Ballaarat construction series

hi luker

thanks for the drawing i still need the sizes of the main barrel and firebox barrel so it will fit into the loco

tom

Hi Tom, ok I see what you're looking for. There are multiple sheets for the boiler in my drawings, but I condensed them for the articles. All these dimensions are on the detailed sections.

Can one of the admins help me with uploading pdf's?

hi luker

we dont know how to upload your pdfs but if you send the relative drawing as an attachment to my e mail that should work

[email protected]

tom

Hi Tom, other builders may also need these drawings. Let me see what I can do, hopefully I can upload something to this thread...

Hi Tom, here is an exported JPEG of the boiler GA, I’ve added two views that should give you all the dimensions you were looking for. If I’ve missed anything please let me know and I’ll update the drawings and post them on the forum. I did have a look at the design and I do need to point out that this design was specific for stainless, and although not difficult, would require some re-work to make it suitable for copper. Items like the lower gauge glass position and steam volume are specific to the top of the crown and for copper this is where changes will be needed. If not done correctly it will affect the performance of the loco.

The water space between the wrappers also needs to be checked for copper to make sure you won’t get steam jacketing especially with nominal calcification. Counter intuitively the stainless boilers outperform copper boilers due to this and other factors.

For the guys following the Ballaarat series in ME; a fellow reader and builder is going to contribute to the series and broaden the design. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I'm looking forward to seeing it in print (I've just seen the drawings, so it will be new for me too).

On a somewhat related topic, I was doing some tests on my Ballaarat and needed a little extra weight. A friend of mine joined in the fun. I weigh a good 75Kg, my friend 90Kg. There was no shortage of power or steam, but there is a section with a rather challenging gradient. My William (3.5g tender 2-6-2 with very similar boiler size and weighs about the same) slips on this section with two adults. I’m reasonably sure the Ballaarat would take another person before slipping; next time…

hi luker

our group has the oportunity to purchase fittings for the ballaarat in the uk tax and post free.what fittings do we need gauge glass blow down and are you running a steam injector where is the water tank and do we need a tank pump sorry to be a pain

tom clive steeve lindsay

Hi Guys, no pain happy to help!

I've never bought from the ME trade (other than two gauges) so I'm afraid I can't help with the fittings, I make all of mine including the injectors.

The sight glass I use comes from the chemical industry and is 5mm OD, I think with a 0.9mm wall thickness. I buy it in 1m lengths and costs next to nothing.

The blow down is easy to make.

A 10Oz injector will work nicely, and yes I have fitted one on the RHS.

The water tank is in my drive-on tender. There is a tank under the footplate but this is filled with lead to improve the weight distribution of the loco.

With the crosshead pump and injector you won't need a hand pump. Most boiler codes require two methods of feeding the boiler.

I would buy the pressure gauges, unless you want to make your own, which would be far more accurate...

Somebody asked me to explain the Touch and engage method described in the series so I very quickly did the following video. Apologies’ in advance for the poor production and lack of editing (just done with cell phone in hand!), but it does show the method (more or less )

hi luker

need some more dimentions

position of cylinder regards to front of loco

where do we put the motion plate

thickness of material for smoke box barrel

regards tom hardy

Ron's copper boiler write-up for the Ballaarat is currently running in ME (well written and easy to understand, thanks for broadening the design). Here's a slightly different way of doing the 'brick arch' if you would like to go for something that's not loose in the firebox... I've been testing it the last couple of months and it works well.

Luke you have shattered my dreams! That it steered like it was on rails I was prepared to believe, but that it had the tractive effort of a tracked machine ?

I thought you were a magician, then you mentioned the tank full of lead ! Ah well ! Noel.

Cheating I know ... One of the benefits of CAD, can put the CG exactly where needed.