Skip to main content

Just for a change

Just by way of a change, some pics of my finished locos - not me driving! This is a 5 in gauge B1.















And this is my A3 Pacific, again in 5 in gauge.

Comments

Dianne said…
Norman your work is brilliant, the train is beautiful. What a pair of artist you are, you were made for each other...

Popular posts from this blog

Coupling Rods

The spacing of the coupling rod centres is critical to the free running of the loco. I measure each side separately and comparing it with the drawing. Any inaccuracies in making up the axle-boxes or in setting the crank-pins will show up here. I started by marking out the centres and outline on the rod blank, then drilled the centres, starting with a small centre drill, then drilling out at (say) 2BA clearance at one end, and 2BA tapping at the other. The rods tapered from 3/8 to 1/4 in. - i.e a taper of 1/16 in. on each side. So I marked out the centre line on the support bar, and another, offset by 1/16 in. I drilled and tapped a fixing for one end of the bar on the centre line, and attached the rod blank. Then I lined up the other centre on the 1/16 in offset line, clamped and drilled through 2BA tapping. Now I removed the rod blank, and opened the 2BA tapping hole on the rod blank to 2BA clearance. Also I tapped 2BA threads in the support bar and bolted the two together. I clampe...
Work has progressed - the boiler is now complete. The assembly sequence I used was as described in Alex Farmers book on boiler making - and, as it happens, his was also a GWR boiler, although bigger. As the assembly gets bigger, it always surprises me just how much heat it needs. I work outside, so can only work on wind-free ( and preferably dry) days. Also, I find it essential to use refractory bricks- without them, I'd never get up to temperature. Even so, it needed two good sized gas torches, and occasional oxy-propane, to complete the assembly. I couldn't do this alone, and gratefully thank George and Russell for their help. Where ever possible (and that's most of the time), we worked with pre-placed solder - its much easier than applying a stick, as it tends to melt - or at least sag - if you're not quick. We put rings of silver solder under the heads of all the rivet - stays in the firebox. As the solder flowed, each was grasped on the outside with pliers, rotated...

Welcome to my blog

One of my serious interests is model engineering. I've built steam locomotives in 5 inch gauge, and also in gauge 1. Interest in the hobby seems to have grown quite a lot in the last few years - certainly my local model engineering society is a lot busier. Several people I've spoken to have expressed an interest in building a loco. These days, sadly, most of the college based courses are no longer running making it harder to start from scratch. I have just started building a 3 1/2 inch gauge loco and thought I would keep a journal of my progress. I thought if I set up a blog perhaps it might help someone else to get going. I will share some notes and photographs documenting my progress. Hopefully my blog will promote discussion with like minded people. The loco I am building is a GWR Hall (3 1/2" gauge). Its an LBSC design: the construction looks typical of lots of locos, so the construction notes should transfer to other locos. Truth to tell, I bought it at a...