Table of contents for Issue 4740 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 As I write this, the weather has turned positively spring-like and model engineers are beginning to come out of hibernation, blinking in the unaccustomed sunlight. Where I live, it is clear there has been a change in the weather as there has been no rain now for over 24 hours, for the first time, it seems, in several months. Temperatures have also managed to haul themselves into double figures so everything is looking very promising. There are plenty of events to go to over the next few weeks, to make the most of the improving weather, and here…

Eccentrics The eccentric straps for the valves were another significant design challenge. These have to be mounted on the centre axle and, as the boiler sits right above this axle, there is very little room. Figure 8 shows the eccentrics and a cross-section through the main axle, which demonstrates the problem and details my solution. I resolved this problem by splitting the eccentric straps horizontally instead of vertically, as is usual practice (photos 17 and 18). The centre eccentric is the smallest, with only a 5mm offset giving a 10mm stroke and this is used for a water pump. When the various eccentric straps are fitted to the eccentrics, they just clear the bottom of the boiler at their highest point of rotation. The eccentric strap bodies were fabricated from…

Thixotropic materials Cling rubber tyres A bit of news not found in the metallurgy mainstream - hurrah! for the independent journals that grace our bookshelves. Unfunded by modern risk-free culture, this is a discovery which may be as ground-breaking as the qualities of graphene. In a ground-breaking discovery that has left the scientific community both baffled and amused, researchers have unveiled a new class of materials that defies the laws of physics and challenges our understanding of metallurgy. Say hello to thixotropic metals - the liquid-solid hybrid that’s set to reshape the way we perceive the rigidity of traditional metallic structures provisionally named ‘Alloy 14’. Thixotropic metals, a term coined by imaginative scientists with a flair for the dramatic, are claiming to be the next big thing in materials science.…

Views and opinions expressed in letters published in Postbag should not be assumed to be in accordance with those of the Editor, other contributors, or Mortons Media Group Ltd. Correspondence for Postbag should be sent to: Martin R. Evans, The Editor, Model Engineer, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lines LN9 6JR F. 01507 371066 E. MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Publication is at the discretion of the Editor. The content of letters may be edited to suit the magazine style and space available. Correspondents should note that production schedules normally involve a minimum lead time of six weeks for material submitted for publication. In the interests of security, correspondents’ details are not published unless specific instructions to do so are given. Responses to published letters are forwarded as appropriate. Metal…

MBM Model Engineering Knupfer Some background information on this engine and its maker gives an insight into the model (photo 1). I have been a model engineer for many years now, building mostly industrial and marine model steam engines both from casting kits and from standard bar and sheet metal, a good proportion of which have been to my own designs and at one stage I was selling kits of raw materials and instructions for some seven different model steam engines. These are still available from another company, www.mbmmodelengineering.com in New Zealand. This model Twin Tandem Compound Steam Engine (figs 1 and 2) came about because two members of a club to which I belong had built the Brunel'Tandem Compound' horizontal mill engine and suggested that my next model should…

Introduction This article describes a method of using a pair of BBC micro:bit computers to provide an economical radio control system for Gauge 1 or 16mm model steam locomotives. The project started during lock down when I decided to build a 32mm locomotive to run on the track at the Wimborne Model Engineering Club. I started to develop a loco of my own design but being new to this gauge (my previous build was a 5 inch Sweet Pea) I soon realised the difficulties and complexities of providing the mechanics at this smaller size, so I purchased a set of kits from Roundhouse Engineering (photo 1). This picture was taken during the development phase before the cab was fitted. Although a lot of our members like to buy ready to…

SMEE We use them all the time and probably don’t give them a second thought except maybe when tackling a cylinder head. SMEE’s Engine Builders Group was treated to a fascinating lecture recently that gave us pause for thought. David Harvey was persuaded to come and talk to us about his 40 year career in automotive fasteners and we soon realised there was more to the subject than we may have assumed. After apprenticeship David completed a degree at Birmingham University and joined the Toolroom at GKN as production controller and ended his career as vice president of manufacturing and automotive supplies via a few other companies. This makes him officially a ‘telezygologist’, a word that you will no doubt instantly forget but describes himself as “knowing a bit about…

Now I could start with the construction of the steam engine. The design was based on a twocylinder ship’s steam engine with chain drive in the middle. The construction was labour intensive but not difficult (photo 9). After three months of intensive work the machine made its first movements under its own power with compressed air at Easter 2016. After a short running-in period, the steam engine ran quite passably. With the steam engine, the feed pumps were also built as crosshead pumps. One pump would have been enough but a second is always good. And when the water level is low, replenishment obviously happens more quickly. Parallel to the steam engine, the steam boiler was worked on. The brass boiler top was difficult to find but I found an…

