Table of contents for Issue 4738 in Model Engineer

Martin Evans can be contacted on the mobile number or email below and would be delighted to receive your contributions, in the form of items of correspondence, comment or articles. 07710-192953 MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Best of British UK's premier nostalgia and heritage magazine, Best of British, celebrates classic entertainment, transport, food and drink, and the great British countryside. Regular features include Treasures in the Attic – a look at recently uncovered antiques and collectables, Postcard from… which casts a spotlight on a British town or city to visit or stay in, and Window on the Past – a compilation of archive images and memories from The Francis Frith Collection. As well as a lively six-page Postbag, readers are able share their stories in our Yesterday Remembered memoir section, while Doctor Who star…

Propane gas (fig 1) is not manufactured, it is a fossil fuel separated from crude oil by a process called ‘cracking’, discovered in 1857 by the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot and again in 1910 when it was discovered by American chemist Walter Snelling as a component of the then gasoline. He had the good sense to patent it. Gasoline was at that time sold in gallon sized containers and was very volatile. Buyers complained that they would get a container and by the time they tried to use it about half of it would have flashed off into the atmosphere. The higher vapour pressure of the propane component would boil off and cause the gasoline to be agitated and vapourize too. Propane and butane are very alike and can be…

Continued from p.320 M.E.4737 February 23 In the past I have only made four stroke engines, but this engine was a two stroke with fewer parts to make and I thought that its construction would not be as complicated. How wrong was I! Had I started with the engine I feel that the rest of the tractor may not have materialised as there were times when the problems almost became overpowering. I had already made a wooden mock-up of the engine but now it was time to convert the CAD drawings to 3D patterns that would be used in the casting process. The outside shape was relatively simple and was divided into units that I would be able to print on the 3D printer. These individual units were then held…

One of the retired members of our club took notice of my interest in model engineering when I first joined the club. He was kind enough to organise old model engineering magazines from as far back as LBSC's time. I have spent many a quiet evening (during load shedding) paging through these magazines. Even in those early days the contributors to the postbag columns were predicting the demise of the hobby. Sixty years later the same prophetic talk of demise or lack of young talent can be found on the model engineering forums and on other social media platforms. Well, guess what? People are still building incredible models and the interest in the hobby is increasing, and I have no doubt the hobby will continue for many years to come.…

The inspiration to build this locomotive The idea of building this locomotive originated from discussions with a fellow member of the Northern Districts Model Engineering Society's (Perth, Western Australia) Bill Walker in early 2017. Bill is very interested in the early history of railways and he showed me some postcards from his collection and an article in a book called Locomotives I have Known by J. N. Maskelyne, of a very attractive looking little locomotive, No. 3020 Cornwall (photos 1, 2 and 3). He suggested I might like to try building a model of it. I gave this some serious thought over a period of time and started doing some research on Cornwall. A few things in its favour are that it still exists in preservation as part of the UK…

Continued from p.351 M.E.4737 February 23 The next stage involved a trip into darkest, deepest Somerset to visit electronics wizard and 18,100 team member Jon Freeman. Jon is well-known to readers of Model Engineer for his expertise on the electronic control of brushless and other motors and he had built up a custom control system for 18,100. We left the locomotive with him for a couple of days and went off touring the area. When we returned, Jon had fitted the system, together with two temporary power batteries to simulate the eventual supply of power by the turbogenerator set (photo 21). The system is radio-controlled using a relatively cheap model aeroplane transmitter. We took the model the short hop from Jon's house to the wonderful new Taunton club track, placed…

This little device is probably as old as the hills, one which everyone knows about – unless it happens that you don't or are new to modelling. You have marked out and centre popped a piece of material that you are going to drill in a four-jaw chuck in the lathe. You line it up by eye, it looks okay, you bring the centre drill up to the pop mark – and either the end of the drill breaks off or it's pulled out of true because the pop wasn't as central as you thought. This device will put that centre pop exactly on centre. As with most things I make, this was made out of what was lying about on or under my bench – sizes are not important.…

Continued from p.317, M.E.4737, February 23 We will carry on now from where we left off. There are all sorts of linkage and springs associated with the ash pan doors as they both open together and, all being well, they should return once the ash has been deposited into the pit. The first drawing (fig 155) is for the linkage and for this you will need a couple of medium strength compression springs ¼ × ⅝ inch. There are a couple of kinked links which connect the two doors together. There are also four door hangers which have a slight set in them and one of those can be seen in a photograph shown in the previous article (photo 282, M.E.4737 February 23). Also, in the first photograph in the…

While featured in countless American Western movies, locomotives of the 4-4-0 wheel configuration were not unique to North America. However, for a variety of reasons, they were ideal for use on the burgeoning railway, or railroad, system of that continent. Originally known as ‘eight-wheelers’ or ‘standard’ locomotives, the term ‘American’ became common after 1872 as the result of an article in the American Railroad Gazette. Over 25,000 of these locomotives were reportedly built before the design became redundant in the early 1900s. Why was the American-type 4-4-0 so successful and last so long? To answer that question it is necessary to understand the America of the mid-1800s. The United States of America is a vast country that stretches west and south from the north east Atlantic seaboard where the first…

