Evening Star 3 1/2 inch

I have started to make Evening Star in 3 1/2 inch from LSBC plans from Reeves. This is my first build so though I would put it on here. I am sure many will find fault with the way I do things. the object is to get a reasonable model up and running in a reasonable time.

I intend to make as much as possible from scratch using my Sieg SX2P mill and C3 lathe. As I have no free source for materials, being retired, I have to purchase it all so tend to make things from what I have or what I can easily purchase locally. It is intended to use metric fasteners and fittings, I know they may look a little bulky but if it ever gets into steam and travels round a track no one will see them until is stops.

So far I have made a few parts for the frames and each of these has been modelled in Autodesk Fusion 360, so that I can have individual working drawings. When I can I will include photos of the progress. Perhaps this thread will help others in the future.

Hi Howard,

You ought to make a very good miniature example from the Reeves drawings. I am more familair with the 5"g design, but have seen some excellent LBSC 3.5"g examples running and pulling a decent load.

When you come to the boiler if you are making it yourself give me a shout as a few potential problems as per LBSC's Britannia boiler in 3.5"g. If you are thinking of a commercial job for the boiler then no need to worry.

Cheers,

Julian

Have added a few photos to my album of bits in progress. Nothing to write home about but like to be complete as can be from a manufacture point of view, nothing worse than showing a complete assembly with no indication of the work that goes into it.

Seeing as people at the moment are discussing milling cutters, most of these parts have been produced with a two flute uncoated carbide 12mm slot drill, running at 2500rpm on my SX2P mill. It is a UK manufactured professional cutter that I found amongst my tools and seems to be a far denser carbide than the imports I have.

Hi Howard - looking good so far!

I'm biased towards 3-1/2" gauge for various reasons, so I especially enjoy seeing these little ones being constructed.

John.

Thanks John. I think it is the ideal size for the small home workshop, I wouldn't enjoy making anything bigger without full size machinery.

Hi Howard, metric threads should be fine in my opinion, they are available in Australia down to M1.5 which is about the same as 10BA. Only problem is lack of hex heads for those locations where they would be prominent. You could use cap-screws and machine down the heads to make hex heads if you were really keen!

Howard, I also try to use 100% metric fasteners and boiler fittings.

Polly do supply nice little nuts and bolts, which are sourced from Germany. Jason here gave me the link - here is the link he supplied - **LINK**

I do, however, try to make my own hex fasteners where applicable.

John.

Bought all fasteners from PTS here in the UK. I know some may frown at the use of over scale looking fixings but they are cheap and easy to get. If it was a scale show piece then I would do things differently, but I want a working steam engine not a show piece and there are plenty of non scale parts on a model anyway.

Thanks all for the comments and links, always useful to find alternative sources.

I was dismayed to find (after shrinking on steel tyres) that the castings I was supplied with for my 3.1/2"G 9F had the wrong number of spokes - 13 instead of 15, IIRC. However, that does enable me to reclassify it as one of the 1962 batch which were built that way...

LBSC's design is not correct in that he shows the hornblocks in the "conventional" position, riveted inside the frames, whereas the real one (and Les Warnett's 5"G version) has them riveted on the outside.

The LBSC design is very much simplified, and I was so disheartened with it that I'm working to the Warnett drawings, scaled down to 3.1/2"G.

When I say "working on", I started it in 1982 and it's on its wheels and the tender looks more or less like a tender, but it won't be finished any time soon.

Good luck with it; I expect yours will be running before mine is!