Member postings for David Bothwell 1

Thanks for the reply, I have to admit that the loco was not flat on the bench, but I did not see this until this morning, loco was resting (on one side) on a rogue spanner. Posted in good faith but apologies to the respondents. It was a huge relief as I had no idea how to get it sorted!

Thanks for the reply, I did not build the chassis, but it all looked square to me. I am going to strip it down today. I do suspect the grate mounting has something to do with the problem, but doesn't explain the smokebox not being OK, unless the boiler is twisting this

An unusual help request. I have been assembling the boiler on my Britannia and when fitted to the smokebox when fitted both the smokebix and boiler look to have an off square look. I thought it could be an illusion, but I tried a small spirit level on the chimney and firebox end of the boiler and they are both not level. I am sure they were OK on previous trial assemblies so I cant understand whats gone wrong. I thought it might have something to do with the grate assembly, baffled and any suggestion would be most gratefully accepted!

Thanks for the excellent replies, I have checked the boiler outlet, but not through the "regulator" which I also suspect. This is a plumbers ball type valve with a lever to activate, wlll see in the morning

Just thought I would ask what is the difference in performance between superheated and non superheated steam(in a three and a half inch gauge Britanniia, reason for asking as reference my previous query/post on here. No matter what I have tried (such as removing all the backhead fittings from the boiler I cannot get the loco to run properly with air line connected to the boiler, but have had it going through the super heater tubes,(seperated from the boiler) so I decided to make a direct piping from the boiler t o the cylinders. Just for clarification I may wish to sell the loco and include the super heater tubes as an "extra"

Thanks for the many replies, just to alay any fears, my boiler has been tested when first manufactured and looks and feels a very well made thing. I suspect I need to clear any leaks from the backhead before the chassis will work, which it has sans boiler

Thanks to you both for the informative answers, My boiler is a pro build from Stuart models so should be OK, also the motion has been in action separate to the boiler and runs quite well. I did not build the chassis, but have worked on the details and boiler fittings since February, man thanks again

A passing thought regarding trying to test my locomotive (three and a half inch Britannia) with compressed air through the boiler. Then it occured to me that my compressor may not be up to it. I opened the tap and qt least a 100 pounds per square inch with no wheel movement. My compressor has a tank and although not very large thought it is not small. I have to admit there were some leaksfrom the backhead, any thoughts welcome as I dont want to waste time with something that is not going to work?

The firebox doors are bit nicer than mine! I will have a re-jig in the morning

Hello al, So sorry for the confusion, that is what happens when the post was done in a big rush. It is the firebox doors to which my problem refers. My Brittania is a scratch build which I purchased in February last (from a dealer) I made the doors and mechanism. Weary may have hit the nail squarely on the head i.e. if there are supposed to slots on the doors? then that is where I am wrong?

Thanks for all assistance

sorry for the delay in reply, not sure what dart fixing is, Mine are held with rivets , lever and spacer drilled through each door , Main lever on left hand door opens and closes both. Mine are sluggish, but are good fits in the guides?

Tried "firebox doors" no results

Having trouble with my smokebox doors, the mechanism which is the "lever" operated type is not working as well as it should any tips would be gratefully accepted, followed drawings as close as possible

Thanks to Howard and Paul for the newer posts which I will take into consideration, thanks to all for your help, which I much appreciate!

Thanks for all the replies, I filed a square on the valve operating lever (as it was unequal when I received it. This is the root of my problem as the lever is placed vertical the ball valve is closed and when operating the lever it needs to move nearly 90 degrees to fully open. i.e. almost horizontal from its original position. I am sure those who built the 5" gauge version (Brittannia) must have got this system working. I can see that I can alter the intermediate link on the boiler (as mine is of equal length) making the lower half smaller i.e. part closer to the smokebox, also increase the length of the operating lever on the ball valve and associated parts

Thanks Howard for your thoughts, could be I have the relay lever wrong or one of the other components, as it was guess work throughout . I will checkout the parts you mentioned in the morning, only thing I am sure of is there is no backlash in the rods (they are not flexing) once again thanks for the reply

Back again with (different) smokebox problem, the actuating lever that goes outside the smokebox(that moves the ball valve) in my Britannia does not have enough movement to open and completely)close the valve. Or put another way lever travels a long way without ball moving much! I do not have any measurements for this as I have the three and a half inch engine and guessed dimensions of the parts from photos of Steves 5" build log, so any suggestion would be good, as I have spent more time on this than I think I should have!

Hello Jon, thanks for the response, I would really appreciate a picture of your layout, although I am continuing with my effort!

Hello, Wondering if anyone could supply a picture of the lever attachment on a ball type regulator as mounted in the smokebox (of a Britannia. I have a lot of the outside mechanism which have been extremely useful and could probably guess how to attach a lever, but i would be most grateful for any picture or drawing

Hello Nick, I am most grateful for your reply, which clears things up!

Hello Noel, Thanks for the reply, I think I have worked out that the top right is where to place the hollow stay, what I cant understand is why this is not part of the construction process?