In this issue, “I'm sorry Sir you can't start there. It's the rules you see. Section Q of the Beginning of Literary Products Act 1932 says ‘that no scribe or other penman shall begin his written submission with insufficient introductory remarks’. (Defined as ‘Text’, Sir, in the colloquial speech of those intended as subscribers.) For a list of permitted languages, creoles or pidgins, see Room 2794 of Great Universal Government Towers, Miss Hill, Thursdays, AM only.” “Will this do, then?“ “Not for me to say, Sir.” Well I'm going to start. Blow your whistle, constabule. For the purposes of beginning this column, the following shall be regarded as so authorised — Geoff. In this issue, rogue clock winders, climbing tree stumps, the Black Hand Gang, conifers away!, some acid remarks…

In September last year I enjoyed a very pleasant day out with York Model Engineers - for a train ride (photo 1). Not your average preserved railway trip but to travel in the world's first internal combustion passenger train (photo 2). It is arguably just as significant in railway history as Stephenson's Locomotion or Rocket as it pioneered today's diesel electrics and multiple units. Over lunch members also enjoyed a presentation about the restoration by Stephen Middleton and Steve Hoather, both long term volunteers in the NER Electric Autocar project. Theirs was a remarkable story. The railway After years of dereliction, the autocar has been superbly restored and now runs regular services on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, one of Yorkshire's shorter preserved lines at 4½ miles, but…

My recent visit to the Midlands included a trip to the Coventry Model Engineering Society which is located at Ryton Pools just outside the city. Here, on reclaimed land, the members have established an interesting railway system which their members enjoy on a very regular basis. It was my first ever visit to Coventry and I was pleasantly surprised at the location of the club and was impressed by the work members have put in to establish a railway system to go with their club house (photo 1). I was met by chairman, Derek Morris who outlined the recent club history and how they arrived at the location. The club have quite a long history and they have been on this site since 1997 having previously been at Stoneleigh Park…

Continued from p.326 M.E.4737 February 23 The View from In 2016, with a clank and a clatter and some worryingly splintered wood, Butterside Down welcomed a new resident, a beautifully built but undeniably third-hand Allchin traction engine, bearing the enigmatic name Ruby Swann and sporting a decidedly English air. And although this splendid engine was now residing in her basement, the author's wife was blissfully unaware of the new family member because, let's face it, her husband is a barefaced coward. The following week however, a few days after Jenny's Bangkok flight had touched wearily down onto Newark's bumpy runway and her jetlag had begun to subside, it was, without doubt, time for him to come clean. Fair scrutiny “I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. You did what?” Jenny,…

Continued from p.333 M.E.4737 February 23 Steam chest and valve gear The steam chest and slide valve gear follow the lines often found on steam engines and I followed conventional methods to make this model. It is worth noting that the plans give the impression that the cover for the steam chest is held in place with four 7BA studs with nuts. I did this and found that the completed cylinder assembly would not fit into the column. The two lower nuts were the obstruction. I decided to replace these with countersink 7BA set screws. It meant that countersinks had to be made in the lower holes to accommodate the heads of the screws but, once done, assembly was trouble-free. Interestingly, two 7BA countersink setscrews are provided in the kit,…

Continued from p.313 M.E.4737 February 23 Oil manifolds and pipes Try as I might, I have difficulty with piping. Any size piping, that is, from very small for models up the domestic plumbing size. I try not to touch house plumbing unless I have to, as there always seem to be problems, however careful I am. One never knows what part will be needed until the problem item has been disassembled and the water mains turned off and then, when you find that you need a particular washer, O-ring or whatever, you know that this will be the one thing you haven't got in stock. One of the oil feeds needed was a feed to the two unions at the top of the two rear support columns, which were to…

March 6 Bradford MES Annual General Meeting, 19:45, St James’ Church, Baildon, BD17 6HH. Contact: Russ Coppin, 07815 048999. 7 Sutton MEC Bits and Pieces evening 20:00. Contact: Paul Harding, 0208 254 9749 7 Warrington & District MES Projects/natter night, St Mary Magdalene Church, WA4 3AG, 20:00. See www.wdmes.org.uk/events 10 Sutton MEC Track Day from 13:00. Contact: Paul Harding, 0208 254 9749 10 Warrington & District MES Running day at the club track. See www.wdmes.org.uk/events 15 Rochdale SMEE An informal exhibition night. Castleton Community Centre, 19:00. See www.facebook.com/RochdaleModelEngineers 17 Guildford MES Open day, 14:00-17:00. See www.gmes.org.uk 17 Warrington & District MES Running day at the club track. See www.wdmes.org.uk/events 17 Westland and Yeovil MES Running the track at Yeovil Junction – Steam Train Day. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 20…