Published by HEEL Verlag ISBN 978-3-96664-020-6 208pp, 240 × 270 mm, hardback The restoration and conservation of vintage and antique toys is not an easy subject. Sooner or later every collector of diecast and tinplate toys, whether they collect model cars, model ships, steam machines or model trains, will face the question to restore or not to restore. Then the next question is raised, how far should you go in restoration? That could be the replacement of some technical parts by new (repro) parts, a (re)paint job or a complete overhaul. One kind of collectors like the play-worn patina of old toys and just leave them the way they are, no matter what condition, but others prefer them in as new as possible condition. It can be a delicate balancing…

I was musing on the monologue ‘Albert and the Lion’, as one does in idle moments (what are they? - Ed), and added a verse: ‘Young Albert did not like his breakfast, he hated dry toast and jam, he consented to days by the seaside, but wanted to ride on a tram.’ So there. Right, a competition, worthy of the highest accolade, so that’s the level I’m aiming at, Finish this - ‘There’s a town in the north that’s called Oslo, that’s noted for Nynorsk and schnapps, and Herr und Frau Humdinger, with one of their jungfrau’s nice chaps....’ (Erik Bloodaxe, if you must know). In this issue, an apology, the wrong type of electricity, a monorail, Pullmans (...men?), Ezekiel’s inattention, postnuptial transport, décolletés?, if I fell... (John Lennon), OLCO…

The 54th International Model Locomotive Efficiency Competition is to be held at Victoria Park, Southport on 19th-21st July 2024. The members of Southport Model Engineering Club, assisted by members of the Leyland Club, are proud to be the hosts of the 54th anniversary event of IMLEC. Our club was formed in 1978 and has currently over 120 members who range from raw novices to professional engineers. The club has extensive and attractive grounds and a clubhouse situated at the southern end of Victoria Park, Southport with access off Rotten Row. We have two raised tracks each catering for 3½ and 5 inch gauge locomotives. The first of these tracks also has a 2½ inch gauge track and is 640 feet long and the second track is 1733 feet long. We…

There’s an old Aussie tradition - never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn! Recapping on the first epic chapter, it was plain even to me, as the master of rough enough is good enough, that I had to make the Tarcutta camshafts ‘correctly’ and not simply Loctite a few cam lobes on a shaft. Still, the prospect of making so called real camshafts didn’t worry me too much - after all, if Mercedes Benz and Kawasaki can make camshafts, anyone can. So, what to do? When doubt fills the air, fate often plays its hand and thus it came to pass that Chloe, our International Sales Manager, asked if we could buy a machine tool to make precision setting masters. The setting master (photo 7)…

We now come on to something that I would think you would find a little more interesting for the general reader and that is the cab and platforms. I am going into some detail about the cab for a start, as I think that you will hopefully enjoy building that. I do hope that you will build it with the opening windows too. I am hoping that there will be some lost wax castings for the frames as they will just make the job. There will be a laser cut set of parts for the cab and platforms as that will make the job somewhat easier. This should by now be available from G & S Supplies. I have laid all the sheets out in the flat but there is…

By 1850 the Bury-type locomotive boiler, with its high round-topped firebox, was being replaced by the ‘wagon’ top style. Difficult to make and repair, and also a poor steam generator, the Bury firebox could not become the boiler of choice for the developing Americantype engines. The wagon top boiler, with its large steam space over the firebox and distinctive sloping front where it connected to the barrel, was not only easier to build and repair than the Bury-type, but it offered additional steam and water space above the firebox crown. Unlike the Bury-type it was also able to cope with the alkali feed water generally available to the railroads out west. There were, however, two issues related to the use of the wagon top boiler: one was the difficulty found…

April 21 Bradford MES Public Running Day. Members from 11:30, public from 13:30 to 16:00, whatever the weather, Northcliff. Contact: Russ Coppin, 07815 048999. 21 Guildford MES Open day, 14:00-17:00. See www.gmes.org.uk 21 Plymouth Miniature Steam Public running, 14:00-16:30, Pendeen Crescent, Plymouth, PL6 6RE, Contact: Rob Hitchcock, 01822 852479 21 Westland and Yeovil MES Running the track at Yeovil Junction - Steam Train Day. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 25 Sutton MEC Afternoon run from 13:00. Contact: Paul Harding, 0208 254 9749 28 Westland and Yeovil MES Track running day 11:00. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 May 1 Bradford MES Meeting: ‘Helicopters’ by Derek Round, 19:30, St James’ Church, Baildon, BD17 6HH, Contact: Russ Coppin, 07815 048999. 2 Sutton MEC Bits and Pieces evening 20:00. Contact: Paul Harding, 0208 254…