Jeanie Deans

Hi, I've been reading about this engine in an article in an old M.E. LBSC was building it and he had some secret details that would make it a great success. Does anyone know if he ever made the design public? I know you can get plans from Reeves but I don't know if that is the version he was talking about. I've put an ad in the Classifieds looking for a set of 2nd hand plans. If most model engineers are like me they acquire drawings which never get built and i wondered if anyone had a set of drawings for this one. I know there were many variants, one even going to France and ending up with a 4 wheel tender. Also have there been any articles about them post 2014 which is as far as the index for M.E. goes?

The discussion in this thread is interesting if you haven't seen it before.

A personal opinion about LBSC; as he grew older he became grumpy and slapdash, and he developed an intense dislike of being challenged. I find his writings range from excellent to dubious.

He said of Jeanie Deans: 'I just love to love to keep the ace of trumps up my sleeve, for production if anybody should get "saucy"...'

In other words, don't bother asking LBSC awkward questions because he has a secret weapon. As it's extremely difficult to radically improve steam locomotives, I reckon he was bluffing.

Dave

Hi,

Thanks, yes I've read that previous thread and it's very helpful. I have that original article by LBSC and take some of what he said with a pinch of salt. I started this thread because I wondered if there were more recent articles about the Locomotive.

Chap in our club has one, it was useless until he fitted a simpling valve, now it's OK. If this is the magic formula I'll get him to elaborate

May be worth having a look at this build-thread of a 5" gauge version on Model Engineering Clearing House if you have not already found it.

Regards,

Phil

hI, thanks for the posts. The one on the build thread looks superb. I hadn't heard of that forum before. I've located

an old set of drawings,, someone in the club here is going to lend them to me so I will be interested to see if LBSC had any secrets or not. I'd like to see how the one in your club was done Duncan.

Hi, according to Brian Hollingsworth book of "LBSC" His Life and Locomotives, no construction serial was published and only Reeves 2000 has been indicated as supplying drawings, castings and parts for it.

Regards Nick.

For details of some of the hardware LBSC designed for a 3 1/2” compound there are details of a NE compounds ‘twiddly bits’ in his Live Steam Book aka ‘Shops Shed and Road’

Nick

For details of some of the hardware LBSC designed for a 3 1/2” compound there are details of a NE compounds ‘twiddly bits’ in his Live Steam Book aka ‘Shops Shed and Road’

Nick

hI Nick, I've got that book and read the chapter on compounds. Thanks for pointing it out. It's a sad reflection on British engine drivers that they weren't considered intelligent enough to drive a compound whereas the continental ones were. LBSC doesn't say this but the fact that the simpling valve was automatic rather that controlled by the driver implies it.

I've brought this thread to his attention

To be fair, in a recent article in ME on French Compounds it was stated that on some of them the driver could notch up the high and Low pressure cylinders independently and I can think of several friends now who would be totally spaced out by that!

I quite agree, however I try to read him with open eyes - but he is always very readable even when being a rude and self opinionated ****

I find Don Young easy to read but I sometimes feel there are issues in what he recommends - after Martin Evans in the mid sixties almost sneered at designers not using boiler bushes he still allowed Don to describe County Carlow's boiler with fittings tapped directly into the backhead in 1969 and let him publish the text to justify this. And his later designs are just too complicated - look at the frames on Jersey Lily for example. However his Doncaster works articles are still a joy to read.

Early and late Martin Evans is an interesting read but while editor he became boring (in my personal opinion) and was not fun to read.

Keith Wilson was always an interesting read although his designs were and still are way beyond me!!

Personally, in my opinion, the best to read was Ken Swann - read his description of Bridget from 1970 or so and see if you agree - and while his obituary in ME a few months ago says he was scathing of designers who allowed errors to creep into his drawings, speaking to people who have built his designs say that this was not a fault to be found in his locos.

Hopefully factual and not libellous! What do you think??