The Heybridge Railway, 1889 to 1913

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Brian McKenzie

Brian McKenzie

Western Thunderer
Good going Richard. I'm wondering if there is there anything to be gained by re-positioning the pivot point lower down at axle height?

In theory, this would lessen any tendency for the loco to waddle, but the benefit might be minimal.
 
Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
I am very pleased with the running of my class F chassis; it doesn't waddle at all. I have ended up with hardly any end float on the front axle, and about 1 mm of free rotational movement, measured at either wheel hub. That is to say, about 0.5 mm upwards on one side and downwards on the other, and vice versa.

I was able to inspect Rob's model at Shenfield and his mechanism allows more rotational movement - at least twice as much.

How much movement I really need depends on how awful I make my track. As it stands, I can have a dip or a rise of up to 1 mm in either rail within the wheelbase (33 mm) and all four wheels will still be standing on the track. This is quite an abrupt change and it ought to be enough for me, not least because most of my wagons have a rigid underframe, so I want to keep what I have built. This way I also make the most of what came in the kit. I have now made 22 corrective actions during this build, to put right problems with the design of the model, and I feel what I have here now is going to satisfy me. I think, Rob's pivot placed closer to the axle is more noticeable from some viewing angles, but has got to be mechanically superior.
 
Rob R

Rob R

Western Thunderer
Richard,
I'm not saying my version is any better, just different.
It was a long time ago, but I suspect I was having some issues with the bearings on that axle (it has had a fair bit of running despite not being finished) and having replaced them with normal 4mm hornblocks, the easiest way to get the axle rocking was the current set up.
If I ever get around to fitting a couple of sets of valve gear between the frames the pivot rod should become a bit less obvious.
Rob
 
Rob R

Rob R

Western Thunderer
In a word, no.
Unless it is for the brake gear as the kit intended but I didn't use it and the instructions (for what they were worth) went a long time ago.
There is a GA in the Smithers book, I'll have a look tomorrow (on night shift at the moment so I might not remember).
 
Osgood

Osgood

Western Thunderer
Another benefit of having a pivot closer to the axle is that the lateral (sideways) movement of the wheels as the axle rocks is less, thereby reducing the problem of tight clearance between crank pins/rods and slidebars etc (although in your case you have already created enough clearance).
 
PhilH

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Richard Gawler said:
View attachment 199166
Please, do we know what this transverse rod represents? I have added it to my model but I don't understand what it is for.
Click to expand...

It will probably be to represent the reversing shaft running between two bearings inside the frames and connected by a vertical arm to the reversing or reach rod. From the shaft two horizontal arms connect via drop links to raise or lower the expansion links. The only indication on the outside of the frames would be the bolts holding the bearings.
 
Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
DSC_4976.jpeg
A shim glued onto the side of the motor and pressing against the inside of the lower firebox, to stop the motor and gearbox tipping to and fro every time the model changes direction.

I could dismantle and paint the chassis now, but I want to wait a while for the Micron MR601a controller, which is 'coming soon'.

Micron Radio Control : Micron MR601a DSM2/DSMX 13V Receiver with 1.2A Bi-Directional ESC

On paper, this controller seems to be ideal provided I can give it enough volts and enough endurance. This needs some experimentation before making the commitment to install it. Suppose I wait until the end of the year - if it doesn't materialise then I can give the chassis some pickups. I want to omit the saddle tank wrapper until I have a working model, and omit the buffer beams until after painting the superstructure. This leaves me to work up the brakes and some other details.
 
Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
Osgood said:
Another benefit of having a pivot closer to the axle is that the lateral (sideways) movement of the wheels as the axle rocks is less, thereby reducing the problem of tight clearance between crank pins/rods and slidebars etc (although in your case you have already created enough clearance).
Click to expand...
DSC_4973.jpeg
Conversley, raising the pivot out of sight makes for better low level camera shots. I don't think there is a single "best" method.
 
Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
20. Clack Valves

The boiler needs two holes to hold the clack valves. The instructions reference the locations of the holes from the front of the boiler, which I have shortened, and the top of the boiler, which I have removed :rolleyes:

So I looked at photographs, which is probably wise in many circumstances.

DSC_4945.jpeg
The instructions give no clues as to whether the holes should be drilled facing each other or inclined radially towards the centre of the boiler. The lathe makes it easier to put them facing each other so this is what I have done. The valves will then stand upright. The centre drill is robust and doesn't need a centre punch mark.

DSC_4947.jpeg
The boiler is 1.5 mm thick so there is enough material here to glue the valves into place after painting.
 
Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
21. Chimney

The chimney has taken quite a bit of work, mostly because I tried too hard with the component supplied in the kit . . .

DSC_4913.jpeg
The spigot on the chimney was central and it was easy to hold the casting and dress the cylindrical part.

