Member postings for Peter Seymour-Howell

Ahh...Red Kites...beautiful birds...they are my wife's all time favourite...we first saw them in numbers while holidaying in Wales. We were on the railway from Devil's bridge to that well known seaside town that I can never pronounce nor spell...Abersw???? The guide told us that the birds had been added to the area in the past but were now getting too large in numbers which might need addressing. This was perbaps 10 years ago, not sure if anything was done about them, hope not.

We have recently moved home and viewed our fair share of properties around our chosen area. They say that when you find the right home you feel it as you walk in or even as you arrive. That was certainly the case for my wife and I, firstly we saw two classic cars the same model as mine, they are faily rare these days. Then as we parked and walked to the front door my wife spotted a red kite circuling above, a sign to her.. once we walked in we were hooked. Now in our new home Red Kites are a daily event, I love their distinctive call...few weeks back I threw the remains of some bread onto the lawn. While washing up a large shadow flashed across my vision followed by many smaller birds scattering. Not sure if the kite was going for the bread or some of the fledgings in the group...it was a sight to see, having such a large bird so close... The neighbours tell me to throw some raw chicken out when I see the kites above as they will swoop down to get the meal. I guess its something the villagers have been doing for years.

Yep, we got this house move right...as I finished typing this the distinctive call is once again overhead...🙂

Pete

Hi guys

My workshop was a concrete garage which now has a new wing courtesy of panels from another donor concrete garage. There was already a large concrete hardstanding so no need for fresh concrete. However' the new section stood on a slope and had a furrow in its middle which needed levelling. Two independent builders advised using a latex levelling compound which I finally got around to doing last weekend. I first fixed a length of 19mm ply to the original garage floor which will also have levelling compound added once its clear of junk. The compound went down well and is now cured, need to wait about a month before it can be painted. I was advised to use No Nonsense levelling compound, there are a couple of grades, I have used the one that ranges from 3mm to 50mm in depth, the later being the max depth in one pour, you can add more. I followed the guide and used a SBR primer to seal the concrete first. Only time will tell if the builders were right but accorfing to them this stuff is very hard. The reason for the ply was to both stop the compound from spreading below the 3mm onto the garage floor and also give me a lip of more than 3mm for the next stage to meet.

Hope this is of interest.

Pete

Before trying to plug it permantly I would take a closer look at their possible role. You mentioned inspection holes and this is most likely the case, their role considering their position in the steam chest is most likely to help set the valve timing. If so they will be positioned so that you can set the valves to the ports. These can be sealed by suitable plugs and perhaps some loctite steam sealant. It can be very helpful having such viewing ports to help set the timing.

Pete

don't drill into the backhead, do as Simon suggested and fit the door to the cladding, assuming this model has backhead cladding, like others I'm not familiar with the Boxhill.

Pete

Thanks for bringing a thread up that I wouldn't have read otherwise.

Recently I have had suggestions stating that I should fit a rosebud grate to my build of 4472, I wouldn't as it's not prototypical and thus would negate the very reason why I am building this model. Having read the posts in this thread, particularly Nigel's last post I feel more positive about my position on this.

Although I am hearing more about rosebud grates these days most loco's that I see have the traditional bar grate, in fact, I can only recall seeing one rosebud grate in the flesh. Also it's a valid point about the rosebud being more difficult to clear of clinker which I would think to be of more relevance for a wide body firebox that may not have the ability to easily remove the grate.

Interesting discussion...

Pete

I'll throw my penny in again....the very first thing to do with an unknown steam locomotive is a hydraulic test at twice working pressure which I guess is 80psi so test at 160psi. If you have paperwork giving details of the original shell test and the boiler looks sound then some clubs may just test at 1 1/2 times working pressure.

In answer to Nigel, I'd just like to say that my loco has working sanders, both gravity and steam operated and they work perfectly. Granted this is very rare and on a much larger loco, you won't find such things on a loco like this.

Just my pennies worth...

