5 inch Lion (Titfield Thunderbolt) Boiler top

br,

Probably not but after the pressure test it isn't realistically going to happen is it?

However, we could do a survey and ask how many cast GM dome bushes etc have actually failed. I bet it is very close to a big fat zero. And they can all be cut out and repaired even if it did happen.

Phil H

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br,

Yes, that is why the testing is as it is i.e., pressure test and steam test. And don't forget, if you were that concerned, the casting could be hydraulically tested before it is soldered onto the boiler.

Phil H

Brian, sorry about that mistake, it's a long time since I have seen Keith to talk to, he lives in S Africa now.

Thinking about it, I do recall, that he "tinned" the inside of the top casting with silver solder in case the casting was porous.

Regards

Brian B

The question I'd ask is why mess about with an expensive gunmetal casting when a simple round top copper outer wrapper with a big dome is closer to the prototype? A few extra stays in the backhead should keep the boiler inspector happy.

.

Please forgive my innocence, but : Have I mis-interpreted that description ?

MichaelG.

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Ref. **LINK**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Titfield_Thunderbolt#/media/File:The_Lion.jpg

You must have, the brass affair is just a cover, see photos of lion as rescued in 20s

llion

Thanks, Duncan

… probably best if I stick to microscopes & stuff

MichaelG.

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Br,

If you go back in model locomotive history, castings were available for all sorts of parts - far more than seems to be available now. I have seen very old pictures of boiler outer firebox sections, almost complete bogie sides plus pony trucks etc. Despite their age, the castings really did look quite good in terms of their surface finish and detail.

One description suggested that boilers could be built up using castings, tube and plenty of rivets followed by the higher temperature soft solder to seal all the joints.

I suspect that the brass top type cover for Lions boiler was just a relatively simple, cheap casting back when the engine was designed. As the hobby has declined in popularity, the cost for these types of castings has gone up to a point where it would be better to redesign the Lion boiler. Specially when you are getting a result that is closer to the real thing.

Phil H

One has to remember that this loco was designed by LBSC who was notorious for designing locos based upon a single sketch, or even worse a memory and changing things to suit his own ideas or to use materials to hand.

Having said that the loco was 'Titfield Thunderbolt' and not 'Lion' so was based on the loco as it appeared of the film of that name - not the version with the Haystack Boiler.