DSC_4916.jpeg
Then I tried to drill out the top and overdid it.

DSC_4923.jpeg
And I knocked a chunk out of the flare at the bottom too.

Staying with the mantra that the best way to build a kit is to make the most of what comes in the kit, I bought some brass bar and this took a while to arrive.

DSC_4930.jpeg
In the meantime I filled the gap in the flare with solder . . .

DSC_4931.jpeg
. . .and restored the shape.

DSC_4979.jpeg
This is the new "cylinder" (solid rod) just before parting off, the rebate is a close fit into the chimney cap.

DSC_4988.jpeg
The hole in the base of the chimney ended up off-centre so I turned the bottom of the cylinder undersize to give me an asymetric fit. I threaded the spigot 8 BA to let me screw it into the hole in the smokebox wrapper.

DSC_4991.jpeg
I fixed the cap with CA glue, waited two minutes and then dressed it. This glue is amazing when it works. The centre drill has given me a scale-ish thickness on the top edge.

DSC_5005.jpeg
I dressed the flare by rubbing it on emery cloth wrapped around bit of pipe and I cannot get it any thinner. The base is handed (only slightly) hence the red Sharpie. I put some epoxy glue inside the hole in the base and then screwed the cylinder into the smokebox.

Now the glue is set I could add a nut onto the spigot inside the smokebox but I have a feeling it won't do anything useful.

I can see how my hobby can evolve. I want to make things. Obviously there is a big step to make from turning a brass rod to making an entire chimney but the possibilites are there. The lathe is an incredibly versatile tool.
 
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Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
I think mistakes are symptomatic of the need to take risks; and because of this they need to happen from time to time. It is good if we can put them right fairly easily and of course not make too many in the first place. I describe my mistakes where I think the failure and especially the rework are worth a mention.

Earlier today I was filing and grinding down the cast springs to make enough space to install the firebox. Now, it would have been easier to file them down before soldering them to the model, and even easier if the instructions had mentioned doing this. And this is without even thinking about casting them the right thickness to begin with.

I think it would be a bit harsh to say I made a "mistake" by not thinking to measure the space for the firebox before I added the springs, but it is something I could try to look out for next time. Moving from kits which go together to one which is taking successive corrective actions needs me to do more looking ahead.

Drilling out the chimney was of course something with a fair chance of success if I had measured the diameter of the casting before slamming in a drill bit "which looked about the right size" and left me with metal like kitchen foil :thumbs:
 
spikey faz

spikey faz

Western Thunderer
Richard Gawler said:
21. Chimney

The chimney has taken quite a bit of work, mostly because I tried too hard with the component supplied in the kit . . .

View attachment 199306
The spigot on the chimney was central and it was easy to hold the casting and dress the cylindrical part.

View attachment 199314
Then I tried to drill out the top and overdid it.

View attachment 199313
And I knocked a chunk out of the flare at the bottom too.

Staying with the mantra that the best way to build a kit is to make the most of what comes in the kit, I bought some brass bar and this took a while to arrive.

View attachment 199312
In the meantime I filled the gap in the flare with solder . . .

View attachment 199310
. . .and restored the shape.

View attachment 199311
This is the new "cylinder" (solid rod) just before parting off, the rebate is a close fit into the chimney cap.

View attachment 199309
The hole in the base of the chimney ended up off-centre so I turned the bottom of the cylinder undersize to give me an asymetric fit. I threaded the spigot 8 BA to let me screw it into the hole in the smokebox wrapper.

View attachment 199307
I fixed the cap with CA glue, waited two minutes and then dressed it. This glue is amazing when it works. The centre drill has given me a scale-ish thickness on the top edge.

View attachment 199308
I dressed the flare by rubbing it on emery cloth wrapped around bit of pipe and I cannot get it any thinner. The base is handed (only slightly) hence the red Sharpie. I put some epoxy glue inside the hole in the base and then screwed the cylinder into the smokebox.

Now the glue is set I could add a nut onto the spigot inside the smokebox but I have a feeling it won't do anything useful.

I can see how my hobby can evolve. I want to make things. Obviously there is a big step to make from turning a brass rod to making an entire chimney but the possibilites are there. The lathe is an incredibly versatile tool.
Click to expand...
Well rescued! :thumbs:

Mike
 
Phil O

Phil O

Western Thunderer
As part of my apprenticeship and making mistakes was part and parcel, our instructors then showed us how to rectify them, because most of the mistakes had been made by others before us and even as experienced craftsmen we still made mistakes. If we mucked up on something new, we would have a chat with others at break time, to see if anyone had done something similar or various ideas were bounced around to try and come up with a workable solution.

Much the same as we do on here in times of difficulty.
 
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