New Wilesco Showmans Engine Kit build & upgrade.

I purchased this new Wilesco traction engine kit as a birthday gift for someone of, shall we say, slightly more mature years. But despite it's price tag it was a little more crude and toylike than expected. So I have been remaking some parts to improve the look of it and give it a less toylike and higher quality feel before I hand it over to its new owner.The yellow front and rear wheels shown below are the ones supplied in the kit. As with most of the kit they are formed from thin steel pressings, this leaves them a little crude and unrealistic.

The red wheels are from Mamod and are far more solid and realistic zinc alloy castings. But they are a little smaller in diameter, so I machined up the solid bronze wheel rims shown, the rear ones are 100mm diameter. A single rear Mamod wheel with bronze rim weighs at least as much as the whole of the original Wilesco model.Here is the new front axle I made complete with the bronze rims and Mamod wheels. In the background is the Wilesco version, all made from thin pressed steel.

Nice work

... Sad that it needs to be done though.

MichaelG.

Yes MichealG, it is a shame. The only solid parts on it are the Dynamo, engine block and flywheel.

Below shows the new bronze smoke box with door and steering fork. The very simple pressed steel Wilesco smoke box is on the left.The almost complete new front end in the background, the new leaf springs not yet fitted. The Wilesco version on the right. Instead of pivoting on a pin the Wilesco axle rocks with the steering pivot shaft slopping from side to side in the top slotted hole.A bit of assembly finally taking place, with the replacement rear wheels and a bit of gearing installed shown below.

It's beginning to take shape, the new front axle leaf springs are yet to be made and fitted.......................A bit more progress with the engine assembled and fitted. Quite a bit of tweaking, flexing and adjusting was required to get the engine and rear wheel drive gears to turn smoothly without binding or tight spots......................Below shows the working Dynamo fitted, and a new Wilesco lever operated whistle from one of their stationary engines that replaces the kit supplied type. The working steering mechanism has also been fitted.

This self assembly kit is supplied with nuts and bolts to secure it together. The engine is also available ready built from the factory, but then it is secured together with eyelet type rivets. There is no difference in the price of the ready built kit or the self assembly type.

The revised engine is certainly an improvement, but to be fair to Wilesco their models are intended to be in the long tradition of German pressed tinplate models.

Neil

Well, tradition or not, the model is what it is and concentrates on function more than form, which is fine. I am not really criticising it, just describing it as it is whether good or not so good.

The birthday present funds would not stretch to a similar sized Allchin or Mercer engine. I did expect to do some improvement work, such as the Mamod wheels which were ordered at the same time. But as sometimes happens, the more you look the more you find wanting.

If it were a gift to a much younger person then I would have left it as is. The lack of solidness and some detail would not have mattered to most of them. The working boiler, steering, steam engine with slide valve, Dynamo and lights plus geared drive to the rear wheel via a simple clutch would have been far more interesting than anything else. A much younger me would have been thrilled with it, particularly the steam engine itself.

The Mamod wheels are quite good heavy lumps. But the manufacturer may want to take a look at the lathes that produce them to see if they need tweaking, adjusting or replacing. The machined outer surface of the rims isn't very concentric to the bore of the hub. Also the diameter of the wheels varies across the width of the wheels.

See, I said the more you look the more you find wanting.

The canopy supports are supplied as shaped lengths of 4mm brass rod with a coil spring slid over to simulate a twist. The two U shaped frames with springs shown below form the rear and middle supports, the Y shaped frame is for the front support. The twisted brass sections are what I formed from some 4mm square brass bar...................I thought the brass bar might just break as I twisted it, but it was quite flexible enough to take several full turns without problems.................The rear and middle brass twist supports were formed and soldered to the chopped up Wilesco supplied brass rod..................A new front support was also made, a little more realistic than the Wilesco made Y shaped thingy. I originally used ordinary soft solder on the joints, but it had no strength and just snapped at the slightest contact. So out came the big guns and I silver soldered it which cured the problem.

Don't get me wrong, I'm rather impressed by your modifications, I think it looks far better than a Mamod TBH (and I have three Mamod steam engines - roller, roadster and a stationary).

Thanks Neil, I could see what you meant and I do agree. Light metal pressings have been a favoured method of manufacture by German toy and model manufacturers for years, I just didn't realise they still did it to such an extent.

Looking around the web reveals lots of other upgraded Wilesco engines, some of which go much further than I have.

It's probably the best way to obtain a professionally made boiler at reasonable cost.

I am always surprised that there isn't a market for someone mass producing small, certificated boilers at affordable prices.

For example a small traction engine boiler and one or two standard boilers suitable for some key 3 1/2" designs.

I'm sure that a lot more people would build locos if there was an off-the shelf way to obtain a boiler at the beginning of your project at reasonable cost.

Of course it's a chancy investment for someone to order a three-figure quantity of, say, Rob Roy, Tich or Minnie, boilers.

Neil

Nearly finished now. The twisted brass canopy supports are in place, and they don't seem look too bad..................I also made and fitted a couple of leaf springs on the front axle, I almost wish I had stacked three of them in there, but they seem to look ok. The springs are cut and shaped from the steel banding used for packaging.

I also made a couple of brass boiler bands to brighten things up a bit.

The kit comes supplied with these quite good T Pettigrove facia boards...............But I decided to personalise it a bit, so I made some new facia boards shown below. The engine is also supplied with eight lighting diodes that should be attached to the back of the facias, fitting them and wiring them to the Dynamo is just about the final job.

Nice work ! i've been wondering, do the Mamod wheels need any mods done to them ? (except the rings) or do they just fit onto the axle ? and, does the transmission still work with the Mamod wheels ?