Member postings for Bob Youldon

Hello Peter,

For more years than I can remember, I've used gsuge plate in it's normal state for the links with cast Iron die blocks. The load on the slide valve is high as Andrew has pointed out, but the load on the valve isn't that extreme as the exhaust port, being open to atmosphere must be taken ito consideration in any calculation and often the steam chest pressure will rarely match the boiler pressure due to internal losses and wire drawing. I've yet to meet many who will drive a locomotive with a fully open regulator, controlling the progress of the locomotive on the reverser.

Fear nought, a mild steel link with a bronze die block will probably see you out!

Use cast iron for your axle boxes, with cast iron there will be very little wear. Put an oil way throuth the end of the axles to a cross drilling where the axle box runs and you'll always push any dirt out, almost essential with the trailing set in the area of the ash pan.

Regards,

Bob

Hello Jared,

Following on from Neil's reply a quick treddle on the calculator shows 3/4" scale to 1"scale to be an increase of some 33.33% The scale would be in the order of .084" = 1"

If you follow the old LBSC drawings in respect to the chassis, cylinders and motion you should not be far out, many have been built in the smaller scale an all seem to perform alright; in your case the boiler is the main issue and as Neil has said speak to somone in you local society before going too far with the boiler.

Regards,

Bob

Good evening Mick,

On the subject of stay material may I suggest you avoid monel at all costs, I have in the past been involved with several boilers using monel stays around the time Martin Evans was suggesting their use as a practical alternative to the more usual copper, quite where Martin got the idea, I cannot say but I'm pretty sure he never attempted to build a boiler incorporating monel stays! If i the stay is to be threaded into the inner fire box with nuts and silver soldered through a plain hole in the outer wrapper then I would suggest the use of drawn phosphor bronze, although my personal preference now is the use of copper rivets silver soldered on both inner and outer fireboxes much as Phil Hale has shewn above.

Regards,

Bob

Hello,

Does anyone read whats before them before they press the tit to print? In the same issue, page 599 the picture captions are all wrong. The errors that have crept into the magazine of late begger belef. Stupid mistakes. Come on sharpen up in there please.

Regards,

Bob

Good evening Neil'

Don't do anything yet except I'd suggest you join up with the Sunderland guys and let their boiler testers take a look first before doing anymore; they'll guide you through the whole process; it's not that difficult and like most things today it's the paperwork that's inportant and here you will probably start from square one.

Regards,

Bob

Good morning Mike,

As you are aware the Rob Roy design is based on the Caley dockyard shunter; in full size they were designed to negotiate tight radius curves down to as little as 1½ chains in the restricted dock areas and yards, if you use that figure the radius for 3½″ gauge comes down to just over 6’ radius! I would think if you used a radius somewhere in the region of say 10’ you wouldn’t have a problem particularly if you gave it a touch of gauge widening.

The locomotives weren’t nicknamed Beetle crushers for nothing.

Regards,

Bob

Good afternoon Greg,

i have never built one but I know of a few and they all went well, and did all what the builders expected of them. We had one for years at Beechhurst built by the late Dick Burge, it went like a rocket, Dick always had a water tank on the passenger car as it only had injectors, he'd filled the tanks with lead shot! it would always shift four cars fully loaded and keep doing it all the afternoon. Not much wrong with that design. Not a thing of beauty but very capable.

Regards,

Bob

Good morning John,

I cannot remember seeing any article in the model press giving details for the construction of a"Westinghouse" pump to suit 5" gauge, as you say Roy Amsbury gave some brief details in the Model Engineer many years ago but I've yet to see one in operation. Don Young's pump for his O2 is based on an early pre war LBSC design being reliant on an over center spring arrangement and probably a bit iffy in it's performance, I understand Gerry Tull built a working pump to his own design for his O2 although I always thought it was too small for the O2. Don did describe pumps for his Lucky Seven design and his Terrier "Newport" these being based on an American design by Moodie E Braun Jnr in the American publication Modeltec November 1984, subsequently the design was revised in Modeltec in September 1985 by Bill Esty. Many years ago I built a 5" gauge A1X Terrier and I experimented with a "Westinghouse" steam pump, i had several goes at it finally utlising a small piston valve in the pump head operated by the trip rod and a slide valve built into the rear of the steam cylinder, In that size the main problem was one of condensation, but when kept hot would work quite well; I had it with me one time visiting the late Lionel Woodhead who at that time had just finished a Brighton B4, well that was the last I saw of it, it still resides on the side of the B4 firebox.

Regards,

Bob

Good afternoon John,

Have a look at www.johnlythgoe.com could possiably meet your requirements.

