut side was out of line with the nut both parts were remade and a PTFE washer fitted between the 2 parts it was hoped that this will fix the problem as for the safety valve a replacement valve was used./media/tinymce_upload/d8b0d1a9092886b141572ff245739402.jpgNext the servo unit PCB and it electronics were looked at a little more closely. And after more testing it was decided to make a new control board this time using a more powerful SSR. Using a power supply the motor and gear assembly was checked out and it soon became apparent the motor was defective some times it would run and some times not just sitting there so presumably it had a dead spot I did clean it and check the brushes but after rebuilding the motor it still was poor and never gave off its best so it was replaced. You must remember that some of these engines came from that internet sale site as non runners and you can never be sure what the problems are./media/tinymce_upload/6a6f9d3ca8bbbcd5e455abe90864de33.jpgThis is the new control board and the top side is shown here, it is a double sided PCB and has a place for all the heater and power connections plus the LED.It is held in place with a single screw fitted to the chassis.The electronics for the LED are on the other side of the PCB it is hoped that this will keep them from the water and heat they could be covered in a sealer just to make sure./media/tinymce_upload/a4b38d0d585fa2fa0e966f73189a35e4.jpgThe lower half of the PCB has the motor unit control components fitted.The copper section is for the pony truck power connection which works like a wiper and as the engine runs round a curve it will track across the section of copper track./media/tinymce_upload/f1b20b7caff081b4a86bab9dd2f839e3.jpgIn place on the chassis all that is needed is to make the connections and see if we have fixed the servo problems/media/tinymce_upload/5680585f2d3d169d0cccef7771680485.jpgAnd now with the engine all back together it was filled with oil and water and left to steam up and this time we had at last some success time to open a bottle and celebrate I had to take some video of the engine as I could not at first believe my eyes was the engine running or was I dreaming./media/tinymce_upload/0cdbb11b1a71f8f2ae1774297d29cf24.jpgThe engine had no rubber tyres and with wagons or the coach as here it was perfect backwards or forwards it was great to watch the servo drive worked fine and there was a good head of steam so look here and see it for your self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 By heck a veritable pocket rocket. Well done Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Lost for words...... brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted November 1, 2020 Author Share Posted November 1, 2020 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.jpgTo 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.jpgThis 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.jpgThe 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.JPGThe 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.jpgWork 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.jpgAs 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.jpgLooking 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.jpgWith 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.jpgThe 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.jpgLooking 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.jpgstill a way off thinking about the paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Very interesting product improvements Ken. Given the complexities away from the original design it has turned out very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted November 1, 2020 Author Share Posted November 1, 2020 Robthe 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"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 Walking the dogCalled 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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