Loco built in 9 months

Today I helped a young fellow, a school teacher teaching Industrial Arts, steam test his newly finished loco. It is a 5" gauge NSW 26 class. He built it in a little under nine months, which is utterly astonishing. It is his first loco. He built the boiler with assistance from someone with heating gear and experience. The loco was in steam most of the day, with the builder having to go home twice to re-make or modify parts. The saddle tank leaked, and there were a number of other problems that need sorting out, but it ran, and it steamed well, and did many laps of the track, with three drivers. He built several gauge 1 locos in the time too, plus a 5" 4 wheel S truck, and most of a water gin, a loco stand on wheels, a box for it, and various other things. This bloke is married and works full time, but has no children. He does have school holidays, and also has been able to do a little of the projects at work in the school workshop. He smashed our club record for a 5" loco of 11 months, and that was a NSW 30 class tank. I should add that this is to steaming, in the un-painted state.

It makes my excuses for my slow progress seem rather poor, and I am sure many others will feel the same.

Worse than poor in my case, I might as well give up now.

Andrew

It takes me half an hour to boil a 3 minute egg

Well done that man; albeit married + no kids that's a lot of time spent on Model eng. must have a very, very understanding wife, unless she is as totally committed with time & interest as he is.

George.

Well done indeed. Of course, it helps to have a job where you have access to lathes and mills and perhaps students who can be drafted into making simple parts. I spent the first year of my apprenticeship in the company apprentice training centre with 30 other first year lads. The training instructor was a keen vintage motorbike restorer. So, much of our year, once we graduated from filing blocks of steel flat and square to using the lathes and mills, was spent making all sorts of "training projects" ranging as I remember from valve guides to complete wheel hubs and just about everything in between. Very nice work if you can get it, indeed.

Incredible, although from his background I guess he was an experienced machinist already, which would help - still remarkable.

Neil

I'd think it remarkable if my employer gave me six weeks off in the summer then two weeks off every few weeks thereafter! You cant do the same in 8 one hour sessions as you can in one 8 hour session, but the fact that he has completed a whole engine regardless of time is itself praiseworthy! Any pictures?

It seems like sometimes they're living in an alternate dimension to get these things done. Its ludicrous to try and reason it's credibility but i'm guessing social's were pretty much non-existent for 9 months.

Michael W

... 'but i'm guessing social's were pretty much non-existent for 9 months'.

plus any other form of life I would hazard a guess? still, incredible. What about pics?

George.

That's what an old hand told me, he had built a Tich in a year or so while employed but it meant neglecting the Family to do it ASAP

Still, it takes a lot of dedication to pursue a proper project right through to completion.

I'm rubbish at that so far. "Ady tries hard but is easily distracted" is scrawled annually on my ME report card

In the 1960s I as working with a guy who had just built the "Wireless World" colour TV set. Soon after he brought in the frame with driving wheels on it of a small steam loco. When I enquired how long he had been working on it, thinking a fortnight or a so, he replied about 40 years.

Frank

Wasn't there an article in ME about 15 years ago about a teenager who built a Britannia in about 9 months? It was followed by many letters debating how much help he had.

At the Doncaster show I spoke to one of the chaps with one of the large traction engines in steam outside the hall. I think it was about the second or third one along as one walked out of the hall. He had a "proper job" but still managed to build it in 2 years

One of the Guys on Traction Talk forum built a large 4" TE in about 8 months while having a full time job, think I have mentioned him before, he's the guy who can build a Stuart 10 V or H in 8 or 9 hours! Just comes down to how much time you want to spend on it and how little sleep you need.

J

I spend vastly longer faffing about, the actual machining is done in short spurts of activity that probably don't add up to a lot.

Neil

They probably don't waste time on computers and forums

Well given the way the world is geared up now i doubt it very much that they wouldn't at least buy some of their kit online. The real challenge was for those years ago who actually had to find all of these parts and places through order catalogues and directories. It wasn't like you just fell over these places.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 15/07/2016 21:58:20

I took a couple of pictures on my phone but they were awful. I suggested he get the students to make bits but it didn't happen. Not an experienced machinist and he started on a C3, but was given Hercus Craftsman part way along and that really helped. It is our public running day today and I will try to get a decent picture. He has a pretty young wife, so who needs a social life?

In 2011 I built a miniature loco boiler for a 5"g loco in 6 weeks of spare time (at the time fulltime job on the railways working long varied shifts).

A very great late friend of mine used to build a boiler in one week's of annual hoilday.

Cheers,

Julian