5 inch Scamp.

Hi all, I am thinking of buying the castings for a 5" Scamp. This will be my first live steam build. (I've built a 5" class 20 before) Does anyone know what this is like to build? I don't have a very good workshop but have access to a lathe, pillar drill, and a horizontal milling machine at my SMLE club. Would these tools be sufficient to build the loco?

Luke.

I speak as a complete novice, around 10% complete on a 3.5 gauge loco, so please bear that in mind before reading my answer!

I spent a long time going in circles trying to work out what I should build and eventually just came upon a set of castings at the right price. If you are looking for an easy build I suspect your best bet is see what is most common at your club so you've got plenty of advice on tap! The best bit of advice I had was to build something I wanted to own at the end; don't try to build something based purely on how easy it will come together as you will lack the motivation to finish it.

I don't know the Scamp in particular, outside cylinders makes life easier, the inside valve gear maybe slightly less so, but at 5" I don't suppose it will be too much of an issue.

Whatever you choose I wish you the very best of luck, its a journey I've only just started but am enjoying immensely.

My opinion for what it’s worth is that Scamp would be an ideal loco for a beginner, EIM done a construction series for it and also Gemma, another five inch gauge 0-4-0 by the same designer David Malcolm. If I remember correctly Station Road Steam built a batch a few years ago and there are a few pictures in their archive. The machinery you have access to should be more than adequate to build it.

Luke

I built the 0-4-0ST "Gemma" , also a David Malcolm design, which is very similar to "Scamp". In fact the whole cylinder/valve/valve gear is basically identical. It was my first loco build and I found it a straight forward build. The most challenging part I found was the inside Stevenson's valve gear. There are no complex machining operations and as a first build it was of a large enough size that it wasn't 'watchmaking" and also not so large that it was unwieldy with multitudes of parts. I personally feel that if you build something that you like the look of that the chances of it getting completed are that much better. Whether it is the right one for you is only for you to decide!

As an aside "Gemma" performs very well on the track with very few teething problems from the start. It will easily pull two adults (+me) and quite often runs for 2 to 3 hours at a time. The only major fault was that the lower boiler tubes would plug up. This was cured by the addition of a stainless steel arch in the firebox. I imagine that "Scamp" would perform similarly as mechanically it is almost the same.

John

Hi All,

A scamp is a loco I've had my eye on for a long time. First of all I wanted to build a chub, however that seemed a bit complicated for me, hence my decision for the Scamp which I've begun to like more and more. As this seems like a great loco start with I think i will go ahead and buy it. Where would the best place to get castings be? When I buy them will they come with everything I need to build the loco (excluding boiler). I've been looking at Reeves engineering, is that a good company to buy it from? On Reeves site they have the set of castings and then other bits underneath (or are these pre-machined?) Will I need these as well or are they supplied with castings

Luke

Luke

The build series for "Scamp" in EIM ran from Apr. 84 to July 85.    The reeves casting set I believe contains only the castings, no steel for the frames, buffer beams rods etc,  you have to source that yourself.  I believe they do show the frame and buffer beam steel in their listing though.

I've sent you a PM.

John

Edited By John Purdy on 11/10/2018 21:22:14

Hi,

How do I access PM's? Are they in the inbox page?

Luke.

Hi,

How do I access PM's? Are they in the inbox page?

Luke.

EDIT: Don't worry it's just appeared

Edited By Luke Parris on 11/10/2018 21:27:21

Luke

Model Engineers Laser can supply the main frames, con rods and coupling rods for scamp. Do not buy the Reeves main frames the MEL ones will be better and should have all the holes either cut or spot marked. If you can have a look at the quality of the castings before you buy. The Reeves one supplied for my Aspinall were not very good.

Dave

Luke, when your PM comes through the In Box sign/envelope in the green line at the top of the page will flash, just click on it, and there you are. Best wishes on your choice of Loco.

Ian S C

Good afternoon Luke,

I have all the Engineering in Miniature editions covering the construction of Scamp, you are quite welcome to borrow them. If it's of any help I'm intending to be at the park tomorrow providing it doesn't tip down. Don't buy anything yet as I've shed loads of material that may be useful.

Regards,

Bob

I also have the EIM build series, and it strikes me that Scamp is a very small engine by today's standards. The boiler does not have very many tubes in it due to a round top firebox design - simple but limiting. If you are thinking of hauling more than yourself around a track, I would say it is not a good design.

Sweet Pea or Simplex would be somewhat more challenging, but far better models IMHO.

Just my opinion.

Martin

Hi Bob,

I will be at the park tomorrow too. So I'll have a talk with you about it then!

Luke.

Hi Martin,

I don't really want to do any passenger hauling, it'll really just be for me to have a drive around on, and if it can manage a friend behind.

I've looked at other locos such as the sweet pea and simplex but they are a bit out of my budget range for the time being.

Luke

That's absolutely fine. Perhaps give some thought to putting in a proper flat top firebox with girder or rod stays, which then allows a couple of extra tubes or an extra superheater (better option). It will be a while before you are working on the boiler anyway!

Best of luck,

Martin