Member postings for Paul Kemp

Nice job, measure of success is not how fast it will run but how slow and that runs as slow as you could reasonably expect with a flywheel of that size. Well done indeed.

Paul.

I have a loco that is 60 years old now, outside cylinder, piston valve and it had a single lubricator feeding both cylinders which appeared to feed as it needed constant topping up. However when I removed the pistons a few years back they had O rings as rings and one side was still in reasonable shape the other completely knackered! All the pipe work was clear but it seemed all the oil was going to the LHS! I made a new lubricator with twin pumps in a single tank with a central divider. I can now monitor that both sides drop at the same rate and be certain both cylinders are definitely getting oil. With your valves being underneath it's best if the oil is introduced close to the steam flow into the steam chest but if you think about the speed of events even if the oil is laid on the valve cover it should still get picked up and carried through.

Paul.

I wonder if we are not retrospectively applying standards that were not in existence back then? I have very little knowledge of aviation or of military aviation of the period but I suspect when things broke the priority was to effect some kind of fix and get them back in the air as quickly as possible. There was an interview on the David Jason documentary with a ground crew member from the period and his accounts of slapping a bit of canvas over the bullet holes did not include a full airworthiness inspection! In fact I doubt many of the planes of the era ever got to a scheduled major overhaul before they were downed! I will ask my uncle next time I see him - he was the pilot (George) featured in the Spitfire Factory that flew that particular aircraft and I don't think any of the others he flew are still around. He flew Mosquitos on reconisance, Halifaxs on bombing raids and repositioning Spitfires, I don't think he flew the latter in battle.

Paul.

Don't hold your breath! There are a few people waiting for approval at the moment I understand from recent posts on TT. It's worth the wait though.

Paul.

Steve,

Thanks for that, neat idea to have a vacuum cylinder on the loco too, saves a combination valve! Not seen anyone make one of those in small scale successfully - hence the question.

Many pictures of my engines on the other site you frequent .

Paul.

Very talented and skilled young man, well worth taking note of.

Paul.

Steve,

Lovely work, you should be rightly proud of that. Is that a combination brake set up you have there (steam on the loco and vacuum for the train)? I started a 5" gauge version a few years back but got distracted by a 4" and now a 6" scale TE! As soon as the big one is done I want to get back to the Hunslet! I love the look of these loco's ever since seeing one in Wales as a child!

well done, cracking job.

Paul.

Glenn,

I have a manual that I could scan and email to you in the fullness of time. Send me a PM if interested.

Julian,

They seem to fetch between £800 and £1200 depending on condition, spec and location. I paid £800 for mine in 2018 older version with power feed from jackshaft off the main motor. They seem to be quite rare and sought after machines so you shouldn't have any trouble moving it on, I wouldn't be without mine!

Paul.

I think definitely a case of over thinking. Important bit is the top and bottom or front and back dead centres. There will always be slightly less power on the rod side of the piston because the piston has less area for the pressure in the cylinder to act on (less the area of the rod). At the point of admission the volume effect of the rod will be small, increasing as the piston moves but all the while the inlet port is open it is only the area effect that is important, volume will only come into play after the port closes and the steam is expanding (slightly less steam to expand compared to the other side of the piston) but you can't compensate for that! If I read your post right (and entirely possible I am missing something!) you are intending to set the stroke by drilling the cross head at mid point. If you do that how will will you gaurantee the piston does not hit the cover at one end or the other? Overall length of piston rod and con rod, (including the cross head) needs to be according to the total stroke and the length of the cylinder - best set at both ends.

Paul.

The heading is thus;

The Tea Room
This is the place for discussion of any issues that aren't in the forum mainstream. Misplaced threads will be moved here.

This is what most members that were not paying attention in 2015 will see. Infers discussion of any issues.

Lets get this locked down proper and for consistency clamp down on bee keeping, bird watching, mental health, corona virus etc etc all together! Let's stamp out all this frivolous stuff and concentrate on the models!

Paul.

Maybe the prescence of a "tea room" infers that discussions would follow those as experienced in most workplace tea rooms. Taking the lead from Neils's post and reference to the purpose of the forum, why not remove the tea room and confine discussion completely to directly related subjects? Problem solved. If there is an area for general discussion why censor!

Seems to me there have been several members express intent to cease using this forum recently, threads where they have expressed their reasons have recieved some far more inflammatory comment. The mockery shown for the individual expressing that opinion in this thread certainly did not adhere to the advice in the opening post!

Paul.

Chris,

Was explained earlier in the thread. Put a threaded bar though the tube with a suitable stepped mandrel in firebox end of tube. Get a length of pipe longer than the tube over the stud in the smokebox that the OD of the tube will pass through. This puts the force onto the front tube plate right beside the tube. Thread a hollow Jack over bar against pipe, fit nut and pump. The ram expanding is the same as tightening a nut. Pulls the tube out from the front.

Paul.

Peter,

Many years ago the only machines we (well dad!) had were the myford 7 and a fobco bench drill followed soon after by a bench grinder. I made many bits for my first loco with only the vertical slide and cutters held in the 3 jaw chuck. Now I take the point that this is not ideal but when you are in the position of that's all you have, anything is better than nothing!