You could as someone has suggested, print off from a computer your requirements, stick the printed name onto brass sheet, cut out the letterrs and then sweet them onto your backing plate. A friend built a 3½″ gauge GWR Castle and made his plates that way, "Tiverton Castle" twice! I also made my "Portishead" plates for my 5" gauge Terrier the same way but in both cases it was in the days before home computers and printers etc.

Regards,

Bob

Good afternoon RR

I think your first port of call would be a chat with your club boiler testers for an opinion, it is they who'll give a clearer answer upon looking at your proposal and submitted drawings. What you are suggesting isn't unheard of and avoids many of the pit falls of self design. If you're a member of a UK based club then have a look at the 2012 edition Boiler Test Code BTC 2012, the "Green book"

I trust the foregoing will be of some assistance.

Bob Youldon

Good afternoon Eric,

I'm a bit muddled, 7' 3" if for 3½″ gauge 1/16" =1" 7' 3" equates to 5⁷/₁₆” 5.4372 further some idea of spokes, boss shape etc, protype may be of assistance, you never know someone may be able to help.

Regards,

Bob

Hello Bruno,

Firstly i must point out I've never built or owned a Princess Marina but everyone I've ever come across, in something like fifty plus years have gone like the wind, never a problem. The old fella got that one almost right. Today I'd take a look at the boiler design, a bit dated in my view, plate thickness, staying etc; but generally great little fun engine.

Regards,

Bob

Hello,

I think you will find that Cyril hammond was a member of the Tonbridge Model Engineers and I think he wrote an article on the construction of the locomotive in the Model engineer. If I was you I'd get on to one of the model engineer index sites and find the issue etc.

He built a number of Southern prototypes, a couple of Schools, River tank etc.

Regards,

Bob

Hi all,

I wouldn't worry being perdantic, if it's the fiftith, forty ninth or the hundred ad fiftith, can we get the results right?

Regards,

Bob

Hi Vic,

I've got a metric adjustable!

Regards,

Bob

Good evening David and Julian

The SMLS Beechhurst locomotive, "Wharfdale" was presented to the society as a club locomotive in the early fifties; it's had a couple of major overhauls etc and it still earns it's keep regularly on passenger hauling duties, It was certainly built to last and interestingly its still running on the original riveted and soft soldered boiler; It always reminds me of a Great Dane, a great big slobbery thing!

Regards,

Bob

Good evening all,

It never ceases to amaze me the sums some people now pay out for machinery, they want it complete with all the bells and whistles, it must have DRO fitted, gear box etc. I started out with a unidentified lathe of about 2" centre height, and a bucket of enthusiasm; the break through came when I managed to knock down a dealer and buy for £25.00p an ex lease lend 5" Atlas lathe, nothing wrong with the machine provided you remembered to gather up all the backlash before commencing any cut and all done with HSS tooling sharpened on a off hand grinder. I think I was earning the enormous sum of £5.00p a week as an apprentice and I had to give my mother 2 quid of that for my keep! I did finally step up to a Super 7 and no, it didn't come with a motor, I think the basic lathe was £119.00p, I still have the invoices and everything, motor, stand etc was extra. Good days and that old Myford still serves me well.

Regards,

Bob

Good morning all,

For the amount of work and time involved in building a Tich one could build something slightly bigger and probably more practical, there are a number of very good 31/2" designs available. Over the years I've see many Tich's put up quite phenomenal performances, one built by Al Thorpe I witnessed ran ten, yes ten miles non stop around Beechhurst!

These small locomotives like Tich etc are like Jack Russells, you have to be master of them, recently I watched a chap happily sailing round the Southampton track behind a Canterbury Lamb not to mention yet another Tich, really, they're fun engines.

Regards,

Bob

Good evening Michael

Some very good advice regarding your new shop, the gas heater will turn everything brown when you turn your back, if the shop is as well insulated as you say then a simple 2kw fan heater will keep you and everything at an even temperature, put it on a clock for an hour in the early hours of the morning and about half an hour around seven in the evening and you will prevent any condensation, everything will remain above dew point.. I've a timber, well insulated workshop with a similar heating regime and I've never suffered with rust but whatever you do don't do any soldering etc inside, that'll set the dreaded rust off. I've a cover much like yours for my Myford and it's been in a cupboard for the last forty years, never on the machine!

What exactly in your new vast abode do you intending making?

Regards,

Bob

John,

You don't say what size or amount you require; I have what amounts to .093" diameter made up from three strands and I've yards of the stuff, the genuine stuff, it's ideal for valve spindles etc. Let me know that you are looking for, send me a PM with your details and I'll pop some in the post.

Regards,

Bob Youldon