Pete

Pete

just to add using dave's colour code. for me it looks like the following

grey: Whistle

blue: top wheel injector steam feed, bottom to clear water gauge, the similar hand wheel on the opposite side of the whistle is probably the blower

green: regulator

yellow: reverser

purple: is either the damper lever or dropped grate lever, most likely the later

The handle near the reverser could be the water valve, if so this would be used in unison with the injector steam valve. water on first and then steam until the injector picks up and pumps water into the boiler.

Of course, people plumb things in different ways but this seems most logical.

Pete

Edited By Peter Seymour-Howell on 06/06/2022 14:07:18

Hi Jeff

Thank you for your interest in my articles, the first 10 articles which began in the first mag for 2021 (1st-14th January) are in issues

4655, 4656, 4657, 4658, 4659, 4660, 4661, 4662, 4664, and 4665.

Hope this helps

Kind regards

Pete

Hi Michael, as Luker has pointed out the cleading will be held near the spectacle plate by a length of right angle which has been rolled to match the boiler.

Looking at photos of No.1, Luker's excellent model looks correct, I don't have a close-up of a Stirling having not built one but can share one of my photos which shows the angle as fitted to Flying Scotsman. As you can see the angle is bolted or riveted to the spectacle plate and the cleading slides under, note that it's not fixed to the cleading so that it can expand as the boiler heats up.

Hope this helps

Pete

Edited By Peter Seymour-Howell on 09/03/2022 22:02:46

I spoke to a nice lady on the phone, a replacement is on its way...

cheers

Pete

nothing in today's post either??..

Thanks, for the info guys...if mine isn't here Monday morning I'll order another copy...

Cheers

Pete

Hi guys

Has anyone else not yet received the latest ME, my issue usually arrives on time or early but no sign of it yet?

For obvious reasons, I particually want this issue..

Pete

She looks beautiful Simon, well-done sir, you have created a lovely-looking loco.

Pete

Try Paul.....he's more approachable than most, probably the best boilermaker out there too, many won't even look at repairs. At least if he says it can't be fixed you know the true facts.

Pete

As a scale builder, I would follow the GL5 standard of 3 5/8 or near as, there is some leeway in the standard, 5" and 4 " seems strange but then if you are modelling narrow gauge, perhaps not? I'm mainline so not really looked.

Here's the GL5 profile, you'll note that there is a generous amount of leeway, after all, locomotives come in all shapes and sizes.

https://2ebc4dff-5c4b-4001-aa30-16df8083dcc4.filesusr.com/ugd/fbc8da_9a0695dc486642fe8aba2dc028e6aca4.pdf

Pete

Hi Ben

My first step would be to soak it in citric acid for a few hours (perhaps overnight depending on concentration) so you can see more clearly what's going on. As Dave said superheaters are generally removable although admittedly my experience is with larger scales so can't say with yours, I'd be surprised if it wasn't removable. After a bath in citric, it should come up like new. Are you a member of a club? if so once cleaned show it to your boiler inspector for an experienced assessment as to what can be done.

Don't condemn it straight away even if the news isn't good from the inspector, a professional boilermaker may still be able to fix it. Talk to someone like Paul Tompkins at Southern Boiler Works Ltd in Devon, if he says it can't be fixed then it can't although you'd be amazed at the state of some boilers which he has rescued.

good luck

Pete.

Thanks V8

I did speak to Pocketmags yesterday evening but it was late in the day and not had a reply from my last email. I think that they can grant me access once I can prove that I have the proper ME subscriptions....I sent them a copy of my original email for the subscription but forgot that originally I only had one for print only. I upgraded a few months later to both print and digital but can't find the email, I seem to recollect having to sort the upgrade through the helpline and thus may not have got a confirmation email?

My last mail tried to explain this but got there too late for a reply last night, hope to hear something positive from Pocketmags Monday.

Fingers crossed...

Cheers

Pete

I just tried to find how to link myself via the Pocketmags site, I think I've found a page under 'my account' (evidently I opened an account some years back for some Porsche mags) then in 'my library' and then 'activate subscription' i then get stuck when it askes for an 'order number', I tried entering my subscription number but that didn't work?

Pete...