No idea about the Chester products but Myfords are not exactly rigid so I doubt there will be much difference. If you can't afford a mill but you can afford the vertical slide then why not? You can get some milling functionality now and in the future upgrade, or you can wait with nothing while you save up the cash!

As for cutter holding, if you are careful you will be fine. When I first got the micro mill it came only with a Jacobs chuck and I couldn't afford anything else so that was used for end mills, slot drills and drills! I never had any disasters and the nay sayers will proclaim that was pure luck! I would say I was a time served fitter turner, knew the risks and sized my expectations accordingly. In fact the only cutter I remember pulling out was a 13mm end mill from an ER 25 chuck in cast iron on a much bigger machine in the last couple of years - because I didn't tighten it properly!

My advice, get the best you can afford and do the best you can with it until you can get what you ideally need, at least in the interim you will be able to do something!

Paul.

Making the assumption (dangerous maybe lol) that this is a railway loco of conventional construction and thus the frames never reach anything like boiler temperature and the fact small gauge loco's have been using gunmetal horn castings riveted to the frames since Noah was a boy, then absolutely no issue at all.

Paul.

Seller is dreaming if he thinks that is worth £1400!

Paul.

Our RA's are done on a pro forma matrix style form listing identified hazard, control measures and a simple scoring system. All kept in a folder accessbile to all and with appropriate review dates stipulated. For common tasks review is usually 12m but for things like portable track events where external circumstances can differ widely it is reviewed per use and any additional measures implemented. Very simple to do and hence most often done! We also maintain a COSHH file and are working on a safety management system / manual that will incorporate our running rules and various policies such as disabled access, equipment maintenance records, etc. which at the moment are stand alone documents.

What I find in commercial life is its all too easy to say something cannot be done because it's dangerous, rather than seek out ways to do it safely!

Paul.

I heard you! But to a degree risk assessments are subjective according to the view of the person doing them. Your risk assesment won't stand up in court if you have said, it's open air, as long as everyone keeps 2m apart we can have as many as you like (according to the governing guidance) but if the law says you can't have more than 6 people on site, your risk assesment isn't worth toffee as any kind of defence! As it happens reading the actual text on the government site that would do nicely as you have multiple "groups" of one and they do not come closer to each other than 2m according to the other guidance you can't get better than that. There is a world of difference in identifying hazards and putting control measures in place and complying with the law! You are completely free to put greater restrictions in place than are reasonably required under the law but that's where Elfin safety loses credibility! It's easier to say there is a one in a million chance of this occurring so we will ban it all together than look at the risk and control it reasonably because the risk assessor doesn't want to take any responsibility for a judgement.

To me, if anything the OP was asking what effect or implications has the new law on their operations which when determined any risk assesment can be made or assessed against it.

Paul.

Well I am glad Bazyle thinks it's simple. However having read the blurb on the govt web site SOD is quite correct that there is no intent to interfere with activities supporting the economy (not that this has real relevance to an MES I would say) but the key to it is the word "socially" and the emphasis of a maximum of six in a group not mixing outside that group.

Dictionary definition of socially (from dictionary.com) as that is the first that came up is; "adverb. in the friendly company of others; in a genial or gregarious manner: We met through mutual friends who gather socially several times a month. in a manner that relates to human society and its configuration as a community: Her art strives to be both beautifully evocative and socially responsible".

So to the OP I would say you can have as many people as you like on site in any number of groups between 1 and 6 that do not mix outside of that group and the group does not get within 2m of any other group or person. With the qualifications that running a steam locomotive is deemed a social activity and none of the attendee's act in an outwardly genial or gregarious nature!

Oitside that you only need to consider the attitude and zeal of any official that may happen along such as the police officer in London wishing to charge a bakery owner with criminal damage for chalking 2m lines on the pavement to assist queueing customers (heated interaction with the officer and shop owner / members of the public, later apologised for by superiors) or a jobsworth Council Official with similar attitudes.

Enjoy.

Paul.

Well pgk essentially I don't disagree with you but the rules regarding pubs etc as I understand are guidance, the latest is law and it's incredibly weakly specified as evidenced by the different opinions on here! I have not seen any qualification to the basic sentence that says many groups of 6, 2m or more apart are excepted. In fact if you have a big enough venue I would think a clever barrister could argue you can have a wedding of 100 or more if there are no more than 6 in a group and they are at least 2m distant!

Paul.

Well it all seems pretty unclear to me! My interpretation is no more than 6 people can gather for any purpose outside work, school, weddings and funerals either inside or outside? That seems to be the impression given in the various media reports? I listened to an interview with a top London police officer who said it was impossible to enforce as how do you deal with multiple groups of 6 stood 2m or more apart? I listened to another regional police chief this morning who stated they do not have the resources to enforce it and would continue to prioritise violent assault, RTA's, burglary etc and they have no resource to do anything else!

There are lots of situations where it is as clear as mud; museums - no more than 6 inside? Pubs and Cafes as I understand can still trade - no more than 6 inside and 6 outside or 6 in total? Including the staff? Heritage railways, will they have to close again with no more than 6 on site? What about shops? If no more than 6 are allowed inside would a queue of more than 6 outside constitute a breach?

Going down the track either with or without "paperwork" is the least of your worries!

Paul.